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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!

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