Top tips for new teachers from veteran teachers

Congratulations on starting your teaching journey! It’s one of the most important and fulfilling careers out there.

I recently asked the teachies on my email newsletter for their best tips for new teachers.

Pssst. join my teachie newsletter and get a free resource to say “welcome”!

We want to help you succeed in the classroom!

Here are our top tips for new teachers, from teachers with up to 35 years of experience!

Managing Workload as a New Teacher

Workload is discussed a lot in schools, as teachers have a lot put on their plates.

Here is what our veteran teachers had to say about it:

It’s okay not to grade everything. I thought I had to grade everything I gave them to complete and turn in.
I never graded homework or daily assignments.
Go digital – Google classroom, EdPuzzle, Quizziz, Kahoot – less printing and more engaging.
Instead of grading everything yourself, get students to grade together in class. This is great, because they learn more from correcting their own mistakes
Show a video once a week and grade during that time

A teacher is sitting at her desk with stacks of papers in front of her. She is blowing air out of her mouth, looking mildly stressed. Text shares a tip for new teachers to manage workload. It says, "It's okay not to grade everything".

I have a couple of posts that dive deeper into cutting down on grading and workload.

Read Stop Grading Everything and Get More Done During Your Planning Time (my tips).

Lesson Planning Tips for First Year Teachers

Decide what you’re going to grade in advance
Use ChatGPT or Diffit to get ideas for lesson plans
I do exit tickets after almost every class – this lets me quickly check what students have learned.
You can buy curriculum on TeachersPayTeachers – some of these were a gamechanger in my classroom.
I use teacher Facebook groups – there are lots of different ones, and I get some lesson ideas from there. Labs in particular.
Most teachers use bell ringers or warm ups. It helps the students get into a routine, and gives you a few minutes to settle and get ready if there is something up on the board for students to do.

A photo of Emma holding an iPad with a biogeochemical cycles digital resource loaded on it. Text on the right shares a lesson planning tip for new teachers. It says, "Go digital - less printing and more engaging".

If you are new to the blog, then you might not know – I create and sell ready to use resources for middle school life science and high school Biology teachers!

View them in my store – they’ll save you hours of lesson planning.

Building Relationships with Students

Getting to know our students is one of the most fun parts of being a teacher! Here are our tips for building strong relationships:

I am careful to remember “pick your battles”. In other words, don’t undermine relationships with students sweating the small stuff.
Establish clear class expectations in the beginning and stick to them.
Welcome every student who walks through your door and into the hallway. Be a welcoming presence for all you come in contact with.
Walk around and talk to them. Show genuine interest.
Use positive contact routines – calling and emailing parents with positive things makes a big difference
I share behavior contracts with students at the start of the year. I spend time on classroom, bathroom, and late work policies – make sure these are set in place and students know them.

Image of a teacher in a blue shirt adjusting a student's microscope. Both are smiling. Text on top shows a tip for new teachers for building relationships. It says, "Show genuine interest in them".

Make those relationships rock solid – I share 6 strategies for building good relationships with your students.

Why experience is the best teacher

I hope you enjoyed reading these tips for new teachers, and maybe have a couple to keep in your back pocket!

While we can all share tips and advice, the most important thing is experience. You will figure out what is working for you and your students every day that you are in the classroom.

I continually adjusted my teaching strategies over the years – and you will too!

So don’t sweat it – you are going to be an amazing teacher, and your students are lucky to have you.