True confession: Pretty much the only professional reading I can manage in the school year is blogs, newsletters, and journals. Other than that, I’m grazing to keep my own love of reading alive and to discover the books that will kindle and nurture my students’ love of reading. But now school is out, and I’m diving into the pile of professional books I’ve been building all year. Here’s what I’m planning to read:
Minds Made for Stories: How We Really Read and Write Informational and Persuasive Texts by Thomas Newkirk. I’ve seen this popping up in some of those blogs I follow, so I decided this is the time to find out what the buzz is. I’m always interested in new ways of thinking about the reading and writing I do, as well as talking to students about the reading and writing they do.
180 Days: Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle. These are 2 of my reading/writing teacher gurus—writing together! It came out last year, but I already had a full slate of summer reading at that time (including Gallagher’s previous book, which I hadn’t made it to the previous summer—see my blog on it here). But I’m really excited about getting to it this summer—both teachers are always very practical as well as innovative and inspirational.
Upgrade Your Teaching: Understanding by Design Meets Neuroscience by Jay McTighe and Judy Willis, M.D. Understanding by Design is the foundation of my approach to curriculum: I’ve facilitated several discussions of the book and lead 2 school-wide curriculum re-designs based on it. I’ve also been trying to keep up with all the brain science of learning research coming out now (see this recent Cult of Pedagogy post). So when I saw this on the ASCD new book list, it seemed like an obvious choice.
All Learning Is Social and Emotional by Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Dominique Smith. When I heard this title, I thought, “That so resonates in my gut. I need to find out the research and implementation ideas that others have found.” When I noticed the authors, it was a done deal. Two other excellent (and widely varied) books by Frey and Fisher I’ve read, discussed with colleagues, and deeply implemented are Productive Group Work: How to Engage Students, Build Teamwork and Promote Understanding and Better Learning Through Structured Teaching: A Framework for the Gradual Release of Responsibility. Additionally, I attended a 3-day social and emotional learning workshop this spring (see blog here), and I want to continue building on that learning.
We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be by Cornelius Minor. This is one out of the 4 book selections for the secondary level Book Love Foundation Summer Book Club (scroll down the page for elementary selections). Book Love Foundation was started by Penny Kittle, co-author of the 2nd book on my list, to support teachers teachers inspiring readers. While I won’t be joining the book club—there’s too much life happening this summer to commit to reading on someone else’s timeline—I do want to read the books, both because I respect Penny’s recommendations, and because I’m sure my Twitter feed will be full of references. (And if you are a secondary English teacher and haven’t read Penny’s books on teaching reading and writing workshop, I highly recommend them—Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers and Write Beside Them.) The other 3 book club selections include one inspirational teacher memoir and 2 popular YA books—Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle Kuo, The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King.
Throughout the summer, I will blog on my progress through these books. What professional reading are you doing this summer? Why? And how will you reflect on and capture your learning?
P.S. Here’s my list from last summer.
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