New Adventures: Summer Reading

My brain rarely takes a break from learning and teaching.... even in the summer. Obsessed? Maybe. More importantly, I have a strong desire to keep learning. Some people like to bike or make model cars- I like to learn (and craft!). If I were rich, I'd go to school forever and have a stack of degrees sitting on my shelf.
Summer is a time of reflection for me. What can I do better or differently with the next group of sweeties. The Common Core has given me PLENTY to contemplate. Our district is switching over in chunks. Next year is ELA, then Math the following year. I mostly go with the flow with science and social studies :)

Looking at my wishlist on Amazon, I noticed that I have about 179 children's books listed. I'm out of classroom money, so I'm not sure what will happen there (the mister is hoping our credit card is not my answer!). I've been trolling some blogs looking for summer professional reading and am thinking about the following:

I'm on the RTi team at our school, so I thought this would help. I actually bought it last month, but passed it off to a fourth grade teacher who was looking for ideas for her struggling readers. I'll read it after school is done.

Catching Readers Before They Fall: Supporting Readers Who Struggle, K-4

Amazon link

As I said, our population is and their needs are changing. Although I read Ruby Payne's book, I'm a huge fan of Jensen and brain-based teaching/ learning.


Amazon link

I was given this book by our Literacy Coach, Kate, at one of our Readers Workshop labs. We were able to choose a professional book (love that I didn't get a duplicate!).