This easy-to-use reference—with hundreds of helpful, classroom-tested answers, ideas, techniques, and teaching tools—will help you on your way to a successful and productive school year. Designed to be flexible, the book offers a choice of ideas and approaches that best fit your classroom situation. Master teacher Julia Thompson shows you how to:

• Develop successful relationships with students, colleagues, administrators, and parents
• Manage professional responsibilities and develop career skills
• Create an orderly classroom where students are courteous and respectful
• Motivate students to become independent learners
• Use proven strategies to prevent misbehavior
• Design instruction that will appeal to every student
• Set up a classroom for maximum comfort and learning
• Thrive in the world of high-stakes testing

About This Book xvii

About the Author xviii

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction 1

SECTION ONE BECOME A PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR 5

Chapter 1 Professional Development Begins with You 7

List 1-1: Be Guided by the Principles of Professionalism 8

List 1-2: What Is Expected of You 9

List 1-3: How to Take Charge of Your Career 10

List 1-4: Set Professional Goals with These Easy Steps 11

List 1-5: Develop a Professional Demeanor 12

List 1-6: Master These Important Workplace Skills 13

List 1-7: Manage Your Time Wisely with These Strategies 14

List 1-8: How to Use Best Practices in Your Classroom 15

List 1-9: Strategies to Help You Prepare for Evaluations 16

List 1-10: Learn to Weather Career Ups and Downs 17

List 1-11: How to Build Your Confidence 18

List 1-12: Reflection: The Key to Becoming a Successful Educator 19

Chapter 2 Learn to Work with Other Educators 21

List 2-1: Schools Require Teamwork 22

List 2-2: Tips on Cultivating Professional Relationships 23

List 2-3: How to Fit In at School 24

List 2-4: Successful On-the-Job Communication Skills 25

List 2-5: Professional Courtesy 26

List 2-6: Suggestions for Working Well with Your Supervisors 27

List 2-7: Guidelines to Help You Develop Productive Relationships with Mentors  28

List 2-8: Work in Partnership with Substitute Teachers 29

List 2-9: How to Deal with the Demands of Your Colleagues 30

List 2-10: Dealing with Difficult Colleagues 31

List 2-11: Join Other Educators in Online Learning Communities 32

Chapter 3 Create a Link Between Home and School 33

List 3-1: Benefits of a Positive Relationship with Parents or Guardians 34

List 3-2: Questions You Should Ask Your Students’ Parents 35

List 3-3: What Parents Expect of  Their Child’s Teacher 36

List 3-4: Tips on Establishing Productive School-Home Relationships 37

List 3-5: How to Make Constructive Home Contacts 38

List 3-6: Strategies for Managing Formal Parent Conferences Successfully 39

List 3-7: How to Handle Conf licts with Parents or Guardians 40

List 3-8: Courteous Interactions with Non-Nuclear Families 41

List 3-9: How to Manage Student Information 42

SECTION TWO CREATE A POSITIVE CLASS CULTURE 43

Chapter 4 Make Your Classroom a Productive Learning Environment 45

List 4-1: The Essentials of a Productive Learning Environment 46

List 4-2: The First Step: Evaluate the Room 47

List 4-3: Create a Safe Classroom 48

List 4-4: Arrange Your Classroom for Learning 49

List 4-5: Create Effective Seating Arrangements 50

List 4-6: How to Organize Your Own Work Area 51

List 4-7: Make Your Classroom Greener by Using Paper Wisely 52

List 4-8: Basic Teaching Supplies and Professional Documents You’ll Need 53

List 4-9: Create a Student-Centered Environment 54

List 4-10: Inexpensive Bulletin Board Materials 55

List 4-11: Don’t Just Decorate, Instruct! 56

List 4-12: Display Student Work 57

Chapter 5 Forge Positive Relationships with Students 59

List 5-1: Characteristics of an Appropriate Teacher-Student Relationship 60

List 5-2: What Students Expect of You 61

List 5-3: The Greatest Gift: High Expectations 62

List 5-4: Tips to Help You Gather Information About Your Students 63

List 5-5: Respect Your Students’ Dignity 64

List 5-6: Strategies to Help Students Who Are Reluctant Learners 65

List 5-7: Strategies to Help Students with Special Needs 66

List 5-8: Strategies to Help Students with Attention Disorders 67

List 5-9: Teach Good Citizenship 68

List 5-10: Strategies to Make Every Child Feel Valuable 69

Chapter 6 Create Opportunities for Student Success 71

List 6-1: The Principles of Motivation 72

List 6-2: Positive Teacher Attitudes That Create Student Success 73

List 6-3: Questions to Help You Provide Opportunities for Success 74

List 6-4: Questions to Help You Provide Opportunities for Enjoyment 75

List 6-5: Questions to Help You Provide Opportunities for Students to Feel a Sense of Belonging 76

List 6-6: Quick and Easy Motivation Strategies 77

List 6-7: Suggestions on Using Rewards and Praise Effectively 78

List 6-8: Appealing Tangible Rewards 79

List 6-9: How to Encourage Your Students 80

List 6-10: Suggestions for Incorporating Intrinsic Motivation in Instruction 81

Chapter 7 Take a Proactive Stance to Prevent Misbehavior 83

List 7-1: Be Prepared: Know Why Students Misbehave 84

List 7-2: Prevent Misbehavior with These Common sense Strategies 85

List 7-3: Avoid These Discipline Mistakes 86

List 7-4: Support Student Self-Management 87

List 7-5: Make Things Run Smoothly with Classroom Procedures 88

List 7-6: Enforce Your School’s Code of Conduct 90

List 7-7: Create and Teach Classroom Rules 91

List 7-8: Strategies to Help You Enforce Classroom Rules 92

List 7-9: Strategies to Help You Monitor Student Behavior 93

List 7-10: How to Redirect Students Who Are Off Task 94

List 7-11: Strategies to Prevent Cheating 95

List 7-12: Strategies for Creating Successful Seating Charts 96

List 7-13: Help Students Make Successful Transitions 97

List 7-14: How to Have Fun with Your Students 98

Chapter 8 Minimize Disruptions Caused by Misbehavior 99

List 8-1: Sound Discipline Principles 100

List 8-2: Misbehaviors You Should Handle Yourself 101

List 8-3: Don’t Punish; Solve the Problem Instead 102

List 8-4: General Strategies to Minimize Disruptions 103

List 8-5: Be Alert to the Potential for Violence 104

List 8-6: How to Respond When Students Fight 105

List 8-7: How to Refer Students to an Administrator 106

List 8-8: Control Your Reactions When Students Misbehave 107

List 8-9: Questions to Ask Yourself When Students Misbehave 108

SECTION THREE BE A DYNAMIC TEACHER 109

Chapter 9 Plan Effective Instruction 111

List 9-1: Your Goal: An Active Learning Community 112

List 9-2: Steps in Planning Instruction 113

List 9-3: How to Create Unit Plans 114

List 9-4: How to Create Daily Plans 115

List 9-5: How to Assess Your Students’ Prior Knowledge 116

List 9-6: Adapt Instruction to Meet the Needs of All Learners 117

List 9-7: Create Enduring Understanding with Essential Questions 118

List 9-8: Include Activities That Will Appeal to Your  Students 119

List 9-9: Use Resources That Take Students Beyond the Text 121

List 9-10: How to Plan for Nontraditional Schedules 122

List 9-11: How to Create Backup Plans 123

List 9-12: How to Adapt Lessons for Less- Proficient Learners 124

Chapter 10 Deliver Effective Instruction 125

List 10-1: Your Enthusiasm Creates Students’ Success 126

List 10-2: Strategies to Help Make Instruction Relevant 127

List 10-3: How to Build Background Knowledge 128

List 10-4: Incorporate High-Level Thinking Skills 129

List 10-5: Gear Your Instruction to Students’ Preferred Learning Styles 130

List 10-6: Suggestions on How to Use Technology for Instruction 131

List 10-7: Tips on Making Effective Electronic Presentations 132

List 10-8: Tips on Making Interesting Presentations 133

List 10-9: How to Make Your Handouts Appealing 134

List 10-10: How to Prepare for Traditional Field Trips 135

List 10-11: Virtual Field Trips 136

List 10-12: Tips on Making Homework a Success 138

List 10-13: Tips on Using Collaborative Activities in Class 139

List 10-14: How to Help Groups Control Their Noise Levels 141

List 10-15: Strategies for Using Games to Help Students Learn 142

List 10-16: Ask Questions the Right Way 143

List 10-17: Strategies to Focus Attention at the Start of Class 144

List 10-18: Use the End of Class to Reinforce Learning 145

List 10-19: Strategies for Increasing Students’ Retention Through Review 146

List 10-20: Promote Academic Success by Teaching Study Skills 147

List 10-21: Create Helpful Study Guides 148

Chapter 11 Assess Your Students’ Progress 149

List 11-1: Types and Purposes of Assessments 150

List 11-2: Alternative Assessments 151

List 11-3: How to Manage Portfolios 152

List 11-4: How to Create Beneficial Tests 153

List 11-5: Traditional Question Types 154

List 11-6: The Versatile Multiple-Choice Question 155

List 11-7: What to Do If Many Students Fail a Test 156

List 11-8: Constant Informal Assessment 157

List 11-9: How to Give Constructive Feedback 158

List 11-10: Strategies for Student Success on Standardized Tests 159

List 11-11: Attitudes That Will Help You Keep Testing in Perspective 160

List 11-12: Keeping Up with Grading Paperwork 161

SECTION FOUR LOOK TO THE FUTURE 163

Chapter 12 Twenty-First Century Issues for All Teachers 165

List 12-1: Education of Students Who Are Not Native Speakers of English 166

List 12-2: Growing Concern over Literacy 167

List 12-3: The No Child Left Behind Act 168

List 12-4: Project-Based Learning 169

List 12-5: Laptops for All 170

List 12-6: The Internet as a Teaching Resource 171

List 12-7: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences 173

List 12-8: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards 174

List 12-9: The Theory of Constructivism 175

List 12-10: Proliferation of Gangs 176

List 12-11: Response to Intervention: Early Identification and Assistance for Students with Learning Difficulties 177

SECTION FIVE HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS 179

Chapter 13 Resources to Help You Become a Better Teacher 181

List 13-1: Professional Organizations for Teachers 182

List 13-2: Resources on Classroom Management and Discipline 183

List 13-3: Resources to Help with Teaching, Instruction, and Lesson Planning 184

List 13-4: Resources on Assessment 187

List 13-5: Resources to Help with Time Management, Organization, and Workplace Skills 188

List 13-6: Resources to Help You Work Well with Others 189

List 13-7: Resources for Classroom Arrangement and Decoration 190

Chapter 14 Resources to Help You Work with Students 191

List 14-1: Resources to Help You Connect with Your Students 192

List 14-2: Resources on Helping Students with Special Needs 193

List 14-3: Resources on Improving Student Literacy 195

Index 197