Theory of mind —children’s understanding of themselves and others in terms of internal mental states, such as thoughts, wants, and emotions— influences children’s transition to school and their success within school. This article reviews evidence showing that theory of mind influences school-age children’s relationships with their peers and teachers, and thus their adjustment to school. It also influences children’s academic motivation within school and for school tasks. Theory of mind further directly influences children’s successful performance on, and strategies for undertaking, academic tasks, such as reading and mathematics. Moreover, it fosters children’s abilities to provide explanations, which in turn help them learn new material more effectively from teacher instruction and from school textbook material.