I recently applied for a first grade position in a neighboring district. The employment in that district is highly competitive. I fortunately landed an interview at a school there and knew I needed something to take with me to showcase my talents and passion for teaching. I had read that teaching portfolios had helped many others in this situation. I have always kept a portfolio each year to meet our state's professionalism rubric, but I needed something a little more tailored to the needs of an interview. I decided to create my own that highlighted some important areas of teaching and that would serve as evidence to questions asked during the interview. Since I was going after a primary grade teaching position, I wanted the colors to be bright and colorful. I think it's also important to put your contact information on the cover, as well as your picture. They might want to keep your portfolio to look over while making their decision. Your picture will help remind them of you and your interview. I also wanted to take them on a tour of my classroom. They should be able to envision me in their building. Since I am a blogger, I have lots of photos of my classroom. I included a blog post after this page in the portfolio that took them through my learning space. You could even add a layout of your classroom from a website that allows you to create those. That would show them that you value classroom layout and like to plan ahead. Classroom management is an area they will definitely want to know about. What is your system? How do you ensure a smoothly run classroom? How do promote positive behavior and desired expectations in your classroom? I included information along with photos of these areas. Not only did I incorporate my latest strategies, I also added strategies of the past that I had tried with my students. Lesson plans should also be included. I have taught kindergarten and second grade, so I included examples of both. If you do visual plans, definitely incorporate those! They are attention grabbers and look great in your portfolio. I included a copy of my current classroom schedule. I wanted them to see that consistency and routine were vital to my learning environment. One section in my notebook was all about lesson plans and creative activities I had incorporated in my classroom. I divided that section up into some effective best practices. In each section, I included the strategy, brain research to support the practice, and photos of them being incorporated into my classroom. I also included some units I had created along with photos of students engaged in activities from those units. Another section in the portfolio highlighted assessment and data. Education is so data-driven these days that I knew I had to incorporate this. I listed all of the assessments I had experience with, included data from assessments I had administered (do not include student names), and showed how I used the data to drive my instruction. You may be asked about parent communication in your interview. In this section, I included newsletters and various other ways I communicated with parents and got them involved in their child's education. I also took the time to break down what my reading and math blocks looked like. I made sure to mention the five components of reading, curriculum I had experience using, and student work samples. I made sure to highlight how each of these areas drove student success. Finally, I had sections for professional development and important documents. You should include any professional development you have attended, as well as any you have led. Be sure to also include documents such as a copy of your teacher license, praxis scores, and a college transcript. There are many more components to my portfolio that you will have access to if you purchase this Editable Teacher Portfolio. I am confident it really helped me receive the first grade position. It provided easy evidence for me to refer to during the interview. The file is a PowerPoint, but you could also save it as a PDF when completed to send digitally to principals. Since it is editable, you can add or take away any pieces to fit your needs. It will definitely make you stand out in your teacher interview! I hope this portfolio is beneficial to you and lands you that perfect job! Happy teaching and best wishes!
It’s that time of year! That magical time when we start to look around for new jobs. Whether you’re new to the field (welcome!), moving to a new area or getting back into the game after time away…
When you walk into an interview for a teaching job, you want to feel confident in your skills but also your ability to show them off! In some careers, a resume’ listing experience might be enough, but in teaching, I think it’s a huge boon to go into an interview with a portfolio that really shows the details of that “elementary teacher” position you’ve had (or student teaching). It’s been awhile since I added my On The Hunt for a Teaching Job series, but I know seeing others’ portfolios really helped me (especially as a new teacher!) so I want to share mine. For my portfolio, I picked up a professional binder. Yes, it’s expensive, but you want the cover to say, “I’m credible and you need to look at me!” I used a pre-made Word template to make a cover page and added a photo of me with my class as well as my contact information. In the pocket, I include a resume, and the inside has a matching cover page that works sort of like an informal cover letter. I started with my favorite teaching quote, and used it as a springboard to describe my passion for teaching. I didn’t rehash my resume’ here- but instead wanted to get them interested in me. (Note: Please feel free to use something similar, but please DON’T copy exactly what I wrote. You want it to be unique to YOU!) Another option is to make a brochure. This is really great to leave after an interview, especially if it has a picture so they remember which face goes with which name! Inside, I use dividers to make it clear where I can find certain things. Notice that I said “I can find,” not “the administrator can find.” Administrators may never ask to see your portfolio or have time to do much with it, but if you happen to be in for an interview, a portfolio can be SO helpful! You can see my dividers here, now that I have a few years of experience: Here, you can see my dividers before my last update, when I hadn’t taught in my own classroom. In the past, I just stuck in pages of things I’d done. Most were printed out worksheets, assessments, parent notes, etc. And that was okay, but this time around I decided to show a little more. One HUGE benefit of blogging is that I take lots more pictures of the things going on in my classroom. So, for instance, when I wanted to show my creative lessons, ta – da! I wanted to showcase classroom management, and again, I already had the photos. It’s a great way to not just tell what I would do, but show it. I want principals to be able to imagine me and my classroom in their school! I still kept examples of work and other things behind each section, but these pages made it look really polished. Even if you’re not going to post them on a blog, I’d recommend finding a cheap point-and-shoot camera (or even a smartphone, if you have one) to take photos of your classroom and projects you do. It really helps when a principal wants to imagine you not in a suit, sitting in the office, but in classroom working with students. What’s really great about these pages is that you can print another copy (or go to FedEx Office for more color copies if you just have way too much money) and leave a mini-portfolio at schools without having to leave your nice binder. I used these mini-portfolios when I dropped off resume’s in person, too! When you consider what to include, make sure you think about the basics (classroom management, reading, math, engaging instruction, differentiation, assessment and data, organization), but don’t forget to include a section with your credentials and any honors/ certificates/ professional development/ licenses you may have! (Page protectors will keep you from having to hole punch those important papers.) Think about what makes you unique as a teacher. When they say, “What are your strengths?,” what will you show them? Don’t be afraid to make it unique and bright! For some other professions, you might not want to add color or any element of cute, but I think as long as it looks professional, colorful works really well for standing out. If you’re new here, be sure you check out the rest of this series and my new teacher tips! Next in the On The Hunt series: How to Stand Out (Even Before a Teaching Interview) Thanks for visiting!
Can you list ways your teaching portfolio stands out from the crowd? If not, read and implement these portfolio organization tips and strategies for teachers.
Hellooo future teacher! Congrats to you on completing your student teaching and degree! You are about to begin one of the best and most rewarding careers (at least in my opinion!) I know you have completed a tough several years and are eager to get your own classroom! I know, because I was in your shoes about five years ago.... As soon as I graduated, I started applying for jobs online. I would fill out the application on the school's website and wait to hear back from the school. I soon became discouraged because I didn't get a single response for even an interview. Luckily, I was offered an assistantship to get my Master's Degree and was able to put the job search off for another year. I was so blessed to get the opportunity for so many reasons! I was extremely fortunate because my assistantship gave me the opportunity to connect with some amazing teachers, professors, and future teachers who showed me that I was applying for jobs all wrong! I'm going to share my biggest mistakes as I applied for jobs and give you some tips to stand out in your interview process! *Please note, I'm sharing what worked for me in my job search. 1. Of course you need to... Be sure to do the obvious...create a resume, write a basic cover letter that you can easily tweak as you apply to schools, type up your references with all of their info in one place, get your letters of recommendations together. If you don't have letters of recommendation-be sure to ask for them now! Don't forget to get permission from your references to use them too! Spend the extra money and buy some resume paper! Print your resume, references, and cover letters on this paper! I know it can get expensive but it's worth it! 2. Set yourself apart and get the interview! When I applied for jobs, my first mistake was just applying online and waiting around! I look back and I realize what a silly mistake that was! In order to even get an interview, administrators want to see that you are dedicated and willing to go that extra mile! If the expectation is to fill out the online application, then you need to do that and go above and beyond! Email the administrators directly to reiterate your interest, go in to the school and personally drop off your resume, send brochures or something extra with your resume (see below)and let administrators get to know you! Check out the brochure I created below! Sorry I wasn't able to make this an editable template. Don't worry though, you can find a template in Microsoft Word that you can edit. Some things I included on my brochure were: photos of me teaching, why I became a teacher, career experience, relevant skills and training, my contact information, the degrees and certificates I obtained, and references. Don't worry, you're not being pushy, you're setting yourself apart from everyone who is just applying! The point is, you need to do more than just fill out the application to make yourself stand out! Be unique and show your personality! 3. Once you've got your interview, time to get ready! When I started applying for jobs I was told by several people to not even bother putting together a portfolio. I was told that administrators don't even bother looking at them. Um.... wrong! Of course the people you are interviewing with won't take the time to sit there and look at every page in your portfolio. It's up to you to put meaningful items in your teaching portfolio that you can easily talk about. Don't just try to fill pages in your portfolio. Include items that administrators want to see. Do your research and look up commonly asked interview questions for the grade level or area that you specialize in. As an intervention specialist, I knew I would be asked about writing IEPs. I made sure to include an IEP I had written in my portfolio. (If you plan to do this too, be sure to delete or hide ALL confidential information. That includes: school districts, names, addresses, and more.) I can tell you that at every interview, I was almost always asked about these topics: classroom management, lesson planning, professional development, and communication with parents. Since these topics are so important to teaching and so commonly asked about, I made sure to include information about each one in my portfolio! As your interviewers ask you about these topics, open up your portfolio to these pages! It is a great visual for administrators and it makes it easier for you to discuss each topic. Not to mention, it shows you are prepared, creative, and willing to put in the extra work! For example, if you are asked, "what does a typical lesson look like?" You can show the administrator a typed out lesson plan (complete with objectives, assessments, and all that good stuff!) along with photos and student work samples. Even if you're not in a teaching position, be sure to start collecting these things now from your student teaching! If you are looking for some ideas of things to include in a portfolio, some options are: copies of your resume, copies of your references, letters of recommendation, communication with parents, lesson plans, student work samples, classroom management information, a sample IEP, professional development certificates, Praxis or testing scores, college transcripts, evaluations and observations, resources you have created, a copy of you teaching license, a disc or QR Code with a link to a video of you teaching a lesson. One thing I have commonly notified in many teaching portfolios is a nicely typed out paper on the individuals' educational philosophy. Although this is great information, I can tell you that your interviewer will not likely sit there and read your entire paper. It's best just to know this information and work it in to your talking points as you interview. I would recommend saving this space for something else. Obviously, what you put in your portfolio will change depending on your specialty. Be sure to do your research and carefully select what you put in your portfolio! 4. Organize that portfolio! Now that you have selected what will go in your portfolio, make it look nice! Invest in a big binder to put everything in and get some tabs to separate out each section. Don't forget to get some page protectors for each page (I might be slightly addicted to page protectors.) Be sure to give it a nice cover page and add a table of contents. I created mine using Microsoft Word! Don't worry I've included a few different options for the cover page and what I used for my table of contents for free! Click the images to grab some of my favorite necessities! When I made my portfolio, I started with the table of contents. I numbered all of the sections on one page so I could easily find everything. I purchased binder tabs with numbers so I could place each section behind the numbered tabs. Grab this as a freebie at the end of the blog post Check out some examples of what I included in my portfolio. Please note, some things are blacked out to keep students' identities private. I did obtain parental permission to include students photos in my portfolio. You may want to send a letter home to the parents of your students to get this permission as well. Bonus: you can use this letter under your "communication with parents" tab in your portfolio. :) Get the letter for free at the end of this post! Please keep in mind I did not place my copyright on the letter because I thought it would be too intrusive. Even though it is not there, please respect my work and terms of use. :) Grab this letter as a freebie at the end of the blog post Below are some pages I included in my teaching portfolio. Hope they can give you some inspiration! Whatever you do, make it yours! I like to create things digitally so that's how mine turned out. Looking back, it's not the most beautifully done but it showed employers that I can create things digitally and am (somewhat) tech savvy. Maybe you're a big scrapbooker? Make your portfolio "scrapbookie"... I know that's not a word but you get my point! Make it unique and reflective of your personality! Contact cards. I gave these out or my interviewers could take them from my portfolio. Sample lesson plan Photos from a lesson A student work sample. Don't forget to add a cover! I tried to keep mine simple but still show my personality. I added my name, number, and email to the cover. I also added my favorite quote about teaching. Below you can use my editable template or create your own and just use mine as inspiration! Grab this as a freebie at the end of the blog post 5. Don't forget to follow up... After you have had your interview, be sure to follow up within 24 hours. Don't let them forget about you! Some people suggest an email others suggest a handwritten thank you card. I suggest doing both! Neither has to be too long. Just be sure to reiterate your interest in the teaching position and mention something specific that you talked about while you interviewed. You can do it! Well I hope these resources and the information will help you in your job search. If I can leave you with one more piece of advice... Don't get discouraged if you don't get an interview, job offer, or exactly what you are looking for right away! Just keep trying and continue to better yourself as a teacher! I can tell you from personal experience that it is not easy but all of your hard work will pay off. Soon you will be doing what you love! Ready to get started? Sign up below to get all of these FREEBIES sent to you. First name Email address Send it to me! Yay! Please allow about five minutes for this freebie to arrive. Feel free to leave me any questions in the comments! Best of luck! 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Teacher interviews can be nerve-wracking! Here are the teacher interview tips that I have learned. What can you do to improve your interviews?
👉 I’ve researched how my colleagues create their teaching portfolios to make yours look awesome too. Check out these 17 winning examples. 💪
Teacher interviews can be nerve-wracking! Here are the teacher interview tips that I have learned. What can you do to improve your interviews?
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Teacher interviews can be nerve-wracking! Here are the teacher interview tips that I have learned. What can you do to improve your interviews?
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Crossposted at Smartblogs Districts across the nation are determining teacher effectiveness in part using a rubric created by Charlotte Danielson. The rubric contains four domains and 22 components.
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Guess what? You may be asked to develop and present a demo lesson plan for your next teaching job interview. As if it isn't nerve-racking enough to prepare answers to job interview questions. The demo lesson plan has become used more and more frequently in teaching interviews across the country. It's best not to ignore or dread the possibility of presenting a demo lesson plan; rather, embrace it as an opportunity to sell your value to the school community. Purpose of a Demonstration Lesson Plan in a Job Interview This additional step in the interviewing selection process helps hire committees
A KWL chart was not something I used a lot last year and when I did use one, it was a really quick, crappy drawing on the board. For this school year, I wanted to create a nice looking chart that could be used over and over again. I'll print it on giant paper at Staples and then laminate it so it can be enjoyed again and again. I'm also going to make smaller copies (with no polka dots) for the students to jot down their ideas before the lesson. As always, I'm happy to share! Classroom polka dot chart (.pdf) Kids kwl chart (.pdf)
Austrian Went Yodeling
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I AM Two Of The Most Powerful Words
Relationships are at the heart of all we do as teachers. Knowing how to build positive relationships with students is a cornerstone teaching skill. If you think back to the teachers you had who really influenced you in a positive way and had an impact on your learning you will probably not remember the content of what they taught you. What you will remember is the way they treated you, how you felt in their class and the types of interactions you had.
Metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, alliteration, hyperbole, personification, and more!
Singular and plural nouns are first introduced in kindergarten and first grade, but if you are an upper elementary teacher, you know that plural nouns can pose challenges for many 4th and 5th grade writers. Reviewing the plural nouns rules and referring back to them throughout the year is not just important, it’s necessary. ... Read More about Singular and Plural Nouns Activities for Upper Elementary
If you’re just beginning your Montessori journey as we are, you know how overwhelming the process can be. I got more than a little frustrated looking at all of the different activities and ma…
Are you interested in Adult Learning Theory? Check the The Adult Learning Theory - Andragogy - of Malcolm Knowles to find out more.
A teaching philosophy statement is a reflective essay about one's teaching beliefs and practices. It's commonly needed in academic job applications.
Check out our top 11 ESL whiteboard games and activities to try out with your students today. Have some fun with these chalkboard games.
Online ESL game resources for teachers. Suitable game ideas for online english teaching. Perfect for students when they need a break in the online classroom
