AltBlock: 85-Minute Lesson Planner and Pacing Tool for Alternative School Teachers

1st year teacher at an alternative school

There’s a lot to unpack here. First of all, congratulations on your first teaching job! I am in a “typical” public high school, going into year 2. I had regular education classes (no co-taught or honors) and I’d say the behavior was pretty much what you’d expect from 15yo kids 🤣 but having routines will really really help you in a block schedule. Also, since this is an alternative school, definitely figure out the procedures for discipline and behavioral issues. If they’re coming to your school because they got kicked from the public school in the district, calling parents/guardians may not be super effective. I’d plan out the routine of your block schedule carefully, and expect to have like a 20-30min limit for students focus on one activity. Mine tended to lose focus pretty easily, so I had constant reminders and walking around the room to keep everyone on task. That being said, I tried to avoid lecturing for more than 15-20mins because neither me nor my students wanna hear me yapping that long. It might be nice to structure it with a 5min break halfway through the period. It could be a “brain break” or brain teaser activity, or you could do like 3 min breaks between each thing you do in class. Something that can signal you’re moving on from one thing to the next. I know it seems like an elementary school strategy, but it works on big kids too! Since you’re the only science teacher in the building, I’d see if you’re able to connect with the science department at the other high school in your district. Honestly, if I didn’t have my department last year I would’ve quit. You really need people to fall back on regarding teacher-life stress, but also you’re the ONLY one teaching multiple science classes. You’ll have 3+ classes to prep, and might not have resources from the previous teacher. If your district can invest in a curriculum available online from other teachers (like “it’s not rocket science”) you’ll have all pre-made notes, activities, PowerPoints, and more. Building relationships is the easy part! Be yourself (professionally lol) and kids will flock to you. If you’re naturally sarcastic and kinda silly, be that person. If you’re typically no-nonsense, be that person. If you’re trying to fit in to some “teacher” image or stereotype you have in your mind, they’ll sniff you out. You definitely will have to be strict with your rules and what you will/won’t allow in your classroom, but you can still be kind or silly or sarcastic or straightforward. I’m naturally a silly/sarcastic person and I like to have FUN, but last year I struggled holding boundaries in my room and it led to some management issues that were brought up in my evaluations. It’s better to start off strong and let up as you get to know everyone. Respect is earned, and it goes both ways, so it’ll take some time for you to be comfortable and familiar with your students enough to gauge what they can handle.

There’s a lot to unpack here. First of all, congratulations on your first teaching job! I am in a “typical” public high school, going into year 2. I had regular education classes (no co-taught or honors) and I’d say the behavior was pretty much what you’d expect from 15yo kids 🤣 but having routines will really really help you in a block schedule. Also, since this is an alternative school, definitely figure out the procedures for discipline and behavioral issues. If they’re coming to your school because they got kicked from the public school in the district, calling parents/guardians may not be super effective. I’d plan out the routine of your block schedule carefully, and expect to have like a 20-30min limit for students focus on one activity. Mine tended to lose focus pretty easily, so I had constant reminders and walking around the room to keep everyone on task. That being said, I tried to avoid lecturing for more than 15-20mins because neither me nor my students wanna hear me yapping that long. It might be nice to structure it with a 5min break halfway through the period. It could be a “brain break” or brain teaser activity, or you could do like 3 min breaks between each thing you do in class. Something that can signal you’re moving on from one thing to the next. I know it seems like an elementary school strategy, but it works on big kids too! Since you’re the only science teacher in the building, I’d see if you’re able to connect with the science department at the other high school in your district. Honestly, if I didn’t have my department last year I would’ve quit. You really need people to fall back on regarding teacher-life stress, but also you’re the ONLY one teaching multiple science classes. You’ll have 3+ classes to prep, and might not have resources from the previous teacher. If your district can invest in a curriculum available online from other teachers (like “it’s not rocket science”) you’ll have all pre-made notes, activities, PowerPoints, and more. Building relationships is the easy part! Be yourself (professionally lol) and kids will flock to you. If you’re naturally sarcastic and kinda silly, be that person. If you’re typically no-nonsense, be that person. If you’re trying to fit in to some “teacher” image or stereotype you have in your mind, they’ll sniff you out. You definitely will have to be strict with your rules and what you will/won’t allow in your classroom, but you can still be kind or silly or sarcastic or straightforward. I’m naturally a silly/sarcastic person and I like to have FUN, but last year I struggled holding boundaries in my room and it led to some management issues that were brought up in my evaluations. It’s better to start off strong and let up as you get to know everyone. Respect is earned, and it goes both ways, so it’ll take some time for you to be comfortable and familiar with your students enough to gauge what they can handle.