Are you a teacher stepping into a classroom mid-year and wondering how to navigate this unique challenge? Today, we've got you covered with the 5 absolute must-do's for starting teaching mid-year. Drawing from the experiences of educators who have successfully tackled mid-year transitions, we'll explore strategies that can make a significant difference in your classroom.
Are you a teacher stepping into a classroom mid-year and wondering how to navigate this unique challenge? Today, we've got you covered with the 5 absolute must-do's for starting teaching mid-year. Drawing from the experiences of educators who have successfully tackled mid-year transitions, we'll explore strategies that can make a significant difference in your classroom.
So you've accepted a classroom position mid-year and you're wondering what now? You see, I've worked with several friends and teachers who have started the profession mid-year and here are some things they wish they would have done sooner as a teacher who is starting teaching mid-year. So let's get started. Hey, teacher Bestie, my name is Helena and I'm the creator of the Present Teacher podcast. I'm a first year teacher coach and in this podcast you are going to learn everything from simple, actual classroom management, social learning and teacher wellness strategies. You know that impact you want to make in the classroom. Well, we're going to make it happen here. The first thing you're going to want to do, if you are a teacher who is starting their teaching position mid-year, is you are wanting to start over Now. What do I mean by start over? What I mean is when you start teaching in the middle of the year, it's easy to want to hit the ground running and start teaching all of the content ASAP, but what happens when you do this, just like it does in the back to school or the first week of school, is a lot of behaviors then pop up because you haven't taken the time to teach your students the expectations and procedures, and so then those behaviors pop up and you don't have time to teach because you have to constantly stop to address behavior. Instead of doing it this way, I recommend acting as if you are starting the school year completely over. Act like it's a fresh start for your students and a fresh start for you. Take the time now. Trust me, so many teachers wish they would have done this sooner. But take the time now, even if it's a day or two, to get your students and your classroom running how you want it to. So think of it, like I said, as a fresh start for everybody. Teach your classroom expectations, your rules and procedures so students can be successful from the get-go Now. If you are interested in learning more on what you should be teaching during this time, including what procedures to teach, I want to recommend that you go check out a episode I did on classroom procedures and I'll make sure to link that in the description down below.
Speaker 1:But as a recap, the first thing you're going to want to do if you are a teacher starting mid-year is you're going to want to act as if it's a clean slate for everybody and you're starting over like that first week of school. The second thing you're going to want to do is you're going to want to teach procedures. Now, procedures are arguably one of the most underrated preventative classroom management strategies out there. So procedures are how you want your students to interact in the classroom with each other and materials and areas throughout the room. So I won't dive too deep into how to teach procedures I've covered that before but here's a quick recap on when you teach procedures during that first or second day of school, what it should look like. So the first thing you're going to do is you're going to want to literally get up and model what it looks like and sounds like. Then you're going to want to discuss it with your kids. Then you're going to get up physically and model the wrong way to do it. Intentionally do it the wrong way. Have your students discuss and then discuss why we do it a certain way. That'll help your students remember in the future why they need to follow the procedure. That way they're not just following blindly. They have a buy-in. They have a reason why. The next thing you're going to want to do is have your students practice. So spend the first couple of days teaching procedures on how you want your students to interact in the classroom. So some important ones to consider are getting in line, turning items in or assignments in, getting their attention, class calls, using the restroom, getting extra supplies or materials and the ready signal. I have a whole playlist on what procedures you should be teaching during the first week of school and I have other episodes where I talked about that, so I'll make sure to put again a link in the description down below. So, as a recap, some things you want to consider as you are a mid teacher starting mid-year is one you want to treat it like it's you're starting over or like it's a clean slate. The second thing you're going to want to go over are procedures. The third thing you're going to want to do as a teacher who is starting mid-year is to work on community building. So one of the challenges to joining mid-year is some of your students have had time to build relationships with each other when you don't have that advantage. That's why it's really important to build relationships now in community building. So this is good for the students because it sets the tone for the classroom that we are going to work together here and we're all welcome, and it's a good way for you to get to know them as well. So here are some ideas on how to build community during those first couple days of school.
Speaker 1:You could play, would you rather? I have my students stand in line in the middle classroom and I give them two options. They just take a step left or right. Now, something you should know about me Am I teaching style is I'm very engaging and I like movement. So all of these are gonna have some sort of movement in them. The second one is four corners. You could give four options and have them stand in different corners. This could be things on they like, things that they dislike, things about their home life. Whatever you want to do to get to know them more, and then you can later use this for content or quizzes, which is a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:The third brain break or Community building thing you can do is who am I? Five fingers activity. Now, this is an activity I learned in college when I was getting my ESL endorsement, but essentially what you do is you trace, have the students trace their hand and then in each finger they draw or write something that represents them, their identity. So, for example, you could put I would put wife, dog, mom, travel, harry Potter and Soccer. Those are five interests or things that make up who I am, and then you could have students think per share, share with a partner, share with the class, something like that. But having them do this activity is a great way, and quiet way, it's more sitting than standing and walking around per se, but a great way to get to know your students and then you can have them hang it up again, depending what you want to do or how in depth you want to go.
Speaker 1:The fourth and final Community building activity I have for you is a cup stacking activity. Now I did this Two years ago in my second grade class, but during the first week of school I went to the Dollar Tree and I got a lot of plastic cups. I put my Hits into groups and I gave them a stack of cups. Now I Use this as an exercise because in second grade we're learning a lot about teamwork. So I said I'm gonna set the timer for two minutes and I'm gonna see how Tall or which group can build the tallest tower. I set the timer for two minutes and the entire time my kids were getting frustrated with each other. They were, you know, getting upset and every time they did that or they weren't being positive with each other that the cups would fall. So then, after the time was done, I measured them and we talked about inches and centimeters and we talked about who won. And then we talked and reflected about being a good teammate Again, this is a good way to set the tone for the year and we talked about what we noticed about when we said something to a friend and the cup's falling, and how, if we were supportive with each other, that our tower would stay strong. Now, again, this is something I did with my second graders. So, second grader and above, they have this discussion without me. I just asked questions. So they are definitely capable of doing this. They did it again. They had much better results.
Speaker 1:But think about different activities you can do to help build that environment of where a team, we're going to work together. There's a ton of different activities I could do so if you want more ideas, send me a DM or put your let me know in the comments below, and I'd be happy to make more content about what community building activities you can do in your classroom. So, as a recap, some of the things you want to do as a teacher who is starting mid-year is to one start over, act like it's a clean slate. Number two go over your procedures and expectations. Number three work on community building. Number four look at data. So, after you've built a community, I also recommend looking at any recent data or assessments the school has as soon as possible, whether it's state testing, monthly progress monitoring or any recent assessments. Take some time to sit down and look at the data. It's important to know where your students are, ahead of time or as soon as you can. The sooner you have an idea of where your students are skill level wise, the better you are able to create lessons to match where their skill set is and know which students you need to pull back for support. So that's the next thing I recommend doing.
Speaker 1:The final thing I recommend doing, if you are a teacher starting mid-year, is to be kind to yourself. Now, this is arguably the most important one, but it's easy, like I said, to start as soon as you get there at a million miles a minute. And here's the thing this profession is something you want to do long term and you don't want to burn yourself out by trying to do everything and anything and all the things from day one. So take some time to remind yourself that I am starting mid-year. So I'm going to be extra kind and supportive of myself because I know that I'm starting mid-year and I know that that means I have maybe less time with this group of students, but I am getting myself prepared for a lifelong career in teaching, if that's what I want to do. So make sure to play the long game, not just the short game, when you are working on or joining the teaching profession or joining a classroom mid-year. So those are the five must do's if you are a teacher who is starting a teaching mid-year.
Speaker 1:So as a quick recap, here are the things you should be doing if you are a teacher starting mid-year. First thing start over. Act like it's a clean slate. Number two teach procedures thoroughly. Spend those first couple days worrying about procedures and the expectations in class to set the tone for the rest of the year so you can spend the rest of your teaching and not managing behaviors. Number three community building. Take some time to get to know your students and to set the tone of how you want the classroom to run with each other. Number four look at the data. Get a good idea of where your students are at right now. So as soon as you are ready to start content, or if you need to start content sooner rather than later, you know what you are looking at and a rough idea on where your kids are at. Number five be kind to yourself. This is a long game. This is a long-term profession. You don't want to burn yourself out by trying to make up for lost time over the next couple of months.
Speaker 1:So if you want to dive deeper in how to set up your classroom, especially under a short amount of time, you're wondering what should you teach? How to manage your classroom from day one, I want to invite you to join the classroom kickstart mini course. The classroom kickstart mini course is a four-week self-paced mini course that covers everything from how to set up your classroom, how to have a strong classroom management presence from day one, what to teach during the first couple of weeks and how to introduce yourself to families. Again, this is self-paced, so I recognize that, as a teacher starting mid-year, you might want to go through this content quicker rather than later. That's why all of the resources are unlocked from day one, so you don't have to worry about working on one phase and then waiting two weeks for the next phase to release. I released all of it at once. It's self-paced. Do it at your own time and discretion, but I want to invite you.
Speaker 1:I wanted to create a resource for teachers who want to start the year off strong. I want to work on things other than just making their classroom look aesthetically appealing and want to dive deeper. So if you want to dive deeper into that, I'll put a link in the description down below. As always, remember we are stronger together and I will see you in the next one. Teacher Bestie. Bye. Thank you so much for joining me on today's episode. I hope that you were able to take away some value that will help you thrive inside and out of the classroom. It would mean the world to me if you could take five seconds right now and leave a review on this podcast. And if you found this podcast especially helpful, make sure to take a screenshot of this episode right now and tag me on your socials to let me know you're listening. As always, remember that we are stronger together. With all the love in the world, helena, aka the president. Teacher. See you next time, teacher Bestie.