Interview Tips for Teachers

This week, I had the opportunity to participate on the interview committee for my school.  It was such a great experience and made me think about what I can do to make myself more marketable.  I've mentioned it before but my family is moving to Hawaii at the end of November.  It's very exciting BUT also nerve-wracking to think about having to start all over again and hunt for jobs.  

After we got done interviewing, I thought that many of readers in blog land are probably also looking for teaching jobs and are facing the stress of interview committees.  So here are things that might be helpful to think about and consider when interviewing/applying for teaching jobs. 

1.  Make sure your resume is up-to-date.  It can be easy to tell if you have an out-dated resume.  If you are tailoring your resume to specific schools, such as naming the school you are trying to get hired at in your resume, make sure you are sending the resume to the right school.  Don't say you will be a great fit at ABC Elem School and then send it to XYZ Elem School.

2.  Think carefully about who you ask to submit a reference letter for you.  Will this person write a good reference letter?  If you have teaching experience, did you list your last principal as a reference?  It can be a red flag if you do not have your principal listed or if all of your references are fellow teachers.

3.  Think about the questions you might be asked and possible answers before the interview.  Interviews can make people nervous and anxious.  It helps if you have thought about questions beforehand, so you're not caught off guard.  The next few points are some common questions you might be asked.

a.  What does your behavior management plan look like?

b.  How would you structure your literacy block?

c.  How would you motivate an unmotivated student?

d.  How do you communicate with parents?

e.  How do you incorporate technology in your teaching?

4.  Make eye contact with all the people on your interview committee.  Even if the questions are coming from one person, remember the other people on the committee will probably have input into the hiring decision.

5.  Talk about the standards and experiences you have had in the past teaching, interacting with students, and communicating with parents.  Even if you only have student teaching experience, you have things you can talk about that make it more personal.

This website has a forum for people looking for teaching jobs.  The first link at the top has different posts from all over the country that list the types of questions the poster was asked in their interview.  This can give you a good idea of the different kinds of questions asked and lets you think about how you would answer the questions.  Click here to check it out.

Good luck to all of those searching for jobs!  

Luna Projection Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the Luna Projection Giveaway is number

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Flooding and blends.....Oh My!

Many of you may have watched the news coming from the part of FL where I live.  We have had an INSANE amount of rain fall in the last 2 days.  It was crazy.  The flooding has been unreal here.  Luckily, we have several retention ponds in my neighborhood that kept us from being flooded.  The one directly across the street from us was filled to the brim (and the one 2 houses down, too) but we're fortunate that they didn't overflow.  Otherwise, we might have been swimming!

Here's some pictures of the flooding that my town has seen:

This is a neighborhood where some of the teachers I work with live.

This Burger King is a few miles from my house.

This is the retention pond 2 houses down from us.  I don't know why the county didn't move backhoe out before the rains started.  They've been trying to pump the pond dry for 2 days now!

So since I've been stuck in the house for 2 days with a whole bunch of kids and the dog....I've been trying to keep myself busy and from going insane.  I've added a bunch of games that I created the last 2 days.  I've been wanting to make some blends games for awhile.  I'm happy that I was able to get them done! Click on the pictures to check them out!

I also added a new sight word game that your boys will love!

I've revised this game that was one of the first ones I made.  This game is perfect if you have students who struggle reading words like cap and cape or shin and shine.  If you've already purchased the game, feel free to redownload.  

And I revised this FREE sight word game.

Don't forget to enter the Luna Project Giveaway by clicking {here}.

Now if everyone can keep your fingers crossed that sunny skies show up soon......otherwise I'm going to go stir crazy and my kids are going to drive insane!  We need the beach and outside!

Let's Start Summer with a Giveaway!!

I just finished school this week and I don't know about you guys.....but I'm so happy to be on summer break.  The last little bit of school and finishing the year out really felt overwhelming for me.  I'm so happy to be able to get some things done that have been on my long to-do list.  Plus, the sleeping later (I won't say sleeping in with 3 6-year-olds in the house) has been awesome.

So what better way to start the summer than with a giveaway (and it knocks one of the things to do off my to-do list)!  Learning Resources was kind enough to let me try out their Luna Interactive Projection Camera and give one away to my awesome followers!

I don't have any pictures of me using it in my classroom, because the end of the year was CRAZY!  However, you can see how it would work in this picture.

The things I liked best about the Luna Projection Camera are:

1.  It's Mac compatible.  Our school uses Mac products and I have my own MacBook Pro.  I wouldn't have been able to use the camera if it wasn't Mac compatible.

2.  Size!  It was small and compact but still got the job done.  The projection camera I had been using was big and bulky.  It took up a lot of room on my cart that holds all my stuff.

3.  Clear picture.  Everything showed up nice and clear.

So you have up to 3 chances to win.  Do each of these things and leave a comment for each one.  Make sure you leave your email address in the comments so I can contact you after the giveaway is over.  The giveaway will run through Monday, June 11th and end at midnight (Central Time).  One lucky winner will be chosen.

1.  Follow Extra Special Teaching's blog for one entry {click here}

2.  Follow Extra Special Teaching's TPT store for one entry {click here}

3.  Follow Learning Resources on Facebook for one entry {click here}

You might also want to check out Learning Resource through their Twitter, YouTube, or their website.