First-Year Teacher Must-Haves for the School Year

‍Michelle Cummings is the chief academic officer (CAO) at Brisk Teaching. She is author of The First-Year Teacher’s Survival Guide, 5th Edition published by Jossey-Bass. Michelle served as the CAO at Teachers Pay Teachers and has extensive experience in education as a teacher and administrator. Michelle graduated from Brown University and earned her Ed.M at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

‍

‍

Welcome to your first year of teaching – what a great choice of professions! Understandably, teachers anticipate the new school year with equal amounts of excitement and anxiety. Each day teachers change the world, one student and one class at a time. When working with students, it’s guaranteed that something will make you smile and laugh every day. Teaching can also be very challenging.

First-year teacher must-haves include tools, strategies, and resources that make this journey more manageable and enjoyable. Here are three crucial goals for the first weeks of the school:

1. Create community
2. Engage students
3. Practice self-care

By using these strategies and Brisk Teaching tools, you can start the year strong, improve student learning, and feel more confident as you launch your career. These are among the most essential first-year teacher must-haves to ensure your success.

‍

Create community

Getting to know your students (their names, home situations, interests, as well as their academic and behavioral needs) is vital to creating a healthy classroom community. Before school begins, you may want to:

• Start learning students’ names and correct pronunciations from class lists.
• Write a letter home to introduce yourself and the exciting year ahead to your students and their families or caregivers. Make sure it’s written in English as well as the student’s home language.
• Connect with students and their families. Some schools host an open house, but many teachers invite students and their families to a quick Zoom call or to drop by in-person during a specific window while they’re setting up the classroom.

‍

Managing all of this at one time can be overwhelming! But you don't have to do it all - let Brisk do the heavy lifting. Brisk can draft letters, emails, newsletters, and other messages for you. Here’s how: 

1. Simply open a blank Google doc
2. Click on the Brisk icon in the bottom right corner of your screen.
3. Click ‘Create’. 
4. Click ‘Email’ or ‘Newsletter’ or ‘Something Else. 
5. In the text box, add relevant details.
6. Click ‘Brisk It’.

Once Brisk creates your draft, you have the option to request revisions or translations. Make sure you read the document and revise it for accuracy and to make sure it communicates what you want to convey in your own unique voice.

‍

In the first days of school, you’ll want to help students connect with each other through age-appropriate team-building activities. Whether it’s a name game or a Four Corners activity, Brisk can assist you with brainstorming activities and creating lesson plans for the ones that meet your needs. Here’s how: 

1. Simply open a blank Google doc.
2. Click on the Brisk icon in the bottom right corner of your screen.
3. Click ‘Create’.
4. Click ‘Something Else’. 
5. In the text box, add relevant details to brainstorm team-building suggestions.
6. Click ‘Brisk It’.

Sample prompt to type in the text box: “Brainstorm 5 team-building activities for my {grade} grade class. My students like {specific interests or needs}. My students are {any notable classroom dynamics}, so I need activities that will help them to build trust with each other."

From the options Brisk brainstormed for you, select your favorite team-building activity and then

1. Keep the same Google doc open.
2. Click on the Brisk icon in the bottom right corner.
3. Click ‘Create’. 
4. Click ‘Lesson Plan’.
5. Type in the text box: ”Create a lesson plan based on the (name of the team-building activity).”
6. Select grade level and the lesson duration.
7. Click ‘Brisk It’. 
8. Review and revise the lesson plan to make it your own.

The time and energy you put into building relationships with students, families, and caregivers before school begins and throughout the year will boost student learning and behavior all year long. This is one of the top first-year teacher must-haves for a successful school year.

‍

Engage students

In addition to knowing a teacher cares about them, one of the most crucial factors in student success is a teacher who facilitates inspiring lessons, has high expectations for student performance, and provides high levels of support for student learning and behavior.

In the first weeks of school, you will:

• Engage students in back-to-school writing activities. This serves many purposes. It allows you to assess your students’ knowledge and skills and helps you learn more about who they are as individuals. For example, an elementary teacher may ask students to describe a highlight from their summer. Science teachers might check students’ understanding of a concept like the water cycle. Math teachers may provide a real-life math problem for students to solve and ask them to explain how they reached their answer.
• Teachers at any grade level may ask students to answer the question, “What do I need to know to be a great teacher for you?”

‍

When you ask students to submit writing that requires feedback, Brisk can recommend timely, specific feedback based on state standards or your uploaded scoring guide. Here’s how:

1. Open the student’s writing in a Google doc.
2. Click on the Brisk icon in the bottom right corner.
3. Click ‘Give Feedback’.
4. Select the feedback style.
5. In the text box, add relevant details.
6. Upload a rubric or select state standards. 
7. Select grade level.
8. Click ‘Brisk It’.

Teachers remain in control of the feedback loop. Students will only see feedback that is reviewed, revised, or approved by a teacher.

‍

Rather than posting a set of class rules that you created, activate student voice and agency by co-creating classroom agreements and establishing routines with your students. This process is made significantly easier with Brisk. Here’s how: 

1. Start with a blank Google doc.
2. Click on the Brisk icon in the bottom right corner.
3. Click ‘Create’.
4. Click ‘Lesson Plan’.
5. In the text box, add relevant details.
6. Select grade level and select lesson duration.
7. Click ‘Brisk It’.
8. As always, review and revise the lesson plan to make it your own.

Engaging lessons, active learning, and timely feedback inspire students on their learning journey. With Brisk’s AI extension, teachers have an assistant to quickly develop high-quality lessons, allowing teachers to focus more on direct interactions with students. This makes Brisk one of the most valuable first-year teacher must-haves.

‍

Practice self-care

Developing relationships, designing and facilitating learning, and providing feedback on student work takes a lot of time. Teaching is exhilarating and also demanding. It will fill all the hours of your days, nights, and weekends that you give it. The first year is particularly challenging as everything is new and each decision and task takes more time than it will when you have more experience.

Colleagues, mentors, administrators, family, and friends will care about you and support you through this difficult first year. However, you and only you can develop self-care habits that allow you to not simply survive but thrive as a teacher. Just as you build classroom procedures, you will need to establish personal routines to support your mental, physical, and social health.

Mental Health 

• Start by setting boundaries so that you don’t overcommit. Some teachers find it helpful to block time on their calendars for their professional and personal priorities. 
• Set a professional out-of-office message for evenings and weekends in all the portals where you might receive messages. 
• Learn lots of ways to say “No,” politely. “I would love to, but I’m so busy, I don’t think I will be able to follow through with that.” 

Physical Health 

• Say yes, to rest. Establish a sleep routine and stick to it. 
• Hydrate. Find a water bottle you love and drink water throughout the day. 
• Plan your meals ahead of time so that you have a delicious lunch and snacks every day at school. You may need to include breakfast too. 
• Move your body daily in whatever way makes sense for you. 

Social Health 

• Protect time for family and friends. 
• Explore your outside interests and hobbies. 
• Develop a supportive professional learning network and collaborate with colleagues often.

Practicing self-care is not selfish; it makes you a better teacher for your students. You will improve your quality of life and reduce the risk of burnout significantly. You, your students, friends, family, and the profession will all win when you make a commitment to your well-being. Among the first-year teacher must-haves, prioritizing self-care is key to thriving in your new career.

The first year of teaching is an exhilarating and sometimes daunting time in your career. It’s thrilling to set up your first classroom and develop lesson plans. Reaching and teaching each student in your classroom requires resourcefulness and resilience.

With Brisk Teaching tools as your AI collaborators, creating community, engaging students, and practicing self-care has never been easier or less time-consuming. Welcome to the profession and have a rewarding first year.

First-year teachers, take your teaching to the next level with Brisk Educator Pro for FREE! Install the extension here to get started.