American Psychological Association
Teaching Is Fundamental
It's important for teachers to have a strong support system—especially in the first few years of their career. Help teachers' partners, spouses, and friends understand the most compassionate ways to provide emotional support with a...
Transforming Education
Social Awareness Strategies
What are the benefits of developing social awareness? Using the resource, readers learn strategies for fostering civil discourse, creating a participatory classroom, and enhancing family involvement. Scholars also take a personality...
Cowden-Herrick Schools
Six Steps for Substitute Success
Here's a switch--a lesson plan designed for prepare class members for a substitute! The plan highlights six behaviors that demonstrate respect and responsibility.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Welcome to the First Day of School!
Prepare for your students first day of school with these inviting activities. This site features several great ideas for teachers to incorporate in their beginning of school lessons.
Other
Kim's Korner: Icebreakers and Energizers
This site discusses how icebreakers and energizers can be used in a variety of ways. They can be used for beginning of the year activities, energizers for breaks during standardized tests, team building activities, etc. They work for...
A to Z Teacher Stuff
First Days of School Activities
Several tips for teachers to try during the beginning days of the school year to get things off to a smooth start.
Other
Inspiring Teachers: Tips for Teachers: Beginning of the School Year Tips
Every teacher knows how important it is to begin the school year well. Here are nine lists of tips from experienced educators which will help you plan and put into practice some effective year-starting techniques which can help set the...
Teachnology
Teachnology: Back to School Teaching Theme
Teachnology provides some excellent resources for teaching a theme unit on back to school or to use as fillers at the beginning of the school year.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Back to School Planning Guide
Multiple back to school resources. Includes icebreakers, quick first day ideas, and unit plans.
Scholastic
Scholastic: All About Me & the School Experience Unit
Great idea for the beginning of the year. Uses the book Clifford's First School Day by Norman Bridwell as the starting place for young scholars to make their own book about going to school.
Other
Wizzlewolf's Webpage for Beginning Teachers
Is this your first year teaching? Here are tricks of the trade that are helpful to know. Includes tips on management, discipline, lesson plans for all grades and subjects and more! This is your complete survival guide!
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Letter of Introduction Writing as a Diagnostic Tool
At the beginning of the school year, students respond to a teacher-generated questionnaire in personal letter format. As a diagnostic tool, letter writing can reveal strengths and weaknesses in composition skills, organization, sentence...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: Barbara Johns
The amazing story of Barbara Johns, the 16-year-old who called a strike and walk out to protest the overcrowding of Robert Russa Moton High School.
TES Global
Tes: Best Beginning to a School Year Ever
[Free Registration/Login Required] This learning module engages students in goal setting. A Power Point feauturing "famous failures" and goal setting activities are included.
TES Global
Tes: Fall Activities: All About Me
[Free Registration/Login Required] At the beginning of the year, early childhood students will share information about themselves. Students will complete various activities during this "All About Me" thematic unit.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Workshop 1: Creating a Community of Writers
Workshop 1 explores the components of a community of writers and what teachers can do to create and foster such a community. After a brief introduction to the goals of all eight workshop sessions, middle school teacher and writing expert...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Playing Name Bingo With
Contains plans for two lessons of get-to-know-you activities that use a Name Bingo Game to help students break the ice with each other. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the...
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments: Properties of Reflections
I use this activity in the beginning of the school year when introducing terminology such as angles, lines, segments, measures, perpendicular etc. The original material is from the SIMMS Integrated Mathematics using Technology, I have...
Virtual Museum of Canada
Virtual Museum of Canada: Community Stories: A Century of Education
This exhibit describes the history of education in southeast Saskatchewan over a 100-year period from its beginnings in one-room schools built by settlers up to today's modern system of education.
Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education, Stevens Institute of Technology
Ciese: Collaborative Projects
Using a variety of science topics, these projects link your class with classes around the world in data collection and analysis. There are projects recommended for all grade levels. Begin dates and end dates are listed to help in...
University of Missouri
Famous Trials: Brown v Topeka Board of Ed. (1951)
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka is widely known as the Supreme Court decision that declared segregated schools to be "inherently unequal." The story behind the case, including that of the 1951 trial in a Kansas courtroom, is much...
ClassFlow
Class Flow: The Day the Monster Came to School
[Free Registration/Login Required] This is a great little story that can be read at the beginning of the school year to make the classroom rules.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: An Introduction to Middle and Early College High Schools
Middle and early college high schools are typically located on community college campuses, which allow students to begin working toward an associate's degree while they complete the necessary coursework for a high school diploma, and...
TESL Journal
Activities for Esl Students: Vocabulary Quizzes Easy
These tests for English language learners by ELL teachers are self-scoring and reinforce beginning English language learners with vocabulary important in both social and academic settings. Many exercises are devoted to building...