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Education World's Learning Machine Explore the coolest teaching resources on the Web. From the Math Machine Building Sandcastles is a fun Web site for teaching shape recognition. (Grades Pre-K-K) From the Science Machine Use The Virtual Body to explore the topics of biology and the human body. (Grades 4-12) From the Reading Machine The Best Trampolini Game In this simple language game, players learn about suffixes. (Grades K-2)

As August steams ahead, are you looking for a fun activity? Invite students to start the day with Jennifer Wagner's Guess the Wordle Wiki. Jen posts a new Wordle every Monday, Wednesday, Friday -- and invites readers to post them too.

A Teacher's Back-to-School Supply List
Each year, teachers send home a list of supplies students will need. Until now, little thought has been given to the supplies teachers might find useful. Howard Seeman corrects the oversight.

Dimes for Charity
Linda Biondi's Dimes for Charity program demonstrates what can happen when children believe in the power of doing the "right thing."

Education World's Back-to-School Checklist for Teachers
Pages (and pages and pages!) of resources to help you write welcome letters, set up your classroom, plan icebreakers and lessons, create name tags and worksheets, and much, much more.

Strategy of the Week
Classroom Management
Effective classroom management creates an environment that is conducive to teaching and learning. It is the most important -- and the most difficult -- skill a teacher must master.

Ken Shore: The Classroom Problem Solver
A Cafeteria Code of Conduct
The lunchroom can present more challenging management problems than the classroom: students often believe that classroom rules don't apply there. Find fourteen tips for improving student behavior in the cafeteria.

Ms. Powell's Tips for Organizing Your Classroom
Parent Correspondence
Use a simple accordion expanding-file system to keep track of parent correspondence.

Classroom Management Article of the Week
Create a Climate for Learning
According to Fred Jones, "The most widespread management technique at home and in the classroom is nag, nag, nag. It's also probably the least effective." How can you avoid making that technique your own?

From Our Classroom Tips Library
Classroom Management: Room Arrangement
Behavior Management: Learning Contract
Motivating Kids: Make Expectations Clear
Book Report Makeover: A Card Catalogue
Homework Tips: Green Light Activity
Best Idea: In a Million Words or Fewer
Testing Tips: Practice, Practice, Practice

Fred Jones's
Tools for Teaching
Starting the New School Year
Students do better in class when they are comfortable, relaxed, and "at home." A very good reason to devote the lion's share of your first class period of the year to creating comfort.

Emma McDonald: The New Teacher Advisor
Forming Good Habits
It takes 27 days -- and lots of practice -- to form a habit. Start off the year right by making your expectations clear to students and practicing correct behaviors daily.

Ruth Sidney Charney: The Responsive Classroom
Hopes and Dreams: A Strategy to Begin the Year
The process of developing hopes and dreams each year is a process of reviving hope -- and hope is one of our most critical community resources. How do we teach or learn without it?"

Leah Davies: The Teacher Counselor
Twenty-Five Ways to Gain Students' Attention
Teachers use many approaches to gain students' undivided attention and create an atmosphere conducive to learning. These 25 simple approaches are sure to help you gain attention in a calm, quiet way.

Meet other members of Education World's Professional Development columnist team.

Wendy Petti's Math Cats What Is Math? It might seem obvious, but responses to that question can be surprisingly diverse. Count the Monkeys In this puzzle, students find the "vanishing" monkey. Make Puzzles Part of Your Game Plan Puzzles and riddles have an inherent appeal to children, and through play, children can develop new concepts and reinforce skills. Many sites offer puzzles, riddles, and other games to stimulate fun and learning. Check out a few! Math Games With Joanne and Jane Place Value War: Practice identifying two-digit numbers, comparing, and place value. (Grades 2 - 6) Math Mnemonics Order of Operations

In a Million Words or Fewer
A simple activity offers a powerful tool for learning about your students and connecting with their parents. Read why teachers say that if you're not doing the "Million Words" activity, you're missing out on something special.

The Captions Project
Ktia Pereira's students express their thoughts in captions.

Be on the Lookout
Create "Wanted" posters for destructive bugs. (Grades 3-8)

Getting-to-Know-You List Poem
Students write "Getting-to-Know-You" list poems. (Grades 6-8)

Cathy Puett Miller:
Getting Parents Involved
Involving parents in their children's literacy development is more important now than ever.

Reader's Theater
Ace Spelling, Spelling Ace
When a fifth grader has an unusual event with alphabet soup, he becomes a "spelling ace." But is his "spelling spell" a blessing or a curse?

Reading Feature
Shared Reading: Listening Leads to Fluency and Understanding
Many middle- and high-school teachers use shared-reading -- an approach that engages students and makes them better readers. Reading expert Dr. Janet Allen and two teachers offer tips for a successful start to shared reading.

Best Books for Teaching About...
The Alphabet
Inventors and Inventions

More from Our Professional Development Archive Getting-to-Know-You Activities Every veteran teacher has his or her favorite first-day-of-school activities. Discover a few (volumes) of favorites from Education World! Be sure to visit our Teacher Templates page for ten templates to use with our back-to-school icebreaker activities.