Hi everyone, I'm starting my first term of full time casual teaching previously i have done casual shifts but always at the school I was working at so I had a good idea of routines and where to find resources. I know it's a possibility that I could get a class where no work or not enough work has been provided by the regular teacher (nobody should be making lesson plans from a hospital bed). For those who are/ have been in this position, Do you have a set of emergency backup lesson plans you use? Did you write them yourself or get them from TPT or twinkl etc. I don't know for sure what photocopying will be available and I feel like what is on twinkl relies on printing worksheets.

Looking for tips. I just completed a the Vanderbilt assessment for adhd for my 8 y/o son in 2nd grade. He’s been disruptive in class but he’s not malicious when he does. Just really excited to see friends. His teachers have always mentioned something attention span in previous years but we thought it was time to have him assessed because of his current teacher.
This year especially has been difficult with his teacher she marks him off on worksheets for the littlest things m. For example, he completed on an assignment on a photocopied template that was gray and minuscule black dots because of the bad copy quality. She marked him off because she couldn’t see the period at the end of a sentence but it was there if she took an extra moment.
We submitted the evaluations and since his scores weren’t high enough in performance and other areas they don’t believe he has adhd. I think otherwise and want to pursue further testing. Are there any options that can be supported by the Vanderbilt test? Just need some help because this is my first time going through this.

This is especially for the old-school teachers who've created lots of worksheets and tests in the past, but all insight is welcome.
I don't know much about creating worksheets and other documents for school yet, but I know that Word probably isn't the best tool. I already know html and css, having learned those as a hobby for probably 10 years (but don't expect me to be a professional at it). Either way, it is technically a document format and was designed to layout text, text boxes, headlines, headers, footers and lists. That's exactly what all the self-made (i.e. not just photocopied or googled worksheets) throughout my school years have looked like. And it would even allow for the assignments to be completed both on a device or printed out on paper.
So, I'm wondering which resources for creating documents you know and if you know html, if it would work in your experience. Thanks!

My wife recently received an audit worksheet from a third party through her employer. She has to complete and return all forms or else her employer can invalidate the insurance we get through that employer. The third party forms require photocopies of legal documents (marriage certificate & birth certificate) to be included with the worksheet to validate myself and our son as dependents on the policy. The forms specifically say to send photocopies of those documents, as they will not be returned. We live and work in Wisconsin, and state law strictly prohibits making any copy of legal documents issued by the state (it says as much in the watermark on all documents). Official copies cost around 20USD each to receive new copies from the county clerk. Do we shell out the 40 bucks to send official documents to the auditors, or let the company know that the way they worded these forms breaks state law?

I’m 23 and have been teaching since September 2023. I teach at a school that offers supplementary English and Maths lessons to kids who need extra help with their studies. On Thursdays, between 5pm and 7pm, I teach 2 groups of children English along with another teacher who’s in charge of Maths (he’s also the main teacher at this school, and has been teaching there for 12 years now) and another teacher who is in charge of a smaller group (around 3 to 4 kids) who have learning difficulties and need more close guidance.
It’s usually not too difficult to discipline the kids — I’ve never had to raise my voice. There were only 1 or 2 kids who needed to be reminded to focus on their work and I occasionally would make people swap seats if they were messing around and whatnot, but it was never as bad as it was today. This morning, the main teacher texted me to let me know that he wasn’t going to be coming in because he was sick, so I would have to teach both classes English and Maths. I was totally fine with that, I had my regular English lesson planned already of course, and for Maths I had access to textbooks that I could photocopy worksheets from for them to work through. All sorted.
It was a nightmare and a half. The kids 100% took advantage of the fact that their main teacher — someone they knew well and had enough respect for — wasn’t there, and that it was just me and the other teacher who was teaching her own smaller class. There was a lot of messing around. I had to move people around several times; some of them refused to move, even after I told them to several times. I had to yell at a kid to move to the seat I asked him to move to and he still didn’t budge. That same kid kept kicking a girl’s chair and he said “f*ck you” to her, which I overhead and had to scold him for. I spoke to his mum and he apologised. Another kid was throwing things at a girl next to him, and that girl’s dad came up to me after the class was over to tell me that his daughter was upset and I had to reassure him that the kid who was doing that to her would be spoken to along with his parents because that behaviour wasn’t acceptable.
I had to keep raising my voice and it would go quiet for a few seconds and then the noise would start back up again. So frustrating. I felt so useless and incompetent. I said “you guys need to shut up” and instantly regretted it, but even that didn’t work, they just gasped and started a commotion about that, too. I feel like such a useless teacher, and it sucks because this is something I plan to do for the next couple years.
There’s a lot more I could say but I’m so mentally exhausted from this day that all I wanna do is sleep. I don’t know who is reading all this but if you have, I’d appreciate any words of advice, comfort, or if you just relate to this experience and have similar stories, share them — I’m feeling very demoralised and could honestly use anything 😭 Apologies for any typos.

You hear teachers talking about how difficult lesson plans make their job, but then they're also using the same worksheets/tests for every class and using the same worksheets/tests multiple years in a row. Not to mention the majority of worksheets/tests being photocopied from a book and not being an original creation by the teacher.

Some acquaintances got me panicking about my current high school freshman's class choices...
Kid was homeschooled pre-k through 6th, then attended a very small/eclectic private school for 7th and 8th, and just started 9th at a large public high school. They're navigating it fine, made a few casual friends while hoping to form some deep relationships but is understanding that it will take time.
It's only been 4 weeks but academically they're doing great (all 4s which is the new way of saying As apparently). They were too scared to take any standardized tests in 8th for different class level placement for 9th, so they're in all the standard/average classes, not accelerated.
The problem? They're BORED. Like "when are we going to learn anything?" bored. Science class is doing literal "is it alive" worksheets. Social science has little photocopied booklets and they're cutting/pasting pictures. Math takes a little effort, English nothing is really happening yet, and electives are at least pleasant. They took a "benchmark" standardized test in Math and English last week and scored pretty decently above grade level in both.
We're trying to look at the silver lining that they can get involved with extracurriculars and not have to worry about falling behind in coursework at least. But now I'm worried that they should have pushed themselves for accelerated classes to a) not be bored and b) apparently be on some not-spoken-about "college track"...? The school district straight out says there are no "tracks" but is that a lie?
Kids in average high school classes go to college, right? Like not everyone has to be in AP everything to get accepted? I know I was fine 20 years ago but is it different now?

How it started.

A few years ago my dad got a job at a local primary school (ages 4-11) as a teaching assistant. One of the classes he worked in was a maths class. In this class, students would complete small sheets of simple sums, divisions, times tables, etc. It was his job to handwrite a sheet of questions for the lesson (say single-digit addition) and then photocopy them.
My dad, being good friends with the teacher of said class would often chat with him about how time-consuming this was, not only that but he could only write one sheet for the entire class as they took a reasonable amount of time to create and having multiple sheets would have meant more time spent marking.
Thus he decided to create a piece of software that he could use to automatically generate these sheets for him. It worked great. Soon after they were using it in every lesson. He could print out different levels of sheets for students with different abilities and even students at the same level got their own custom sheet, preventing copying etc. There was very little downside to these new sheets, marking was fine because the answers were also automatically generated and the students who finished their sheets could get new ones (something that would have taken too long with the handwritten version).
But the marking still took a long time. Marking a sheet of say 25 questions at 1 question a second takes 25 seconds, for 30 students that is 12 and a half minutes. The problem only increases if you want your students to be able to do more than one sheet per lesson (half an hour of marking in a 1-hour lesson is just not feasible when combined with walking around the class helping students).

The solution.

I had been playing around with some computer vision work as part of a hobby programming project I had at the time, and when talking about this to my dad I had the idea of using what I had learned to automate not just the generation, but the marking of sheets too.
From this idea, we created what has now become www.markth.is. A website that has a large selection of randomly generated worksheets for a wide range of maths tasks and the ability to mark them as well. Our marking tool works well, as well as my dad used to, if it is struggling to read what digit the student wrote down then he would have to too. If the answer is correct but unreadable it should probably be marked as wrong.
Students now get their own personalised worksheets which then all get fed back into the photocopier and uploaded as one pdf to the website where they are marked in seconds. There are no limits on how many sheets a student can do in a lesson, time spent marking is instead spent helping students.

What this might mean for you.

The website is up and running constantly, and is completely free for those who might want to use it. All it requires is an email. Things don't look super professional as this is really a tool just for us right now but we thought others may well find it useful (hence this post).
Any sort of feedback is greatly appreciated, we know there are things we can do better.
Current issues we are seeking to improve:

• The website ergonomics (neither I nor my dad have experience creating user interfaces or making things look nice).
• Better names for the different types of worksheets that accurately reflect the content within.
• A larger curriculum.
• A suggested progression with stages for year groups etc.

​
I know this whole post may come across as an advert but really we just want to see if this thing that we created is useful to others. To programmers like me and my dad, we just want to see people using the thing we built.
​
TLDR: My dad and I built a website that he could use to automate the marking of primary school students' maths homework. We thought it was cool and wanted to share. It is completely free etc. Feedback is great and we hope it might be useful.

My son is 10 years old, in Grade 5, and reading at a Grade 3 level.
I’m lost. The school has no real resources / spec ed teaching for him. He has an IEP (individual learning plan) which provides a laptop and he gets reading help a few days a week (photocopied worksheets or 20 minutes on an iPad app) That’s it!
I’ve tried tutors in our area, but no one has training (ie orton gillingham). They are either high school students, or retired teachers who charge $100 per hour and live 45 min away.
They all ‘teach’ to him like he’s illiterate. He can read! He needs skills to decode words and phonetics, not ABCs.
Also, we are in Canada and most online programs are only offered in the US.
I can’t afford / can’t find a qualified tutor and the school wont help. How can I ‘teach’ him at home myself?
Any recommendations for books to follow? A program or software to use? Is ‘Toe by Toe’ good? Has anyone been in this situation and found something that helped?

Manuscripts of A Genius! This unique Set of 6 Sacred Geometry Books is a distillation and summary of Jain’s essential 40 years Research. Suitable for Children and Adults and designed with many worksheet activities for Teachers and Parents to photocopy and share with their children.

It’s things such as slicing worksheets, having enough work photocopied, ensuring I have enough work photocopied on blue paper for my children with Erlings, updating displays, laminating etc. I just feel it’s all taking so much of my time to the point I’m struggling to focus more on my work as an actual teacher. I feel I just can’t do my job as a teacher well if all that isn’t in place. I don’t have a teaching assistant to help with those responsibilities. And on top of that, the emails I’m becoming inundated with, the training sessions because I’m new etc. it’s just so very overwhelming. I’m struggling to keep organised with all this. My second week in and I hate it. I feel so overworked.
I do have 1-to-1s however they have their hands full with my special needs children. Their responsibilities don’t entail slicing work and displays etc. it’s just being with their designated children. Any help and advice on becoming more efficient on this stuff?

Hello! I am a total beginner to the piano and will be learning without a teacher for now. I have done a ton of research on how to go about this. I've looked into the apps, books, youtube, etc. I've settled on learning using using Alfred's All-in-One Piano book 1 alongside this gentleman on youtube, https://www.youtube.com/@LetsPlayPianoMethods. The youtube channel seems great because he goes through each page of the method book, and has you play the songs along with him very slowly so that you can work out if you are making any mistakes. I will also be checking out the free trials of the apps for fun and to keep my younger kids interested (7 and 9). My 12 year old will be learning alongside me with the book. I know that a piano teacher is the absolute best way to learn, but this is not an option for me right now. However, my uncle is a professional piano player, and I do have him as a resource when I am able to see him (he is a few hours away, but I will be visiting in a few weeks and I will ask him to assess my positioning, etc.) I am very excited about this new journey!
I wanted to share a little idea I had in order to use the Alfred worksheets with multiple people (Myself and my kids). I took one of those plastic page protector sleeves (the ones you put in binders to protect document pages), and I cut off the long edge so that it can slip onto the edge of the book's pages. Then we can use dry erase marker to fill out the worksheets. This way we can all use the book and I don't need to make photocopies of all the worksheets for all of us. It's working out perfectly!
One question I have is in regards to digital pianos. We bought a Casio PX 770 at Costco for Christmas. It seems very nice and we are happy with it. However I just saw that in February the PX 860 (Not 870) will be going on sale for around the same price as the 770. I know the 8 line is one up from the 7 line, but the 770 is newer than the 860. Would it be worth switching the 770 for the 860 or is this more of a linear move? I wonder if the 770 picked up some features from the 860 anyway. I hear there were quite a few upgrades when they went from the x60 to the x70 versions of these two models. Does anyone have any advice on this?
Also, is there any advice that you might share for the absolute beginner who is self learning (along with their children)?
Thanks everyone!

Pros: (you might not be aware of some of the points here)

1. Late starting times: If you do not take any weird combinations/MTL, your day should start no earlier than 0830.
2. Flexible combinations: It's like a cai fan stall where you choose any ingredients you want on top of your rice (GP/PW): you choose at least one meat (science) and one veg (arts), your desired combination is likely to be offered. NY boasts about 150+ unique subject combinations. You don't need to take A Math to take H2 Math. You don't need to take Pure Science to take H2 science. Anybody that comes into NYJC via JAE can automatically take 4 H2s (there is no further requirement)
3. Value-added results: This point may be duh - of course since the school is mostly made of sub 8 (raw) O Level kids: but yes based on the current stats you stand a 50% chance of getting 86 RP and above (provided you study of course)
4. No JAE/IP segregation: Everybody in NYJC has taken O Levels. There may be a slightly higher number of kids from affiliated schools (Chung Cheng) but it does not impede you from making friends since there are kids from over 100 schools coming into NYJC.
5. Dress-down days: You only need to wear your full unform once every two weeks - you can wear whatever you want (NYJC related ofc) on other days. (P.S. NYJC has so many different choices of shirts you can buy from the bookshop so you can definitely get something you like)
6. Minimal bureaucracy: There is no need for you to waste time appealing for Science stream if you get admitted via Arts cause in NYJC nobody cares - you take whatever subjects you want regardless of stream. Changing your subject combination mid-way in J1 is also a fuss-free process (done within a day).
7. Proximity: Very near Lorong Chuan (front gate) and Serangoon (back gate). (~ 5 mins walk)
8. GOOD Wednesday: They implemented it this year (not sure if they will continue next year) but basically every other Wednesday you get a day off from school to consolidate your learning.
9. Protected Holidays: I realised that some schools actually call back their students for supplementary lessons during the holidays. In NY (at least for the subjects that I am taking), there is nothing of that sort so you actually get the full duration of the holiday (to study for upcoming MYE :/) *CCA trainings continue during holidays.
10. Long opening hours: You can stay here until 9-10pm during school days. It is also open until 8pm during public holidays / weekends / school holidays (basically everyday of the year) so you can choose to self-study here if home is not a conducive place.
11. Food is good: Wide variety to choose from and there is a few vending machines scattered around the school so that's nice. Vegetarian/Halal options available
12. Binding/printing/photocopying services: These services are available at the printing shop / library / computer labs and the rates are extremely affordable here.
13. Friendly bookshop auntie: Love her. She cares.
14. Principal dialogue sessions: Principal will listen to student's suggestions and see whether it is feasible to implement.
15. NYArcade: There are gaming consoles/board games/foosball tables here available for you to unwind after lessons/exams. (might get abit loud sometimes)
16. Events to bond with others: Have fun with your friends through IllumiNYght, the NYght, Wild Run etc. (optional if this is not your thing)
17. Mugging culture: Might drive you to study harder (but could drive you to insanity :/)
18. Free dinnesnacks during Night Study Program: The packed dinner is not bad considering that it is free. Enjoy!

Cons:

1. No home-classroom: There is a shortage of classrooms in NY! Meaning you are not assigned a fixed classroom where all your lessons are held in. Be prepared to carry your bags up and down the campus whenever you move to your next lesson.
2. Inconsiderate choping culture: Not sure if this is still a prevalent issue but during normal school terms, there's always people choping their seats in the library with their bags. At times, I see an empty library filled with bags. This is likely due to the no home-classroom point which encourages people to leave their bags in the library when they go for lessons. :(
3. Chinese dominance: Everybody in my class is Chinese.. There is a very small proportion of Indians and Malays in NY (1-2%).
4. Strict anti-smuggling regulations: Small con here but if you are planning on bringing your friends from other JCs into NYJC to study tgt or wtv, drop your plans. There is a facial recognition system at the front and back gates. Even if you try to cheat the system (somehow), they will know and you will be kindly asked to do some community service.
5. Strict punctuality regulations: Small con here as well but you have to register yourself (through the face recognition system) 5 mins before the start of your first lesson or 0825 if you have morning assembly. They do keep track of your punctuality and if you are late for a few times, disciplinary actions will be meted (not too sure of the exact details). 0820-0825 is usually the peak period teeming with hundreds of NYJCians trying to register themselves before 0820 so my advice is to either go through the back gate or just come sch earlier. You will also need to report by 0945 (for those having late first lessons) even if your lessons start at 11.
6. Tables are together in classroom: During tutorials the tables are joined together. This could be a pro for some of you who enjoy seating together with friends but I prefer an exam-style seating arrangement where the tables are separated - personal space and less distracting.
7. Online lectures: (Not sure if will continue next year) This might be a pro or con depending on how you look at it. If you lack discipline to watch lectures on your own, then this may be an issue. But you can watch lectures at your own pace at your own place so that's good.
8. Air-con only available at selected classrooms: Specifically only level 5 and container classrooms. It get abit hot sometimes.
9. Pay for your notes: Be prepared to be harassed by your subject reps to pay up whenever there is a new worksheet ready to be collected.

Asking all yalls to give a short essay of Why they're bad parents.
Ballingers --Chris and Jessica, PARENTS of 6 kids. I've been posting about them a lot lately. From their homeschooling fails to raising 14yr old Bailey like an 11 yr old, dressing her like an 11yr old, and Jess constantly bagging on public high school as if their ultra conservative, Born Again, Christian Foreign Voluntourism-based homeschool curriculum is utmost more superior to any educational resources any of her children might encounter Outside of the home. They have their eldest son Jacob doing all the video editing for homeschool, and recently they bragged on tiktok that Parker is now a Level 10 Gymnast. Ya right. They often forget about kid #4, 5yr old Duncan, they never brag about him anymore. Make room for 3yr Luke, who was born with a chromosomal deletion that impacts his his entire life.
Jessica and Chris don't realize or understand the severity of their son's lifelong condition and how it will affect him as he grows older. They likely mistaken it for autism or they dismiss the projections and prognosis, and act like he's such a miracle compared to other children living with the same chromosomal deletion. Maybe he does he have more progress at a faster rate than similar children, but he can easily PLATAEU/STAGNATE/REACH HIS MAXIMUM LEVEL OF FUNCTIONING anytime between now age 3 and puberty. If he stops developing in milestones and he does Plataeu, I believe it will be mostly caused by medical neglect, and C and J will just dismiss it and say "we did our best but this what it is". They have made every excuse in the book to discontinue outside therapies, so they can remain lazy homebodies and not have to take responsibility for anything serious in life. Perhaps, that alone makes them in the top 5 worst of vlogging Parents. The "wholesome large family" gimmick is long overdone and I don't see any reason to continue buying into it anymore. They are Ultra-Conservative Born Again Christians, and attend a Mega-church in their area.
And they have 1yr old Theodore aka Teddy who is still very much a potato of a baby, maybe his personality is hiding from the camera and he's not exactly thumbnail-ideal just yet. They also have an expensive goldendoodle dog named Rue they claim is going to be a service dog for Luke, but the only thing she knows how to do is SIT...and considering these people don't take their kids anywhere outside the house, I don't see why a 3yr old needs a service dog when his parents do practically 100% of everything for him anyways. The dog looked more like furniture than a pet in their videos. And to top it all off, they love remaining their house walls and remodeling their kitchen, but God forbid they have more kids than bedrooms they don't care who suffers, because eldest daughter Bailey always has to share a room with her brothers, and right now is sharing a room with her 13yr old brother because supposedly he needs a bed on the ground while he has a broken arm in a cast, so he doesn't struggle to get up onto a top bunk in his room he shares with Duncan and Parker. Bailey has also been forced to share her room with Luke, while he's in a crib, to be his sister-mom, and while Jess and Chris speak for her and say she loves sharing a room with Luke, Bailey never says it herself to the camera. Mind you, Chris has a whole garage as office #1, and another bedroom as office #2, while they have like 2acres and he could build a tiny shed office outside of the house and give that actual Permitted bedroom to his only and eldest daughter out of mother fucking respect. But nah, that's too much work for them. And don't forget, every subsequent baby needs his own nursery/bedroom instead of being at the mother's side of the bed, so that's another bedroom that is given away and at least 4 older children can't have. That girl will never have her own room.
Other vlogger parents to write long winded essays about who Absolutely Suck:
April and Davey Orgill, who verbally and emotionally abuse their large brood of kids for shits and giggles, and have hosted at least 4 exchange students who come from Spanish speaking countries and are all Catholic or Christian, but the Orgills really push their Mormonism onto the exchange teens at a toxic level. They are LDS/Mormon.
Jamie and Skyler Scotts: they have two teen sons and 4yr old quintuplets, they recently separated and have the kids on split custody, but some of their parenting habits are problematic, including how Jamie overportrays Mormon-approved gender affirming stereotyping to her quintuplets and dresses them in non-play clothes to doll them up as little Dresden Dolls whenever they're with her. I think she's missing the point of childhood by a mile. They should be so thankful that their high-order multiples don't have any lifelong health issues, internal issues, autism or retinopathy despite having been born at 6 months gestation. They are LDS/Mormon.
FamilyFunPack: mom Kristine has crazy eyes like a deranged serial killer. Husband Matt started out strong but has since been Whipped. They have 7 kids, their youngest they had via surrogacy. I sure hope that their surrogate was paid well, especially concerning the baby girl was born a month early and spent time in the NICU. The baby still looks like a potato, she's not in all the vlogs. Recently on their tiktok they showed their 12 yr old twin boys getting rid of their Little Tikes Fire Truck beds, replaced with a twin over twin bunk bed....which they look like they'll outgrow in no time. Their 16 yr old daughter still wears Jojo Siwa headbands and hairbows, and dresses like an 11yr old. Only their 14yr old son has any life behind his eyes, he often throws daggers to his parents when they're vlogging and looks displeased by bring on camera. Their 9yr old son also avoids the camera more frequently. Kristine and Matt Over Infantalize all their kids, with their 5yr old son still sleeping in a crib in the master bedroom, they spoonfeed him as if his hands are broken 24/7/365. He doesn't seem to have any independence and probably won't have any, ever. They homeschool their kids, but never have any actual homeschool videos, just random sightings of generic workbooks that most teachers use just for photocopying extra worksheets out of. They are LDS/Mormon.
The Tanner family, aka Yawi Vlogs aka The Tannerites: Jonny and Sarah are very, emotionally and verbally abusive to their 7 kids, one of whom is married and the other who recently moved out and is engaged at 19. 5 more kids at home. They claim to homeschool via online school, which there is a difference. They have a 7yr old son who often displays problematic behaviours around hygiene, fecal smearing, scizzors in his underwear, pull-ups on the outside of his pants, urinating in closets instead of the bathroom, etc. Johnny and Sarah will either laugh at him or degrade him from one incident to the next. They are also LDS/Mormon. They humiliate their daughters on camera when they're on their periods, have cramps, stay in bed sick all day from their periods; they make fun of their middle son, who has stomach ulcers and a lisp; they have put down dogs and cats and parakeets for no reason other than laziness; they don't ever take their kids on vacation or out of the house, they're shut-ins.

Recently, there have been a number of posts from stressed and struggling new teachers who are having difficulty finding their feet in their new job or country. Please know that we've all been there, and we see you. This post will give those teachers (and prospective newbies) advice on dealing with the most common problems and links to useful threads and resources.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING

Throwing your life in the air and moving to another country where you don't speak the language (or don't speak it with any degree of proficiency) can be stressful, scary, frustrating, and isolating, and that's before you've even set foot in the classroom.
Starting a new job or a new career is tough. Starting a new job or a new career in a new country halfway across the world where you know no-one is utter madness, and yet so many of us do it and somehow make it work. Know that there is not a teacher out there who didn't struggle in the beginning. It's easy to feel like you're drowning, but it's completely normal. DON'T suffer in silence – talk to people.
If you're struggling at work:

• Talk to your line manager – they can't help if they don't know
• Ask to be observed and, if possible, to observe other teachers
• Talk to more experienced colleagues about lesson-planning, materials-selection, exploiting coursebooks, classroom management, etc.
• Ask for advice here on TEFL (or on one of the country-specific subs, such as teachinginkorea or teachinginjapan/)
• Team up with other teachers who teach the same age group/level to plan lessons
• Follow some of the tips in this lesson-planning thread
• If you have a teaching assistant, work with them not against them – they're there to support you (and are being paid a fraction of what you are, so treat them with respect)

LESSON-PLANNING

All new teachers struggle with lesson-planning. It can be completely overwhelming, especially if you have multiple age groups, levels, and class types and/or limited resources to work from. Know that you are not alone. For another teacher's experience of lesson-planning and tips from more experienced teachers, read Lesson-planning is killing me.
It's helpful to have a bank of low- or no-prep games to draw upon. I'd also recommend investing in some resource books, especially those with photocopiable materials.

• Classroom games
• Resource books

Knowing where to go for age- and level-appropriate activities and materials will also cut down on lesson-planning time. Note that some of these sites require paid membership.
For VYLs/YLs

• Crayola – crafts, colouring pages, and activities
• Anglomaniacy – printable flashcards, worksheets and games
• Picklebums – printable activities and worksheets from a former pre-school teacher
• Kids' Pages – printable flashcards and worksheets
• iSLCollective – downloadable worksheets and PowerPoints
• British Council Kids – online games, songs, stories and activities
• British Council Teaching English (Primary) – lesson plans and activities for the primary classroom
• Tim's Printables – dot-to-dots, colouring pages, mazes, spot the difference, worksheets, templates, etc. (requires paid membership)
• Education.com – worksheets and lesson plans from Pre-K to 8th grade in American school subjects
• Twinkl – primary and secondary resources in English, maths, and science as well as other subjects on the English national curriculum (requires paid membership)
• Teachers Pay Teachers – worksheets for ELA and other American school subjects (payment required)
• Scholastic Teachables – worksheets from Pre-K to 8th grade in American school subjects (requires paid membership)

For teens/adults

• British Council Teens – online skills and language practice
• British Council Teaching English (Secondary) – lesson plans and activities for the secondary classroom
• British Council Teaching English (Adults) – lesson plans and activities for the adult classroom
• Teach This – over 2,000 printable ESL activities, worksheets, games and lessons (requires paid membership)
• Linguahouse – approx. 3,000 worksheets, lesson plans and multimedia resources (requires paid membership)
• iSLCollective – downloadable worksheets and PowerPoints
• BBC Learning English – a range of free resources including online courses (A2-B2), grammar reference and practice, vocabulary practice, and a (British English) pronunciation guide
• Teachers Pay Teachers – worksheets for ELA and other American school subjects (payment required)
• TEFLtastic – games and worksheets for General English, Business English, exam English and ESP
• AllThingsGrammar – printable ready-made worksheets for just about every language point out there
• AllThingsTopics – printable ready-made worksheets for common topics
• Film English – lesson plans designed around short films and videos, and feature-length films (payment required)

It's not always possible to find ready-made worksheets that perfectly match your intended target language or that are appropriate to your teaching context. In that case, you will need to make your own worksheets. You can save time by using a worksheet generator.
Worksheet generators

• CreatePrintables – write your own sentences and create a tracing sheet with arrows for kids learning to write
• WorksheetWorks.com – create your own handwriting practice sheets with letters that can be traced or copied
• Common Core Sheets – spelling worksheets
• Wordsmyth – make gap-fills, matching and multiple choice worksheets
• Twinkl Create – make various materials, including cards, certificates, colouring sheets, games and wordmats
• Super Teacher Worksheets – create wordsearches of different levels of complexity
• The Teacher's Corner – allows you to create wordsearches in different shapes
• Crossword Labs – make your own criss-cross puzzle or find an existing one
• WordMint – over 500,000 pre-made puzzles and the ability to make wordsearches, crosswords, bingo cards, etc.
• Discovery Puzzlemaker – create wordsearches, criss-cross puzzles, cryptograms, etc.
• Education.com – create wordsearches, criss-cross puzzles, matching, word scrambles, letter tracing sheets, etc.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

From enthusiastic Kindergarteners to unruly teens to uninterested adults, managing students' behaviour can be tough. With kids and young teens, it's important to put systems in place and adhere to them. With older teens and adults, respect will need to be earned, not given. If you design and deliver engaging lessons that are relevant and useful to your students' needs, wants, and contexts, you stand a good chance of winning them over.
Tips from experienced teachers:

• Classroom management tips
• Classroom management for children
• Mastering classroom management and discipline

HOMESICKNESS

Feeling homesick is part and parcel of living abroad. Fortunately, for most people, it doesn't last, but while you're in the moment, little things can become overwhelming. I remember being incredibly stressed and upset because I couldn't find A4 notebooks anywhere in Madrid. Yes, notebooks. Looking back, it's laughable, but at the time it felt as though the whole world was conspiring against me. At home, I knew exactly where to go; in Spain, there was no WHSmith (British newsagent's and stationery store). I eventually found what I was looking for in a Chino (Chinese-owned discount stores). And, of course, once I'd found them, I saw them everywhere – in the supermarkets, in El Corte Inglés, in (Flying) Tiger, in papelerías...
Ways of combatting homesickness:

• Bring some home comforts with you
• Stay in touch with family and friends back home by WhatsApp/phone/Skype/email rather than social media
• Get out and about and explore your new city or country
• Find new favourites – cafés, food, markets, green spaces, views, walks – so you have somewhere to go when you're feeling down
• Understand that things don't work as they do at home – appreciate the differences
• Accept invitations from others to do something or go somewhere
• Invite others to do something or go somewhere
• Learn the language

ISOLATION

If you had a great social life in your home country, moving abroad can be very isolating, especially if you don't speak the language of your host country and/or you are living in a small town or more rural location. Read one teacher's experiences in South Korea a few weeks and a few months in:

• Not enjoying my time in Korea
• Is it time to break my contract and come home?

Things you could do:

• Befriend your co-workers (foreign and local)
• Consider sharing accommodation – note that this can come with its own set of problems
• Join a Facebook group for teachers/foreigners in your city or country
• Find or start a Meet Up group
• Take language classes
• Take up a new hobby
• Join a gym, sports club, team or fitness group
• Sign up to a dating or friendship app
• Join a religious group or church/synagogue/mosque/temple (if you're religious)
• Volunteer – animal rescues, homeless charities and refugee organisations always need help
• Find a local boyfriend or girlfriend

ANYTHING TO ADD?

If you think I've missed anything or you'd like to add any personal stories, advice, suggestions or links (NOT to pirated resources), please feel free to comment. I will edit my post accordingly to include all useful information.

Hello! Currently in Ha Tinh province which I know isn’t the biggest but there are a plethora of photocopy shops just as there were when I was in Saigon.
My question is… aside from photocopying do these shops also offer a printing service? I am here doing some teaching and it would be enormously beneficial if there was somewhere I could go to print resources.
Not specifically about Ha Tinh I guess, just in general is there any sort of shop/store that would allow me to bring my laptop and pay to print off worksheets.
TIA :)

Hi all!
I teach middle school science and have been doing an evolution activity for many years. I received the activity from my mentor all the way back in 2006, but I only had a photocopy. I'm looking to purchase the book that it came from, but can't find any indication of the source.
If you google the title, "29-2 How Do Fossils Show Change?", you can find various photocopies of the worksheet, but not the name of the book.
Here is a link to one: How Do Fossils Show Change?
Hoping someone can help. Thank you!