Are you planning to go into teaching, but not ready to apply to the teacher preparation program? Have you just begun the teacher prep program? Either way, this is one document you should read! It's loaded with ideas and 'food for thought' about questions you should be asking yourself, experiences you should plan to have, and things you should start to collect, all of which will help you become better prepared for student teaching and beyond!

 Things to think about…

• What subject(s) am I interested in teaching?

• What grade level(s) do I think I might enjoy teaching?

• What are the job market projections in various fields and grade levels for the time I'll be looking for a job?

• What skills will I need in order to be a successful teacher?

• What skills am I fairly strong in using, and what skills do I need to develop?

• What area of the country would I like to teach in?

• What setting - urban, suburban, rural - am I interested in teaching in, and where do I think I could be successful?

• Do I know enough about these options to make an informed and wise choice for myself?

• How can I go about finding more information so as to make a good choice?

• work with children of a variety of ages, in both 'play' and 'work' settings, in which you have authority over them

• observe students at all levels of school - elementary, middle, and high school

• observe students in different school settings - urban, suburban, and rural

• work in programs that allow you to observe how they design their 'curriculum' and the plans to implement it

• work in programs that allow you to participate in designing some aspect of the curriculum

• give presentations to different age groups of children

• work in situations with children and/or other prospective teachers that enable you to do problem-solving, long-range planning, and evaluation of what you have done

• whether by yourself or with others, take a 'self-inventory' from time to time, to help identify your strengths and areas in which you would like to grow

• spend time on the Internet becoming familiar with resources available to teachers

• read educational journals and newspapers to keep abreast of current issues

• journal with dates of experiences you have, as well as brief notes about what the experience was, and your impression of it

• pictures of you working with children in a variety of settings - label each with date, type of experience, your role

• copies of documents you help produce - curriculum, evaluations, program guidelines, long-range plans, etc.

• copies of lesson plans from any lessons you plan and teach

• file of 'good ideas' that you get from teachers and other students

• copies of self-inventories you take over time

• any products you produce when you work with children (games, models, teaching aids, etc)

• copies of 'significant pieces' you write (papers for a class, reflections on observations, articles for student publications, etc)

• copies of any videos that are taken that show you working with children

• newspaper articles that highlight projects you participated in