As a new teacher I have found that there are many useful and wonderful resources out there for making lessons, classroom management, incorporating technology into the classroom, dealing with parents, and even how to decorate your classroom to make it feel warm and welcoming. All of these resources have been very beneficial and helpful so far in my teaching career. Below are a few of the resources that I have used and a small description of how they have aided me.
Books and Journals
The First Days of School - by Harry Wong & Rosemary Wong
This book was very useful to me my first few weeks of school. It gave me great ideas on how to set up my room, how to communicate with parents,and it even gave me advice on classroom management. The book discusses setting the stage the first days of school to let the students know who is in charge, and it also tries to convey the message that a routine is essential. I would consider this book useful for any teacher, whether they have been teaching for years, or if it is their first time. It is easy reading and there are many great pictures to aid each page.
Teaching Mathematics - by Max A. Sobel and Evan M. Maletsky
I could not imagine teaching math without this wonderful resource. This book has provided me with many wonderful ideas on teaching math concepts to my students. Many of the ideas are for both middle and high school and they involve a lot of hands on, interactive learning. There are many brain teasers and puzzles that really require some thinking. I have used many of the problems for warm-up or closure at the end of the day. My only dislike about this book is that it provides pages and pages of problems, but many of the solutions are not given. I think some of the problems need some explanations and some more background. Other than this, I think any math teacher should have this book in their library.
Mathematics Teacher - journal published by NCTM
This journal is a great resource for math teachers of all grade levels. It provides technology, interdisciplinary and cooperative group lessons. The journal also has many articles about current research in the field of math. Each issue there is a calendar with a problem for each day. These are great problems to use as warm-ups in the beginning of class. I would recommend this journal for any teacher. It is a wonderful way to get ideas to use in the classroom.
New Teacher Sites:
Pennsylvania Teachers - Check out Pennsylvania State's home page for teacher job vacancies, school district statistics, application processes and certification requirements.
Praxis Tests - This site allows you to register for Praxis Series tests for teacher certification.
Technology sites:
Clip Art - A special thanks to this site for allowing me to use their graphics on my home page.
Macromedia - This is a great site that provides free trial downloads of programs including Macromedia Dreamweaver, Flash and Fireworks. These programs are all useful in creating web pages.
Inspiration - Check out this site for a trial period of Inspiration. This is a great program for creating graphical organizers.
Click here to see my Reflection.
