lesson plans

If you're a teacher, I hardly need remind you that the summer is over and a new school year has arrived. Whether you view the new year as a blessing and a time of unique wonder (like seeing a rare flower suddenly surface along a well-trod path) or a time of surprise and panic (like seeing a hungry puma surface from the deep end of your swimming pool) depends upon your preparation. In this episode, we talk about how prepared a new teacher should be at the beginning of the school year. We also dish out the tough love in our new "We Told You So" segment. Everyone loves being lectured to, don't they? It is our fist show back, so the episode shakes off a little rust with a handful of bloopers at the very end, and I ask you: is that a rogue cellist suddenly playing a single, haunting note at time stamp 15:18? Spooky! Speaking of spooky, look out for the Halloween episode of the New Teacher Hotline at the end of next month.

Our last few shows have been dedicated to interviews, so we decided to knock out some of the listener email that's been piling up in the interim. Today we hit some of the basics of Teaching 101, like how to write lesson plans. Join us as we broadcast from Glen's sprawling estate (specifically his living room). Here, I'll even pull up an extra chair for you.

This week features the premiere of a new segment called The Fatal Five! (Arooooooo!) We talk about five fatal mistakes a new teacher can make that can make the school year very unpleasant. Our listener email this week comes from Jamie, who wants an overview of lesson planning. She’s used to tutoring, where the lesson plan is “Do these questions and I’ll explain them to you,” but she figures there’s more to it than that with formal classroom instruction. BIG NEWS: The New Teacher Hotline has something new and exciting up its electronic sleeves! It all starts with our next show, the glorious 10th episode extravaganza. We’re taking an extra week to get it ready, and it will soar like an eagle right into your ear canal (ouch) on July 4, 2007.

This week’s theme is preparing for the unexpected. What if something happens to you, the teacher? Have you prepared emergency lesson plans in case you suddenly have to call in sick or miss work for personal reasons? Even if you know you’ll be out of school ahead of time, what constitutes a good substitute lesson plan? We talk about the important elements you should include to make the sub’s day as hassle-free as possible. This week’s listener email asks what teachers are expected to do during a fire drill. We give you some advice that’ll help you keep a cool head and ensure your kids are safe.