Many people believe that, like their students, teachers get a few months off during the summer to take vacations, relax and spend some time doing nothing. While it's true – many teachers do get summers off – much of that time is spent preparing for the next school year. Teachers' summers are full of prep work, including thinking over lesson plans, getting to know the names on their new rosters and setting up their classrooms, all of which are vital for having an organized and effective school year. If you're an elementary, middle or high school teacher, read on for a few essential summer prep tasks you should take care of:
Consider your curriculum
If your district or administration is in charge of creating curricula for the teachers in your school, you'll likely have a few meetings to improve upon the one that's already in place. If you create your own curriculum, take some time to think back over your teaching units and lesson plans. Figure out what worked and what didn't, and make adjustments accordingly. If you're in a state that's adopted the Common Core State Standards, going through your curriculum to make refinements is essential during these first few years of its implementation. Do a little research online to see what other teachers have done to implement the CCSS in their classrooms – there are tons of online resources, blogs and ideas you can adapt for your own subject matter.
Reach out to new parents
Especially if you teach elementary school, it's a good idea to make connections with the parents of the new students who will be in your class. You'll be working with them throughout the year to help their children succeed, so having a comfortable rapport makes that process easier. Send out a letter or email to all of the parents, introduce yourself and talk about some of your goals for the upcoming school year. Make sure they know you're open to questions, comments, suggestions and more – you'll make a good impression right off the bat.
Think about classroom management strategies
It's not just the overall curriculum and individual lesson plans that matter when coming up with a plan during the summer. You should also develop or refine your existing classroom management strategies to ensure you foster a calm and successful learning environment. For instance, what should students do when it's time to sit on the floor for a group discussion? What about when they need to use the bathroom?
Taking care of all of these things will help you stay organized over the course of the next year. Just remember – you should also take some time to relax!
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