This was a sample textbook I made in my Education 406 class. It includes a table of contents with various chapters as well as a further in depth analysis of 2 of the chapters.

1. Make a
Difference:
Become a
Successful
Educator
By: Shari Nearnberg

2. Forward
Dear Current and Future Teachers,
Education plays a major role in the lives of individuals all
throughout the world. It is a path that people take everyday and at all
ages to further their knowledge about themselves, others, and the world
around them. Education is more than just learning facts, studying for an
exam, and getting the highest possible grades; it is about self-enhancement,
integrity, and wisdom.
Teachers lay the foundation for the education of young children
and adolescents in order to help them be able to adapt to future
endeavors and/or challenges, as well as to become well-rounded
people. Your job as an educator goes above and beyond just coming to
school and presenting to the students. You are a leader, a confidante,
and most importantly a role model for them. The way you behave, the
way you conduct the class, and the respect you show others and instill
in them will help to form their character. Please understand that you
have a true impact on the lives of your students.
This book will provide you with guidelines, suggestions, and
methods to properly to teach your students and help you to handle
various classroom and school situations. Use it as a reference for
yourself as you strive for personal growth and competence as a teacher.
Remember, you teach your students but you don’t know everything
there is to know. It is always ok to have your own guide to help you
become the best educator you can be.
Sincerely,
Shari Nearnberg

3. Table of Contents
1. Learning Styles of Students
 Identifying the various learning styles of your students that you
may encounter when teaching
 Adapting your lessons to accommodate students that learn in
less traditional ways
2. Teaching Methods
 How to vary your lessons enough to keep students interested in
the material
 How to ensure that your students are actually retaining the
information you are teaching by checking for understanding on
a continuous basis
 How to handle students on all levels from those who are
excelling academically to those who are significantly struggling
with the material
3. Staying on Task Each Day
 How to make sure you efficiently manage your limited teaching
time each day
 How to make effective lesson plans that are concise, yet cover
all necessary material
 How to recover from days where you are behind in your lessons
4. Gaining Respect from Students
 How to properly express your role as an authoritative figure
 How to make yourself available to your students so that they
can confide in you and seek out help when needed
5. Equality in the Classroom
 How to teach your students to respect their classmates
 How to educate students on the importance of accepting
diversity and other’s differences
 Help you to design activities for team-building within the
classroom to foster collaboration
6. Schooling

4.  Educate you on how most schools are run
 Explain the importance of these standard rules and any other
rules that you may come across throughout your career as an
educator
 Provide you with helpful resources in case you need help or
clarification regarding your role as an educator
7. Dealing with Administration
 How to approach administration with any issues or areas of
improvement in the school
 How to manage administration expectations with your own
beliefs and approaches to teaching

5. Chapter 2 - Teaching Methods
1. Making a Lesson Plan
 Observe your students, the classroom setting, and consider the
subject you are teaching and then design a lesson plan to
accommodate all circumstances
 Ex:
 Math teachers need to provide lesson plans that
incorporate demos and examples of how to do problems
and students will then practice on their own
 An elementary school teacher that is teaching state
capitals may want to make an interactive game as part of
her lesson
 A chemistry teacher may give a lecture about certain
reactions and then design a lab for the students to
observe first hand
 Make the lesson plans structured but engaging in order to make
sure students are actively participating
 Take advantage of valuable resources in the classroom like
computers and other technologies
 Vary these lessons on a regular basis according to what you are
teaching so that the students don’t get bored of redundancy
2. Checking for Understanding
 Creating a fun and engaging lesson plan is great but if the
student aren’t learning anything, your efforts are going to waste
 During every lesson, make sure all students are following along
 Make the classroom atmosphere friendly so as to encourage
people to ask questions when they don’t understand something
 Make sure to emphasize the most important points of your
lesson by either writing them on the board, repeating them, or
changing your tone of voice to note the significance
 Provide students with activities and/or problems to do either
on their own or as a group in order to check their individual
understanding of the material
 Provide relevant and helpful homework assignments so that the
students don’t readily forget the lesson learned

6. 3. Dealing with Different Learning Abilities of Students
 Clearly define your expectations in terms of what you expect
them to learn
 Make sure lesson plans flow at a pace to accommodate
everyone in the classroom so that each student can easily follow
along
 Make lesson plans simple so that everyone can grasp basic
concepts (lesson plans should be relatable and understandable
for kids at different levels)
 Provide a few complex examples or questions as additional
problems for those that are excelling in the class and want a
challenge
 While students are working independently on their work
following the lesson, it is a good time to approach any students
who you feel are struggling with the material
 Emphasize your extra help hours so that students can meet one-on-
one

7. Chapter 2 -Video Links
1. Strategies for Increasing Student Engagement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5hUggOKfyE
Summary: This video shows an elementary school teacher while she is
teaching her students Literature. Some of her students are native
English speakers while others are new to the country. In her attempt to
make learning fun and easy for everyone, she tries to incorporate ways
to create reading assignments that they would enjoy, design group and
partner activities, and clearly define her expectations through visuals.
2. Top 10 Proven Classroom Management Tips for Teachers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XUTdaQIdKI
Summary: This video provides teachers with a basis of how to run and
manage their classrooms as well as how to handle (and in some cases
prevent) unwanted situations from occurring. The following are the 10
tips for effective classroom management:
 Start the year tough
 Be fair to all students
 Be prepared for disruptions
 Instill high expectations
 Incentivize good behavior
 Over plan as a backup if and when your lessons end early
 Have a disciplinary plan
 Focus on relationships with your students
 Be careful about confrontation with students
 Be patient

8. Chapter 2 - Articles
1. Lesson Methodologies
https://www.teachervision.com/curriculumplanning/teaching-methods/
48355.html?page=1&detoured=1
Summary: This article goes through various types of lesson and
teaching strategies for the classroom in the order from least interactive
of students to most interactive. To name a couple, the article begins
introducing a lecture style where the teacher presents a basic
understanding of the material at hand. The method that requires the
most involvement and learning however would be a reflective inquiry
because it entails the students’ controlling what they learn and how
they will learn it.
2. Communicate with Students Through Technology
http://www.nea.org/tools/52048.htm
Summary: This article discusses innovative ways that allow both
teachers to communicate with their students and students to
communicate with each other. Technology plays a key role in the lives of
most people, especially the millennial youth generation because they
have grown accustomed to using them. Such examples that are
emphasized to use in the classroom include: GoogleDocs for paperless
work collaboration and VoiceThread to get students’ inputs on various
videos.

9. Chapter 2 – Questions to Ponder
1. How can I make my students want to come to my class everyday and
learn?
2. How can I make my lessons fun but also informative?
3. How can I make my lessons interactive so that all students can
participate?
4. How can I ensure that all students are being challenged to their full
potential?
5. How much material should be covered on quizzes and/or exams so
that students will not be overwhelmed by the amount of material?

10. Chapter 5 – Equality in the Classroom
1. Respect Amongst Students
 Clearly define behavioral expectations for the students so they
know what to expect
 Make expectations and rules very explicit so there is no
ambiguity
 Provide clear consequences for any inappropriate behavior so
that students understand them
 Explain the severity of bullying and how emotionally and
physically devastating it could be
 Provide a code of conduct document to be hung in the
classroom for all students to see
 Explain the importance of these rules so that students can
understand them on a more personal level
2. Educating Students About Diversity
 Educate the students about various cultures, religions,
nationalities, etc.
 Explain to students that people may have different beliefs and
cultures but they all strive to be accepted
 Encourage people to get out of their comfort level and make
new friends
 Emphasize the importance of inclusion both in the classroom
and outside of it
 Explain to students why private get-togethers or gatherings
should not be discussed in front of others who are not included
3. Creating Team-Building Activities
 Create projects throughout the year that are designed to
incorporate students working together
 Make groups at random in order to allow students to veer
away from only choosing to work with their close friends
 Explain the importance of working in groups or teams and how
they will play a frequent role in their lives upon having a job

11.  Explain how teams can work efficiently, maximizing their
productivity based on assigning work according to peoples’
skillsets
 Encourage constant communication with group members in
order to help each other and make a successful project
 Encourage students to keep these connective ties even beyond
the scope of the project

12. Chapter 5 – Videos
1. Promoting Respect in the Classroom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQNCMkL_YvM
Summary: This video provides a great representation of what it means
to show respect. In order for students to understand the concept of
respect, they need a role model to show the importance of it. You, the
teacher, are their role model at school. Teach them to interact with
everyone in their class and make new friends. Make sure that the
classroom has fair standards and expectations for all students and that
everyone has a say in their education.
2. Diversity in the Classroom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhTvgl5gep8
Summary: This video provides a visual and written description of the
significance of diversity. Our country is considered to be a “melting pot”
and therefore educators should be teaching the value of learning about
different cultures, nationalities, religions etc. in order to promote
acceptance of everyone.

13. Chapter 5 - Articles
1. 35 Activities Your Students Can Do To Learn Respect
http://www.micheleborba.com/Pages/BMI05.htm
Summary: This article provides a multitude of suggestions for teachers
to teach their students about the importance of respect in the
classroom. Many of these activities are hands-on and interactive,
allowing each student to learn what respect means to them and how to
demonstrate the proper way to show it to their peers. Some of these
activities include: writing a commercial about respect, interviewing
others about their opinions on it, and making a collage of people who
are showing respect.
2. The Benefits of Diversity in the Classroom on the
Teaching Environment
http://voices.yahoo.com/the-benefits-diversity-classroom-the-
1030873.html?cat=4
Summary: This article is provides advise for teachers on how important
it is to promote diversity in the classroom in order to make the learning
experience of all students the best it can be. The author is a teacher
herself and is able to provide lessons through her own experiences on
why tolerance and acceptance of peoples’ differences is crucial to
promoting a calm working environment that is free from biases or
prejudices. She also promotes providing diversity lessons to students
regarding various religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, gender issues,
etc. in order to foster equality and community in the classroom.

14. Chapter 5 – Questions to Ponder
1. How can I, as a teacher, promote respect in my classroom?
2. What disciplinary rules should I establish in my classroom for
students who break the rules?
3. What team-building activities can I create that can foster
collaboration and encourage students to meet new people?
4. How can I continue to incorporate the education of diversity in my
lessons?
5. How can I make my classroom an open and comfortable environment
where all students can learn to their maximum potential?