Reading - for fun and to download in my brain!

Sometimes a girl just needs to settle down with a book and enjoy life.

This past year a colleague in my school here, and friends on Twitter mentioned the Maisie Dobbs series. I am enjoying those books still. I read other books along the way, so right now I'm on book 9 of the series.

In the past I wouldn't have said I like historical fiction but I enjoy these. The books are set after WWI and before WWII. Each story has a theme of friendship, along with a mystery. The books aren't the riproaring gotta turn the next page kind of book - or at least not for me. Instead they are thoughtful - maybe even a little slow - they remind me of a British made for TV series.

Recently I saw an ad for a book targeted for people who enjoy Maisie Dobbs. Mr. Churchill's Secretary is similar to the Maisie Dobbs series in that it is set in a similar timeframe. The main character, Maggie, has put her enrollment in MIT on hold. She's a mathematician. YES! She's gone to London to settle the estate of a family member. In the process she stays a while and becomes a secretary to Mr. Churchill. If you like the Maisie Dobbs series, you might like this book (it's also a series) although the writing style is much different.




While I'm mentioning books, I wonder have you seen the Modern Mrs. Darcy website?  It's a treasure trove for readers!  Check it out.

This week's post in particular caught my eye!  The Modern Mrs. Darcy identifies 7 books she wishes she could imprint on her brain.  She writes, "When it comes to these 7 titles, I want every word to sink into my brain and permeate my worldview, because I think my life would be better for it."  Don't you wonder what 7 books she listed?  I did!  Now I feel the challenge to list my 7 books that I wish I could download into my brain!

And that leads me to this question ... what 7 books do you think every teacher should have in their heart and mind?  Let's make a list!  Will you help me?  Name one book in the comments you believe every teacher should read ...

Don't judge a book by its cover - preview it!

I love a challenge ... and here it is: Explore the MTBoS 2017 Blogging Initiative!  I invite YOU to blog as well!  Share what is happening in your classroom!

This week the topic is your favorite!

I love to read.  And I love to read books about education! While typically I wouldn't care who published the book, my favorite happens to be Stenhouse!  Stenhouse Publishers are my favorite because they offer free previews of whole books online.  An account is required but the account is free! Most of the books are written for K - 8; a few books are written K - 12.  In my career I've worked in elementary, middle and high schools so I still read books from all levels!  I use free previews to scan a variety of books - helps me determine what books to purchase! 

Currently I'm previewing three books ... 

Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had: Ideas and Strategies from Vibrant Classrooms by Tracy Johnston Zager has been mentioned quite a bit on Twitter.  I'm intrigued to read the book because Zager's purpose is to connect math classrooms to what "real" mathematicians do!

The Four Roles of the Numerate Learner: Effective Teaching and Assessment Strategies to Help Students Think Differently About Mathematics by Fiore and Lebar looks interesting.  The authors include examples even for secondary math - something I wish more books did.  It appears from the brief preview that the authors make a connection between literacy and math - something Pearse did in her book on numeracy (Teaching Numeracy: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking). I'm curious what connections overlap in the two books!

Power Up: Making the Shift to 1:1 Teaching and Learning by Roberts and Neebe catches my attention about using technology in the classroom.  Roberts and Neebe are English teachers - so many of their examples are from English classes.  That's OK with me since many times ideas can cross over disciplines.

Don't judge a book by its cover ... preview it!

2016 Reading Challenge

Do you love to read?  Do you also find it difficult to read more?  I love to read but somehow the time gets away from me.  Anyway ... saw this challenge via @pamjwilson and @modernmrsdarcy.  It looks not only do-able but fun as well!  12 books in 12 months ... getting started on the first day of the new year!

By the way, @modernmrsdarcy has a blog ... looks very interesting ... check out her reading challenge in detail!

#MTBoSChallenge: Professional Books

Earlier this summer I saw a post about an ideal bookshelf and so I wrote about favorite books at that time. This is mostly a repeat listing of books I value!

Assessment is essential ... these two books are essential!

• Embedded Formative Assessment by Dylan Wiliams 
• Mathematics Formative Assessment: 75 Practical Strategies by Keeley and Tobey

Asking the right questions is significant!  These books are super resources for identifying good questions!

• Good Questions for Math Teaching: Why Ask Them and What to Ask, K-6 by Sullivan and Lilburn
• Good Questions for Math Teaching, Grades 5-8: Why Ask Them and What to Ask by Anderson and Schuster
• Good Questions: Great Ways to Differentiate Mathematics Instruction by Marian Small
• More Good Questions: Great Ways to Differentiate Secondary Mathematics Instruction by Small and Lin

Instructional strategies are key!  Using research-based strategies to develop strong lessons are necessary!

• The Art and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction by Marzano
• The Strategic Teacher: Selecting the Right Research-Based Strategy for Every Lesson by Silver, Strong, and Perini

For enrichment and mathematical background information I love to read Theoni Pappas!

• More Joy of Mathematics
• The Joy of Mathematics
• Math Talk
• Fractals, Googols, and Other Mathematical Tales
• The Magic of Mathematics
• The Music of Reason
• The Adventures of Penrose–the Mathematical Cat
•  Math for Kids & Other People Too!

Since writing is an initiative in our school, I dug through my shelf to find an old book, Mathematics Write Now.  It emphasizes creative writing in math.  I also stopped by our school's professional library to check out Algebra Out Loud which has ideas for communicating math that could be written!

Last, for inspiration, I read Teaching with Heart: Poetry that Speaks to the Courage to Teach by Intrator and Scribner.

There are so many more books I could share but these are books I value today!

Twitter convo --> #mathread --> #made4math!!

OK, so I didn't sleep well last night ... I think I was tweeting in my sleep!

There was this great conversation on Twitter last night.  It started with a simple question about a particular math book and the need for higher algebra 1 achievement.  It evolved into a discussion about bellringers, and the next thing we know we are talking about reading in math class.  Here is a copy of our conversation!

Out of that conversation came this idea to collect articles, essays, stories, books even that we use in our classroom.  Yes, reading activities in math!  My #made4math contribution is the product of teamwork on Twitter ... thanks to @pamjwilson, @druinok, and @mathequalslove!

I find this whole discussion particularly interesting since one of the goals I wrote on my end of year evaluation was to use more reading passages in my Algebra 2 classes.  We just began working with AVID strategies this past year and had a emphasis on writing.  I used Math Munch for explorations in math and had students write short reflections in Edmodo.  That worked well.  Late in the year I asked them to read an essay on conics as a preview to our unit and tweet interesting ideas (#conicsfun) that they learned.  That activity seemed to help them make connections between our work and real-world applications.  (And of course, conics is an easy topic for connections!)  It was at that point that I realized I needed more reading passages!

So here we are ... it's time for all math teachers to share!  What reading passages, essays, news articles, stories, or books do you use in your classroom?  Would you fill in the form?  You'll have access to all the results! Our Form: #mathread! 

Thank you!