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The First Six Weeks of School
Watch children's learning blossom all year long when you lay the groundwork with the help of this classic, comprehensive guidebook for K6 teachers. Day by day and week by week, The First Six Weeks of School shows you how to set students up for a year of engaged and productive learning by: using positive teacher language to establish high academic and behavioral expectations; getting students excited about schoolwork by offering engaging academics; and teaching the classroom and academic routines that enable a collaborative learning community to thrive.
297 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
August 19, 2019
What a wonderful read for anyone new to Responsive Classroom or anyone wanting to review the elements of RC! I am member of the former group, so I absorbed all this information like a sponge. Although I found some elements of the book repetitive, I found that it truly works to reinforce the tenets of Responsive Classroom. Paula Denton deserves kudos for the way the book is formatted, especially by introducing colors to differentiate between the different grade levels. She also includes useful appendixes that not only allow you to review RC information, but provide useful classroom group activities, songs and chants, as well.
The First Six Weeks of School provides me with some wonderful insights and practical examples. I am truly looking forward to beginning of the school year!
The First Six Weeks of School provides me with some wonderful insights and practical examples. I am truly looking forward to beginning of the school year!
July 21, 2017
This book is filled with practical advice and lists of many Responsive Classroom activities. I was feeling really lost when it came to planning for the first few weeks of school, and now I feel that I have a much better idea of what to schedule and when in order to best set students up for success. It breaks down suggestions by grade (K-2, 3-4, 5-6) which was especially helpful and gave insights into the new grade level that I will be teaching. Definitely one of my favorite teacher books!
June 20, 2023
I am SO glad that I was gifted this book before starting my first year of teaching! Thank you so much for the great weekly outlines and giving your readers a concrete place to start the school year and how to tie building relationships while doing that! I recommend this book to any and all teachers!
July 8, 2018
SO helpful for someone who wants to be a teacher. Although I do not have a job YET (it's going to happen, I feel it in my bones!) I will definitely use this book as a guide to help me during those first few weeks in my classroom.
July 20, 2018
This is a great resource for beginning teachers and a good review for seasoned teachers.
January 3, 2019
Yes to everything in this book. It's so nice to see my teaching philosophy laid out in such an easy-to-follow way!!
July 4, 2023
Great to prepare me for my first year of teaching! Although it wasn’t extremely applicable since I’m teaching special education.
October 17, 2024
read this for work lol but it’s a helpful book! i wanted to finish it before the end of my sixth week of teaching this year, since it’s my first full-time year. definitely has a lot of good info on and ideas for engaging with the Responsive Classroom principles. definitely a bit repetitive but that comes with the territory.
August 3, 2017
A must-read for all teachers over the summer!
January 22, 2020
This book is very important and helpful for new teachers. Teaches a lot about how to set up a responsive classroom with morning meeting and other aspects of the model. I really enjoyed reading it over a summer break and referred back to the book often during the school year.
July 25, 2017
I didn't finish this book. Part of that has to do with the fact that I got moved from 5th grade to 7th & 8th grade while I was reading this. Most of it really had to do with the fact that I lost interest in it. The book has some great ideas - don't get me wrong! It just gets repetitive after a while. I realize that's how parts of class are, but it felt odd reading relatively the same thing for every week. I stopped in week 3 or 4.
August 13, 2018
I come from a teaching background where Harry Wong's The First of School was considered the holy text for starting the school year.
On my first day of starting school at my current district, the principal gave me The First Six Weeks. I am now a convert. This book provides so much more useful information than "greet every student at the door and smile" to begin your school year. As a matter of fact, I am skimming it now as a refresher before the new school year begins.
On my first day of starting school at my current district, the principal gave me The First Six Weeks. I am now a convert. This book provides so much more useful information than "greet every student at the door and smile" to begin your school year. As a matter of fact, I am skimming it now as a refresher before the new school year begins.
November 6, 2021
I definitely found this book to be helpful in my ability to set up the classroom for a successful year. It provided practical advice that is helpful to teachers regardless of what year you’re entering. I learned the importance of routine, procedures, and consistency and saw success with these strategies.
August 9, 2018
I only read the k-2 and general overview sections, but I didn't find it very helpful. Kinda sad that I spent 35$ on this 🙃 maybe would have been better if I was teaching older kids or actual subjects separately
June 27, 2019
Brilliant. Everyone should make their class a Responsive Classroom and spend the first six weeks suffering through the management. The payoff is totally worth it.
September 10, 2017
The first six weeks of school are the most important weeks for you and your students. This span of time is dedicated to establishing routines, expectations, and a positive classroom environment. Paula Denton helps break down each day during the first six weeks of school, and includes ideas for activities, learning goals, and games that make your classroom fun and engaging. She also gives helpful information regarding various grade spans and what to expect from children at these ages. This is such a wonderful guide for teachers, but especially new teachers who may need a little bit of a framework to assist in the start of a new school year.
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October 23, 2023unfortunately, this book did not disclose what to do when a mom tells you the only reason her daughter can have a D in math is if you can't do your job, or what to do when families continually take the word of their 10-year-old children over the word of you--a fully grown 26-year-old adult. so it's usefulness was limited 😭
September 26, 2017
A nice overview of what I should expect and focus on. Reading it made me think of my kids now and how I can improve tomorrow. Not all of it was relevant to me, but I found the discipline and academics sections most helpful.
June 26, 2019
As a soon to be first year, first grade teacher, I was very excited by the ideas in this book. The Responsive Classroom model definitely makes sense to me and I'm excited to continue learning more and use the ideas in my classroom.
May 22, 2020
I love the Responsive Classroom approach. I have read this book multiple times and still get something new from it each time. If you want to develop a solid community of empathetic, self-directed learners then this is a great book to read and follow.
June 10, 2020
I follow this book to start off my classroom each year. The step by step deliberate methods for creating ownership of the class and building a classroom culture is fantastic! I use it every year and I recommend it to all of my teacher friends!
August 1, 2021
Even though I’ve been teaching for over 10 years - I was out of the classroom as the main teacher for years. This is such a refresher and so encouraging to get back into my own class and establish routines, respect, and responsibility.
July 18, 2023
Super helpful book I will continue to use throughout teaching. This is my first year and I know this book will be super helpful this year. But i can keep referencing back throughout the years if I need.
July 12, 2018
good help for new teachers
August 4, 2018
It is good with some great ideas. I love the ideas in the back of activities, songs, and chants.
April 20, 2019
Great resource for beginning teachers. Having taught for nearly eight years now, it was reassuring to know I already do nearly everything that is presented in the book!
May 27, 2019
I love the ideas in this book and I can’t wait to implement them in my own classroom!
August 5, 2019
I'm really enjoying this book. It helped me to understand how to structure the first few weeks of school. A great and indispensable read for new teachers.
August 12, 2020
will be nice for the future when school is in person full time, as of right now it helps create a general guideline...
May 29, 2021
4/5 stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews