Summer Reads for Teachers

You may be out of your classroom for a few months over the summer, but a teacher’s mind really never rests. Whether you are developing new lessons, taking additional courses, or spending time with your family, this break can be an opportunity for reading in order to broaden your horizons. Read on for some recommended reads with special relevance for today’s educators.

Books About Young People

• Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men by Leonard Sax, MD PhD

• Queen Bees and Wannabees: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and the New Realities of Girl World by Rosalind Wiseman

• The Five Love Languages of Children/The Five Love Languages of Teenagers by Gary D. Chapman

• The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Ross W. Greene

• Freeing Your Child From Anxiety: Powerful, Practical Solution to Overcome Your Child’s Fears, Worries and Phobias by Tamar Chansky

Each of these books is geared toward parents, but can be valuable for educators trying to understand the kids in their care. While you can’t change the culture of America, you can be better prepared to address the difference between boys and girls, and different personality types. As you read, you’ll be amazed to see things explained that you had observed but hadn’t really put your finger on before.

Books About Education

• The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller and Jeff Anderson

• Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools by Jonathan Kozol

• The Excellent 11: Qualities Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire, and Educate Children by Ron Clark

• Work Hard. Be Nice.: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America by Jay Matthews

Each of these titles focuses on what is going right and wrong in today’s schools. They may be hard to read in that you will be frustrated by the problems in American educational institutions today, but they are meant to open your mind to possibilities. Take to heart the things that resonate with you, discard what doesn’t make sense in your teaching situation, and become part of the discussion.

Books to Enjoy

While everyone has different reading tastes, the following are some great recent books to take your mind off school for a while. Remember, a teacher who shows excitement about reading by talking about something great he’s read, is a teacher students can be motivated by.

• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

• Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

• Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane

• The Fault in our Stars by John Green

• The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

Whether you love to read or spend your free time doing other things, use your summer months to catch up on research about kids and schools. Then kick off your shoes, settle in with a cold drink, and dive into a novel. 

More Resources: 

Science Reads

Bone-up on your subject matter during the summer break with these titles for science educators. Humor, environment, space, and more each get a mention in this list of valuable resources.

Math Reads

Numbers may be your focus, but these books can provide context and helps for arithmetic-minded teachers. Come back to the classroom in the fall with new ideas for making math more meaningful.

Online Resources for Teachers

Let someone else do the leg work by taking advantage of these excellent websites chock-full of everything an English teacher could ever need. Handouts, ideas, games and more are all just a click away.