Congratulations! You’ve chosen to enter the incredible field of education. Get ready to make an impact!

Whether you’re just graduating with a teaching degree or transitioning into a new career, this guide provides 10 practical tips to help you maximize your summer and thrive in the year ahead!

Please note: this article is not about Pinterest perfect bulletin boards or Amazon essentials. It’s full of actual advice and questions to consider as you set yourself up for success.

Let’s get started!

1. Get your certification.

Regardless of whether you graduated with a teaching degree or you are entering the education industry from a previous career, you’ll need to get certified. This often includes taking specific exams and applying for a license in your state.

Here are some questions to ask in order to ensure you’re eligible to teach on Day 1.

• Who at my school or district assists teachers with certification?
• What are the requirements for certification if I did not receive a degree in teaching?
• What exams am I required to take? How long do I have to complete them?

2. Connect with essential personnel at your school.

You’ll likely meet tons of colleagues that can assist you on your journey once the school year begins, but here’s a few people you’ll want to connect with as quickly as possible.

• Your Principal
• Your Department Head
• Your Mentor
• Resource Personnel (IT, Media, Materials)

3. Learn about your school.

Every school has a unique culture. Here are some questions to consider when learning about yours.

• What are the student demographics?
• What other courses are your students enrolled in?
• What special programs does your school offer?
• What is your school “known for”?

4. Learn your standards.

If you’re a content expert, you likely know a lot more than your students are required to learn. There simply isn’t enough time to teach them the deep nuances of early twentieth century politics. Instead of stressing, focus on these key questions:

• What are students expected to learn in my class?
• How are they expected to demonstrate their learning?
• What content is essential and to what depth of knowledge?

5. Create a classroom management plan.

You can’t predict every behavior that will occur in your classroom. However, you can have a plan in place.

Consider this:

• How do I want my classroom to run?
• How much autonomy do I want my students to have over classroom expectations? How much autonomy are they capable of based on their age?
• How will I handle inappropriate student behavior? What discipline structure does my school already use?

6. Create your classroom procedures.

While in the same family, this is different from your classroom management plan. Classroom management is about how will handle student behavior and interactions. Classroom procedures are, by definition, a series of actions conducted in a certain order or manner.

More simply, they are daily practices that are repeatable and teachable. Here are some questions that will help you develop procedures that work for your students and your sanity.

• How do you want your classroom to flow?
• When students enter the classroom, where do they sit?
• When class begins, what are students expected to do first?
• When students need something, how will they get it?
• When students leave during class, how will you keep track of who has left and how long they are gone?

7. Create your Student Zone

This is part of developing your classroom procedures but deserves it’s own spot on the list. Your Student Zone should be a physical place where student’s can complete essential tasks themselves (depending on age).

Consider this:

• Where and how will students submit work?
• What materials will students need easy access to during class?
• What resources should you supply to maintain a safe and healthy classroom environment?

8. Plan your first week of activities (and yes, they should be activities).

In the words of Sabrina Carpenter (sorry, I had to), please please please don’t spend the first week of class reading the syllabus or lecturing.

Think about this instead:

• How will you build community and collaboration in your classroom?
• How will you demonstrate appropriate and effective communication during instruction?

My best advice? Build activities that focus on three key areas:

1. Community & Collaboration
2. Communication
3. Content-Focused Skills

I recommend using icebreaker style activities and games as well as smaller replicas of instructional activities you’ll use throughout the year (think jigsaws, post-it questions, map analysis, etc.)

9. Read up on the latest research.

It’s important to remember that our personal experiences as students are not always reflective of best practices. Even our personal learning preferences may not be what is most effective in modern classrooms.

Consider this:

• What are current best practices when it comes to teaching your specific age group and subject?

10. RELAX!

Honestly, the school year is exhausting and once you’re in the throws of it, you’ll long for summer more than you know. Be sure to give yourself at least a full week to relax and do nothing teaching related.

Here are some things I enjoy those last few weeks of summer break:

• Spending time outside
• Being a lady who lunches
• Cooking fresh meals
• Taking lots of naps
• Reading…for FUN!

I know you’re excited, you should be! Teaching can be an incredible experience. Spend time focusing on these things and you’ll walk into next year calm, prepared, and ready to slay the school year!

Looking for classroom resources? Be sure to visit historywithmissc on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Looking for your next read? Check out How to Structure a 90-Minute Social Studies Block!