First-year teacher survival guide

1 The weeks before school starts

You will be tempted to spend August decorating. Do the parts that make the first day run instead: know where students sit, where they put their things, how they get to lunch and the bus, and what they do the moment they walk in. A plain room with clear routines beats a beautiful room where nobody knows what to do.

Find out the facts that new teachers often learn too late. Ask your mentor or a grade-level colleague, not just the handbook, because the unwritten rules matter as much as the written ones.

• Your class list, and which students have plans the school must follow (ask who keeps that information and how you get it).
• The bell schedule, lunch time, recess duty and your planning period.
• Arrival, dismissal and bus procedures, and who to call when a student isn't picked up.
• The emergency plan for your room: exit route, where the class goes, and how you take attendance outside.
• How to take attendance in the school system, and the deadline each morning.
• Where to get copies made, how much notice the copy room needs, and the paper you are allowed.
• The curriculum materials you are expected to use, and the first unit's pacing.
• Who your mentor is, and when you will meet.

Set up your seating with first names on desk name plates or a seating chart, and print a first week routines checklist so you know which routine you are teaching each day.

2 The first days: routines before content

The first two weeks set the tone for the year. Teach how the room works before you teach much content: how to enter, where to put work, how to get your attention, how to move to the carpet or into groups, how to ask for help, how to clean up and how to leave. Each routine gets the same treatment: explain it, show it, have the class practice it, and practice it again tomorrow.

What to sayWhen you hear me say "class, class", stop what you're doing, look at me and answer "yes, yes". Let's practice. I'll talk with my neighbor, and when I say it, you show me how fast you can stop.

Practice routines until they are boring, then keep practicing them for a few more days. When a routine slips, don't lecture: stop, say "Let's try that again," and do it again the right way. It feels slow, but it saves hours by October.

Learn every student's name by the end of the first week. Use name tents or name tags, greet each student by name at the door, and take attendance out loud for the first few days.

3 Routines that save your year

A routine is anything the class does the same way every time. The more of the day runs on routines, the less of your energy goes on managing and the more goes on teaching. These are the ones most worth getting right in the first month.

• Entry: students come in, put things away and start a task that is already on the board, without waiting for you. A morning board on the projector holds the task and the day's plan.
• Attention signal: one signal, used every time, practiced until the room is silent within a few seconds.
• Turning in work: one tray or folder per class or subject, with names on top and papers facing the same way.
• Asking for help: a rule like "ask three before me", so you are not the only source of answers.
• Finishing early: a posted list of what to do next, so early finishers don't become a problem.
• Transitions: a timer on the board and a clear instruction: "Two minutes to clean up, starting now."
• Dismissal: pack up early enough that nobody leaves in a rush without their things.

Write each routine down in a few lines. You will need the list for your sub folder anyway, and writing it forces you to decide exactly what you want, which makes it far easier to teach.

4 Planning one week ahead

Many first-year teachers plan the night before, and it is exhausting. Aim to finish next week's plans by Friday afternoon. You will still adjust them, but you will walk in on Monday knowing what each day holds, with copies made.

1. Look at the curriculum map or pacing guide and write the week's learning goals at the top of a weekly lesson plan grid.
2. Block in the fixed things first: specials, assemblies, early release days, assessments.
3. Plan each lesson in a few lines: the goal, how you will teach it, what students will do, and how you will check they got it.
4. List the copies and materials you need, and get the copies done before you leave on Friday.
5. Keep a short list of five-minute fillers for when a lesson ends early.

Use the materials your school gives you. You don't have to write every lesson from scratch in your first year. Teach the provided lessons, note what worked and what didn't, and change them next year when you know the content and the students.

Planning with your grade-level team, if you have one, cuts the work. Offer to plan one subject for the team in exchange for theirs.

5 A grading load you can keep

Grading is where first-year teachers lose their evenings and weekends. Decide early how much you will grade, and grade less than you think you must. Not everything students do needs a grade; much of it needs a quick look so you know who is stuck.

• Check practice work for completion, and give careful feedback on a few key pieces.
• Use quick checks at the end of lessons and sort them into three piles: got it, almost, not yet. You don't need to mark them.
• Use a rubric for writing and projects, so you mark against the same few things every time.
• Give feedback on one or two things per piece of work, not every error.
• Enter grades weekly on the same day, so they never pile up before a grading deadline.

The grade calculator turns a raw score into a percentage quickly, and a 3-2-1 exit slip gives you a fast read on a whole lesson without a pile to mark.

6 Families: start positive, keep records

Make your first contact with each family a positive one. A short note or message in the first two weeks, saying something specific their child did well, makes every later conversation easier, including the hard ones.

What to sayHi, this is Ms. Carter, your child's teacher. I just wanted to tell you that today she helped a new classmate find the lunch line without being asked. It was kind and it made his day. Have a good evening.

Use the communication channels your school approves, and keep a simple log of every contact: the date, who, how and what was said. If a concern grows, the log shows what you have already tried.

When you need to raise a problem, start with what you have seen, not a judgment, and ask for the family's help: "I've noticed he's had trouble starting his work after lunch. Have you seen anything like that at home? I'd like to work on it together." Bring your mentor or an administrator into any conversation that becomes heated.

A short weekly or monthly class newsletter answers most of the questions families would otherwise email you about one by one.

7 Colleagues, your mentor and asking for help

The people who help a first-year teacher most are often not the ones with the titles. The office staff know how everything works, the custodian can fix your room, and the teacher next door has solved most of the problems you are about to meet.

• Introduce yourself to the office staff, the custodian, the nurse and the librarian in the first week.
• Meet your mentor regularly, and bring one specific question each time.
• Ask to watch another teacher teach during your planning period. Ten minutes in a calm classroom teaches more than an hour of reading.
• Say yes to a few things that build relationships, and no to extra committees in your first year.
• Ask for help early. A problem raised in September is much easier to fix than one raised in December.

Keep a notebook of the things you learn the hard way: a lesson that flopped, a routine that worked, the name of the person who orders supplies. It becomes next year's plan.

8 Looking after yourself

First-year teaching is demanding. Expect some hard weeks, often once the novelty has worn off and the workload has peaked, and know that feeling worn out then is normal. It does get easier, mainly because the second time through, you have plans, routines and materials ready.

• Set a time you stop working each weeknight, and keep at least one day of the weekend free of schoolwork.
• Eat lunch, even if it's short, and drink water during the day.
• Leave school work at school one night a week, no matter what.
• Keep a folder of kind notes from students and families for hard days.
• Use a weekly teacher reflection on Friday: one thing that went well, one thing to change, and then close the notebook.

If you feel overwhelmed for more than a few days, tell your mentor or an administrator, and use the support your district offers its staff. Asking for help is part of the job, not a failure at it.