Teaching Books I Swear By

Over my eight years of teaching I've been exposed to some WONDERFUL resources, both in my Ed program and then at the school I now teach.  Some of these are aimed more for Elementary or Middle or High school, but all of them can be adapted by an astute learner (teacher) to whatever grade level needed.  I've gained much by these books; I hope that any teachers out there seeking answers to difficult questions will also find them helpful.  Teaching can be a thankless profession, one where parents, administrators, and even other teachers are callous to the daily stress and constant balancing act that effective teachers implement.  If there is one thing I believe about teaching, it is that we need to support and share all the strategies, skills, and resources that can make the job easier and ensures that students can and will learn.

Specifically Language Arts Focused:

• When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide For Teachers, Grades 6-12 - Kylene DeBeers
•  Lessons that Change Writers - Nancy Atwell 
• I Read It, But I Don't Get It - Cris Tovani
•  The CAFE Book: Engaging All Students In Daily Literacy Assessment and Instruction - Gail Boushey and Joan Moser
•  The Daily Five: Fostering Literacy Independence in the Elementary Grades- Gail Boushey and Joan Moser
• Wonderous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom - Katie Wood Ray 
  
•  In the Middle: New Understanding About Writing, Reading and Learning (Workshop Series) - Nancy Atwell
•  They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings - Gerald Graff

Books Focused on Entire School Effective Strategies:

• What Works in Schools, Translating Reason Into Action - Robert Marzano

• Classroom Instruction That Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement - Robert Marzano

• Classroom Assessment and Grading that Works - Robert Marzano

• Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Strategies and Skills for Responsive Teaching - Tomlinson

• Framework for Understanding Poverty - Ruby Payne

• Word Wise and Content Rich, Grades 7-12: Five Essential Steps to Teaching Academic Vocabulary - Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey

• Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College - Doug Lemov

• The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher - Harry K. Wong

• Learning By Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work - Richard DuFour