Summary:

Congrats! You just landed a new teaching job...but where to begin?! You're so excited to start, but it's still a couple months until you can really meet with your team or set up your room. Even if you aren't sure of the specifics quite yet, there are a few things you can think about that can help you feel ready once back to school hits.

1. Decide on your educational priorities:
   • What would people notice about how you teach and how your students learn?
   • What is the general "feel" of your classroom community and the learning that takes place there?
   • What pedagogical goals do you have for yourself this year?
2. Classroom functions:
   • What systems (organization, routines, procedures, pedagogical practices) will you need to have in place in order for your vision to become a success?
   • Brainstorm your systems with room for flexibility - things may need to shift a little once you actually get into your room or meet with your team!
3. Content "big ideas" overview:
   • Again, wait until you meet with your team to plan specifics, because they may have certain expectations or grade-level wide routines that you'll be expected to accommodate. But you can definitely start familiarizing yourself with the big ideas of your grade level or subject area content.
   • Use your state standards resources, grade level checklists from TPT (my favorite is linked below!), or the scope and sequence plans from your school's curriculum adoptions, if possible.

Links and resources:

• Get ready for first-year teacher success! Download my free ebook: New Teacher's Roadmap to Confidence and Growth
• Follow me on Instagram, where I'm sharing my process of starting in a new district, school, and grade level: @appleblossomteachers
• For current resources and updates, check out my website.
• Mentioned in this episode:
• Free grade level standards "cheat sheets" for grades K-5 ELA and Math
• Video recap of my planning process for these three steps
• Tell me where you're at in the process and how I can help on this post!
• I'm presenting on building positive relationships with students and their families at the Educators2Educators conference! (P.S. It's FREE!)
• I'm presenting on using simple robotics for content-area instruction and assessment at the Teach With Tech conference! (Under 40 bucks! That's not even half a tank of gas here in SoCal!! Yikes…)

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on any of the excitement coming your way this summer! I've got a great list of special guests and bonus episodes coming your way all summer long!

And, if you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a rating and a review so more teachers can find us. Thanks!