Survival Skills for the New Elementary Teacher

By Jeannette M. Konior

Every year thousands of new teachers graduate, all hoping to obtain their dream job in the school district of their choice. They have been given a great education at their respective universitites. In addition to the usual academics, they have learned educational theory, development, lesson planning, methodology, etc. But, very few learn about the more practical side of education in the classroom - the tricks of the trade. Student teaching provides an opportunity to learn some of these things; however, not all circumstances come up in one or two experiences. In most cases, the new teacher enters the work force a true novice whose confidence is shaken when it becomes obvious how much is not known.

This book concentrates on elementary education. Here you will find answers to questions you may have asked on classroom management, discipline, organization, testing and grading, talking to parents, and much more. The teacher is the catalyst who puts all these things in motion. The teacher as classroom leader must be decisive, compassionate, ready, clear and to the point, and above all, professional.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Mar 27, 2005
• ISBN: 9781466948952

Jeannette M. Konior

Ms. Konior was born and raised in New York City where she pursued a career in business after graduating from Cathedral High School in Manhattan. She held secretarial and administrative positions in the fields of engineering, sales, utilities, and law. She began teaching religious education classes in the late 1960's. She volunteered her services in the parishes where she lived on a continuous basis. After the birth of her daughter, she returned to school and earned a B.S. in elementary education from The State University of New York at New Paltz. While employed by the Archdiocese of New York as an elementary teacher, she earned her M.S. in education. She is now certified to teach the following grades: K-6 (all subjects), English 7-12, and Social Studies 7-12. After retiring from the Archdiocese, she continued to teach on a substitute basis in the area in which she now lives. Ms. Konior brings a unique collection of experiences with a wide range of expertise in all grades.

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© Copyright 2005 Jeannette M. Konior, M. Ed.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

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ISBN 1-4120-4999-7

ISBN 978-1-4669-4895-2 (ebook)

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Contents

DEDICATION

Introduction

PREFACE

Chapter One Classroom Management

Before you welcome the children

Parent Notes and List of Supplies

The first day of school

Seating

Seating Plans and Comment Charts

Instructions to the Students on the First Day

Closets and Cubbies

The Teacher’s Chair

Body Language and Tone of Voice

Body Language for Control Military Style

The Clothes the Teacher Wears

Colors in the Classroom

Computers

Test Schedules

The word Emergency

As the Students Arrive in the Morning

During the day

At the End of the Day

CHAPTER TWO Communication

Orientation Night

Teacher/Parent Communication-

Talk the Teacher Talk

Notes From Parents

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Teacher/Student Communication

Unusual Behavior

The Last Resort to Solving a Discipline Problem

Going to the nurse

When to Call the School Psychologist

Communicating With Audio/Visual Materials

Calming Down a Class

When Students Take Too Long to Do Something

When Students Bring Toys From Home and Play With Them During a Lesson

The Weather and Students’ Behavior

Teacher/Teacher Communication

The Faculty Room

Find a Friend Among the Faculty Members

School Rules and Regulations

Teacher/administrator communication

Lesson Plans

Observations by the Principal

Grades and Your Grade Book

Teacher/Teacher’s Aide Communication

CHAPTER THREE Teaching, Grading, and Testing

Some General Comments

CHAPTER FOUR How To Teach What

Phonics

Teaching Phonics

Reading

Teaching Reading

Math

Teaching Math

Grammar

Teaching Grammar

Composition-The Writing Process

Teaching the Writing Process

Teaching Science and Social Studies

CHAPTER FIVE Sample Communications To Parents

The Test Schedule

CHAPTER SIX Lesson Plans and SQRRR Study Method*

Sample Lesson Plan

The SQRRR system of studying*

DEDICATION

To my husband, John,

who always believed in me.

Introduction

Like most teachers, I have always been willing to convey my thoughts, ideas, and knowledge in the hope that I could in some small way positively affect the life of the person I was speaking to.

Over the years, I have spoken to many student teachers who were strong academically but lacked confidence when entering the classroom. One student teacher told me that he felt he knew everything when he arrived in school but realized that he knew very little. He was talking about the fact that he did not know his way around the classroom. He was at a loss as to how to handle certain situations regarding discipline, lesson planning, the presentation of lessons, etc. Concepts in classroom management have to be learned in order to be an effective teacher.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything. If you do things the right way, you have a well organized and disciplined class. If you do things the wrong way, it’s pot luck as to what you get. There are lots of variables when it comes to doing things the right way. How you handle your class depends largely on what makes you comfortable and what makes the children comfortable.

If you are comfortable, in most cases the children will be comfortable. I have tried in this book to convey to you some of the effective ways I handled certain situations when I taught on a full time basis. The ideas in this book are not the end all and be all of teaching. Rather, they are guides, a road map if you will. The procedures here are not the only ones you can follow. But, until you really get your feet wet, they could save you a lot of time and effort not to mention stress.

Teaching was something I only dreamed about shortly after I graduated high school. My family needed the extra income, so I went out to work. I worked as a secretary and administrative assistant for some of the big corporations in New York City. I was even a legal secretary for a time. When I married and moved up-state , I continued to work in offices and enjoyed quite a successful career.

When my daughter was born, I decided to retire and be a fulltime mother. But, while my daughter grew up a little, I attended college. I wanted to work when she started school, and I wanted to have the same schedule. Being home on holidays and during the summer was important to me. I rediscovered teaching.

Prior to going to college, my career in education began on a non-professional level. I taught religious education classes for over ten years before I got my teaching degree. I discovered that I had a flare for the teaching profession. I enjoyed being an instructor and related well to my students.

The day I graduated with my B.S. was a wonderful and unbelievable day. My daughter was three years old at the time. As I walked down the middle isle with the other graduates, I saw my daughter standing there with her grandmother. Grandma wanted her to see me walk in. We graduates were given balloons to brighten up the occasion. When I saw Christina, I stopped and hurriedly gave her my balloon. She still remembers this today. When my name was called, I walked up to the president of the college and received a handshake and diploma. This was such an exciting moment, I literally went deaf for a few seconds. I didn’t hear my family screaming and yelling for me. It had been a very hard and difficult road. I had to juggle college and a family all at once. But, I wanted to be a teacher so badly, I could taste it. When you want something that desperately, you find a way to do it. I had to contend with diapers, nursery school, the chicken pox, colds and fevers, and my daughter’s really serious Electra Complex. There was housework, laundry, and all the usual things to do. Studying became a real chore at times. But we all got through it somehow.

I began teaching in a local school. My first four years were spent teaching sixth, seventh, and eighth grade English classes. After that I spent ten years teaching third grade. All together, I have taught children for over 30 years (non-professional and professional).

While teaching locally, I divorced and remarried. My second marriage brought me farther upstate where I reside even today.

After many years, I received my M.S. in education and continued to teach.

One day I got the shock of my life. I was advised by Marquis Who’s Who that one of my former students had recommended me as a biographee. I was thrilled. As a result, I have been in Marquis Who’s Who In American Education since 1996. This was a great honor for me. I never knew who recommended me. However, it was probably one of my first students who by that time had probably entered college.

Eventually, I decided to retire early, stop commuting two hours a day, and spend the rest of my career substitute teaching in my own area. I found myself talking to other substitute teachers who were perplexed as to how to handle certain situations. It was then that I got the idea to write this book.

PREFACE

Teaching can be a very rewarding profession. While the children are in the teacher’s care, they can give her some of the most natural highs she will ever have in her life. The pleasures of seeing little children grow up to be responsible adults and the knowledge that you, perhaps in some small way, have taken part in their development and success is the magic elixir teachers use to continue their educational journey through life. Teachers are some of the most dedicated and resourceful people in society. In addition to being professionals in their field with formal educational backgrounds, they are also: philosophers, leaders, amateur nurses, friends, savvy business people, good examples, hard workers, and playmates all rolled into one well-rounded, well-informed individual. They are full of perseverance, compassion, love, discipline, logic, dedication, creativity, humor and ingenuity. They are most of all a shaper of young minds and characters. Teachers have the distinction of being one of the most influential people in a child’s life after parents.

In many cases, because of work schedules, etc., the teacher sees the child more hours in the week than the parents do. Without a doubt, teachers are among the unsung heroes of every generation. But, make no mistake about it, teaching is not easy! It can be very difficult and stressful to say the least. To the non-teacher, teachers have it easy. They are finished working at 3:30 P.M. and have the rest of the day off. Their summers are free, and they come back to work in September fresh as daisies after a two month break. As a veteran teacher, my response to this is horse manure! Teachers work more than 40 hours per week and plan the following year’s lessons over the summer. Summers can be totally dominated by a course or two at the local university if the teacher is still striving for that masters degree. And, teachers need the summer to recoup from the stress of the school year.

In reality, not only is the normal day seven to eight hours long, but there are things to do after school and on weekends. There are lesson plans which take two to three hours per week and sometimes more. Our detractors will say Doesn’t the State tell you what to teach? Yes, each state has a prescribed curriculum, but it is up to the teacher to decide when and how the lessons are presented and taught. The State gives a general outline of the concepts, themes and objectives that must be accomplished each year. The State is the general who says Take that hill, Secure that bridge, Capture that town. The commanding officer, the school principal and department heads, plan the basic attack with the teachers (procedures in order to accomplish goals). The front line soldiers in the trenches (the classroom teachers) are entrusted with the specific plan of attack. As the attack (the school year) progresses, the teachers roll with the punches and adjust lessons around holidays, superintendents’ conferences, snow days, special assemblies, special innovative programs arranged for by the school district, etc. In many cases, the attack