Summer Reading for Teachers

When it's time for my summer vacation, I need a clean break. I practically forget the names of my colleagues and former students. I bask in all of those things I never get to do during the school year - fun reading, lazy beach afternoons, lunches with friends, and so much more. But hopefully I can find at least a little time for some summer reading related to teaching. If you're lucky enough to carve out some professional growth reading time this summer, here are some titles that I would recommend:

• The Excellent 11: Qualities Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire, and Educate Children by Ron Clark - Many of you have seen me talk about Clark's The Essential 55 over the past year on this site. Mr. Clark is a Disney Teacher of the Year who has a knack for defining exactly what is most important in the relationships between adults and children. I haven't read this book yet. It comes out on August 1st. But, I have my advanced preview copy at the ready and as soon as I've digested its ideas, I will write about it here. Let me know if you're planning on reading it, too. It's an easy and impactful read that you won't regret.
• Mosaic of Thought : Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop by Susan Zimmermann, Ellin Oliver Keene - Over the last several years, this book and its concepts have become quite popular. The idea of Reader's Workshop is a fresh new way to teach reading. I've tried it myself in my own classroom and loved it. If you're curious about this teaching method or desire a new way to approach reading comprehension, check it out!
• Creating Writers Through 6-Trait Writing Assessment and Instruction (3rd Edition) by Vicki Spandel - Has your school started using the 6-Traits program for teaching and assessing student writing? The 6 traits are ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. Check out this book and see if you like the way this program helps you and your students narrow in on which parts of composition really need improvement and development.
• The Passionate Teacher: A Practical Guide (2nd Edition) by Robert L. Fried - I read this book when I first started teaching and it is so inspirational. If you're feeling a little blue about the profession or need to jump-start your passion for the job, read this book. It's like a compass guiding you back to the reasons you became a teacher in the first place.
• Guiding Readers and Writers (Grades 3-6): Teaching Comprehension, Genre, and Content Literacy by Irene C. Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell - This massive book does not have to read cover-to-cover, but you can definitely glean plenty of practical wisdom and technique from its pages. It is more for the upper elementary years and how you can guide children who know how to decode text into the world of really understanding and analyzing books at a higher level.