Monday, May 28, 2012

IT'S MONDAY! What Are You Reading?



I haven't read a lot this week but I with the last day of school quickly approaching, I am thinking ahead to my summer reading. Going back into the classroom, I want to catch up on some professional reading and do some focused thinking over the summer. So today's post is not so much about what I'm reading but more about what I WILL be reading soon:-)

I love to teach math. People know me as a literacy person but math is kind of more my thing. I am really a math girl--love math and love to watch kids make sense of it.  So, I am excited to get back to teaching math.  I have three books on my list related to math teaching.


NUMBER TALKS by Sherry Parish is one that lots of teachers in our district are talking about. It is new to me and it looks fabulous. Looking forward to thinking about new ways to help kids make sense of number.


MATH EXCHANGES by Kassia Omohundro Wedekind is one I skimmed when it came out but didn't dig into like I will this summer. Even though this book is focused on primary math instruction, I know it has lots of implications for older kids.  I interviewed Kassia for a Choice Literacy podcast and was so inspired by all she had to say. Really excited to revisit this book with a classroom in mind.


SMALL STEPS, BIG CHANGES by Chris Confer and Marco Ramirez is one I just happened to see on the Stenhouse website. It looks to be one with important insights for transforming math instruction. Love that kind of thinking. (You can preview this entire text online at Stenhouse.)


I want to reread OPENING MINDS by Peter Johnston. I loved this book when I read it earlier this year but I want to start the school year off with it fresh in my mind.


MANY TEXTS, MANY VOICES by Penny Silvers and Mary Shorey is one that I am extra excited about.  Literacy, Social Justice, Digital Age--love the way these three things come together in the description of this book. I can't wait to read the stories of this teacher and her students. You can preview this entire book online at Stenhouse.



PROJECT BASED LEARNING IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES from the Buck Institute is one I want to read to think about how to better think about projects in a standards-based age. I was hoping to take a workshop in our district on the topic but really didn't have the time so I thought I'd fit the book into my summer reading.


I read the first edition of I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN by Steve Moline that was published YEARS ago--before anyone was really talking about visual literacy. And it was brilliant.  So I am excited to read this new edition and Moline's new thinking around a topic that has become even more important in the last few years. I think this will help me think through visual literacy across content areas.


I also want to read the new edition of LIVING THE QUESTIONS by Ruth Shagoury and Brenda Miller Power. I loved the first edition of this book and can't wait to read their new thinking on the ways we live in our classrooms.



I'm a huge Penny Kittle fan and have not read her book, PUBLIC TEACHING: ONE KID AT A TIME. I keep hearing about it a a great summer read and it looks like one that will energize me to start the year grounded.


Finally, I'd like to do some reading around Common Core and PATHWAYS TO THE COMMON CORE by Lucy Calkins seems perfect. I like Calkins' thinking around the CC issues and am looking forward to reading her ideas about how best to implement.

Hmmmm. That's a lot of books.  But I am hoping to dig into each of them sometime this summer!

Thanks for Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts for hosting IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING! Visit their blog to see what others are reading this week:-)


12 comments:

  1. I swear my husband hates it when I read your blogs on Mondays because he knows that our credit card bill will get a big DING from all the texts that you share! =)

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  2. I heard Kelli T share about Number Talks, and it seems quite smart. If our school ends up going to 80 minute math blocks next year, it might be a great addition for my partner. :)

    So happy for you to be headed back to the classroom and so psyched to get prepared. Enjoy!

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  3. Excited to see many of the same titles on my list for summer also but also some new ones. We are going to 80 mins. for math next year so I agree with Karen that is a book that I need to check out. I am excited though we are keeping our own students except for 6th grade math, so I will have more control over my schedule-yipee!!

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  4. Oh so many of these I want to read. I think I need to make a goal to read at least one PD book a week.

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  5. Opening Minds is one of my current favorites! I am working to create a workshop for teachers that demonstrates the difference in how "good job" feels as opposed to coaching. Stay tuned!

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  6. Oh i love your list Frankie! I must say Pathways To Common Core really helped me undertstand the Common Core and implications for teaching!

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  7. I love professional reading, I'm glad I'm not alone in that. Sometimes I feel really dorky, but I really do enjoy it. I always find something that I can apply in my teaching. I have Pathways to the Common Core to read, too...someone on Twitter talked about doing a book club/discussion with it. You'll have to let me know when you start reading it.

    On my summer professional reading list, I have Real Revisions by Kate Messner, 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know by Jeff Anderson, On Writing by Stephen King, and the a few leadership books, especially Shifting the Monkey by Todd Whitaker and then some others I have at school. It's different reading from what I've been doing because usually I'm reading about reading! I hope you find a lot of great stuff in your professional books this summer!

    Exciting that you will be back in the classroom. :)

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  8. I'm planning to read the Opening Minds, & the Small Steps... book looks really interesting, Franki. Thank you for it, & all the other possibles. I have a pile in mind, but will also catch up with online articles-whew!

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  9. Franki,
    We have very similar lists. I thought Small Steps, Big Changes looked very interesting. I hadn't heard of Kittle's book so I'm going to have to check that out.

    Linda makes a good point --- I also have a lot of blogs and internet resources to catch up on as well.

    I'm ready to start reading. I have to remind myself to stay focused for one more week. Lots to do!


    Cathy

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  10. Opening Minds is on my summer reading list too.

    I LOVED Pathways to the Common Core. It's a treasure chest since it really empowers teachers and districts to realize that they can teach reading and writing in meaningful ways using the standards as a guide.

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  11. What a fun way to share your summer PD reading. I have a stack too. Pathways to the Common Core is one of them. I am so excited, as I just found out Lucy is going to be at our spring conference (NESA) to do a 4 hour session on literacy and the common core. Yeah!

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  12. Gahhhhh, I want to read all of these books. All of them. And the only one our school PD library has is Opening Minds...

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