Off to a Good Start: Launching the School Year

I purchased this book, along with two others from the Responsive Classroom series ("The First Six Weeks of School" and "The Morning Meeting Book"). This book was easy to read--it consists of several short articles on various topics that teachers address at the beginning of the school year. As a first-year teacher, I had no experience setting up a classroom. This book gave me lots of background knowledge about the issues I'd face, so I felt much more prepared when I met my parents at Open House night and my students on the first day of school. The book also fits in very nicely with the other two books I purchased from the series. Very helpful!!

This is a very easy to read book filled with lots of tidbits of information for establishing rules, building a sense of community among students, introducing materials through guided discovery and creating a healthy partnership between schools and parents. Teachers will learn the three R's of proactive disipline: Reinforce, Remind and Redirect. The exerpts come from The Responsive Classroom Newsletter which is a free publication printed three times a year and available through Northest Foundation for Children. Their address can be found in the book. I strongly recommend this book especially for beginning teachers.