This summer, children shouldn't be the only ones with a reading list. This is the perfect time for you to kick back and read a book or two yourself before the next school year begins. Here's a list of some of the best books to read right now.
The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read: One Man’s Triumph Over Illiteracy: by John Corcoran. Read about a high school teacher who managed to make it into the profession without being able to read, and how he ended up being a champion for literacy.
The Book Whisperer: by Donalyn Miller. Donalyn says she has yet to meet a child she couldn't turn into a reader. No matter how far behind Miller's students might be when they reach her 6th grade classroom, they end up reading an average of 40 to 50 books a year.
Learning to Teach Everyone’s Children: by Carl Grant. Grant helps teachers understand the new face of education: it’s multicultural and global, and teachers need to understand how to meet these new demands.
What Keeps Teachers Going?: by Sonia Nieto. Public school teachers find inspiration and appreciation in this book.
Teacher Man: by Frank McCourt. Famed writer/teacher Frank McCourt taught English in New York City and writes about his challenges with students, parents, administrators and his own insecurities in this memoir.
The Students are Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract: by Theodore R. Sizer and Nancy Faust Sizer. Co-principals ask teachers and the education system to promote moral values and "nurture our humanity" as well as teach practical lessons.
Work Hard. Be Nice. How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America: by Jay Matthews. Learn about the revolutionary KIPP program, founded by Teach for America graduates Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin.
Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56: by Rafe Esquith. This New York Times-bestselling book is from fifth-grade LA public school teacher Rafe Esquith, who successfully teaches Shakespeare and Vivaldi to immigrant children.
Not Quite Burned Out, but Crispy Around the Edges: by Sharon M. Draper. If you need a little extra encouragement to keep going, read this book of stories and essays.
Never Work Harder Than Your Students & Other Principles of Great Teaching: by Robyn R. Jackson This book is divided into eight chapters with each covering a principle of great teaching. There is also an appendix with nine tools and forms that can be easily incorporated by teachers of varying levels.
Before you crack open that book, take a moment to check out free reading resources that will give your reluctant readers a boost this fall!