Whether the Covid outbreak had turned the world upside down or not, classrooms would still be empty at this time of the year due to summer holidays being in play. Whether you're a fully qualified and experienced teacher, a fresh graduate, or a trainee teacher, this is the most stressful time of the year.
Getting everything ready for the new year is a daunting task and one that can take weeks to prepare. From stripping down the walls and putting new ones up, to create PowerPoint presentations for your first few weeks, the build up is huge.
This time around things are obviously going to be a lot different, so how are you going to prepare for the transition back into the classroom?
It's going to be a new experience for both you and the students you teach, whatever level of teaching you're at, it's going to be a challenge. So, we've come up with a few ideas that we think will help the transition into the classroom be far easier. Keep on reading to find out more.
Getting The Classroom Ready
The biggest hurdle that you'll be going through at the minute, and this time it will no doubt be far different to how it used to be. Some schools will have stringent social distancing in place, and as a teacher you might be stressing that you're not going to keep that in place, or that it's going to affect how you teach. So we'd say that to keep the classroom environment as fun as possible. Let your students sit where they like, keep the classroom bright and entertaining, and try and bring a relaxed atmosphere in. Some students are going to struggle with the new adaptations, so making the classroom an easier environment is going to help you keep control of the room.
Bringing In New Teaching Methods
The way that we teach is ever evolving, and we think there should be more of a focus to move students towards creativity and life skills, as well as the standard curriculum. Writing as a career can be easily tied into English lessons, for example. If you look at links such as the following: https://studentreasures.com/teachers-lounge/lesson-plans/first-grade/,
you'll find a wealth of tools that will help you to show children how to write, right down to the basics of how to start a good sentence. You should always be looking for new ways to inspire your students to follow careers they're passionate about.
The 'New Normal'
This is something you'll be hearing a lot of lately, and we say to embrace the new normal. It's going to be hard to adjust to for everyone, but as long as you're making the classroom as interactive and as interesting as possible, all of the other obstacles you face will quickly become the new normal, just like other aspects of life are. Keeping students engaged and interested in their education should be your main goal no matter what changes need to be made.
