Roots and Wings

Roots and Wings

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Teacher Books That Made Me Go Hmmm

Inside: Discover why it’s important for educators to make a commitment to read professionally and find a list of my favorite early childhood teacher books that have both inspired and transformed my teaching.

Note: Some of the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. The links are included to provide easy access to items I have personally chosen, purchased and used in my own classroom. 

Educator browsing teacher books

Why Read Teacher Books?

There is no shortage of things for teachers to read. Social media posts, articles, newsletters, and workshop handouts are all vying for our time. As a result, we’ve become really good skim readers, scanning quickly over text, looking for a “quick win,” that we can use in our classroom tomorrow. In fact, right now you are probably thinking, “Get to the teacher books already, will ya?”

But here’s the thing.

This type of bounce here, bounce there reading, keeps us from going deeper. We miss opportunities to connect and grow with the writer as they describe their experiences, thoughts, and reflections. When we take the time to really digest what we are reading, it informs our practice in a way that a “quick win” can’t. We love the “how,” but really need to understand the “why,” in order to become well-read teachers that can articulate why we do what we do in the classroom.

Finding the Right Teacher Books

When we choose to read a complete teacher book, we are making a commitment. We are open to slowing down, letting the author’s thoughts and ideas move through us and land somewhere. We are showing up, time and time again, with the hope of being both inspired and transformed.

A great teacher book can do two things:

  1. It affirms what we are already doing. (Yeah, I got this!)
  2. It challenges our thinking and practices. (Oh, no I’ve got work to do.)

Finding the right books is as simple as choosing a topic we are interested in or an area in which we want to grow. Then, asking around to find book recommendations from other teachers. Below is a list of teacher books, organized by subject area, that have made me go, “hmmmm,” and ultimately transformed my teaching.

K-2 Professional Books by Category

Classroom Environment

These books will help you think through the important aspects of setting up a space for learning. Each offers beautiful photos of classrooms as well as the “why” behind the furniture, materials, colors, and more.

Play-Based Centers

Each of these books makes a much needed case for play and open-ended centers in early childhood classrooms. All explore the mindset of “play” and what children learn in this type of environment.

Inquiry-Based Learning

Check out these books if you are interested in establishing an environment of inquiry, where your teaching is influenced by children’s ideas, interests, and questions.

Reading

Here you’ll find books that help you create a reading environment that is educationally sound, but developmentally appropriate for young children. None offer the complete answer for what might take place in your kindergarten literacy block, but each offers amazing ideas and food for thought that will help you plan your own effective and engaging reading experiences for the littles.

Note: If you are looking for great programs for phonological awareness, I highly recommend both Wilson Fundations and Heggerty. Both are highly structured and systematic, but provide the “roots” children need to build reading foundational skills.

Writing

Young writers need both direct instruction of foundational skills along with opportunities to take writing risks, make approximations, and experiment with expressing their ideas. There isn’t one book here that does all of that, but in combination, they offer a comprehensive guide to early writing.

Math

What I’ve chosen to share here are my favorite books of math routines, that both build number sense and help young children think and talk about math practices.

Science

It was difficult to decide which books to choose, for bringing young children together with science is dear to my heart. But of those I did select, each is rooted in inquiry, offers hands-on ideas, and helps children connect to the natural world.

Becoming a Well-Read Teacher

If you are still reading this post, then you are investing in your professional growth. Hopefully, you connected with something I have written.

But, let’s explore the alternative for a minute. You quickly skimmed the post, clicked through to Amazon, ordered the first book that caught your eye and then, bounced on over to Facebook to check your feed. But when that book arrives, what will motivate you to actually read it? If you didn’t digest the “why” of this post, there’s a good chance that book will just sit on your shelf along with all your other “quick wins.”

Make a commitment today to become a well-read teacher. Choose one book each summer, season, or year to explore fully. Read it with a friend and have rich conversations over lunch about the parts that resonated with you. Take all that deep learning and use it to inspire a change you will make in your classroom. Go for the “big win,” rather than the quick “win.”

And here’s a FREE Teacher Reflection Toolkit you can use to reflect on your current instructional practices and set goals for improvement.

Happy reading!

For more tips on teacher self-care and professional growth, click on the Growing as an Educator page in the Roots & Wings Resource Library.  

This post contains affiliate links. Roots & Wings is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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