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I just accepted a 3rd grade position today. This will be my first year as a teacher. I am excited, but obviously nervous. Aside from the resources the school and personnel give me - does anyone have any good suggestions for books/ideas/stores to go to in order to make my first year a success? I've been researching for months now, but I'd love to hear more suggestions! :) I want this to be a positive, memorable year for my students and myself!

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1. A very useful book: http://www.harrywong.com/ Some resources are free, but it's also worth paying for if you ever want extra practice worksheets, or reading comprehension or word searches, etc. Also tools for spelling, handwriting, and so on: http://www.edhelper.com/ Leveled reading books to download (grades K-5). Good for taking home, or extra classroom reading. http://www.readinga-z.com/
2. Congratulations! I teach 3rd grade too, and as I head into my 5th year, I can't imagine doing anything different. First, check out the message boards on proteacher.net - they are a great resource for posting questions and finding information specific to third grade. Second, visit www.reallygoodstuff.com - they are my FAVORITE teaching supply website - their prices are reasonable and they are quick at shipping. There are name tags in there that I love - they have both the print and cursive alphabet on them. I'm using them for the 2nd year in a row. They also have great ideas for things you can create if you don't have a big spending budget. Read-alouds for the first week - First Day Jitters, The Name Jar, The Araboolies of Liberty Street, First Year Letters, and a great chapter read aloud is either Ramona Quimby, Age 8, or Herbie Jones. The biggest piece of advice I can offer - if you can get into your classroom now, do it! Check it out, become comfortable in the space, make it yours. Rearrange it (if you're allowed to) and get a feel for the room. Even if you can't work in it yet (some schools don't have the rooms ready until a few weeks before the year starts) see if you can go and at least look in your classroom. Know your storage space, see what the previous teacher left you, that kind of stuff. Once you've seen the space, then you can start planning. I draw out potential layouts of my space - or at least I did, last year I finally found the ideal layout for my room and it was great! Think about the routines you want to establish - for example, I use a song that I play to transition the children from their welcome work to morning meeting. Do you want a morning meeting? Will you have calendar activities? What will your morning routine be? What about lunch, recess, homework, and dismissal routines? Write them down, put them away, look at them a few days later and see if you still like them. Use the brainstorming process as your best friend - don't think anything is impossible or silly - write every idea down and then weed through them later. You'll always need new ideas and tricks to keep things fresh! Last piece of advice, your first day letter - who are you? as a person and as a teacher? What would you want to read in a letter that came home about your teacher? Write it down! Also, something that I did after a few years was to frame my mission statement and post it near my desk. It is a great reminder as to why I am teaching, and it always lights me up after a rough time. Have fun, good luck, and feel free to email me any questions, third grade is great!
3. Teaching Resources http://www.pbs.org/ http://www.learnnc.org/ http://www.wacona.com/ http://www.2020site.org/ http://www.abcteach.com/ http://www.4teachers.org/ http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/ http://www.btinternet.com/ http://www.factmonster.com/ http://www.mrnussbaum.com/ http://www.englishforums.com/ http://www.schoolexpress.com/ http://www.sitesforteachers.com/ http://www.4teachers.org/archive/ http://www.funbrain.com/index.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/ http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/3-5.htm http://www.sitesforteachers.com/index.html http://www.awesomelibrary.org/teacher.html http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.htm Teaching We're all aware of recent research and new teaching techniques. But sometimes it's just the little things that make a difference in getting learning to occur. Whether you want to call them "tricks of the trade" or "ideas that have worked for me," we're just happy teachers with passion don't give up! http://alternativeeducationbible.com/teaching Internet Activities Standards-Based For Students http://www.cps.k12.il.us/sbirg/index.html ------------------------------------- CLIPART and PRINTABLE RESOURCES Educational Activities for Children http://www.kidzone.ws/ http://www.eduseek.com/ http://www.dltk-teach.com/ http://www.teacherfiles.com/index.html http://www.resources-teachers.com/index.html ------------------------------------- Curriculum Links http://squigglytick.co.uk/links1.htm http://www.funbrain.com/teachers/curric.html http://bensguide.gpo.gov/pt/curriculum/index.html http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/curriculum.htm http://www.picadome.fcps.net/lab/currl/maincur/default.htm http://www.coxhoe.durham.sch.uk/Curriculum/Curriculum.htm ------------------------------------- Mrs Donn's FREE Ancient History http://members.aol.com/MrDonnLessons/Ideas.html Human Body Teaching Theme http://teachers.teach-nology.com/themes/science/humanb/ BUBL LINK Catalogue of Internet Resources Selected Internet resources covering all academic subject areas http://bubl.ac.uk/ Useless and weird facts: http://www.uselessfacts.info/ http://www.pmbc.com/fact.html http://www.funs.co.uk/factindex.html http://www.angelfire.com/ca6/uselessfacts/