Are you a new teacher that needs some help getting started in the fall? Maybe you're a veteran that just wants some inspiration? Here's a summer book list for teachers that will inspire you for back to school.
1. The Cornerstone
You got the call! The one you've been waiting for telling you that you've been hired as a brand new teacher! As you step into that new classroom, you may have some questions. How do I set up my classroom and how do I control a class of 25 kids on my own? I need help!
The Cornerstone by Angela Watson will give you strategies for strong classroom management, which is truly the foundation to great teaching. This book will take you from the beginning of the year to the end with all the strategies you need for a successful year.
This former classroom teacher, shows you how to set up your classroom, organize your space, and create routines that work. She'll guide you through behavior management and planning your instruction and assessment. This is a must have on any book list for teachers.
2. Literacy Work Stations
One of the foundations to any good elementary classroom are math and literacy stations. Students need that individual time to practice all the new things they're learning with hands on materials. You may be wondering how to manage stations and keep 25 kids on task.
That's the question that new and veteran teachers alike have asked for years. Debbie Diller will show you the way with her books Literacy Work Stations and Math Work Stations.
These two books have been the backbone to my classroom learning stations and on my book list for teachers for years! My own copies of these books are tattered and worn from combing the pages each year. The author gives practical advice as she breaks down each center and devotes an entire chapter to each station in your classroom.
Ms. Diller includes real classroom pictures, lists of materials needed for each station, activity ideas and how to keep each station fresh and inviting all year. These are two of the best books you'll ever read as an elementary teacher and you'll refer to them over and over all through your career.
Reading Strategies
Teaching kids to read is no easy task. Maybe you're a new teacher who's worried about taking on this responsibility. Or maybe you're a veteran who's feeling frustrated that you're students aren't reaching the goals you had hoped for them. These books are a life saver for any teacher looking for ways to get kids reading in school.
These next books helped shape my teaching to get the results I was looking for year after year. If you truly want to see your students grow in their reading, be on or above reading level every year, these are the books that can guide you along the way.
3. Read It Again
The day I learned about balanced literacy and its components was the day I truly learned how to teach my students to read. Balanced literacy is the combination of shared and interactive reading and writing. A large part of balanced literacy is modeling to students how to read and write.
One of the ways to do this is through shared reading, which is the process by which the teacher models reading strategies using enlarged text. Read It Again by Brenda Parks will show teachers how to use the shared reading strategies in your classroom to get the best results from students.
Read It Again! outlines the essential elements and benefits of shared reading and provides detailed examples which show how a shared reading session unfolds in the classroom.
4. The Next Step In Guided Reading
Your kidney shaped table is set up in the corner of your room and you know you SHOULD be doing guided reading. Every day that table gets piled high with kids papers, art projects and things to be copied. Sitting down with a small group for guided reading rarely happens.
How do you begin your guided reading and how should you run each group?
If that sounds like you (or maybe you just need a little refresher) The Next Step In Guided Reading by Jan Richardson is the book for you. Written in each to understand terminology, this book will help you along in your guided reading instruction. Add this to your book list for teachers. It's one you'll refer to over and over.
5. Reading With Meaning
One of my favorite books, that transformed my own teaching, was Reading With Meaning by Debbie Miller. This books takes you into the author's first grade classroom where she teaches students how to dive into a book with comprehension strategies including schema, inferring and using mental strategies.
This is the book to read as you sit on your porch with an ice cold drink in the summer or snuggled into a cozy chair in the middle of a snow day. You'll dream of Debbie Miller's cozy classroom with her checkered tablecloths, soft lamplight and brand new crayons sitting on the children's tables. My own copy of this book is tattered with highlighted pages and notes in the margins. I devoured this book and couldn't wait to get back to school to teach my students to read!
Want more ideas on how you can get ready for school over the summer? Are you feeling a little worried about the fall of 2020? What will it look like and how can you prepare? This 2020 Summer To Do List For Teachers will give you all the tips you need to prepare your physical and digital classroom!
Thank you for sharing, always looking to read and learn more. I also try to read one or two books that will help me as a teacher.