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:-)