Congratulations! You’re embarking on an exciting journey as a new high school teacher. Teaching can be a rewarding profession, but it can also be overwhelming, especially when you’re just starting out. In this blog post, we’ll explore some simple strategies to make life easier for new high school teachers around the world. Whether you’re a trainee or a new teacher, these tips will help you to feel understood and supported, and make your job a little bit easier.
Now, my last blog post was very negative, and I had a few trainee teachers reach out to ask if they were making a mistake by training to be teachers. I don’t have a direct answer. For me, teaching has had many ups and downs. I still don’t know if I want to continue being a teacher forever. Or what to do instead. So it looks like the classroom for now. With that in mind, I wanted to write something helpful and a bit more positive, for those still in the profession or who have not long joined us.
You can read the super negative post here if you are curious 👀.
Make sure you read to the last strategy, which is arguably the most important!!
5 Simple Strategies for New High School Teachers
- Get to know your students
One of the most important things you can do as a new high school teacher is to get to know your students. High school students are going through a lot of changes and challenges, and when they feel that their teacher cares about them, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated in the classroom.
To get to know your students, try to:
- Learn their names and greet them by name every day. The way I do this on the first day is to plan a lesson that involves students working in small groups. I then go round each group and ask every student at least 3 questions. Things like ‘what is your favourite pizza topping?’. I make sure to use their name every time I ask them a question. This is a golden tip a teacher shared with me years ago. I use it every year and it works!
- Listen actively and show interest in their lives outside of the classroom – this can be tricky when you have 30 students per hour who either really want to tell you everything about them… Or are the opposite and barely verbalise a sound to you.
- Praise their efforts and accomplishments – praise is key. It is also my favourite behaviour management strategy!
- Be approachable and available for support and advice. If anyone has ever told you ‘don’t smile until Christmas’ ignore them. Yes, you should have high expectations, but that doesn’t mean you are also not approachable.
- Use icebreaker activities and get-to-know-you games at the start of the school year.
By investing time and effort into building positive relationships with your students, you’ll create a more supportive and enjoyable classroom environment.
- Start with the basics
As a new high school teacher, it’s important to start with the basics. So, this means focusing on the fundamentals of teaching and learning before you start incorporating more advanced techniques and strategies.
Some basic strategies that may work for you include:
- Creating clear and concise lesson plans. Try not to over complicate things. I was definitely guilty of this at the start. Make sure you have a clear objective that you want your students to be able to achieve in the lesson. Then stick to it!
- Establishing classroom routines and procedures. This comes with time. However, from experience, something as simple as handing out glue sticks can derail a lesson if you haven’t thought about it. So have a plan. For everything!
- Setting clear expectations for behavior and reinforcing these consistently. Your school will probably have a behavior policy – stick to it. Ignore students who say ‘but this teacher lets me do this’. You are not that teacher. Stick to your convictions and do NOT let them talk over you.
- Creating a positive and inclusive classroom culture. Praise is key. Any difficult class I have ever had I have been able to have great lessons by using praise. For me that involves giving students a praise postcard or phone call home. Catch one of them doing the correct thing, write their name on the board (I have a smiley face on my board to put positive praise under). As soon as I do this, they all want their names on there. Now saying this, some students’ needs mean this won’t work. If you need to remove them, then do it. Don’t let the rest of the class suffer for one student’s behaviour.
- Providing regular feedback to your students. This can be verbal. I do not mark books or write notes in books. Occasionally I will ‘live’ mark in lesson time by wandering around with my red pen. Mostly, I just talk to my students. I try to talk to everyone (especially the quiet ones!).
By starting with the basics, you’ll create a strong foundation for your teaching practice and set yourself up for success in the long run.
- Use technology to your advantage
Technology can be a powerful tool for high school teachers. By incorporating technology into your teaching practices, you can save time, engage your students, and make your lessons more interactive and enjoyable.
Some simple ways to use technology to your advantage include:
- Creating interactive presentations using tools like PowerPoint or Google Slides. Not just to make your lesson plans, but also to include interactive quizzes, use them to make your worksheets (so much easier than Word!), and even to make interactive remote work for students.
- Incorporating multimedia resources like videos, images, and audio recordings into your lessons. I think YouTube is a go-to for most teachers, but have you tried audiobook clips or interesting podcasts?
- Using online tools like Kahoot or Quizlet to create engaging quizzes and games.
- Encouraging students to use educational apps to reinforce their learning outside of the classroom. Depending on your subject there are a lot of these available! Maths students can use Sparx, science students can use Educake, Duolingo for languages… I will make a better list of these when I get a chance!
By using technology in these ways, you can make your lessons more engaging and effective, while also reducing your workload.
- Seek out support and guidance
Teaching can be a challenging profession, especially when you’re just starting out. As a new high school teacher, it’s important to seek out support and guidance from your colleagues and mentors.
Some ways to seek out support and guidance include:
- Attending department or grade-level meetings regularly (most of the time this will be compulsory anyway!).
- Seeking feedback on your teaching practices from your colleagues and mentors. Again, this should be provided in your first year or so, but beyond that, you can ask for feedback!
- Connecting with other new teachers in your school or district. Keep in touch with other student teachers from your university program (mine had a WhatsApp group). It can be so reassuring to speak to people in the same boat as you!
- Participating in professional development opportunities. This can be online or in person. If your school is offering up training, participate if you can. In the UK, the STEM centre in York offered lots of free upskilling training at their amazing facility – you would just need to ask your school if you can attend. I attended an upskilling for A Level Biology course there. It was so helpful and I got to meet more Biology teachers in a similar position as me from all around the country.
By seeking out support and guidance, you’ll be able to learn from the experience and expertise of others, and develop your teaching practice more quickly and effectively.
- Prioritise self-care.
This is important. Teaching can be a demanding and stressful profession. So, to be an effective high school teacher, it’s important to prioritise your own self-care. I am saying this from a place of direct experience. Last year I was totally burnt out. It is not fun. So please look after yourself.
This means taking time to recharge your batteries, reduce stress, and maintain a positive work-life balance.
Some self-care strategies that may work for you include:
- Practicing mindfulness or meditation
- Exercising regularly
- Engaging in hobbies or creative pursuits outside of work
- Connecting with friends and family
- Take breaks throughout the day to stretch, and hydrate (I know this can be tricky with limited bathroom breaks during the day!).
- Remember: it is just a job! If you leave tomorrow, you will be replaced.
This blog post provides simple strategies to make life easier for new high school teachers around the world. Because we all now that teaching is no picnic! The post suggests starting with the basics, getting to know your students, using technology to your advantage, seeking out support and guidance, and prioritizing self-care. By following these strategies, new high school teachers can build positive relationships with their students, establish a strong foundation for their teaching practice, use technology to their advantage, seek support and guidance from colleagues and mentors, and prioritize their own self-care to maintain a positive work-life balance.
Looking to save time as a new high school teacher?
If you are a science teacher looking for a way to save time, then check out my TPT or TES store for teaching resources. I have a mixture of free and paid-for resources that might save you time!
Just click on the images below 👇 to go to your preferred store.
