Category: new teacher

classroom setup, new teacher, new year, student voice

My Student Questionnaire for Beginning of Year

Pernille Ripp
My old student questionnaire

Since I will be traveling quite a bit in August, I am getting my papers in order for the beginning of the year and stumbled upon my standard student questionnaire in a folder.  Once I glanced at it I realized how it was in need of a serious revamping and thus asked my PLN for must ask questions for this document.  Thank you so much to everyone who inspired me!

Here is a link to the Google Doc – feel free to make a copy and make it your own.

Here are just the questions (for the actual survey go to the link) that I will be using that first week of school to get to know the kids better.


  1. What are the three most important things I should know about you?
  1. What are things you are really good at?
  1. What are you most proud of?
  1. What is the favorite thing you did this summer?
  1. What have you most loved learning (even if not in school)?  Why?
  1. What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not in school?
  1. What is the best book or books you have ever read?
  1. What do you want to learn HOW to do?
  1. I think 5th grade will be….
  1. What do you love about school?
  1. What do you not like about school?
  1. I work best in a classroom that is….
  1. Some things I really want to to work on this year in 5th grade are….
  1. What are things you cannot wait to do this year?
  1. I learn best when the teacher is….
  1. What do you know about Mrs. Ripp?

classroom setup, new teacher, new year, Student-centered

Some Questions to Ask Yourself As You Set Up Your Classroom

Pernille Ripp

Those bare walls beckon, calling out to us to fill them with motivational posters, rules, and most definitely lots and lots of colorful charts.  Our counters are perfect for boxes of tools that may be useful: staplers, extra books, and perhaps even a cute pencil cup for all of those lost pencils.  Every nook and cranny serves a purpose, every nook and cranny should be used.  Behold; our brand new classroom awaits, and boy, does it have personality!  Yours that is, and not so much that of your students.  My first classroom I had panic attacks over the bareness of it all.  I didn’t have enough stuff to make it look welcoming, to make it look useful, to just make it look great.  So I created laminated rule posters, what if… posters, and even threw up a couple with frogs telling us to “Hang on” or “Work hard!”  My desk was covered in Danish proverbs that I knew my kids would be inspired by and above my door hung a rather obscure quote from Shakespeare telling my students to persevere in failure.  I loved that quote and spent hours getting it just so with my paper and my laminator.  I hung it proudly thinking that it made my room look like a place for learning and that it was sure to inspire my kids every day.  One day, my principal walked in and said the quote to a couple of my students, who instead of breaking out into knowing grins, stared at him blankly.  They had no idea what he was referring to or even what it meant.  After all, these 4th graders had not yet heard of that Shakespeare guy.  I was mortified, and just a little surprised; what else did they not notice in my meticulously set up classroom?


I share that story so that new teachers can laugh at my mistakes and hopefully use it as a way to guide themselves in their classroom setup and organization.  I made the mistake that many teachers make; I filled my room so that it looked cute.  I filled it so that it looked used.  I didn’t want to come off as the newbie in town that had nothing.  Except, that is who I was and I should have embraced it, let my room develop over the years, and always edit everything, but I didn’t.  Instead, I was afraid of looking new.  So to steer you away from my mistakes, I offer some questions as you contemplate the organization of your own room.

  • Do you really need that paper copy?  I hoard paper, most teachers do, yet I never use my paper files much.  Whatever I need I find in my computer files or I google it if I can’t find it.  So ask yourself whether you really need to make that many copies of that sheet of paper, or whether one is sufficient, or perhaps even just a bookmark on your computer to find it again will do.
  • Where does your stuff want to go?  I always tell teachers to ask themselves this because often we subconsciously set things where we feel they belong.  So if you are constantly setting down your books in a certain place, make that place their home.  Make it purposeful rather than accidental.  I started doing this several years ago and my intuition now rules where stuff goes and it means less time spent searching for things that I tried to corral somewhere else.
  • To desk or not to desk?  Several years ago I gave up my desk because of what it did; it created a barrier between me and the students and I was constantly drawn behind it, even though I shouldn’t have been.  So I got rid of, now I have a table for my computer and planner, it faces the wall in the corner and I can’t sit there without turning my back to the students.  It forces me to stay present and not get pulled away from them.  Perhaps that will work for you as well or perhaps you love your desk and that is okay as well.
  • Are you in the room?  Is there anything personal of you in the room or will the room not give of a hint of your personality.  Are there pictures or something that shows the kids just a little of what you are about.  Be aware though, don’t have too much, which leads me to the next question…
  • Is there room for the kids?  I don’t just mean spacewise, although the flow of your room is incredibly important, but did you leave things blank enough for the kids to take over the space and put their mark on it?  Is there room to show their work or whatever tool you need at the moment?  Are there places for them to work besides their tables?  Can they spread out, can they meet at other tables, can they lie on the floor?  Can they make the room their own, a safe place for exploration, or is it just your room and your rules?
  • How many unwritten rules do you have?  Are you strict about where the supplies go or whether kids have access to them?  Do they have to sign out to leave for the bathroom or can they just put a pass on their desk?  Are there other places for them to work or is their desk their only option?  Can they get a corner for themselves if they need it or will the rest of the class always be watching?  Are there things labeled your things and some labeled their things?  All of these ways to organize inadvertently create more rules for the students that may leave them feeling less welcome.  Find the balance between your need for control and their need to take ownership of their learning space.

While many lists abound of great organizational tips, I find that sometimes they don’t speak to the deeper meaning of how we organize our classroom.  The truth is that how you organize your classroom says so much about you and your teaching style.  I hope you take the time it deserves to get it just right, and then take an outsiders perspective to to see what it signals about you and your teaching.  We may think that our classroom is only the place we teach in, but often it is also the place that shows how we teach.  So make it meaningful, much like you teaching probably will be.

A snapshot from my classroom on a regular day


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new teacher, new year, Reading

What Will You Do the Very First Moment of the First Day of the Year?

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

Yesterday I started setting up my classroom for next year, yes really, with 2 months almost left of vacation, I couldn’t wait to get in there and see what I needed to change, what worked already, and just fiddle with the room.  As I shelved new books that have found their way into my reading life, I pondered, how will I start this year?

Not how will the day go?  Not what will we do?  But how will I start the day, that very first day, with my so far 26 new students.  In the past we would have done an ice breaker, we would have done a pretend quiz on me (I know it’s mean but funny once the kids get that the quiz is about me and not curriculum), in the past I have even showed them exactly the way I wanted them to enter the room.  Great way to show who is the boss.

This year, I want it to be different though, I want us to focus on our passions and I want that to be the very first thing we do.  So instead of rules, instead of games, I will read a picture book to them.  Invite them to the carpet, tell them to get comfortable, and then share one of my passions; books.  I hope they have the courage to share their thoughts as w read, I hope they have courage to show their emotions as we read, I hope they have the courage to show that even though they are now the oldest kids in the school it is ok to think picture books are magical.

Which book?  I don’t know yet.  It could be the incredible “Bluebird” by Bob Staake, which is just as powerful as any books with words I have ever read.  Or how about the funny “Creepy Carrots” by Aaron Reynolds that show us that things aren’t always as they seem.  Or “This is a Book” by Dimitri Martin which would be a wonderful way to showcase another of my passions; blogging.  Or in the end it may be “Chu’s Day” by Neil Gaiman so that I can tell them that every time I read it aloud to Thea, she giggles when Chu doesn’t sneeze and that she is starting school this week too for the very time and I know that we start a new chapter with her just as I do with my new kids.  Perhaps it will be that one.  No matter the book, though, what matters is the thought behind it.

So what will you do the very first moment with your new kids?

I am a passionate 5th grade teacher in Middleton, Wisconsin, USA, proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day.  First book “The Passionate Learner – Giving Our Classroom Back to Our Students Starting Today” will be released this fall from PLPress.   Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

new teacher, new year, preparation

So You Got the Teaching Job – Now What?

Pernille Ripp
Me in front of my very first welcome wall

As summer continues to lull us into long days filled with ice cream, books for fun, and nights spent on a porch, I can’t help but think back to the first summer as a teacher.  That summer when I had made it through those grueling interviews, where I had finally landed my dream job and I now stood facing an empty classroom, slightly panicked, but oh so very excited.  I remember the joy.  I remember the delight.  And boy, do I remember thinking, “Now what?”

Don’t get me wrong, I had read Harry Wong’s book, I had substituted, I had even taught summer school, and yet, it just wasn’t enough.  I had no idea where to go from there, so to all those new teachers, with all those new jobs, I offer you my advice.

  • Reach out!  Remember that interview team you sat across trying to connect with, well, now is the time to make the actual connection.  So email them, find them on Twitter, Google them, but do something and reach out.  Set up a time to meet whether formally or informally.  Don’t wait until the first day of school there will be so many others to connect with then.
  • Ask questions.  When you reach out, ask questions about curriculum, ask questions about school quirks.  Truly there is no such thing as a dumb question in this matter.  I still remember my long list and just how gracious my team members were to me.
  • Ask for resources.  Don’t re-invent the wheel with every single piece of paper.  I created so much on my own that first summer until I found out how much of this stuff my team already had made that was much better than my stuff.  Bring your ideas to the table but also ask to use some of theirs.  There will plenty of stuff to do on your own.
  • Do your homework.  However, do figure out what you can on your own too.  Things like math curriculum and other major district decisions can probably be discovered through a quick website search.  That way you can get to those things that are a little more complicated then that.
  • Start dreaming about your room.  Your room is really important, it signals to the world what type of teacher you are and what your educational philosophy is.  Where do the desks face?  Do you have a desk yourself?  Are there posters or will you have students take over the walls?  All of these seemingly innocent room questions are actually pretty major things to consider.
  • Take classes.  Again, this may be something a teammate tells you, but see if there are classes you need to take.  This year my district is implementing the writing workshop and we are all encouraged to take a 2 day class on it, my new team mate knows this because I told him.
  • Reflect.  Now that you have the job; what is your primary goal for your first year (and please don’t say survive – teaching shouldn’t be about survival but about thriving)?  What do you hope to pass on to all of those kids, your teammates, your school and yourself?  Where do you want to see yourself next year?
  • Stop with the prep work.  I made so many copies and spent so much time laminating my first year, why?  I am not sure.  It seemed like a full-time job some times but I was so sure that everything needed to be protected and copied, crazy really.  So figure out what is important to you, take stock of what you will be doing in your prep time, and ask yourself this; “Does it really need to be laminated?”
  • Enjoy!  There is no time like the one you are in, all fresh and ready for those first students.  So get yourself psyched up, because it is truly a memorable experience.  Allow yourself to trust yourself.  Allow yourself to feel like you have something valuable to add.  And finally, allow yourself to be just a little bit freaked out.  You cannot prepare for everything but you got the job because you are capable, so trust that.

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being me, new teacher, new year

Have You Found Your Soul? My Advice to a New Teacher

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

The new year may be coming or it may be far away from you, but I sit here and ponder, what would I tell someone starting school?  What “wisdom” would I share with a brand new teacher or a teacher that has been around for a long time, not quite sure that they are ready to go back?  I think i would ask them this; have you found your soul of teaching?  Your essence?

I’m not talking mantras, although Angela Maiers’ “You Matter” hangs proudly above my door.  I am not speaking of teaching style or tips, classroom management ideas, or even your teaching philosophy.  I am talking the inner core, the you that you bring into the classroom.  Have you found it?  Have you listened to it?  And what does it look like?  Yes, we can get caught up in seating charts, grand ideas, and new programs to be implemented, but all those fall away if you don’t have you in the classroom.   If you’re not ready to bare yourself, invest yourself, and give those kids all of you.

What does it mean to be you in a classroom?  To truly put yourself out there, invest fully, wholeheartedly, some would even say foolishly.  What will you give to the students, because teaching is about giving and not just knowledge, but giving the essence of you?  Kids spot phonies from miles away, they see those that are there for the paycheck, those that bring in the baggage, those that cannot wait to leave once the day is done.  And they react, swiftly, without mercy, and we stand there wondering what went wrong?

So I hope you find your essence before the new year arrives, or if it is in the middle of the year for you then I hope you still have it.  I hope you take the time to figure out what you are and who you are and how that will play out with the kids whose lives you touch.  Think of the impact you can have and then use it for good.

Find your soul, find your essence, and then have enough faith in yourself to go in there and share it.

Interview, new teacher

More Tips for Landing that Teacher Job

Pernille Ripp
I swear every summer without fail I end up on an interview committee, and this summer proved to be no different. I do it out of pleasure, out of passion, out of wanting to find that perfect person who is going to make our school stronger, make us all better, teach us all something.  I do it so that I stay fresh in what my own responses would be, to be part of the process, to see all the amazing candidates out there.  And I know it isn’t easy.  I know how hard it is to even get on the phone with a principal, let alone make it to the final round.  When I interviewed for my job I beat out more than 450 candidates; 450!  And that number steadily climbs every year, so with today fresh in my mind, as well as all of the other experiences, here are just a couple of hints to help you land that job.

  • Be enthusiastic but stay true to your personality.  If you are a naturally chipper person, let it shine through.  Don’t pretend you are something other than you, believe me, that type of charade gets cumbersome to uphold. 
  • Know your programs and abbreviations and admit when you don’t.  You cannot fake your way through a discussion of Everyday Math if you don’t actually know the program, admit it, and then talk about how you are going to learn more about it and ultimately implement it.
  • Be passionate, but don’t scare me.  Sometimes you can want something so bad that your passion just turns into something frightening.  Scale back a little, go for the goal, but don’t overwhelm the team.  As teachers we wonder how you will be with students when that happens and not in a positive way.
  • Elaborate just enough.  Know when to add details, such as your own personal examples and then say just enough.  Since knowing when to speak and when not to is a huge teacher quality and something we correlate to your classroom performance, proving in the interview that you can master it is a huge benefit.
  • Even if you are brand new believe you have something to add to the team.  Discuss how you will overcome your obstacles, how you will be a part of the team and then also what you can add.  You must have learned something in your education, life, and student teaching – share it.
  • Don’t use buzz words if you cannot explain them.  This is a common trap I think many of us make; we use lingo without fully understanding what it entails.  Just don’t.  Know your stuff, do your research, but also know your limitations.
  • Know how to integrate technology.   And this is not because I love my technology, even though I do, but I have sat through too many answers where the “integration” piece is projecting images on a SmartBoard or using netbooks for research.  That is not integration, that is merely using the tools given to you.  I can guarantee that something like that will pop up in most interview questions, it is a sign of the times after all, so do your research and be inventive.  Reach out and see what others do, ask other teachers how they would answer the question.  

So there you have it, just a few more tips that will hopefully help others get a step closer to their dream job.  Being a teacher is a passion, so be passionate about it, bring your personality, and let t your enthusiasm shine through.  Know your materials, do your research, but for goodness sake, don’t scare me.

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