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I will be doing my student teaching this coming fall in a 3rd grade class. Does anyone have any helpful tips, resources, or advice for a first time classroom teacher? Thank you!

Dear Annie, Hello. If you haven't already contact your cooperating teacher. He/ she should be able to give you the agenda/timeline for the curriculum. Look up your state's standards for 3rd grade, if you are unable to contact the teacher. Good luck!

My suggestion is to talk to your cooperating teacher as much as possible. Ask a lot of questions. Make sure you stay on your game. The principal, assistant principal, counselor, and other teachers all notice. Join as many teaching websites as possible. Soak it all in!

I been student teaching for roughly a year now and the best thing I can suggest to you is having a open communication line with your cooperating teacher. Usually, your school will pair you with a cooperating teacher who has been teaching for a while to help assist you in anyway. If you have questions or concerns talk to him/her, try to be involved as much as you can. Bring a journal take down notes or write any questions you may have. Best of luck!

Hi Annie, I am a pre service teacher myself and I have found that the most important thing a teacher can have is good classroom management skills. I find that responsive classroom works best. It allows you to create a healthy and respectful learning environment for all of your students. It takes time but it is something I try to practice every time I am in the classroom with the students. If you have good classroom management then you will be able to do all sorts of fun and creative activities without having to worry about your classroom getting out of hand. Depending on what grade you teach one strategy I use is a "Think About It Sheet". Whenever a student has really misbehaved I give them the sheet. It contains questions such as: Why do you think you received this sheet? Were you making wise decisions? Were your actions your fault? What could you have done differently to avoid this situation? Then a parent or guardian is to sign below. I find this tool to be very effective!! I only give it out when I feel a student really needs to think about what he/she has done. Hope this helps in some way. Best of luck. Jaclyn

I was in third grade my first semester in student teaching. As long as you build a relationship with your students and your mentor, you should do just fine! I loved third grade. They are still young enough to love school but old enough to do things on their own. Good luck!

Student teaching is an exciting journey there is so much you will learn through experience. Learn as much as you can from your cooperative teacher of things you might want to implement once you have your classroom. Gather as much resources that will be beneficial. My tip is to be positive and you will do most of your learning in the field.

When I went into my third grade class as a first time student teacher, I wanted to be their friend more than their teacher because of how nervous I was. I learned over time that this is not the best approach because then when it comes time for your lessons, the kids want to have fun and play around. Be strict first, have fun later. Good luck!

I am student teaching in a second grade classroom this academic year. The most valuable tool I have found so far is my relationship with the students. Learning them as people and students has helped me plan lessons. I know what interest them and how they learn, I plan my lesson around them.

Good afternoon, I am also in a third grade class for my Student Teaching Field placement. Before the school year started, I offered to help my Cooperative Teacher set up her classroom. This gave us one on one time to get to know each other and offer time for me to ask her any questions I had about student teaching and the students. Good advice that my CT told me is that many teachers forget what it was like to be in elementary school. So remember how you were in third grade and let it help guide you when you decide to decipline the student. I created interest surveys at the beginning of the school year so I could get to know each student better. I hope this helps you in your journey in student teaching. It has been a great experience for me and I hope it will be for you as well.

Introduce yourself to the teacher via e-mail prior to the first day of entering his or her classroom. Let him or her know about upcoming projects you will have to do when you find out about them do not wait until the day before. When you are not in the field keep in touch with your CT so you are up to date with what and how the students are doing. Not only must you build a good relationship with your CT but also with your students. Each morning my CT stands by the doorway and welcomes each student in and asks them how they are doing. This shows the students that their teacher cares and she is creating a welcoming and safe learning environment. Do not overuse rewards! The students in my classroom get rewards for bringing back papers that their parents had to sign because of the failing grade they made. From what I have seen the students can care less about the grade they got they are just going to bring it back in order to get their reward.

I am Student Teaching in a fourth grade classroom. I agree it is essential to create a relationship with students. By this point of the school year, I have learned my students' likes and dislikes. I have also determined how my students learn best, which helps me when planning lessons. Although it is important to have a relationship with students, you must establish a boundary. I've realized the importance of differentiating when to be friends with students and when to be strict.

I complete my student teaching in 3 weeks! Woohoo! At the risk of being an echo, the best advice I can give you is to get to know your cooperating teacher as soon as possible. Remember that you are a guest in their classroom but do not be afraid to ask questions about curriculum. practices, and management. Those questions are best saved for times when students are not around but as long as they are asked humbly your cooperating teacher will be a great resource for you. Also, if you are allowed I would at some point ask to sit in on as many different classrooms as possible. Observing different teachers, grade levels and subjects will help you get a sense of what you would like to teach (it may change a lot over this year!), develop a teaching style and see different management systems in place. Good luck to you and congratulations on starting your student teaching!

Congratulations, i bet you are excited and nervous at the same time, but don't worry time is going to fly by and you are going to learn so much and enjoy being in a third grade class. This is my second semester student teaching but i was actually placed in a third grade class for my first semester, just like you. i recommend working with small groups as much as possible, this grade is a huge transition for most kids and working in groups will definitely have an impact on kids. I was in a reading class, so my lesson plans were very engaging, my students would create foldables and i had them create an interactive notebook as well. Remember that you are their teacher and and not their friend, it was challenging for me because i came in towards the end of the school year. The students did not take me seriously at first, but towards then end, i was able to practice on my strategies and got better at it. Good luck, wish you the best.

I am a student teacher as well, but in a 2nd grade and a 3rd grade classroom. I found it interesting working with different groups of children. I learned so much about their personality, their behavior, and their learning styles. Also, I think it is really important to build a good relationship with the students and also the parents. I recommend you to attend all meetings like Open House, parent conferences, and lesson planning meetings; all of these helps a lot and you will learn as you go. I student taught in both grades and they are quite different in the two grades. Make sure you have techniques for developing self-discipline so it can help get tasks done with managing the class. Pay close attention with what your cooperating teacher does in his/her classroom because you can learn from it as well. Don't hesitate to ask questions to your colleagues because I believe you can learn that way too. Good luck future educators!

Hi everyone! I am currently doing my student teaching in a special education classroom and I would love to bring science into the classroom more as I don't think the children are exposed to it enough and some of my high functioning kids could actually benefit from it? Any materials and or books you would recommend for young children (5ish) that are also special needs? Thanks!

You should check out this website; www.teachingchannel.org. It is filled with great and useful information, especially for new teachers!

WOW! this is a great resource :) thanks for sharing this can be beneficial in the future it has a lot of informative video.

One tip I can give about student teaching is to get know all of the teachers on your grade level team. Although you will spend most of your time with your CT, the other teachers on the team will be a great resource with more ideas than you can imagine.

I am currently a student teacher and will be graduating from my program this month. My advice is try and jump right in to teaching as soon as possible. The best way I learned what works and doesn't work for me is by actually doing it. Also, classroom management is key, so I would focus on that at first.

I am currently in my 3rd semester of student teaching. My advice would be to get involved as often as you can. When I began asking my mentor teacher for opportunities to teach a lesson that she had pre-planned I became more comfortable with all aspects of student teaching. "Wait-time" is a great classroom management tool. This is when you pause in the middle of teaching and wait to regain the students attention, the students will learn more and you will feel respected. I also suggest finding ways to contribute to the classroom or school such as painting signs for the fair, bringing in books for a subject they are covering, or noticing a supply the class is low on and bringing it in for them. This is a way to say thank-you to the school and also show the students you are a part of their classroom and appreciate them, children pick up on that. Good luck!

These are all such great ideas. I am really looking forward to trying out these tips in my classroom.

I will also be student teaching soon and these are wonderful resources and ideas. Thanks for sharing!