Fri-YAY Fun-YAYs!!

Happy Friday!

Garfield hates Mondays.

 

This must be some sort of crazy thing that happens when you become an adult and start to get older. I am slowly turning into Garfield the cat.

This is what we have in common so far:

·       We hate Mondays. I never really knew why Garfield hated Mondays since he is a cat and never had a work week, but I guess Mondays hit everyone in the face now and then.

·       We love our bed. I truly think there is some percentage of bear in my blood. If I could, I would hibernate through Winter. I must be an adult so I have to settle for hanging out in my bed on evenings.

·       We don’t “get” Odie. Odie is like always hyper, always happy. I think the older I get, the more I am like…why is Odie always so darn happy? I wish I was more like Odie. He just seems unaware about what is really going on and like he is in a perpetual party state. I'm actually a little jealous of a cartoon dog.

Oh, and this would totally be me blogging right now if I was

Garfield.

I wanted to take a minute to share some good professional development reading with you. I am a true NERD. I love professional development! Love it! However, since I have been staying at home/homeschooling lately I have not had many chances to attend PD in the real world. So I have been keeping up with PD through books. 

My local library here in Oklahoma makes it easy-peasy because I can request books online and have them sent to the library closest to me. I like doing PD through reading or online because I can do things at my own pace. It doesn’t matter if I am wearing my holey sweatpants with bleach stains, either. Even Garfield agrees with me.

Without further ado, here are some good reads for teachers/administrators!!!

Teaching Early Reading and Phonics: Creative Approaches to EarlyLiteracy-Kathy Goouch and Andrew Lambirth

This is a very good early childhood book! There are activities and misconceptions of current teaching of reading practices are discussed. It shows you how to plan phonics lessons and activities along with how to construct relationships for your young students with the text.

Guided Reading-Fountas and Pinnell

This book is my boo. I have called it my reading teacher Bible before. This book is what first got me really interested in teaching reading. I think every college should use this book as a textbook for education courses. I was very lucky the university I went to had education courses that were very strong on teaching reading and writing. This was one of our textbooks and I will be forever grateful. This books shows you step-by-step how to set up and conduct guided reading groups along with literacy centers. This would be the ONE book on this list I would read first if I could only read one right away.

They also have other books on Interactive Writing, etc. Love them!

Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain- Zaretta Hammond

Ms. Hammond uses a wealth of research to share effective teaching practices, and culturally relevant teaching. A good read!

The End of Molasses Classes-Ron Clark

I read his book and then was pleasantly surprised when I got to hear him speak/met him like a month later. This man has mad energy! This book really made me feel good about teaching and made me want to do better (we can all do better and grow after all). Read this if you need some happiness in your life.

LETRS: Module One- Louisa Moats and Carol Tolman

If you want to know about how to teach reading and also the neuroscience behind the brain, etc. then this book and the whole series is for you.

I am a LETRS certified trainer, but I still learn something new every day about the brain and how it relates to reading and writing. I would not recommend ordering this from Amazon since it is very pricey there (I linked it above so you can read the reviews/preview the book), but I like Abe Books for ordering used textbooks/workbooks like this one.  

Proust and the Squid – Maryanne Wolf

This book will definitely give you knowledge about reading and the brain. I will admit I am still reading it at the moment. It is one of those books I go to read little bits at a time much like snacking because it is so good.

The First Days of School – Harry and Rosemary Wong

This book changed my teaching. I read it halfway through my second year of teaching. It really made me think about the intent behind all of my classroom procedures. 

At the time, our district sent us to Great Expectations training so some of the things I read in this book went hand-in-hand with the idea of planning out your classroom procedures and how that sets the tone for your whole school year. This is a must-read!

Sidenote: I also got to see Harry and Rosemary Wong speak two years ago. It was a great, energizing session!

Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire – Rafe Esquith

I found this a quick read. This is a good thing because if you are teaching you are short on time most days. I like books like this because they are inspirational and like a shot of Vitamin B when you need some teaching energy. 

What Great Principals Do Differently: Eighteen Things That Matter Most – Todd Whitaker

This book has good advice for administrators along with real-life examples. There is also a book written by Todd Whitaker for teachers entitled "What Great Teachers Do Differently: 17 Things That Matter Most."

Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World – Tony Wagner

Tony Wagner explores what teachers, parents and employers can do to help students become creative innovators.

HAPPY READING teacher friends!!!