My Summer Reading List

On my list of things to do this summer is READING.  I'm so excited to finally have more time to read, both for professional development and for fun.

First on the list is Mindset by Carol S. Dweck.  I just finished this one, and it was great.  I highly recommend it.  To be honest though, I skipped the chapters on sports and business.  I read the chapter on relationships because I thought it would be helpful to teachers, but you could just as easily skip it as well.  I find that the great challenge is in applying what I've learned because this book is not spelled out for teachers.

The next book I plan on reading is Never Work Harder Than Your Students by Robyn R. Jackson.  I remember this being one of the most buzzed about books a few years ago, but as a new teacher I had other things to focus on first.  This summer I'm ready to finally read it.

While shopping for the two books above, I found Accessible Mathematics by Steven Leinwand under the recommendations.  It's subtitle is "10 Instructional Shifts That Raise Student Achievement."  One of my goals for this summer is to work on my methods for improving student achievement, and this one targets math specifically.

I found Teaching Smarter at Barnes and Noble while looking for another book that I will mention next.  The book promises to present "simple ways you can help kids get higher grades and test scores and be more engaged in school - all while streamlining your work as a teacher."  I might be saving this book for last to make sure I remember everything for the up-coming school year.

The fifth book (not pictured) is Total Participation Techniques by Persida Himmele and William Himmele.  I found out about this book through ASCD and thought it would help with my second goal of improving my classroom engagement.  I tried to find this book in two different Barnes and Noble stores, but I had to order it on Amazon.

Note:  All book titles are linked to their listings on Amazon if you would like more information about them.  Or if you would like to purchase these book, however I am not trying to sell anything.