EdWeek's Back-to-School Reading List
30+ Must Reads to Help You Start the 2022-23 Year Right
Every new school year is a time to reset, rethink, and get re-inspired.
This back-to-school reading list is full of fresh ideas, advice, and inspiration for anybody heading back to school, whether they want to calm student first-day jitters or develop a thriving school culture.
Enjoy, and get more insights into how to start the year strong at EdWeek’s Aug. 18 K-12 Essentials Forum. Learn more and register.
Browse by topic:
Teaching
Opinion
10 Non-Standard Ideas About Going Back to School
One teacher spent days preparing for the first day. Her husband wouldn't prepare at all. It's hard to say who was the better teacher.
Teaching Profession
Video
Here’s What’s Drawing Aspiring Teachers to the Field
Four student-teachers explain what’s drawing them to the field despite its steady stream of challenges.
Teaching
7 Things Teachers Can Quit Doing This Year
Want to shake up your teaching mindset this year? Here are seven habits teachers have cast off in the spirit of becoming a better educator.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
A Sandy Hook Parent's Letter to Teachers
After her daughter Ana Grace was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Nelba Marquez-Greene wrote about the courage of teachers.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Find What Matters. Get Rid of What Doesn't. Your Mental Health Depends on It
COVID should have taught us what's important. Did you make any changes in your life or the life of your classroom in the last two years?
Teaching Profession
Opinion
I Don't Have to Love My Students to Be a Good Teacher
Treat teachers like the professionals we are rather than expecting endless and selfless sacrifice, writes one educator.
Teaching
Video: Setting Up the Classroom for the First Day of School
Education Week filmed teachers setting up their classrooms for the first day of school, capturing the whirlwind of excitement and nerves.
Teaching
Setting Up a Classroom Is Hard. See the Creative Ways These Teachers Did It
We asked, and you answered: See the classroom setups readers shared with the #SeeMyClassroom hashtag.
Reading & Literacy
Opinion
4 Steps to a Magnificent Classroom Library
Teachers need to look closely at the range of reading levels, experiences, and genres represented in their classroom libraries.
Teaching
Teacher Leaders Network
Teaching Secrets: Get to Know Students Through Seating Challenges
Sandy Merz writes that engaging his students in seat-selection activities sets a positive collaborative tone from the first day of school.
Teaching
What the Research Says
3 Counterintuitive Findings About Motivation That Teachers Can Use
New research suggests small changes teachers can make to get students more engaged.
Teaching Profession
Video: Second-Year Teachers Share Some Advice for Rookies
Education Week asked two second-year teachers to share some advice for new teachers—and to reflect on their own first year in the classroom.
Teaching
Explainer
What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching?
Here's what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher and where critical race theory ties in—or not.
Science
Opinion
Science Teachers, Be Honest About What Science Still Can't Explain
The universe is full of questions waiting to be solved. So why teach science like all the discoveries have already been made?
Teaching
3 Ways to Get Students Engaged in Their Learning
Students should be able to trust that their voices are heard in the classroom, said experts and educators in an online discussion.
Teaching
Teaching Tips for Reaching Introverts and Extroverts
Teachers can look to technology for help in reaching big talkers and their quieter peers.
Teaching Profession
Happy Teachers Practice Self-Care
Teachers must develop their own social-emotional competencies, before they can effectively model these skills to students.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Calming Those Back-to-School Jitters
The first day of school can be scary. Nancy Barile shares five ways teachers can help alleviate their new students’ fears.
Teaching
Opinion
Build Student Trust by Sharing Stories on the First Day
Seán Arthurs writes how sharing his background and values with students on the first day fosters connection.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Dear White Teachers: You Can't Love Your Black Students If You Don't Know Them
It isn't enough to "love all students," writes the University of Georgia's Bettina L. Love.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
4 Ways to Build Relationships With Your Students All Year Long
A teacher writes about how to cultivate strong relationships, not just during the first few weeks of school, but throughout the entire year.
Teaching
Opinion
The Difficult (and Satisfying) Run of Teaching Defiant Students
The best way to work with students who struggle behaviorally is to build a trusting relationship, even when it is difficult.
Equity & Diversity
Mispronouncing Students' Names: A Slight That Can Cut Deep
When people come across Michelle-Thuy Ngoc Duong’s name, they often see a stumbling block. The 17-year-old sees a bridge.
Student Well-Being
Really Listening to Students Has an Academic Payoff, New Research Finds
When students see their schools as "responsive" to their feedback, they are likely to have better grades and attendance, new research finds.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
The #1 Factor That Determines a Toxic or Thriving School Culture
When it comes to the success of an entire school, nothing is more important than the relationship of the adults in the building.
School & District Management
10 Bold Ideas Principals Can Embrace This School Year
Principals, want to change things up this school year? Here are 10 suggestions—big and small—for rethinking what you do and how you lead.
School & District Management
Opinion
What It Takes to Be a Human First and a Principal Second
Leadership is a test. One very busy principal explains how he learned to pass.
School & District Management
6 Tips for Principals to Survive—and Thrive
We asked principals about their biggest challenges. Here are strategies for tackling six common issues, from school leaders and experts.
School & District Management
Opinion
Administrators Can Make or Break School Culture. Here’s How to Spot the Best Ones
Educator Mary Alicia Lyons shares her experiences working with administrators who’ve spanned the spectrum from frustrating to fantastic.
School & District Management
Opinion
Advice for Principals: Empower Your Teachers
When principals develop partnerships with teachers, it helps them both.
School & District Management
What the Research Says
How Principals Can Boost Effectiveness of Instructional Coaches
Instructional coaches are not substitute teachers or administrative clerks, a study says, and they shouldn't be deployed that way.
School & District Management
Opinion
The 6 Relationships That Characterize Great Schools
A former director of High Tech High Media Arts examines ways that schools can develop relationships that make learning meaningful.
School & District Management
Why Principals Must Focus on SEL, School Climate Right Now
Principals need support in focusing on SEL, academic development, school climate, and community engagement, a new report argues.
School & District Management
From Principals, a Primer on Delivering Bad News
COVID and the upheavals of the last two years have raised the ante on often-emotional conversations with staff and parents.