One of the most important aspects of being a teacher is being prepared for all of your lessons. It is better to be over-prepared rather than underprepared. An essential aspect of being prepared is ensuring that you have all of the materials you need for the lesson. Don’t worry, we have put together a list of essentials an English teacher should always have in your teaching bag. 

Your Lesson Plan

To prepare for all of your classes, you should always have a lesson plan developed for each class. The level of detail for each lesson plan varies depending on the school and teacher, however, most always require you to have one for each class. Although you submit this to your headteacher, it is important to always have a lesson plan printed and available for you to access. This way, you will have easy access to the lesson plan throughout the class. 

Class Materials 

Aside from the lesson plan, one of the most important things required to have in your teaching bag is the actual materials required for the lesson. This will vary from class to class, depending on the lesson and the game planned for that class. 

A Planner

An important thing that you should always have on hand is your planner. It is vital for teachers to stay on track and organized and the best way to do this is by using a planner. A planner keeps all of the important dates of quizzes, tests, due dates, and more all in one place. Plus you never have to worry about it running out of battery. 

Your Phone and a Portable Charger

Having your phone and a portable charger in your teaching bag is required to have access to all of the essential teaching apps that will help make your life easier. Your phone will enable you to access your TEFL course 24/7 and also contact other teachers or even our specialists for advice. 

Laptop and Charger

Having your laptop and charger will enable you to access all of your lesson plans and online materials on the go. It will also allow you to work on future lesson plans, grades, and attendance sheets in between classes, freeing up time for yourself outside of school. 

Jumpdrive

A jumpdrive is vital for all teachers because it is a great place for you to store a backup of all of your teaching materials. It is also a good way to store powerpoints and videos to be used in your classes. At times, you may not be able to access the internet in your classroom, and therefore, having a backup on a jumpdrive is essential to being able to access your material 24/7. 

Dry Erasers 

Although you may have these in your classroom, they are notorious for drying up in no time. Therefore, it would be best to always have at least one or two available as a backup in your bag.

Pen and Paper

Last but not least, having a pen and paper handy is good to jot down any ideas of inspiration for teaching. It is also useful in the event that you cannot access your electronics (i.e. laptop, phone are not working). You can take attendance, or use them to create materials to teach with. You would be surprised what you can do with only a pen and paper. 

These are simply a few of the essentials you should always have on you as a new English teacher. However, some teachers have different teaching styles and may carry even more with them! It varies from teacher to teacher.

What is essential that you always have on you?