11 Effective Habits of an Effective Teacher

I really appreciate teachers who are truly passionate about teaching. The teacher who wants to be an inspiration to others. The teacher who is happy with his/her job at all times. The teacher that every other child in the school would love to have. The teacher that kids remember for the rest of their lives. Are you that teacher? Read on and learn 11 effective habits of an effective teacher.  

1. ENJOYS TEACHING.

Teaching is meant to be a very enjoyable and rewarding career field (although demanding and exhausting at times!). You cannot expect the kids to have fun if you are not having fun with them! If you only read the instructions out of a textbook, it's ineffective. Instead, make your lessons come alive by making it as interactive and engaging as possible. Let your passion for teaching shine through each and everyday. Enjoy every teaching moment to the fullest. 

2. MAKES A DIFFERENCE. 

There is a saying, "With great power, comes great responsibility". As a teacher, you need to be aware and remember the great responsibility that comes with your profession. One of your goals ought to be: Make a difference in their lives. How? Make them feel special, safe and secure when they are in your classroom. Be the positive influence in their lives. Why? You never know what your students went through before entering your classroom on a particular day or what conditions they are going home to after your class. So, just in case they are not getting enough support from home, at least you will make a difference and provide that to them. 

3. SPREADS POSITIVITY. 

Bring positive energy into the classroom every single day. You have a beautiful smile so don't forget to flash it as much as possible throughout the day. I know that you face battles of your own in your personal life but once you enter that classroom, you should leave all of it behind before you step foot in the door. Your students deserve more than for you to take your frustration out on them. No matter how you are feeling, how much sleep you've gotten or how frustrated you are, never let that show. Even if you are having a bad day, learn to put on a mask in front of the students and let them think of you as a superhero (it will make your day too)! Be someone who is always positive, happy and smiling. Always remember that positive energy is contagious and it is up to you to spread it. Don't let other people's negativity bring you down with them. 

4. GETS PERSONAL.

This is the fun part and absolutely important for being an effective teacher! Get to know your students and their interests so that you can find ways to connect with them. Don't forget to also tell them about yours! Also, it is important to get to know their learning styles so that you can cater to each of them as an individual. In addition, make an effort to get to know their parents as well. Speaking to the parents should not be looked at as an obligation but rather, an honour. In the beginning of the school year, make it known that they can come to you about anything at anytime of the year. In addition, try to get to know your colleagues on a personal level as well. You will be much happier if you can find a strong support network in and outside of school. 

5. GIVES 100%. 

Whether you are delivering a lesson, writing report cards or offering support to a colleague - give 100%. Do your job for the love of teaching and not because you feel obligated to do it. Do it for self-growth. Do it to inspire others. Do it so that your students will get the most out of what you are teaching them. Give 100% for yourself, students, parents, school and everyone who believes in you. Never give up and try your best - that's all that you can do. (That's what I tell the kids anyway!) 

6. STAYS ORGANIZED.

Never fall behind on the marking or filing of students' work. Try your best to be on top of it and not let the pile grow past your head! It will save you a lot of time in the long run. It is also important to keep an organized planner and plan ahead! The likelihood of last minute lesson plans being effective are slim. Lastly, keep a journal handy and jot down your ideas as soon as an inspired idea forms in your mind. Then, make a plan to put those ideas in action. 

7. IS OPEN-MINDED. 

As a teacher, there are going to be times where you will be observed formally or informally (that's also why you should give 100% at all times). You are constantly being evaluated and criticized by your boss, teachers, parents and even children. Instead of feeling bitter when somebody has something to say about your teaching, be open-minded when receiving constructive criticism and form a plan of action. Prove that you are the effective teacher that you want to be. Nobody is perfect and there is always room for improvement. Sometimes, others see what you fail to see.  

8. HAS STANDARDS.

Create standards for your students and for yourself. From the beginning, make sure that they know what is acceptable versus what isn't. For example, remind the students how you would like work to be completed. Are you the teacher who wants your students to try their best and hand in their best and neatest work? Or are you the teacher who could care less? Now remember, you can only expect a lot if you give a lot. As the saying goes, "Practice what you preach". 

9. FINDS INSPIRATION. 

An effective teacher is one who is creative but that doesn't mean that you have to create everything from scratch! Find inspiration from as many sources as you can. Whether it comes from books, education, Pinterest, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, TpT or what have you, keep finding it!  

10. EMBRACES CHANGE.

In life, things don't always go according to plan. This is particularly true when it comes to teaching. Be flexible and go with the flow when change occurs. An effective teacher does not complain about changes when a new principal arrives. They do not feel the need to mention how good they had it at their last school or with their last group of students compared to their current circumstances. Instead of stressing about change, embrace it with both hands and show that you are capable of hitting every curve ball that comes your way!

11. CREATES REFLECTIONS. 

An effective teacher reflects on their teaching to evolve as a teacher. Think about what went well and what you would do differently next time. You need to remember that we all have "failed" lessons from time to time. Instead of looking at it as a failure, think about it as a lesson and learn from it. As teachers, our education and learning is ongoing. There is always more to learn and know about in order to strengthen our teaching skills. Keep reflecting on your work and educating yourself on what you find are your "weaknesses" as we all have them and it is okay! The most important part is recognizing them and being able to work on them to improve your skills.  

There are, indeed, several other habits that make an effective teacher but these are the ones that I find most important. Many other character traits can be tied into these ones as well. If I could leave you with one last piece of advice, it would be: There's always something positive to be found in every situation but it is up to you to find it. 

Positive Classroom Management Incentive Program: What's in Your Wallet?

Some people are against incentive programs but young children love them and they still need it to motivate them to work hard. Although I created this incentive program, I always teach the kids that we do not always do something only to get a reward in return. Instead, I always reward them with dollars when they least expect it! If someone is purposely trying to get their good behavior noticed, I do not reward them because I know that they are only in it for the money! Here is an incentive program called "What's in your Wallet?" that I've created with everything you need in this package from my TpT store (direct link to the product: What's in Your Wallet?). It is fun, ongoing and it keeps the kids engaged while practicing their math skills on a regular basis! :)

1. Use the templates provided to create wallets for your children to give them some responsibility. The kids LOVE the idea of being able to keep track of their own classroom dollars! I laminated the name labels for longevity since they will use them for the duration of the year. You can use envelopes or Ziploc bags. Explain to the students that they will earn money for good behavior or excellent work. 

2. You can either give out money immediately when someone earns it or use this recording chart to tally up their earnings for the month (or whatever time frame you prefer). I would like to suggest to post this tally chart up and allow students to give themselves a tick whenever they earn money. This will also let them practice yet another skill - tallying. One template has the denominations of $1, $5 and $10. If you choose to make different denominations, you can use the blank template provided as well. 

3. There are printable "Classroom Dollars" of $1, $5 and $10 bills or customizable ones with blank boxes that you can fill in. The choice is yours! I chose these three since they are the most common and the easiest benchmark numbers for primary students. But if you are teaching the students how to count in multiples of __, you can choose to change them!

4. Declare a specific day of the month (bi-monthly or any time frame of your choice) as "Pay Day" where you will total up their earnings of the month and present them with their "Paycheck" and the cash that goes with it! The kids get very excited about this. Who doesn't love a fat paycheck?

5. From the second "Market Day" onwards, have them complete this worksheet to keep track of their progress. They need to count the existing cash in their wallets from the last "Market Day" and add it with their newly earned money. They worked hard for that money! 

6. Buy some inexpensive prizes and separate them into four (or more) baskets based on how you feel that the kids would value the items at. For my own class, I only used $20-50 but there are templates from $10-50. There are also 5 blank templates for you to make up your own as well. I recommend you to laminate the price tags as well (you will find that I love to laminate everything!). If your school has a play cash register, this would be the best time to use it! FYI, I took this photo right after a "Market Day" which explains why it is quite empty!

7. You are finally ready to open the market to the public! Sometimes, I let them shop by random selection or lining up in a specific order such as alphabetical. If you have some students who are quick & accurate at mental math calculations like I do, you can tell one of the students to be the cashier instead of yourself. This will motivate others to practice their math skills to become the next cashier at future "Market Day" events. The cashier and customer can work together to make the correct calculations and money exchange. It is so much fun and it never gets old. 

8. Afterwards, they are free to keep the leftover money in their wallets for next time. Some children would choose to save up money to buy something from the most expensive basket. I always encouraged this to teach them a thing or two about savings while they are still young!

Happy shopping from my class to yours! 

If you are interested, please find the product here: 

What's in Your Wallet?