This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on the link and purchase the product, I may receive a small commission. Thanks in advance!
In addition to joining the Twitterverse a few years ago, reading some fabulous professional learning books by awesome educators has helped me to not only ditch any insecurities or doubts about my teaching style/strategies, but also pushed my thoughts and understanding of so many different issues in education. I LOVE these boo
ks and highly recommend them to all teachers – whether you’re a first-year teacher just getting your feet wet (and feeling overwhelmed like I was in my first year!), a veteran teacher who has seemingly seen it all in education, or a teacher in the middle of their career (like me!), these books will challenge your thinking and supercharge your classroom!
Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess
Start here. Just do it. If you haven’t already read Dave Burgess’ Teach Like a Pirate, just do it. You won’t regret it. Like all of you reading this post, I strive to make my classroom and engaging and exciting learning environment. Sometimes I get nutty to accomplish this goal, but losing my sense of shame has brought a great deal of excitement to my classroom. Yes, when I randomly break out into a new rap about Government concepts, my students look at me like I’ve turned green and fallen out of the sky. But, you know what? They can tell you about federalism! Two questions really hit home (MANY parts of this book hit home!) for me while I was reading TLAP, ” If your students didn’t have to be there, would you be teaching in an empty room?” and “Do you have any lessons you could sell tickets for?” I began to question whether or not I have actually created an engaging learning environment in my classroom … would students be there if they didn’t have to?! Dave provides so many thought-provoking and “barraising” ideas in this fabulous book … seriously, it’s fantastic!!
Kids Deserve It by Todd Nesloney and Adam Welcome
I love love LOVE this book! Kids Deserve It shares fantastic story after story of encouragement for teachers. We all know teachers can use all of the encouragement and affirmation we can get! I had so many “yes!” and “hey, I do that” moments while reading Kids Deserve It, and was reminded so many times of why I do what I do … and it’s definitely not for the money and the fame 🙂 Check out Kids Deserve It!!
The HyperDoc Handbook by Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton, and Sarah Landis
Are you looking to more effectively utilize the awesomeness that is G Suite for Education? Look no further than the HyperDoc Handbook! These wonderful ladies share a variety of lesson plan strategies, ideas, and examples that allow teachers to harness the power of Google to promote a student-centered learning environment! It’s fabulous!!
140 Twitter Tips for Educators by Brad Currie, Billy Krakower, and Scott Rocco
Twitter is an extraordinarily powerful tool for teachers … get on the bandwagon, friends! Growing my PLN through Twitter has been an exciting, eye-opening, experience that has allowed me to break down walls of my own learning by connecting with fabulous educators from all over the world. Holy moly. Get this book and the learn how to leverage the awesome power of Twitter!
Blogging for Educators by Starr Sackstein
Ok, friends. This book spoke to me. When I first started blogging, I was truly skeptical about whether or not I should actually blog … questions like, “who really wants to read what I have to say,” or “I’m not a writer,” and “it’s not like I’m an expert or anything like that!” My biggest hangup, however, was “the fear of sounding stupid.” I can’t tell you how many times I started to stop blogging, but I’m so glad I didn’t. I love it. I think blogging has helped develop, as Starr calls it, my “unique teacher voice” … not the voice that randomly appears in public places 🙂 If you’re thinking about hopping on the blogging bandwagon, check out Starr’s book for encouragement and guidance!
What books should I add to my list??
Thanks for reading 🙂
