At the end of the school year I always treat myself to some professional books (as well as fun book) that I strive to read during the summer to prepare for the next school year. I would love to hear about what you are reading as well! Be sure to comment with your summer reading books.
Here my summer 2016 professional reads:
Kids Deserve It! Pushing Boundaries and Challenging Conventional Thinking by Todd Nesloney and Adam Welcome
I got hooked into this book through Twitter and the #TLAP (Teach Like a Pirate) group. I'm excited to see what these authors have to inspire me. This book was just released last week and after everyone started tweeting great quotes I couldn't help but purchase the Kindle version.
The Big Book of Details: 46 Moves for Teaching Writing to Elaborate by Rozlyn Linder
As a person who spent many years teaching math exclusively, writing is not my strongest subject to teach. Writing, in my school, is something that our students struggle with. So, I set out to arm myself with writing strategies to help our students (and myself). This is a FABULOUS book with lesson built right into the text. The lessons include references to mentor text. These references not only give you a good text but the exact page where the model text is found. I have read 2 chapters and have already learned so much that I can't wait to use my new skills with kids next year!
Story: Still the Heart of Literacy Learning by Katie Cunningham
My friend and co-worker Carroll Sager visited our school for some professional development. She mentioned that she was in love with this book. Since Carroll had recommended the fabulous book, Readicide, to me I knew this would be a great read also. This book reminds us how important stories are and how to find them in the world around us.
Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom by Katie Muhtaris and Kristin Ziemke
Those that know me know that I'm not only a "math nerd" but also a "techie". I can't help myself when it comes to technology. Since our school system went Grade 3-12 full one-to-one with ipads I thought this would make for a good resource for our technology pd next year. So, far I have read some of the first chapters but am most intrigued by all of the QR code links that I need to explore in the pages. So, far this book seems to affirm what I know about moving up the SAMR scale.
The Writing Thief by Ruth Culham
Unlike the other books, this book is several years old (all of the rest of my reads are fairly new). Since we use Culham's 6+1 writing traits, I thought this book might be a nice companion. Who doesn't need more mentor text to teach writing? I read a lot of fiction but I can't always think up great mentor text on my own. Another plus for me, is that, in flipping through the book I spied another of my favorite writing authors, Ralph Fletcher. So, I think I picked a good one. We will just have to see.....
