Teaching is a lifelong challenge, but the first few years in the classroom are typically a teacher's hardest. This expanded collection of writings and reflections offers practical guidance on how to navigate the school system, form rewarding relationships with colleagues, and connect in meaningful ways with students and families from all cultures and backgrounds.

Being a great teacher is more than lesson plans and seating charts. In this revised and expanded new edition of the classic bestseller, you learn what it takes to be the very best educator you can be, starting from day one in your new classroom! Filled with real-world life lessons from experienced teachers as well as practical tips and techniques, you'll gain the skill and confidence you need to create a successful learning environment for you and your students, including how to: Organize a classroom Create engaging lesson plans Set ground rules and use proper behavior management Deal with prejudice, controversy, and violence Work with colleagues and navigate the chain of command Incorporate mandatory test preparation within the curriculum Implement the latest educational theories In this book, veteran teacher Melissa Kelly provides you with the confidence you'll need to step into class and teach right from the start.

This practical, hands-on guidebook offers support for your first years in the classroom by presenting strategies to overcome ten common challenges. Expertly curated by experienced educators, this book delivers quick access to timely advice, applicable across a range of educational settings. With contributions from National Board-Certified Teachers, National Teachers of the Year, and other educators involved in robust induction and mentoring programs, The New Teacher’s Guide to Overcoming Common Challenges provides: Wise and practical tips from accomplished veterans and successful new teachers from across rural, suburban, and urban settings; Web access to an online teacher community and customizable resources created by the book’s authors that can be quickly downloaded for immediate use in the classroom; Newly commissioned material that addresses the shift to remote learning brought about by the world pandemic. Accessible and stimulating, this book is designed for a wide range of users, including PK-12 school districts who offer new teacher induction programming, traditional and alternative teacher preparation programs and teacher cadet programs, and individual in-service teachers. Don’t face the challenges alone—learn from those who have been there!

"Weird Al" Yankovic's new tale of Billy, the irrepressible star of the New York Times bestselling When I Grow Up, is an uproarious back-to-school delight. Dazzling wordplay and sparkling rhyme combine in a unique appreciation of the rewards of unabashed originality and the special joy of viewing the world gently askew.

Joy's questions and Jim's responses evoke in us an appreciation for what it means to do the work called teaching with the "living intensity of soul." May such soulful teaching flourish among us: here is a book that can help it be so. - Parker Palmer and Sam Intrator Every new teacher needs a mentor, someone smart, experienced, compassionate, and reliable to give advice, share strategies, and lend a supportive ear. What if every new English teacher could have one the nation's most-recognized master teachers as their mentor? Now they can. Letters to a New Teacher is the chance of a professional lifetime, an opportunity to read the letters and emails Jim Burke exchanged with novice teacher Joy Krajicek - letters in which Jim opens his practice, his mind, and his heart to guide Joy through her first year in the classroom. Jim fields the whole gamut of questions - from typical classroom-management matters to challenging instructional situations to sensitive topics like the boundaries of student-teacher relationships. His answers open the classroom experience up for novices to understand how to organize their space and time, how to plan instruction yet maintain flexibility, how to communicate effectively with the two-hundred personalities they encounter each day, and how to maintain professionalism under pressure. As gentle, humorous, and supportive as they are practical, Jim's responses to Joy's questions are immediately useful and are presented in chronological order. From August through June, you'll watch as her questions become increasingly complex and see how Jim's answers build upon one another to create a considered, consistent, and disciplined way of thinking about the teaching of English. Start a your career the right way. Read Letters to a New Teacher and put the thoughts of a master mentor to work in your classroom. Or give Letters to a New Teacher to a novice so they can discover a wellspring of ideas, a source for emotional sustenance, and a buoy for their spirits during difficult moments.

Discover strategies and tools for new teacher success. In this user-friendly guide, the authors draw from best practice and their extensive experience to identify the necessary skills and characteristics to thrive as a new educator. Explore the six critical areas related to teaching that most impact new teachers and their students, from implementing effective assessments to working confidently and effectively with colleagues.

Discusses the importance of training, supporting, and retaining new teachers, presents a step-by-step process for structuring an induction program, and features a list of replicable induction programs.