If so, what have you down? No one has contacted me about district standards/curriculum. Is this odd? I know I have new teacher orientation later this month. I think I will at least start reviewing my content over the next three weeks. Good luck, new and returning teachers!!!!!
Definitely not odd. I've never heard of anyone doing this. It is up to you to take the initiative. I'd stop by your school and pick up all of the teacher editions and ask if they have a pacing guide they use to get started. Good luck!
No one from the district will be contacting you before your orientation, except maybe for a letter giving you dates and times. Like giraffe said, you need to make the effort to go into your school and talk to the P. Maybe you can get contact info for your team members and contact them on your own. If you visit your district website, you can get lots of curriculum info. Good luck with your new job!
And orientation will not teach you your curriculum. It will be policies and procedures for the most part.
I'm not a brand new teacher, but I'm in a new school and a completely different position next year. I honestly have not done that much. My math curriculum is something totally new to me and its WAY different than the typical curriculum like Everyday Math or whatever, so I took an online class on it just to familiarize myself with the strategies and vocabulary. I'm just going to kind of look over my teacher's guides (I only have reading and math, and I do not have student versions) just to familiarize myself with how the lessons go. I've also just been trying to brainstorm some ideas for classroom management and things like that, but I haven't put anything together yet. Before my first ever position I tried to do all this planning and work ahead of time and it completely backfired because a lot of it ended up being unnecessary or something that didn't fit within the guidelines of that specific school. This time, I'm waiting until I know what the school policies and guidelines are and such before I really start planning and all that. I know the school puts out pacing guides, so I don't have to worry about that. My new school is also getting a new P, so even though I was able to meet with my grade level team no one knows for sure if we'll be required to turn in lesson plans, if there is a specific format, etc. so we're all kind of waiting and seeing!
I'm not technically a new teacher, but it feels that way. I taught two years of 2nd grade in public school, then stayed home with my babies for three years. This fall I'll begin teaching PreK at a private school. As for preparing... There is no set curriculum, so I've been scouring the internet and books to help guide the way. So far I've set up a very basic month-to-month curriculum and bought some classroom decor. I have a training day on Saturday and will get my classroom keys then. I plan to spend a little time in my classroom each Friday for most of the summer.
Since I just got word about my Kinder position on Tuesday, I will be sure to contact the P and set up a time that I can visit the school, peek at my classroom, pick up teaching materials/books, and request contact info for my team members, as suggested by Giraffe and Swansong! Orientation is on Aug. 9th, and I definitely don't want to waste a whole month! In the meantime, I'm keeping busy by creating to-do lists, figuring out what materials I can make/buy cheaply/freebies, reading through the wonderful ideas on the kinder forum, and browsing through kinder blogs. Also, I'm practicing my singing voice...I don't want to make my para's ears bleed! :lol: Any other ideas of what I should do to prepare would be appreciated!
I am actually relocating to another state for the teaching position I accepted, so all of my preparation on this end has been nailing down what I want as my classroom procedures and what my first few weeks of class are going to look like. I can't wait to get there and start actually organizing my classroom and getting it how I want it. I was able to visit it the last time I was in town so I at least have a handle on what kind of materials I have to my disposal and the size of my classroom. I've also been reading all kinds of recommended texts -- First Days of School, First Year Teacher's Survival Kit, and Discipline with Dignity. I have found this just great as far as a way to guide my thinking about how I want my classroom to function. And then.. I've made sure to read the curriculum standards posted for my county/state to get an idea for my needed pacing (what state are you teaching in? I'm going to be in NC, so I was able to use their learnnc website to obtain a lot of the information I needed). The thing I am most worried about is adjusting to a middle school context. I did my teaching internship at a high school last year, and was only able to observe a middle school level for two semester. So yeah That's where I am.. a little freaked out and incredibly excited.
I'm also starting out this year! If your principal hasn't contacted you, go out of your way to talk to them. I was lucky to have my principal set up a meeting a few days after the end of school back in May. I was handed my keys, met the two other sped teachers in the building, the students' former teacher and I was able to take home my kiddos IEPs. During the summer I have worked on my classroom management, what books I plan to read through the year for teacher read aloud and I have been working on first week activities and how to make the activities as a way to learn classroom procedures.
I am also new. I know our district is totally redoing the curriculum guides and the pacing guides this summer so that they are aligned with the Common Core. As such, I can't do as much as I would like, but I am still making materials based on the book.
Please, oh please, oh please: if you have an idea of what you'll be teaching, spend some time this summer prepping the material!!! The quickest way to become a joke to the kids is to be less than well prepared. At the risk of being redundant, here's an old post I just cut and pasted onto another thread about prepping for a new course: Once I have a copy of the syllabus, I make a chart in Word. The first column is lesson number, then title, homework, and misc. (like "needs graph paper.") From there I draw up a rough guesstimate of how I'll get through the material. Some topics I know going in will take 2 lessons. I also throw in a test every 2 weeks. Then I check what I have against the school calendar, ensuring that I can fit my plans into the time given in each trimester. I know it's only a ballpark estimate. For example, my tentative test dates may fall onto an assembly day (with short periods) or my homework may not be right on target. That's OK-- at least I'll have a page number and an idea of where I'm going. From there, I take out a binder and start working out the lessons. I don't do strict lesson plans (but then again, I'm not handing any in.) Rather, I explain the course to myself, including any warnings of things I know the kids will need to look out for (like distributing a negative sign.) From there, as each lesson approaches, I can include any add-ins.
I am also a new teacher and I do not have orientation until the end of August. I have started going over the standards and curriculum mapping. I have also been looking at different teacher websites at my new school. I am planning on reaching out to the principal next week to see if I can have contact info for my mentor teacher as well as the teacher I will be co-teaching with. I think it is better that I reach out then not it shows I'm motivated right?
Thanks for the responses, everyone! NJnewteach, I think it does show that you are motivated. I contacted my principal, and he gave me contact info for my department chair. He and my dept. chair gave me a tour, and my dept chair got me in contact with my mentor. I asked a question about this before I contacted my principal, and the consensus seemed to be that I needed to take the initiative and contact them. Good luck!
New teacher here as well and I have these same questions. I have all the manuels and plan on making at least 2 weeks of lessons, just in case. I actually tried to get in touch with the principal tonight to ask her if there is a pacing guide, etc but never heard back from her. I have a 2 day new teacher orientaion though in late Aug before my official staff orientaion at my school, so I'm not sure if a guideline will be given to me at the 2 day orientation. I will be the only person teaching this grade though.
