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.

In Putting Teachers First, author and speaker Brad Johnson offers tons of invaluable tips for building and maintaining strong, dynamic relationships with your teachers, leading to greater job satisfaction, lower turnover, and improved performance across the board. You’ll learn how to boost teacher morale and drive engagement by providing sincere feedback and recognition, creating incentives for teaching excellence, building trust between all faculty members, and more. Topics covered: The Importance of Teacher Satisfaction Motivating Your Teachers to Succeed Creating a Culture of Appreciation Learning to Become a Selfless Leader Inspiring Teachers to Remember Their Purpose Developing Your Emotional Intelligence Communicating and Connecting Effectively Building a Cohesive Team Celebrating Successes Each chapter includes practical advice as well as inspiring stories and anecdotes to motivate you on your journey.

New teachers have it tough. They have a very difficult and complex job, and they must learn how to do it in front of a studio audience of unruly adolescents, anxious parents, and watchful administrators. To help new teachers navigate this daunting backdrop, Finding Success the First Year is here to act as a personal guide to the first year of teaching. This book was written by a new teacher navigating through his own first year, and it uses those experiences to serve as a foundation for a step-by-step guide on how to survive and thrive in that all important first year. With everything from answers to frequent new-teacher questions and warnings of common new teacher pitfalls to specific strategies and veteran tricks useful for clawing back precious hours of the day, Matthew Johnson gives clear tips and clear reasons for them in a straightforward, jargonless voice and a mixture of practicality and philosophy.

From the author and illustrator of Our Class is a Family, this touching picture book expresses a teacher's sentiments and well wishes on the last day of school. Serving as a follow up to the letter in A Letter From Your Teacher: On the First Day of School, it's a read aloud for teachers to bid a special farewell to their students at the end of the school year. Through a letter written from the teacher's point of view, the class is invited to reflect back on memories made, connections formed, and challenges met. The letter expresses how proud their teacher is of them, and how much they will be missed. Students will also leave on that last day knowing that their teacher is cheering them on for all of the exciting things to come in the future. There is a blank space on the last page for teachers to sign their own name, so that students know that the letter in the book is coming straight from them. With its sincere message and inclusive illustrations, A Letter From Your Teacher: On the Last Day of School is a valuable addition to any elementary school teacher's classroom library.

"This book is a place to start creating the classroom of your dreams from the very first minute of school, a classroom that is research based, child centered, and in step with the world today." - Christine Hertz and Kristine Mraz The classroom of your dreams starts with one big idea. From the first days of school to the last, Kids First from Day One shares teaching that puts your deepest teaching belief into action: that children are the most important people in the room. Christine Hertz and Kristi Mraz show how to take that single, heartfelt value and create a cohesive, highly effective approach to teaching that addresses today's connected, collaborative world. With infectious enthusiasm, hard-won experience, and a generous dose of humor, Kids First from Day One shows exactly how Christine and Kristi build and maintain a positive, cooperative, responsive classroom where students engage deeply with their learning and one another. Kids First from Day One strengthens and deepens the connections between your love of working with kids, your desire to impact their lives, and your teaching practice. It shares: plans for designing beautiful classroom spaces that burst with the fun of learning positive language and classroom routines that reduce disruptive behavior-without rewards and consequences suggestions for matching students' needs to high-impact teaching structures a treasury of the Christine and Kristi's favorite "teacher stuff" such as quick guides for challenging behavior, small-group planning grids, and parent letters links to videos that model the moves of Christine's and Kristi's own teaching. Just starting out and want to know what really works in classrooms? Curious about how to make your room hum with learning? Or always on the lookout for amazing teaching ideas? Read Kids First from Day One. You'll discover that the classroom of your dreams is well within your reach.

An essential reference for all elementary teachers This comprehensive resource contains useful lists on all the subjects elementary teachers need, from core content to tips on classroom management to advice for students on study skills. The lists highlight vital areas of interest including reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, developing social skills, developing effective study skills, and working with an inclusive classroom. 350 reproducible lists on a wealth of subjects of interest to elementary teachers Advice for setting up the classroom, interacting with parents, and making classroom modifications Tips for use with students on studying for tests, organizing homework, and taking good notes All the lists are correlated to national content standards and will be helpful as quick study aids as well as for general reference.

Intro -- Acknowledgments -- Table of Contents -- About the Author -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Epilogue -- Appendix A -- Appendix B -- References and Resources -- Index