Secrets to Success for Beginning Elementary School Teachers

Packed with insider tips, practical strategies, and time-tested advice, this invaluable guide is designed for new and preservice educators. Offering a wide range of perspectives, authors Ellen Kottler and Nancy P. Gallavan cover the essential topics that novice teachers encounter, including establishing routines and classroom rules, planning instruction and assessment techniques, networking with colleagues, navigating school policies and procedures, and communicating effectively with parents.

Tools and resources include:

Steps for developing meaningful curriculum

Activities to extend learning and apply ideas in the classroom

Preparation guidelines and checklists

Lesson plan formats

Strategies for including technology

Serving as a virtual “mentor,” this handbook combines the insights of experienced teachers with straightforward portrayals of what to expect during the first days, weeks, semesters, and years in the classroom. Reduce your stress, improve your skills, and assure your success with this extraordinary resource.

Ellen Kottler, Ed.S., has been a teacher for more than thirty years in public and private schools, alternative schools, adult education programs, and universities. She was a curriculum specialist in charge of secondary social studies and law-related education for one of the country’s largest school districts. She teaches secondary education and supervises intern teachers at California State University, Fullerton.

Nancy P. Gallavan, PhD, is professor of teacher education at the University of Central Arkansas where she specializes in classroom assessments and cultural competence in the Department of Teaching and Learning MAT Program, which she helped to start in 2006. Dr. Gallavan also serves as the UCA Academic Liaison to Institutional Diversity.