1. Kid President's Guide to Being Awesome
I am totally counting this awesome book as professional development this year. There are so many great ideas to lead a more Awesome life. Even just skimming through, I have already found joy through what is written on the pages. The page that hit home most so far was "Put Down Your Phone"! I am always trying to take pictures of Henry (or my classroom during the school year) so I am not fully present in the moment. I have been consciously trying to leave my phone in another room and it is so fun to just experience every moment and take "brain pictures" rather than trying to capture it with my camera.
Chapters in the book include:
Life Is What Happens When You Put Down Your Phone
Focus on the Awesome
Wanna Be a World Change? Be a Day Maker!
Be a Party!
It's Okay to Get Discouraged. It's Not Okay to Stop
Change the Future
and MORE!
This book will help me be a better teacher by helping me to laugh, find my light (and share it) and most importantly, focus on the Awesome (all of which are SO IMPORTANT when connecting with kids).
Another professional development book I will be reading is:
Passionate Learners: How to Engage and Empower Your Students by Pernille Ripp
This book is geared towards Gen-Ed teachers but I still think it will have a lot of great ideas/ practices to make my classroom a better place. It was tweeted by my principal and because our district slogan is "Engage. Empower. Excel." this book could not be more perfect. From the Amazon Description, this book will help you to:
• Build a working relationship with your students based on mutual trust, respect, and appreciation.
• Be attentive to your students’ needs and share ownership of the classroom with them.
• Break out of the vicious cycle of punishment and reward to control student behaviour.
• Use innovative and creative lesson plans to get your students to become more engaged and intellectually-invested learners, while still meeting your state standards.
• Limit homework and abandon traditional grading so that your students can make the most of their learning experiences without unnecessary stress.
• And much more!
I am so excited to get started on these books.
2. Roots and Branches
I got this book this summer and I can't wait to read/ sing through it to find new multi-cultural music for my classroom. Not only does the book have the musical notation, but also cultural context including maps, photos, and narratives. There is a CD included as well so you and your students can hear an authentic recording of the song! There are songs from so many countries/ cultures- Korea, France, Ireland, England, India, Puerto Rico, Brazil, China, Russia, Japan, Cambodia, Mozambique, Israel, Navajo and many more.
3. My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke
Yay for reading for pleasure! I read so many YA dystopian future books in the summer, but this year I am also getting in some non-fiction. Dick Van Dyke is one of my favorite performers and it seems he led such an interesting life. I am hoping this book is "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" :)
Other books on my summer reading list:
Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys by Stephen James and David Thomas
The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
First We Sing- Songbooks 1 and 2 by Susan Brumfield
Don't forget to link up and share your summer reading list. Happy Reading!
To link up here are the directions:
- Save the "Summer Reading List" graphic to your computer, and include it in your blog with a link to this blog entry.
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