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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 SCHOOL-YEAR RESOLUTIONS
Any newly minted middle grades teacher will benefit from reading veteran MS teacher Cossondra George's detailed musings over the school year to come. "As my thoughts twist and turn between topics like math projects, alignment of social studies curriculum, bulletin boards, technology, classroom management and restructuring my assessments, I start thinking about new teachers and remembering the trepidation I felt before starting my first fall." To help this year's newbies, George structures her own back-to-school plan with new teachers' needs in mind. ALSO SEE these tips on making school year planning more fun.

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG URBAN M.S. TEACHER
English teacher Ariel Sacks began her career five years ago, after completing a residency program at New York City's Bank Street College. After a three-year stint in Harlem, Sacks is beginning her second year in a public academy school in Brooklyn. In this Teacher Magazine essay she reflects on the supports, experiences and strategies that give her the ability to continue teaching in the inner city. Novice teachers will appreciate Sacks' description of her classroom organization and management structure. "Not only is this structure practical," she writes, "it also teaches students to be part of a group, to make decisions for themselves and reflect on them, and to begin to take responsibility for the well-being of the class." (Free registration)

TEACHING SECRETS: ESTABLISHING YOUR PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY
High school teacher David Cohen’s advice for new teachers – and teachers new to a school – seems to us equally applicable to folks in the middle grades. Cohen urges newcomers to “establish your professional identity” in the school – first thing. Students and the classroom are your top priorities, he says, but it’s never too soon “to think carefully about how early experiences in your career can help you…collaborate with others and engage in the profession.” It all begins, Cohen believes, by finding your allies. “True allies will start motivating you and validating your efforts, even beyond what you might think you deserve. Consider what a vote of confidence does for your students, and give yourself permission to actively seek out the same for yourself.” (Free registration)

CHALLENGES NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS FACE
This 2007 study by the non-profit survey group Public Agenda and the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality will be of interest to school leaders, university folks and new teachers themselves. Titled They're Not Little Kids Anymore: The Special Challenges of New Teachers in High Schools and Middle Schools, the report finds that secondary teachers are more likely to express frustrations with student motivation and be concerned about lack of admin support and less likely to see teaching as a long-term career. The report also highlights new teachers' views of special challenges in high-needs schools -- and most important, how they would improve the profession

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.

BEST PRACTICES: THE MIRACLE OF CHOICES
Stubborn two-year olds respond to choices, why not adolescents? That was the thesis Mary Tedrow began with, some years ago, when she devised an engagement strategy that allows her high school English students latitude in selecting assignments. Which are, of course, carefully designed to produce the same learning effects – whatever they choose! As you’ll see in the Comments section for this Teacher Magazine essay, middle schoolers like to be choosy, too.

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.

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.

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.

PRAISE DOES NOT GUARANTEE CONFIDENCE
Have we really taught our children to expect too much praise? And what should we be praising? It's a topic of vital interest to middle grades teachers, who work with students often looking for encouragement and validation. Psychologist and researcher Carol Dweck says the wrong kind of praise can create self-defeating behavior, but the right kind may be the trigger that motivates students to learn more. In this article from Educational Leadership (10/07), Dweck describes the complex ways in which students view praise from adults -- and the resulting challenges teachers face in determining what kind of praise is appropriate, how much and when.

LISTEN TO THE DREAM TEACHER
We're big fans of "The Dream Teacher," a blog written by NC middle grades educator Cindi Rigsbee, who brings a warm voice and a sharp, self-critical eye to her musings about the public school teaching life. Rigsbee, named North Carolina's 2008-09 Teacher of the Year, has a fine writing style that's great fun to read. If you need a break from the challenges of first-year teaching and some "heart and soul," spend an hour with the Dream Teacher.

FIRST-YEAR TEACHING & MENTORING
In this archived conversation, middle grades educators on the MiddleWeb listserv offered support and advice to a first-year teacher — including ideas about analyzing videotapes of her own teaching. In a related conversation string, the listserv members talked about induction and mentoring programs.

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.

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.

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