Essential Classroom Guide: What Do First Year Teachers Need?

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed as a first-year teacher! There’s so much to it. Lesson plans, classroom management, and more – it’s just a lot to get a handle on. Today we’re going to talk about what new teachers need for their first year of teaching, especially as you step into your own classroom for the first time!

Tips for New Teachers Part 2: Room Prep

A First Year Teacher’s Shopping List

Personally, I think a first year teacher’s shopping list should be very short: Don’t buy ANYTHING* until you see what’s in your classroom! Maybe think about a bulletin board to make, but lots of schools have things just left in the rooms from previous teachers not cleaning up after themselves.

*Okay, you can buy one thing. A must-have item for a first year teacher is a pair of shoes you could walk to the moon and back in. I’m not kidding. If you couldn’t wear the pair of shoes hiking the Andes you probably don’t want them to teach in. (slight hyperbole. SLIGHT).

I know you’ll see other lists that include things like flair pens, the best pencil sharpener in existence, sticky notes, a flash drive,  and all sorts of things to organize piles of papers and have a clutter-free desk, but really – WAIT to go shopping until you know what’s there for you.

Decorating Your Classroom

When you’re in a new classroom and especially your first classroom, it is so exciting to decorate your space! Depending on your grade level, it might be good to display student work, and it is always a good idea to have decorations that support student learning. Let’s look at some ideas!

Must-Have List of Posters and Displays

You can choose to put in so much time decorating your classroom and it can be very overwhelming. Don’t worry though, you don’t have to go all out with a completely transformed classroom theme! Let’s chat best practice for decorating your space as a Spanish teacher with these must have posters. 

A little goes a long way in making your space bright and supporting student learning and at the beginning of the school year when you have a ton going on, the last thing you need is to overwhelm yourself with creating a pinterest perfect classroom.

Bulletin Board Ideas

Once you have those must have posters up, if you still have time and energy you might be looking for another idea for getting your classroom started on off on the right foot. Check out 10 bright and colorful classroom displays here.

These are simple options to brighten your room at the start of the year, and many of them include student work and printable name tags which are a fun way to have new students take ownership of the classroom space.

Classroom Calendars

Another bulletin board you can consider when decorating your elementary school, middle school, or high school Spanish classroom, is a printable Spanish calendar! It’s a great resource to decorate your room and reinforce months of the year and days of the week as your students are studying the Spanish language. These fun printables have different themes for you to choose from and match your classroom decor. 

Check out these printable classroom calendars here!

Classroom Set Up Tips for First Year Teachers

Seating Arrangements

We can’t talk about getting your room ready without discussing seating arrangements. Even veteran teachers groan at the thought of creating a new seating chart, and it can be pretty hefty for first-year teachers to tackle! Some people like to dive right into a flexible seating set up, or doing a blend of flexible seating and traditional desks. Whatever you choose for your classroom setup, you’ll want to consider the policies and procedures you have for any special or comfortable seating. It’s no fun if you put your time and money into special seats and then students don’t respect them, so having rules in place right away is important for that setup!

Check out some things to consider when arranging your classroom – even if you haven’t met your students yet, there are things you can decide. Pick between rows, small groups, a horseshoe shape – oh my! Learn more in the blog post here. 

Classroom Library

If you are going to be including Free Voluntary Reading in your classroom routines this year, you want students to have easy access to the books in your classroom library! Elizabeth over at Spanish Mama has a great post with lots of examples on how you can set up your classroom library, so you can check that out here if you’d like!

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A post shared by Erin | Spanish Teacher (@theengagedspanishclassroom)

Erin from the Engaged Spanish Classroom has shared this corner of her classroom and I just love how bright and airy it looks. My windowless classroom self is envious!

If you’re looking for posters to decorate your classroom library, you might like these:

• Teens Reading Posters
• LEER Posters
• Book Review Posters & Templates

Tips for Traveling Teachers with Multiple Classrooms

​I hope this never happens to you, but sometimes you get last minute news that your school district has made some changes. No matter how many years of teaching experience you have, being told you no longer have a classroom can be really hard. You might wonder how you can foster a positive learning environment without those visual supports and scaffolds we talked about. Maybe you’ve already done the hard work of setting up your classroom and find out at an early staff meeting that the classroom is no longer yours. Ugh! 

I’ve been there, too. Check out this blog post on how to handle having multiple classrooms as a world language teacher. It’s not the end of the world, and I actually liked being able to visit my fellow teachers as we shared spaces, but it will likely affect your planning period and can create some unexpected challenges. There are also a few essential items I would add to your school supply list, and some things you’ll handle in a different style than if you have your own classroom. It’s okay!  You can handle it. 

Check out all of those kinds of things in the post here.

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Advice for First Year Teachers

 Make sure to check out my series of tips and advice for first year teachers!