How to Develop Teaching Material

Teaching materials include more than books.

Developing teaching material is an important beginning to teaching any course, class, or student, whether you're a professional or amateur teacher. Teaching materials provide a foundation for the skills and knowledge to be taught and learned, and very often these materials will provide a record or portfolio that your students will be able to use for review at a later date.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Printer
• Copier
• Scissors
• Glue
• Die-cut machine
• Laminator

Instructions

1. Review your curriculum or syllabus carefully. As you review, make notes on ideas for teaching materials you may need in order to teach the skills and knowledge listed in the curriculum or syllabus. This may seem like a preliminary step that can be dispensed with, but it's actually very important because you need to make sure that you create teaching materials that are relevant to the curriculum or the syllabus that you are to teach.

2. Make notes about the class, the students, or the level of students you will teach. Consider what their prior knowledge, skills, and interests are, or are likely to be. Make notes on what kinds of activities they enjoy in or outside of the class.

3. Compare the list of possible teaching materials with the list of interests and skills of students you created. Highlight the ideas for teaching materials that seem to match or complement the likely interests and skills of the students. During this step, you'll likely think of other, even better, ideas for teaching materials. Add these new ideas to your list.

4. Decide on a budget. If you've been given a budget from the school, stick to it. If you're paying for materials out of your own pocket, which teachers commonly need to do, decide on your budget now. Write down a dollar amount.

5. Choose your best ideas from your list of ideas for class materials. Make sure that you include materials for beginning, middle, and ending sections of the curriculum or syllabus. Run careful price checks with the help of internet shopping search engines such as Google Shopping or Pricegrabber to make sure that the materials you choose will fit within your budget. If you need more money, call donors, parents, or students (if the students are adults, and if it's appropriate), to see if you can get help on a budget for creating class materials. Very often, the answer is yes.

6. For each class material item that you have decided to make, create a list of supplies needed. Buy the supplies if necessary, and use appropriate tools such as your computer, printer, a copier, scissors, die-cut machine, laminating machine, and others, to create the materials.

References

• "The Field Guide to Teaching: a Handbook for New Teachers"; Richard J. Marchesani; 2007

Resources

• Pricegrabber.com
• Google Shopping