Help! Teacher interview in LI

I've taught Spanish in my high school in NYC for 6 years now, and it's time for a change. I sent out a bunch of resumes to L.I. and have my first interview on Friday. I have to do a demo lesson too. I'm so nervous! I have a few questions for those of you who teach in L.I. (any subject):

1. What are the 'buzz words' floating around? In my school, it's 'student engagement,' 'active listening,' and 'backwards buildup.' But my school is weird.

2. What's the typical format of a lesson plan? I've only been teaching for 6 years, but in those 6 years we went from Developmental lessons to Workshop Model Lessons to Developmental again to Understanding by Design. I have no idea what kind of lesson this district wants to see - what's the safest bet?

3. I'm supposed to bring some stuff with me, right? Besides my lesson plan, letters of recommendation, and transcripts, what should I bring?

Please excuse my naivite, but I've only ever been on one teacher job interview in my life, right out of college, when they hired me during a teacher shortage pretty much just for showing up. Help!!!

TIA

Hi, I am an Assitant Prinicpal on LI and I would reserach the district online to learn about what is important to them. I would also discuss:
Including special needs students
differientiated instruction
state exams
communicating with parents (big issue in most li schools)
most important part of a lesson:objective, strategies and closure (did they get it) Google Madeline Hunter for more lesson plan details
classroom management-rewarding positive behavior
A great response is to collaborate with collegues and use the supports in the building for questions you are unsure of how to answer (i.e, psychologist, guidance counselors, special ed teachers etc.)

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions about what I said. GOOD LUCK!!!

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Posted by christinamoran

Hi, I am an Assitant Prinicpal on LI and I would reserach the district online to learn about what is important to them. I would also discuss:
Including special needs students
differientiated instruction
state exams
communicating with parents (big issue in most li schools)
most important part of a lesson:objective, strategies and closure (did they get it) Google Madeline Hunter for more lesson plan details
classroom management-rewarding positive behavior
A great response is to collaborate with collegues and use the supports in the building for questions you are unsure of how to answer (i.e, psychologist, guidance counselors, special ed teachers etc.)

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions about what I said. GOOD LUCK!!!

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I am in total agreement with all of this awesome advice!
Special need and differentialtion is a huge one.
Collaboration is also one, and parent involvement is always huge.
Suggestion I have for the demo:
1- get stickers for the kids to make name tags so it is more personal and you ar not pointing.
2- Bring copy of certification
3- Don't forget the aim on the board
4- If you feel like you ar running out of time, stop and close the lesson----they love closure---even if you run our of time.
GOOD LUCK!

I just wanted to recommend that you also post this on the teachers board for LIF!

And GOOD LUCK!!!

-This year I have done many workshops in Understanding By Design and have been working on alternate forms of assessment such as Porfolio projects...
-Definetely give name tags to the students (as mentioned above)
-Bring something in case you have too much time left, such as a newspaper article , poltical cartoon, interesting story-don't just say, oops,I'm done!...etc.
-Connectivity to student's lives is very important...why would they want to learn what you are teaching them?
-Make sure you contact the school before you demo to make sure they have all the equipment you might need (overhead)
-Lastly, relax and be confident...also, be prepared to do a writing sample if they ask. You have been teaching for 6 years, and while you may not be a pro, you are hardly a novice and I think you will do fine! Good luck and keep us updated!

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I am in total agreement with all of this awesome advice!
Special need and differentialtion is a huge one.
Collaboration is also one, and parent involvement is always huge.
Suggestion I have for the demo:
1- get stickers for the kids to make name tags so it is more personal and you ar not pointing.
2- Bring copy of certification
3- Don't forget the aim on the board
4- If you feel like you ar running out of time, stop and close the lesson----they love closure---even if you run our of time.
GOOD LUCK!

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Definitely CLOSURE!!!!!! That is the MOST important thing (or so I have been told).

Wow, everyone, this has been so helpful. Thank you so much!

I was just worried because, sad to say, my school has so many discipline problems that they don't focus on the academics as much, and I was worried that I'd be out of the loop in terms of what someone judging my teaching technique would want to see. Thank you SO MUCH for all the concrete ideas you've given me - a lot of them will go right into my lesson plan. You guys are great!

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Posted by DavaDay

...my school has so many discipline problems that they don't focus on the academics as much, and I was worried that I'd be out of the loop in terms of what someone judging my teaching technique would want to see.

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That's good though, b/c depending on the district, they want make sure you can control the students. I was a teacher at an alternative high school for 5 years and it was very similar to your situation. I was just hired for next year by a school district that sends kids to my school. I think that one of the reasons that I was hired was b/c they know I can deal with their kids.