How to Be a Good Teacher

Being a good teacher can be the most rewarding and exciting job in the world
- however, being a teacher who doesn't work effectively can be stressful,
painful, and exhausting. Here are some great tips to being the best teacher
you can be.
Two Methods: A. Classroom Management
B. Lesson Planning

A. Classroom Management
1. Set the example.
Remember that you are the teacher. It is important for you to be like a "superhero" figure
in their eyes. Remember that your students look up to you and will thus try to mimic your
dispositions. If you are rude or inappropriate, they will have an inappropriate model for
their behavior. It is vital that students see you as a person with confidence, so that they
follow your lead, and feel comfortable trusting you. Students, of all ages, need someone
they can lean on, look up to, and be able to trust.
2. Have well-defined consequences.
Set specific consequences for breaking the rules. Decide what those consequences are
and then implement them consistently. Your consequences should follow a procedure that
starts with a non-verbal signal (such as just looking at the student), to a verbal signal
(asking the student to please stop talking), to a verbal warning (if this continues there will
be consequences), to the implementation of the consequence. The consequences are up to
you and depend on the program of the school. Many schools have a detention system
(students do despise detentions), or perhaps writing lines, or sitting away from other
students.
3. Be compassionate.
Great educators form strong relationships with their students and show that they care
about them as people. They are warm, accessible, enthusiastic and caring. Be open to
staying at school after-hours to help students or get involved in school-wide committees
and activities, and they demonstrate a commitment to the school.
4. Set some ground rules.
You should have 3-5 rules that the students know about. These are the rules that, when
broken, are subject to the consequence scheme outlined above. Try allowing the class to
suggest the ground rules: have a class discussion and write ideas, it makes the class feel
they are listened to and that you care about their opinions and input while also setting
some groundwork that they will feel loyal to because they've made it. Act as a mediator

to make sure that the rules decided upon are appropriate. Some may be, for instance, be
quiet when the teacher is talking, respect each other, and finish the homework and
classwork.
5. Try maintaining a creative environment
6. Maintain peace in the classroom.
7. Never let your students down when they come to you with their problems.
Even if the problems are out of syllabus, try to help the student by using the Internet or
library. It would gain both of you some knowledge.
8. Orally ask about basics before teaching a topic in-depth.
Clear the base points which seem to be unknown to your students.
9. Ask more basic questions in the class, rather than asking something that is taught
just today.
Everyone needs some time to learn.
10. Create competition in a positive aspect.
11. Be smart to deviate attention of students from everything else to the topic.
12. Appeal to students' interest in the topic instead of commanding them to study.
13. Understand that every topic in the book has some practical application.
Don't forget to discuss that part as it is the most important one.

B. Lesson Planning
1. Have an objective.
When you are planning a lesson, the most vital part is the objective. What do you want
your students to take away from the lesson? If the objective is powerful, deep, and
reflects what you really want students to learn, it will be reflected in the lesson.
2. Have a solid plan for your lessons.
Each and every lesson should be divided into three simple parts that reflect your
objective.
a. First should be the "lecture" part of the lesson. This is where you teach something
new to the class (of course allowing for questions or comments when applicable).
b. Dedicate the second part of class to something that involves a collective group work
element where students can work with whoever they want. Near the end of this part,
you can have a discussion session where groups voice their findings/opinions, and
give marks for adequate participation.
c. The final part of every lesson should be where the students return to their seats and
work QUIETLY on one final task, such as answering specific questions written on the
board, or drawing a picture related to something they learned that lesson. The
students should only talk to you (if they have a question about what/how to do it) or
the person sitting directly next to them. This is the wind-down part where students get
a chance to work on and understand the material on their own.
3. Assign relevant homework.
Rather than assigning something different every night, it is wise to assign one or two
more substantial assignments on Monday and then collect these assignments on Friday.
4. Consider giving quizzes.
You may want to have a quiz every Friday to assess how well the students are grasping
the material. You can judge how well you are teaching by how well the majority of your
students perform on the quizzes.
5. Take short notes.
Revise once before teaching your class.
6. Try using a case study.
7. If you have any doubt about the artifacts, skip something.
It's better to review the basics in class premises than to teach something confusing or
wrong.
8. Once you have developed a great lesson plan, your work is not done.
Be sure to update lesson plans regularly to address gaps in the curriculum and incorporate
new technology.