Rating: 
Summary: A Got-a Have Handy for ALL Teachers!
Review: Three years ago when I started teaching I was given this teacher friendly book. I read it front to cover and enjoyed all of it. Every August, I pull the book out and skim it again just using it as a reference. Harry Wong's book is practical, sometimes funny and inspiring from beginning to end. The First Days of School will both motivate and encourage you for the new school year ahead. This books tell you what a successful teacher looks like, how to have positive expectations about student success, some awesome classroom management techniques, how to design lessons to foster student mastery, and how important it is for the teacher to always be a student. Some of the many topics covered include; What you Should Understand Before You Sign That Contract, How to Increase Positive Student Behavior, How to Introduce Yourself to Your Class, How to Maintain an Effective Record Book, How to Get Students to Work Cooperatively, and How to Achieve Happiness and Success as a Teacher. These are just a few of the many things covered in the book. The neat thing about this book is that you can skip over topics as you wish and read the book like an automobile owner's manual. Just turn to the right section if something isn't working right in your classroom. No need to read the 338 page book unless you wish. I think the most important thing to learn from this book is that the first week of school sets the tone for the rest of the year. This book will help you set that tone in your classroom. You classroom will be a warm, caring, efficient, academically structured space with the help of this book
Rating:
Summary: Professional Improvement
Review: As a teacher with a number of years under my belt, I saw bits and pieces of Harry Wong's videos at various teacher workshops. I purchased his book to read over the course of last summer. I implemented several of his ideas into my classroom and I must admit that I am a vastly improved teacher. You do not have to be a first year teacher to benefit from this book. Particularly, Wong's ideas about classroom management have made me see things in the classroom that no methods course has made me see. To top it off, Wong adds his characteristic wit to his wisdom. It has come to my attention that many schools are now using this book as the textbook for introductory teaching courses. It is much better than the textbook I had. A must read for all teachers!
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Starting Point; but like all books on teaching...
Review: A good jumping off point; but like all how-to books on teaching you have to pick and choose what you want from many sources. The section on classroom management was wonderful and I will use some of his ideas, but other ideas like shaking every students' hand at the door I will take a pass. That just isn't my style. Read it because it has some excellent ideas; but don't expect it to give you ideas for the rest of the school year. This book starts you off the first week of school with procedures and routines, and that's it. Aptly titled, in that respect.
Rating:
Summary: Even from an Australian perspective it's great.
Review: Easily the best, most practical book about teaching I've ever read. An outstanding book. If you're in the teaching and learning game you should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Every teacher needs a copy of this book!
Review: The best testament that can be given to this book is that I keep re-reading it. I've taught for a couple of years now, and at first, the book served as a guideline... how to set up the room, what to do about discipline, how to stay motivated, what to do FIRST. Then, as time went on, it became a handbook of sorts... everything you need is in there. Every teacher should have a copy of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good advice for all teachers
Review: As a "newer" teacher in middle America, I was anxious to read the Wong's book, especially since it has received rave reviews from every source! And it was a worthwhile purchase and easliy worth the hours I spent reading it. I will refer to you often. However, it is not the *only* book to read on this subject. For a full, well-rounded review of teacher advice, also check out Unauthorized Teacher Survival Guide by Jack Warner and If You Don't Feed the Teachers by Nell Conners. Buy and read all three and you will have a good start on your teacher education after college.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Walk Into The Classroom Without This Book!
Review: I won't go so far to say that this book could replace going through a teacher education program. But there is such a gap between all of the "theoretical stuff" you learn from your professors, and actual practice that this book has been literally a God-send to thousands of teachers. Dr. Wong and his wife have put together a wonderful resource based on the experieces of hundreds of successful teachers. This book is designed to give the pre-service teacher, or relatively new teacher a handle on what can be, the overwhelming experience of managing a classroom. This book deals in depth with what a successful teacher looks like, how to have positive expectations about student success, the sometimes elusive art of classroom management, designing lessons to foster student mastery, and the teacher as a professional educator. Practical, sometimes funny and inspiring from beginning to end, The First Days of School will both strengthen and encourage you for the journey ahead. Buy this book today, and read it many times over. I did!
Rating:
Summary: Practical advice for all teachers
Review: I'm about to start my first year teaching, and a friend lent me this book. I found it to be incredibly helpful and am now going to buy my own copy so that I can have it for reference when I have to give it back to him. There were a few sections that I thought could have been either rewritten or eliminated, but most of the advice was exactly the kind of advice that I have been looking for: how to manage a classroom, the best way to plan a lesson...how to be an effective teacher and how NOT to be an ineffective teacher. After reading through the book and taking the Wongs' incredibly useful ideas, I feel much more confident in my ability to teach and teach well.
Rating:
Summary: EVERY teacher and administrator should own it
Review: I've had this book for years and recommend it to every teacher through my web site "The New Teacher Page" at <http://www.new-teacher.com> and in person. Why? Because it is simply a stand-out guide for beginning the school year whether you are an elementary or a secondary level teacher. Wong and Wong have thought of EVERYTHING that concerns a teacher who wishes to be effective. The advice in this book is useful, apply-it-today information and is soundly grounded in current research about learning and effective teaching. You'll find other new-teacher guides out there...but you WON'T find better. I was at a conference recently and overheard a group of high school and middle school teachers near me raving about the usefulness of this book ... it reminded me once again what an excellent resource the Wongs are providing for teachers in our schools.
Rating: 
Summary: There are Better Books for First -Year Teachers
Review: Harry Wong has a very good reputation as a motivational speaker for teachers. I have heard so much about this book that I felt I needed to buy a copy. Unfortunately, I did not feel the book lived up to its hype. The main problem with the book is it is NOT user-friendly. There is too much space devoted to sidebars, and the graphics make the book very hard to read. Furthermore, Wong is in dire need of a blue pencil. If it takes him 338 pages to talk about how teachers should prepare for the first days of school, the mind boggles at how many trees would need to be killed for Wong to publish a book about planning for the entire school year. What is the point of Wong spending an entire chapter on "dressing for success" when other authors have spent one or two sentences on the subject? Chapters and sections devoted to irrelevancies such as dress codes and taking roll tend to have the effect of being insulting to teachers. If you are a first-year teacher, I recommend you skip this purchase and instead buy the much better (and far less expensive) books, THE FIRST-YEAR TEACHER'S GUIDEBOOK by Bonnie Williamson, and THE UNAUTHORIZED TEACHER'S SURVIVAL GUIDE by Warner and Bryan.
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