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Will Gourley Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, General, Questioning

Waiting is worth its weight.

I wanted to share a post about the joys of waiting.

No it is not Health curriculum based so uncover your eyes and read on.
It might be worth the…time spent before something happens.
Ha! You thought I was going to write the word ‘wait’ there.
Dang it! I just did.

In the Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s song The Waiting the chorus goes, “the waiting is the hardest part” and in the classroom it is no different for teachers.

There are a lot concepts to cover. There are a lot of assessments (for, as, and of learning) to record. And yes, there are a lot of students to teach. One thing there does not seem to be enough of is time. So in an average, active modern learning environment, there is little time left to permit students to engage in anything but what Daniel Kahneman refers to as System 1 Thinking. Yet, what we need to be doing, more than ever, is allowing our students and ourselves to engage in System 2 Thinking.

Here’s a graphic comparing the two. Click to enlarge.

Thinking-Fast-and-Slow

Understanding and implementing think or wait time in my classroom has changed the dynamics of learning for my students. It is no longer a contest to see whose hands can defy gravity the fastest or longest. It has increased the number of participants and ideas shared. It has deepened our discussions in many subject areas such as Science, Social Studies, and Literacy.

For my part, questions are crafted, whenever possible, that require the awkward silences achieved while learning and thinking beyond automatic or immediate responses. Letting students know before they respond that no hands will be acknowledged until think time has happened for the entire class has helped transition my instruction.

What about Math? Yes, even Math. Here’s an example to support think/wait time in Math from Kahneman’s book Thinking Fast and Slow that I share with students and adults alike:

A ball and a bat cost $1.10.
The bat costs $1 more than the ball.
How much does ball cost?

According to the book most people get this question wrong because they are engaging the wrong system of thinking. I did. So how can we as educators afford more think/wait time in all of our classrooms?

My suggestion is to slowly integrate it into your daily instructional routines. Be intentional with a few questions in specific subject areas to start. Be patient. The silence can be deafening at the start, but is worth it.

Want to know the answer to the bat and ball question?
Take your time. You’ll get it. It’s worth the wait.

 

Beverly Papove Inquiry

I know and I wonder…

Coming back after the holidays meant jumping into high gear, getting report cards ready and pulling together a winter inquiry with the SKs…still haven’t quite finished either, but regardless of how overwhelmed I may feel, the work always gets done. Although I dream of being organized and efficient in my career, at this point my work ethic is a little more like; procrastination/panic/pull-all-nighters and then I can relax. Not very professional, maybe, but I am so relieved when I hear of colleagues who work in much the same manner. I’ll be better next year.

In both of the classrooms I teach, I dedicated an area on the whiteboards to our winter inquiry. To make it a little more interesting and easier to see the information and the work the students produce, I covered the area with cobalt blue bristol board and delineated three sections as a giant KWL (I KNOW, I WONDER, I have LEARNED) in English and French (Je SAIS, Je me DEMANDE, J’ai APPRIS). This is how far I have gotten with the inquiry so far;

I KNOW/Je SAIS

The students brainstormed what they knew about winter. Most of what they mentioned involved plants dying, and animals, particularly bears, hibernating. In one class, I collected their ideas and wrote them in a winter web on chart paper, while in the other class, I asked the students to write their ideas themselves (using inventive spelling) on a strip of cardstock. I am not sure which method I prefer. Regardless of the fact that one process is faster and the other is more authentic, I feel that in both cases, the students benefitted from the discussion we had just prior to writing.

I WONDER/Je me DEMANDE

Our team found books such as, “What happens in Winter?”, “Who lives in the Arctic?”, and “Grandmother Winter”, that highlighted the cooling and darkening of the Earth and the variety of ways all creatures find ways to stay warm at this time. My English counterpart read a beautiful book called, “Ben and Nuki Discover Polar Bears” by Michelle Valberg, which is a wonderful story of two boys – one from a big city in ‘the south’, the other from a village in the far north – who learn about polar bears as well as each other’s cultures.  As a provocation about polar bears and life in the arctic, it was a fantastic launch. As a result, the Wonder Wall quickly filled up with questions about animals who don’t hibernate in winter when we had assumed that they ALL do (“What do seals do in the winter?”), and about the people who live in a climate which is wintery for a much longer period of time than what we experience here in ‘the south’. The students asked questions such as, “How do they get their food?”, “What do they make their clothes out of?”, “What is fur made of?”, and, “How do they build an igloo?”. The students wrote their questions during our Writer’s Workshop period, always using inventive spelling when they were not sure of how to write a word, then they would share their question and the drawing they had done to accompany it, with me or with our ECE. We got a fine collection and were really able to see where their questions were going and how deeply the students were connecting with the topic as this helped determine whether we needed to find different ways to engage them. 

The drawings and questions have now been posted on the bulletin board for all to see and to help guide the students’ inquiry. Stay tuned for the grand finale of our winter inquiry learning journey.

 

Tisha Nelson Celebrating Success, Combined Grade Classes, English Language Learners (ELLs), General, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Integration, Math

The Music of Math

I secretly want to be a conductor of a large musical ensemble. My visits to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra always reignites my passion for music and I will always catch myself using my hands and body to dance with the beautiful arrangements of the melodious notes. However, one small obstacle has barred me from realizing this dream: I have not yet been able to master any instruments much less lead a body of musicians. Sigh! Nonetheless, being a teacher gives me the opportunity to integrate many of my passions into my classroom practice. As such, my love of teaching and my dream of conducting an orchestra have a place to collide. My class call signal – teacher: “Bah dah bump bah dah dah…” students: “Hey!” – can seem to go on for hours as I engage my students in various melodious versions of the common tune. Needless to say, I can totally get lost in the call and response clap patterns that allow me to use my hands as if they were conducting an orchestra, pulling out the very beat of each note value as students respond with the exact arrangement of claps. Each time I am left invigorated and excited and my students love it. These sessions often end up with smiles and laughter in our classroom, opposite to the quiet tone I originally was trying to achieve.

This year I teach math to Primary, Junior and Intermediate students. Math and music have long enjoyed a harmonious marriage with the plethora of interconnected concepts that can be explored simultaneously. This year in my Grade 3/4 math class, we had the opportunity to embrace this fusion. We have been exploring geometry concepts by naming, sorting and identifying characteristics of polygons. This aspect of geometry is extremely language-rich and I needed a way to solidify the students’ conceptual understanding of the principles of geometry while not losing my students in the barrage of its discourse. So we decided to accent our learning by capturing it in a song.

I invited my class to decide on a familiar tune that we could arrange our lyrics to fit. Hot Line Bling and Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) were among the tunes that were suggested, but didn’t make the cut. We opted to use the infamous Mary Had A Little Lamb as our melody base since it offered a simple structure for the type of song that we wanted to construct. We then brainstormed all of the ideas we had learned up to that point in our polygon journey. These were written on the board and were the ‘meat and potatoes’ of our song. Then the creative juices began to flow. Each aspect of our learning was written as a verse in our song. We had to be creative with our word choices and syncopation, as we had more to say than the structure of our tune would allow. So once the lyrics were written, the music teacher and I collaborated to hash out the note values of our song. Ta-dah! Music literally met math. Coupled with this, Mary Had A Little Lamb just happened to be the song that my students just finished learning to play on their recorders. Bazinga! Music met math again. And guess who got to direct this beautiful masterpiece?… ME!

File_000 (1)

So what’s my point? Learning is awesome! No really – when a passion for teaching meets willingness to embrace creativity, amazingness happens. Children learn and teachers have fun. Being authentically excited about what you do is an important ingredient to any meaningful experience and the polygon song is such an experience which I hope my students will never forget. Because of this, neither will the concepts be lost. As for me, my dream will continue to grow. Who knows what else I might try? I’ve secretly wanted to be an opera singer…

Tammy Axt General

Music Report Card Comments

Today’s blog is a simple one. Below are a variety of comments that I have used for reporting to parents over the past couple of years. The shorter comments are for the progress reports and the longer comments are for report cards. Hopefully, these comments can be a starting point for those of you who teach their own music. The framework should allow you to individualize them to your own students and school. If you have any great comments that you would like to share, please leave a comment below.

($=child’s name, @@=He/She @=he/she #=his/her)

Grade One

$ is able to sing and sign simple melodic patterns in tune, using the pitches, mi, so and la.

$ created and performed an accompaniment for the story ‘The Tulip Bulb’. @@ demonstrated an understanding that sounds can be represented by symbols by reading cards with pictures on them while clapping the rhythm of the words.

$ showed that @ can apply the steps needed to learn songs. @@ moved and sang songs with fast and slow tempi such as “Rig a Jig Jig” and “Downright Upright”.

$ applied the elements of music when singing, playing and moving.

$ demonstrated the ability to identify sounds of higher and lower pitches by performing the song ‘As I Went Out To Play’. $ expressed # feelings about an African music performance.

Grade Two

$ classified instruments by listening to their sound. @@ created and played an eight beat rhythm as an accompaniment for the story ‘Percussionville’.

$ showed that @ can apply the steps needed to compose simple songs. @@ used proper technique when playing simple accompaniments on the xylophones.

Through the study of the piece ‘Carnival Of The Animals’, $ was able to classify instruments by listening to their sounds. @@ demonstrated an understanding that symbols can be used to represent sound.

$ demonstrated an understanding of pitch and musicality by expressively moving # body to the sound of a slide whistle and copying it with # voice. @@ played the accompaniment for the song The Teeny Tiny Woman on the xylophone with proper playing technique.

$ demonstrated the ability to sing unison songs in tune and play simple accompaniments.

$ is able to name many instruments and classify them by listening to their sound. @@ demonstrates an understanding that standard rhythmic symbols represent specific note values.

Grade Three

$ is able to describe some examples in which the elements of music are used in the music @ performs, listens to and creates.

$ demonstrated the ability to sing, in tune, unison songs, partner songs and rounds.

$ showed that @ can apply the steps needed to learn to play and appreciate music. @@ performed the Japanese song “Kaeru” in unison and in a round.

$ sang the song Little Boat So White in tune, with musical expression, and played an accompaniment for it on the xylophone with proper playing technique. @@ composed and performed a 4-beat rhythm pattern that created a B section of an ABA form based on the poem Breakfast Time.

Through the study of the musical tale ‘Peter And The Wolf, $ was able to describe several examples in which the elements of music are used to create a specific mood. @@ identified ways in which music is used in a variety of communities.

$ performed movements and rhythms in 3/4 time. @@ identified and described ways in which music can be used in # community. @@ described ways in which the elements of music are used through the study of the piece Peter And The Wolf.

$ used good technique when learning to play “Pachelbel’s Canon” on the xylophone. @@ responded to a performance by the Canadian Opera Company.

Grade Four

$ showed that @ can apply the steps needed to learn to play and to appreciate music. @@ composed and performed a variation of Hot Cross Buns on the recorder.

$ demonstrated an understanding of musical signs and standard notation on the five-line staff by playing a piece of music on the recorder. @@ applied the elements of music when singing and playing instruments.

$ demonstrated an understanding of musical signs and standard notation on the five-line staff by reading a simple piece and playing it on the recorder. @@ responded to a performance by the Canadian Opera Company.

$ demonstrated an understanding of musical signs and standard notation on the five-line staff by reading a simple piece and playing it on the recorder. @@ was able to identify the use of music in communities today and in the past.

$ demonstrated an understanding of musical signs and standard notation on the five-line staff while playing the recorder. @@ created and performed melodies on the xylophone in both major and minor tonalities.

$ used the tools and techniques of musicianship when learning a song on the recorder.

$ used the tools and techniques of musicianship when performing the songs “Hello Everybody” and “I Like Singing”.

Grade Five

$ identified the elements of music in a classical piece and described how they were used. @@ prepared a presentation for the junior concert using the techniques of musicianship.

$ created a musical composition that used body percussion, instruments and voice. @@ used the tools and techniques of musicianship in the performance of “Little Tommy Tinker” and recorder duets.

$ created and performed an eight beat rhythm using quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes and sixteenth note and eighth notes combinations. @@ applied the elements of music when playing and composing music to create a specific effect.

$ showed that @ can apply the steps needed to learn to play and to appreciate music. @@ used proper playing and singing technique and showed creativity when developing # own rhythmic patterns.

$ applied the elements of music when singing, playing, composing and arranging music.

$ is able to demonstrate an understanding of basic harmony by composing a short piece of music based on the notes of specific chords. @@ is able to perform a piece on the recorder in 6/8 time signature with consistent rhythmic

$ created and performed a rhythmic composition that included sixteenth notes. @@ demonstrated an understanding of 6/8 time signature, clefs, and standard notation by performing the song ‘Millions of Cats’ on the recorder.

Beverly Papove Building Inclusion, Inquiry, Wellness

This is who I am

Through the winter inquiry my senior kindergarten students and I are involved in at the moment, I have recently been reminded of the importance of seizing opportunities for students that can spark a sense of self and place within the school setting. 

In one of our classes, we have a five-year old Inuk girl who is from Pangnirtung (on Baffin Island), and who was adopted by a family from the south. When we began talking about how people stay warm in the winter, her mother spoke to me of an opportunity for her daughter to bring in and share some of the clothing she has received from her family in Pangnirtung; a spring amauti (anorak), sealskin slippers and mittens, and a pair of sealskin kamik (boots).

Elisapie (not her real name) is a quiet student who plays happily with her friends and who engages in a variety of activities and learning opportunities during her school day without making a big splash. However, since beginning this journey of exploring the wonders of the north with her classmates and her unique connection to it, Elisapie has become a bit of a superstar. She is definitely proud of her uniqueness and this inquiry seems to have offered her an opportunity to step up and claim a place which is her own within the school setting. We have all noticed how she has become more engaged in class – asking where her amauti is every morning and wanting to put it on to go visit other classrooms in the school to show and tell all about it. When one classmate came back to school after an absence, Elisapie said, “I have to show her my amauti and slippers. When can I do that?” I am finding I occasionally need to open a window to get some cool, fresh air in the classroom before her cheeks start to glow red (sealskin is very warm), because she likes to wear them during centre time now. According to her mother, Elisapie talks more about her school day when she goes home in the afternoon, and also mentioned that Elisapie is showing an interest in going to Inuktitut classes to begin learning her language again. In class the other day, Elisapie and two of her best friends took an Inuktitut early reader from the class library and used it to write a message in Inuktitut. It is a collection of words that no one can read at this point, but it is definitely an exercise in writing in Inuktitut.

Because of the nature of inquiry, you never know where it will take you and your students. While our winter inquiry is not quite finished, I am very inspired by the learning journey and where it has taken Elisapie in particular and the whole class in general.

We may all have taken workshops on diversity and inclusion which remind us how representation in a school of every child’s culture and people can have a positive impact on their sense of self and place. As teachers, we understand that learning in a school and seeing people and images that, for a change, are familiar rather than largely representative of the dominant white culture, is not only important but imperative for a child’s well-being. None the less, seeing the world from the unique perspective of all of your students may be hard to consider. Furthermore, if you find that each of your students seems relatively well-integrated and engaged in school life, you may not seize on opportunities that may make their school experience even more worthwhile and personal. That is why I feel that workshops, books, and discussions which encourage you to make diversity and inclusion regular aspects of your teaching day are invaluable to individual students as well as the broader school community.

 

Mental Health in the Staffroom
Will Gourley Challenging Topics, General, Mental Health, Wellness

Mental Health in the Staffroom

Maybe you’ve seen this intro before?
You are reading a different post.
Read on and you’ll understand.

Here’s a snippet from casual conversations playing out in school hallways everywhere.
Pick the one’s you’ve used or heard before.

“How are you? How’s it going? What’s up? How’s it?”

“Good. Great. All good here. Meh. No problems. Busy. So busy. Not too bad. OK. Top of the world ma!”

What would we do if the person speaking said, “I am having the worst day of my life. I don’t know if I can keep this up? I need help.” Would we pull out the motivational clichés, tell the person to toughen up, or just walk away after saying, “I hope you’re OK?”

How are you dealing with issues like this in your classroom? Do you feel overwhelmed yourself? Do you have a colleague or a place to go when you need support? Would you go? Ask for help? Are you running on empty?

Part of keeping your heart in tact while you practice this art comes from protecting your own state of mind. Students are not the only ones with feelings of anxiety, self-doubt, and depression. In some cases, when surveyed, teachers have noted feeling excluded in their own staff rooms, or that they struggling with so many things at once. Here are some excerpts from the ETFO web page Depression – It’s More Common Than You Think

Key Causes of Teacher Stress

Working conditions, such as the following, may make teachers particularly vulnerable to depression:

  • Long working hours.
  • Lack of administrative support.
  • Excessive workload.
  • Large class sizes.
  • Lack of specialist teachers.
  • Unreasonable expectations.
  • Lack of necessary supports to do the job.

Thankfully there is help available, but it takes time, education, courage, and a supportive environment to work.

“Prolonged exposure to stress can cause serious health issues. Making a few, simple, lifestyle changes can reduce your stress level and lower your risk of depression. Protect yourself by:

  • taking control of your life, setting achievable goals at work and at home, and being realistic about what you can accomplish.
  • making time for relationships and taking time to connect with family and friends. A strong support network makes stress easier to manage.
  • eating a healthy, balanced diet to maintain good mental and physical health.
  • exercising regularly.  Even a 10-minute walk, three times a day, reduces stress and relieves symptoms of depression.” via ETFO web page Depression – It’s More Common Than You Think

As Winter days at school become more hectic, we need to be able to see the light from one another while we wait for the sunshine of Spring and Summer to warm us. Talk to someone, reach out, get involved in something where you can contribute, and be valued for your awesomeness. Take time to share some words of encouragement or conversation with each other. Perhaps, including the OTs at your lunch table when you can. It may make a world of difference for them and for you too.

Join a Twitter PLN like #TLAP, #CDNEdChat, #NTChat, #TEDEdChat, or #EdChat. You’ll find thousands of engaged and thoughtful educators sharing your journey.

For more information about Mental Health Issues please visit CAMH.

Tisha Nelson Assessment, General

Product or Process: Reflections on Assessing Thinking

What’s the difference between thinking and understanding? More specifically, how might one distinguish between the activity of thinking and having understanding. Is there even a difference? This got me thinking… How I might invite educators to a conversation about assessment practices using a common understanding of assessment through the lens of Ontario’s standardized assessment rubric, The Achievement Chart. Most of the assessment resources that I usually refer to spoke more about the assessment process and the importance of assessment as, for and of learning, but seldom did I find any descriptions that were specific to using the Achievement Chart as the standard lens for engaging in the assessment of student learning itself. My investigation then lead me to the most basic of resources for determining distinction – the dictionary. Well to be honest, I simply Googled it, but these days, that’s pretty much the same thing. So what did I find out? The word think is a verb. It speaks to the process of using one’s mind to reason about something. On the other hand, understanding is a noun. Is speaks to what one comprehends or the insight one has acquired.

To be fair, simply reading the introduction of any Ontario Curriculum document would immediately highlight this distinction. What I wanted was to first get an unbiased definition that would then be solidified once I referred to the definitions used in the documents. According to the curriculum, language around understanding speaks of having comprehension in subject specific content. Thinking, however, speaks of the uses of planning skills and thinking processes. Eureka! So assessing thinking is actually assessing the process – the series of actions or steps taken. This was the pivotal distinction: The achievement chart calls for teachers to assess the process of thinking and not merely the thought or understanding one arrives at itself.

This revelation may not be new, but surely one that we should be reminded about. We are constantly engaging in the assessment process, however, this conversation (or me at least) highlighted the importance of being more intentional and slowing down the thinking process by scaffolding metacognition. By doing so, students can be more aware of their own thinking when it is happening and demonstrate the process they’ve engaged with when they arrive at their own understanding. This also reminded me of the importance to focus on process as well as product when assessing student learning and as such, the importance of actually teaching students a variety of thinking processes (i.e. creative thinking, critical thinking, design thinking, integrative thinking, etc.). What might this actually look like in terms of assessing student thinking? Perhaps it would be focusing on the process students engage with for writing an essay (ie. the writing process) along with the finished process. It might also mean assessing students strategies for problem solving, in addition to the accuracy of their answers. The most important thing to be mindful of is to value the distinction between engaging in thinking and having an understanding. They are not diametrically opposed, but rather are complementary and in knowing so, students can then be invited to see the distinction which will affirm the importance that is placed on both the process and the product.

Mike Beetham Classroom Management, Combined Grade Classes, Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs

Brain Shifts

Have you ever been on a very long car ride and just as you think you are not able to continue you come upon a service center? Within 10 minutes of having a change of state, you eagerly hop back into your vehicle and are ready to go for several more hours. The same is true for students. By allowing short (1-2 minute breaks) you help energize the students to continue on with their learning, fully engaged.

I call these breaks ‘Brain Shifts’. For example my students just finished working on a problem-solving task in Mathematics and prior to starting Science (which is the next item on our daily agenda) I ask them to do a Museum Walk around our displays. The first benefit is that they are physically moving and thus increasing blood flow to all body parts, including the brain. Secondly they are now focussed on our science topic and have started to activate prior knowledge even before the lesson begins. The final benefit is that it allows socializing to occur amongst my students.

The Brain Shifts are not just random activities but rather have a very specific purpose. That purpose is dependent on what is occurring or not occurring in the class at that particular time. For example, if the energy level seems low, the activity will be chosen to increase the energy in the room (find 3 people and share with them the strategy you used to solve this task). If the students are bordering on being hyper, the task is designed to bring a calm to the room (look around the room and show with your fingers a score out of 10 that you would give this latest chapter in our book). There are so many ways that Brain Shifts can occur. The key is that you develop activities that are a good fit for your teaching style and accomplish what they are intended to be used for.

Kelly.McLaughlin Assessment, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Start of the year

Assessing Student Work

Adding onto my last post about the excellent book I read, “Creative Schools”, I would like to expand on an idea from Sir Ken Robinson. He spoke of a program called “Fresh Grade” where you would take pictures of student’s work and you would store that online. These are online student portfolios where you directly take photos of their work and comment on these photos. You can set up parents to be the eyes of the account so that each day or week, depending on the time you would like to take to update this, your parents will see the work of their children. Sir Ken talks about not including marks on these tasks as we have become too mark orientated as a whole generation. I have included comments on students work and I have made sure to include next steps for the parents to see. I hope to continue using this program “Fresh Grade”.

My next step is to contact parents asking permission to email them the portfolio that goes with their child’s work. The letter I will create to go with the portfolio is yet to be created and I would love advice of how to create that letter! I hope to attach the parent’s email to their child’s account so the communication of student work is always ongoing!

I cannot wait to see the reaction from parents and I hope that this app interests them.

Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Classroom Management, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Learning About Your Students, Start of the year

Advice for Starting Partway Through the Year

This particular post comes to you as I try to wrap my head around going back to work on Monday after fifteen months off. I left mid-October of 2014 after being placed on medical leave for the last few months of my pregnancy, handing off a lovely group of students to a great teacher for the rest of the year. That was difficult, but I knew they were in good hands. This time, I’m taking over a class someone else has been teaching for the first half of the year – something I find much more difficult.

This isn’t the first time I’ve taken over for another teacher. Having done this a few times now at different grade levels, I’ve learned a few things to help make the process a little smoother.

Introduce yourself! This might seem like a no-brainer to some of you out there, but communication with families is really important. No matter what time of year you’re starting, you should either send a letter home or invite families into the school to meet you. I actually like to do both. Your letter doesn’t have to be huge and really shouldn’t be your life story, but a little bit of background is nice to include – where you’re from, how long you’ve been teaching, that sort of thing.

Get to know your students. I start the first day by playing a few get-to-know-you games, then transition into a variety of activities meant to provide insight into where my students are with language. I’m a French Immersion teacher, and at my level I don’t teach math, but if I did I would include some activities to learn their problem solving/reasoning skills in that subject as well.

Find out your students’ goals for learning. This is the perfect time of year to talk about goal setting and have your students do a learning skills self-assessment (in fact, I do that every year already). Goal setting can tell you a lot about a student and where their strengths are. I find students are typically very honest when discussing their learning skills, too. Those two activities can give you a lot of insight into your students’ strengths and areas for improvement.

Don’t try to change the routine all at once. You don’t have to be stuck with the routine the previous teacher put into place before you arrived, but you really shouldn’t overhaul everything at once. Transitioning from one teacher to another is already stressful for students, so try to keep most of the routine familiar to them while you gradually implement your own ideas. It’s hard to rein in your excitement, I know, and sometimes you just have so many ideas you want to try them all right away before you forget them. Resist that urge – you don’t want to overwhelm your students.

Resist gossiping about the previous teacher, either with colleagues or students and their families. I’ve been there, I know all about it: people will try to engage you in discussing the previous teacher’s style, personality, and methods. Just don’t do it. I probably don’t have to tell anyone this.

Don’t take on too much outside the classroom. I love running extracurricular activities, but when I’m starting an assignment partway through the year, I try to limit how much I’m doing other than teaching my class. I need the extra time to plan and, I’ll be honest, unwind. You have lots and lots and lots of years ahead of you to do the drama club or sports team you love doing. Sometimes, it’s incredibly liberating to just have to worry about teaching your class every day.

Remember that students need time to adjust. Don’t take anything they say or do the first few weeks personally – I’ve had students decide on the first day that they hate me, only to have them declare me their favourite teacher by the end of the year. I’ve had students do a complete 180 in behaviour when I started. Students will react differently from one teacher to the next, and they need time to adapt to having a new teacher.

Finally, don’t be discouraged. I find starting partway through the year much harder than starting at the beginning. I feel lost for a few weeks every time, and I think that’s a normal part of the process. Just like at the beginning of the year, it will take time for you to find your footing and get into a groove with your new class. All you can do is show up and do your best every day.