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"A must-have for any beginning middle-level teacher" (VOYA). Day One and Beyond by veteran teacher Rick Wormeli gives you advice on what to do in the first day & week, discipline, grouping, teaming, parents, homework, record keeping, and more. Pair it with Rick's first book Meet Me in the Middle for a comprehensive tour of best practices!

NEW TEACHER HELPLINE
Let's say you're a newbie who's nearing the end of your first year, and you still have questions -- maybe even some doubts about your future in the classroom. You might want to grab a few minutes (hard as that can be) and check out Scholastic's "New Teacher Helpline." We see a lot of teacher discussion boards around the Web and find that most are unfocused or undependable (you ask a question and then keep checking back in vain for an answer). The Scholastic board seems to be well populated, with responses coming both from other visitors and from a savvy moderator who is also a full-time teacher. The range of participants is K-12, but heavier on the K-8 end. For a sample, take a look at this recent post by "Bad Teacher" and the replies.

THE ORGANIZED MIDDLE SCHOOLER
Little wonder that new middle schoolers are so disorganized, writes Laurie Wasserman in this "Teaching Secrets" essay at the Teacher Magazine website. Most "have spent their first five years of school with a single teacher for the majority of the day." When they enter middle school "they are given a combination lock, a hallway locker, a homeroom, and a schedule that often has four or more subject-area teachers...This is where the child with significant organizational challenges becomes both overwhelmed and frustrated." Wasserman, a sixth grade special ed teacher who works with ADD/ADHD students, shares her secrets for building the Organized Middle Schooler.

WONGS' 10 TIMELY TOOLS FOR SUCCESS
In a recent column at their Teachers.Net website, Harry and Rosemary Wong begin by cautioning new teachers not to fall into the trap of thinking school is just for fun. "The purpose of school is for students to acquire knowledge, learn skills, and develop habits and principles that will make them productive citizens and help them grow to their fullest potential as human beings," they say. "Fun is the satisfaction that results when a lesson is completed with accomplishment and achievement." We've mentioned the Wongs' 2000-2004 essay collection in our MiddleWeb newsletter and on our website. The Wongs have now created a seven-year index. We like these columns because they tell stories of successful new teachers and provide the level of detail novices want and need. Spend some weekend time with these webpages. The payoff is tremendous.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT 101
Education World has put it all in one place—a decade's worth of tips and advice about classroom management. The content is all written in Education World's user-friendly and engaging style, and there's plenty of it. New and veteran teachers alike can learn something from "King of Classroom Management" Fred Jones or from Dr. Ken Shore, the "Classroom Problem Solver." You'll also find tips for establishing classroom rules, managing student behavior, providing rewards for students (or not), dealing with homework, and much more in the nearly 100 featured articles.

NINE TIPS FOR NEW TEACHERS
Canadian Elona Hartjes has been teaching students with behavior problems and learning disabilities for over 20 years. In a recent posting at her blog Teachers at Risk, she shares "Nine things my students have taught me about classroom management and teaching." For some advice from principals, see this Education World article.

THE EDUCATION OF MS. GROVES
The Education of Ms. Groves, a four-part documentary, follows a new sixth-grade teacher as she struggles to gain respect from her new students in Atlanta's public school system. The film series expands an NBC Dateline documentary that aired in the fall of 2006. New teachers should listen to this interview with Monica Groves on NPR's "Tell Me More" show. Here are several clips from the documentary.

LEARN SOME "TEACHING SECRETS"
Teacher Magazine Online has published "Teaching Secrets," a series of articles by members of the Teacher Leaders Network, written with novices in mind. Find out more about the importance of establishing "professional identity," behavior management, and read the "Hallway Hints," quick advice from veterans for the newly arrived.

GETTING READY FOR THE NEW YEAR
Coleen Armstrong, author of "The Truth About Teaching: What I Wish the Veterans Had Told Me," is responding to reader questions in the Teacher Magazine feature "Ask a Mentor." This link leads to the Ask the Mentor index page.

WHAT TO EXPECT YOUR FIRST YEAR OF TEACHING
Written in 1999, this newbie-friendly guide prepared by the U.S. Department of Education under U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley will still be a comfort and help to new teachers. This easy-to-read-and-print PDF version is filled with advice and encouragement from veteran teachers.

MATH: A WEBSITE FOR NEW TEACHERS
Veteran teacher Terri Husted has compiled an impressive array of ideas drawn from her own experience — plus resources available elsewhere on the Web. "My first advice to anyone starting in teaching is to be careful of those who claim they know the perfect method of teaching," she says. "Teaching is an on-going learning experience." Amen to that! Much of Terri's content will also be of interest to "not so new" math teachers.

NEW TEACHERS: HARRY WONG'S MAJOR CONCEPTS
What's the most common answer to the new-teacher question: "What should I do first?" We suspect it's "Read Harry Wong." Wong, author of the perennial best-seller The First Days of School is sometimes criticized for over-simplification but more often praised by new teachers with comments like, "That was the most memorable, exciting and fascinating book on classroom management I ever read." This link leads to a Harry Wong "cheat sheet" — a one-page summary of major concepts.

NEW TEACHER'S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL YEAR
"Guide" may be too strong a word for this two-pager put together by the Kappa Delta Pi education honor society last fall, but it offers good basic advice, and if you have a color printer, it will dress up that new-teacher idea binder you're keeping. (You are keeping one, right?) It begins with a veteran teacher quote: "The hardest part about being a teacher is not teaching. It is managing everything and everyone around you." (PDF file)

ADVICE FROM "SOPHOMORE" TEACHERS
Who better to hear from than teachers who just survived their first year? In this feature, Education World asked sophomores who faced—and survived—he dreaded first year to reflect on their successes and failures. Valuable insights.

ADVICE FROM RON CLARK
In this article from NMSA's "Middle Ground" (April 2004), Disney Teacher of the Year Ron Clark, author of the best seller "The Essential 55," shares his four rules for meeting the needs of all students.

A WINDOW ON MIDDLE SCHOOL LIFE
Washington Post education writer Linda Perlstein wanted to "embed" herself in a middle school to get to know the kids, their families, and their issues. For a year, she followed five youngsters at Wilde Lake Middle School in Columbia, Maryland, gaining rare insight into a mysterious age group.

A WONDERFUL TOOL TO CONNECT WITH PARENTS
"This is the most valuable thing I've ever done with my students," one middle school teacher wrote about the "Million Words" assignment. "I've built an instant bond with parents," said another. Here's how it works: The teacher sends a note home with students asking parents to "tell us about your child in a million words or less." Just about every teacher on the MiddleWeb Listserv who tried this idea was amazed by the breadth and depth of the response and the valuable insights they gained into their students' lives. Read this archived conversation, which includes a link to one teacher's actual letter to parents. ALSO see this Education World story.

TEACHER ADVICE -- WORKING WITH PARENTS
In this article at the Education Oasis website, you'll find lots of good advice from teachers who have developed successful partnerships with parents. Example: "Sometimes parents require new teachers to earn their trust, recalls Mike Benevento (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey). 'Parents have a hard time with first-year teachers. They view us as experimenting with their kid. If you show them you really care, then they are supportive.'" Lots of specific ideas in this useful article.

AdPrima : A WEBPAGE FOR NEW TEACHERS
A rich source of information for new and experienced teachers. Practical information on curriculum, instruction, learning, thinking skills, lesson plans, teaching and other education topics. The name means "the best" in Latin. Visit the site's main page for many other resources.

ASCD'S OUSTANDING YOUNG EDUCATOR
What qualities did ASCD see in middle school teacher Jennifer Morrison that led to her selection as the Association's Outstanding Young Educator of the Year? She is known "for using her classroom as a living laboratory for best practices and for sharing research-based knowledge with her colleagues." Find out more!

GOOD NEWS FOR BEGINNING TEACHERS
"No one knows better than a first year teacher that the beginning of the school year bristles with anticipation—and not just for the kids," writes education consultant Jane Bluestein. "Yet, despite the excitement, the weeks before school are often filled with unsettling thoughts." Bluestein helps new teachers put these worries into perspective.

BIG LIST OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT RESOURCES
This huge collection of classroom management resources was originally developed by graduate students at Monmouth University and is regularly updated. There are classroom management techniques tailored to elementary and secondary education, discipline ideas for new and experienced teachers, tips for handling special education, suggestions for getting organized, strategies for preventing behavior problems, sample classroom rules, ways of creating a caring community, and more.

A PRIMER ON CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE
Tom McDaniel offers eleven techniques that you can use in your classroom that will help you achieve effective group management and control. Also see the related article, Discipline Techniques That Backfire.

GEARING UP FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR
No matter how much or how little experience a teacher has in the classroom, getting ready for a new school year takes a lot of work, says this article in Education Update ("Get Ready, Get Set," August 2000). Middle school teacher Dorleen Kauffman starts early. "In June, instead of just wrapping up, I'm thinking of the next year based on the needs I had this year," she says. "I'm continually reassessing my teaching strategies and motivational techniques." Includes advice for new teachers.

HOMEWORK THAT WORKS
Educators are conflicted about homework, says education consultant Bea McGarvey. On the one hand, research shows that homework does have an effect on learning. On the other hand, there is a litany of complaints about it: Homework creates tension between parents and their children. Children either have to be pressured to do the homework or it's difficult to fit homework in. Homework takes away from family time. And the list goes on. This article from ASCD's Classroom Leadership (September 2003) shares McGarvey's ideas about an effective classroom and schoolwide approach to homework, rooted in the research of Robert Marzano, author of "Classroom Instruction That Works" and related books. BONUS: here's a concise "tip sheet" on homework strategies, based on Marzano and drawn from the experiences of an urban middle grades teacher.

MANAGING THE CLASS CLOWN
The class clown can ruin the mood to learn, says this interesting article from Edutopia magazine, but with a little understanding and a riff of your own, you can stop these jokesters from bouncing off the walls. Drawing from the work of school behavior experts, author Burr Snider shares several strategies that can help teachers manage pint-size comedians.

GETTING READY FOR THE NEW YEAR!
Education Week invited two teacher-authors to lead an online chat on the topic, "Getting Ready for the New School Year." Here's the complete transcript. Join Jim Burke, author of Letters to a New Teacher: A Month-by-Month Guide to the Year Ahead, and Hanne Denney, a career-changer in her second year as a special education and social studies teacher. They field questions from teachers at every level and there are lots of ideas in the mix.

FOR NEW TEACHERS: "MASTER & COMMANDER"
Veteran middle school teacher Max Fischer has learned quite a lot about dealing with student outbursts and insubordination. Past experience has taught him to remain calm in a storm; to be the "Master and Commander" of his emotions. Sure to be of interest to novice teachers!

FIVE DAYS WITH RICK WORMELI AND FRIENDS
Rick Wormeli's 2003 book Day One and Beyond: Practical Matters for New Middle Level Teachers provided the talking points for this five-day chat among Rick, veteran teachers in the MiddleWeb discussion group, and a passle of brand new teachers.

YOUNG TEACHERS READY TO COLLABORATE
"Generation Y" (born 1977-86) has now reached adulthood and is dramatically changing the composition of today's teaching staffs, say Harry and Rosemary Wong in a smart article published in the ASCD Express newsletter. Loneliness and lack of support exacerbate the frustrations of beginning teachers and lead to early exits from the profession. The Wongs advocate for induction programs that foster collaborative work and are structured around learning communities that can mentor young teachers more inclined to collaborate than previous generations. (PDF file)

ADVICE FOR BRAND-NEW MIDDLE GRADES TEACHERS
Get some tips from accomplished veterans in this archived MiddleWeb discussion. In all began when the moderator asked: "What are the best two or three pieces of advice you have for new teachers to help them get off to a successful start—and hang in there?"

WHAT CAN NEW TEACHERS DO FOR THEMSELVES?
"When I read articles about new teachers," writes Lisa Renard, "I am confronted with such issues as, 'How can we better support new teachers?' That's nice. But why don't I ever read about 'The top 10 ways new teachers can help themselves,' or 'How to make your first years the best years'? The focus of our efforts to help new teachers seems to weigh too heavily on the schools, forgetting to encourage new teachers with practical steps to help themselves." (from Classroom Leadership, ASCD, May 1999.)

See more of MiddleWeb's resources for new teachers and for all teachers during the First Days of School