Reddit reviews The English Teacher's Companion, Fourth Edition: A Completely New Guide to Classroom, Curriculum, and the Profession

I highly recommend reading and frequently referencing:

• Jim Burke - "The English Teacher's Companion: A Completely New Guide to Classroom, Curriculum, and the Profession"
  
  
• Echevarria, Short, & Vogt - "Making Content Comprehensible for Secondary English Learners: The SIOP Model"
  
  
• Rethinking Schools, Ltd. - "The New Teacher Book: Finding Purpose, Balance and Hope During Your First Years in the Classroom"
  
  How do you make yourself an adequate teacher?
  
  This is the wrong question. You shouldn't strive to be adequate, but to be fluent in your subject. Once you understand English, the grammar, syntax, pronunciation, its workings and intricacies, you shouldn't need to worry about "adequacy." If you enjoy your subject, fluency in it will be reflected in how you teach it. I hope I won't be considered presumptuous when I say that a lot of teachers of English have very little actual knowledge of the language beyond speaking it. If this reads like you, do yourself a favor and learn English more intimately. There is a lot to know, and only being able to speak it, even with some educational methods behind you, is going to be detrimental to your teaching.
  
  > Today was the first day of teaching in my entire life and it was a thrill to be in front of a classroom attempting to command the student's attention.
  
  It may just be my interpretation of your wording, but try not to command their attention. Work with your students and lead them into the lesson.
  
  It's difficult to give you "tips and tricks" without knowing the students' ages. However, I'll try to give you some of my philosophy:
  
  Educator Thomas Carruthers once said, "A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary." The goal in your classroom should be not to simply educate, but to guide. Encourage your students to think and explore a subject. Since I don't know what exactly you're teaching, I'll use prepositions as an example. Here is how I teach them:
  
  

1. Identify the important words for the lesson: In, On, Between, Above, Below, Under, Next to, Behind
   
   
2. Demonstrate the words in a manner that coaxes and demonstrates, but doesn't just deliver and give, the meaning. With the above words, I initially use a chair and have a student come sit on the chair. I ask the class where that student is and they usually reply, "On the chair!" I maneuver the student around the chair and try to get everyone to use prepositions in regards to the chair/student combo. Progressively, I use less and less wording in my questions until they are just saying locations without being prompted.
   
   
3. I give my students a paper with various objects and lines on it (for example, Stage / __; ___ / Podium / Window...etc.). They do a hunt around and outside of the classroom to determine where these objects (labeled, as not all are known) are in relation to other objects. They are actively engaged, using English, discovering new objects and reinforcing their understanding of the words.
   
   
4. Bring students back and discuss their findings.
   
   
5. Introduce the dialog that uses the aforementioned prepositions. They now have more confidence in the text's information.
   
   This is just one example lesson, though the main point is always to actively engage students. A lot of teachers end up just talking at students, which often leaves everyone confused. You may or may not have done this, but it's something to keep in mind.
   
   Unfortunately, there is no surefire way to eliminate boredom from language acquisition, but active engagement is a method that can be used for its reduction.
   
   How do you make yourself appealing to the students?
   
   I am just myself. I bring my humanity into the classroom and don't divide the class into teacher/student. Instead, I view the whole as a community. My students know about and inquire as to my hobbies, and I show genuine interest in their lives. You may be surprised at how effective this can be.
   
   How long does it take you to feel stable and confident with the job?
   
   I feel it is difficult to feel stable in a cram school. That's the nature of that beast: parents and admins will always be on you about something. To actually answer you question, though, it depends on the person. I know people who have been here for decades that still don't feel stable in their schools. There are teachers I met only last year that have exceeded expectations and become such fixtures in their schools that it is like they've always been there and will remain necessary.
   
   What do you wish you knew when you first started?
   
   Sarcasm doesn't translate well. That's about it.

Agreed. The English Teacher's Companion is great.

Read, Write, Think for your immediate needs (pre-made lesson plans and activities)

Some reading for later:

The English Teacher's Companion and Jim Burke's Website

Readicide and Kelly Gallagher's website

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling and Emily Kissner's blog

I Read It, But I Don't Get It and Chris Tovani's website

I have more, I just can't find them right now. Hope these are what you're looking for.

https://www.amazon.com/English-Teachers-Companion-Fourth-Completely/dp/0325028400/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

If you are an English teacher...