Your First Year
How to Survive and Thrive as a New Teacher

Learn all the essentials for making your first year of teaching a success! In this exciting new book, internationally renowned educator Todd Whitaker teams up with his daughters--Madeline, an elementary teacher, and Katherine, a secondary teacher--to share advice and inspiration. They offer step-by-step guidance to thriving in your new role and overcoming the challenges that many new teachers face. Topics include:

• Learning classroom management skills such as building relationships and maintaining high expectations and consistency
• Setting up your classroom and establishing procedures and rules
• Planning effective lessons and making your instructional time an engaging experience
• Managing your own emotions in the classroom and dealing effectively with misbehavior
• Working with peers, administrators, and parents to build support and foster collaboration

The book is filled with specific examples and vignettes from elementary, middle, and high school classes, so you?ll gain helpful strategies no matter what grade level and subject area you teach. You?ll also find out how to make tweaks or hit the "reset" button when something isn?t going as planned. Things may not always go perfectly your first year, but the practical advice in this book will help you stay motivated on the path to success!

Bonus: As you read the book, get even more out of it by discussing it with others. Free study guides for practicing teachers and student teachers are available as eResource downloads from our website (www.routledge.com/products/9781138126152).

eResources

Meet the Authors

The Most Special Profession

How to Use This Book

• Section 1: Before the Students Arrive: Structure, structure, structure








• Chapter One: Setting Up and Organizing Your Classroom








• Furniture





• Materials






• Chapter Two: Developing Your Procedures





• Chapter Three: Developing Your Rules





• Chapter Four: Classroom Management - Preparing Your Mindset








• Relationships





• High and Specific Expectations





• Consistency






• Chapter Five: When a student follows the rules...or doesn’t.





• Chapter Six: Lesson Planning and Instruction








• Lesson Planning - Down to the Minute





• Instruction - Focus on Engagement





• But what about curriculum?






• Section 2: The Students are here…now what?








• Chapter Seven: Explaining and Practicing Procedures





• Chapter Eight: Managing Your Classroom








• Managing Yourself





• Subtle Steering





• Direct Redirection





• Implementing Consequences





• Individual Case Study





• The What If Situations





• Repairing and Rebuilding






• Section 3: Working With Adults








• Chapter Nine: Working with Administrators








• Administrative Support






• Chapter Ten: Working with Peers








• Peer Support






• Chapter Eleven: The Empowerers








• The Empowerers and Navigating the Waters





• Finding Your Empowerer





• What About Everyone Else?






• Chapter Twelve: Don’t Be Afraid to Repair - Students, Co-workers, Principal





• Chapter Thirteen: Parents - Friend not Foe








• The Best They Know How





• Build Relationships Before You Need Relationships





• What do I Say When I Call a Parent?






• Section 4: Continuing to Reflect, Refine, and Grow on Your Journey








• Chapter Fourteen: Mid-flight Corrections








• Tweaking - Be Your Own Control Group





• The Reset Button






• Chapter Fifteen: Be a Sponge

Todd Whitaker is a professor of educational leadership at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. He is a leading presenter in the field of education and has written more than 40 books, including the national bestseller, What Great Teachers Do Differently.

Madeline Whitaker is an elementary school teacher in Springfield, Missouri.

Katherine Whitaker isa former middle school teacher who now teaches high school in Kansas City, Missouri.