Here are my top 9 life-saving books for math teachers. I know…reading in math class? It’s a cross-disciplinary kind of day! These 9 books that I am sharing with you today have shaped the way I approach teaching, building relationships, and classroom management.
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Yes, all teachers should read this math-related book. It is invaluable resource to help you as a teacher understand how a math mindset can have an effect on students and yourself!
In this book, Jo Boaler shows how we can transform and shape students’ experiences with math through the right experiences, high expectations and most importantly growth mindset. Haven’t you ever noticed in movies that people are described as one of two things: terrible at math or a math genius. There is no in-between! Here is a video showing clips from movies and TV shows that show just that.
It doesn’t matter if you are a science teacher, PE teacher, an administrator. It is our responsibility as educators to create an environment that helps students become well-rounded, educated, and open-minded individuals. To do so, we have to be that way as well.
This book CHANGED how I view classroom management. It is the first in a three part series to help teachers in managing a classroom. I have personally taken multiple courses from him and his associates. He even came and observed my class in 2019! It was like meeting a celebrity!
These classroom management techniques are based on his experiences as an educator as well as the 6,000 classrooms that Michael Grinder observed. He found what students responded to most, labeled and documented it, and presents it to us in this book.
ENVOY refers to the Educational Non-Verbal Yardsticks, referring to the non-verbals that make up 80% of our communication.
Michael Grinder’s research and books cover more than the happenings in the classroom. He gives presentations to businesses, hosts couples workshops, etc. All about the art of nonverbal communication.
At first this book might be overwhelming with all of the words, but there are absolute GEMS in this book. I suggest pairing your reading with his videos. It will make the transition a lot easier.
I know I said that ENVoY changed how I view classroom management…but this book PIVOTED how I teach in my classroom. Liljedahl (Lil-yeh-doll) went into over 400 classrooms, found what worked and what didn’t for instructional teaching.
This book challenges the core of modern education. It takes what we grew up with (rows of desks, direct instruction, and worksheets) and THROWS IT OUT. As soon as I read this book, I did the same.
And at first, it was a lot. In hind sight, I should have moved slowly. As it turns out, that’s not who I am. I dive head first into anything I feel will change the trajectory of my life. And that’s what I did.
The first 3 chapters changed the way I view my classroom and student learning. I reorganized the desks, I rarely use direct instruction, and I go through whiteboard markers like crazy.
This couldn’t have come at a better time in my teaching career. This book will challenge you and change your mindset for the betterment of your students’ education.
You might be thinking…”Hmm…I’ve heard this name before.” Yup, you have. Michael Grinder is mentioned, not twice, but 3 times on this list. Before you write it off, his work seriously has shaped who I am as a teacher.
In this book, Grinder focuses more on the full class experience rather than the classroom management aspect. He answers the question “How can I take my class from being a group of students to a safe, secure place where students can THRIVE?”
Rick Wormeli is one of those guys who exudes passion. He is a leading expert on assessing students in a way that benefits them. His book Fair Isn’t Always Equal, Wormeli introduces the idea of standards-based assessments & grading. He addresses the challenges of working with diverse groups of students.
For me, this book challenged the way I assess and grade my students. The only thing that goes in my gradebook are carefully crafted assessments based on the Common Core State Standards. I offer retakes on every assessment as long as students show that they have worked towards proficiency between each retake. You can read more about my assessment practices here.
All of these practices I have implemented were directly influenced by Rick Wormeli.
If you work at a Title 1 school or in a low-income area, this book is an absolute must! I got to see Eric Jensen in action at a conference my school district put on back in 2018. I was a little baby teacher, trying to soak up everything I could to help me survive this new career I had chosen for myself.
Research shows that students who come from poverty are more likely to have an apathy towards education and learning. And even more so coming out of the pandemic.
I talk about some of my favorite strategies from him in my podcast episode. You can listen here or save it for later!
This is one of those books that I was forced to read in a college class, rolling my eyes at the title. And then, of course, I fell in love with everything it had to offer.
I find the strategies and ideas in this book even more relevant now, after the pandemic, than I did before. Kids and education have changed dramatically, meaning we have to shift our ways to accommodate the change.
This is another one of those scenarios where I got to meet the author. Virtually, anyway. Grace Deerborn hosts many conferences, both paid and free!
Wondered where that 3rd mention of Michael Grinder was? You found it!
I was fortunate enough to, in person, take this course from Michael Grinder himself. *silently screams in fangirl* Yah…it was pretty amazing. Because not only does he share incredible strategies that make sense, he himself is an amazing teacher.
In this book, Grinder talks about the two types of students we encounter in our classrooms: the cat and the dog. We have the type of students who thrive on our attention while we have the “cats” who want to be seen, but only on their terms.
This book provides strategies to appease the dog and tease the cat.
Whether you are looking for a book to buy a colleague or student teacher, or a book to better your practice, these 9 books for math teachers will change everything.
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