Summer Reading List

We as educators ought not to continue to think of summer as a vacation, but rather as "professional time." I have always used my summer professional time to read and reflect as much as I can, and this year is no different. As I begin my first leadership position in the fall, I will target key points of interest and concern to better my chances of being highly effective from day one. I look forward to a professionally lucrative summer of reading, tweeting, and blogging in preparation for a great school year!

1. Why Don't Students Like School? - I watch my one year old everyday get so excited every time he learns something new while he is playing with his flash cards or watching Sid the Science Kid, and I've lately been wondering when and where the excitement for learning and curiosity stops. The title of this book certainly makes it seem like it will be a fine resource for me in this regard. I am also excited to use this book and the corresponding Twitter chat #sschatbookclub to reconnect with other social studies teachers across the country that I've lost touch with this school year.  It will be like killing two birds with one stone.

2. Pathways to the Common Core - There are certainly political issues that are yet to be totally resolved with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) but the reality of the situation is that state, including my home Massachusetts, departments of education are adopting them as the new "frameworks." Knowing that the key to any kind of positive results with CCSS rests in the hands of teachers and classroom implementation, I must be a resource for teachers in my building. Without the support and knowledge of the leadership team, classroom application on a large scale won't happen. I hope to use the knowledge from this book to help teachers in my building be able to visualize how their instruction and assessment will change as a result of the Common Core, and what inevitable effects they will have on the curriculum moving forward.


3. How to Create a Culture of Achievement in Your School and Classroom - Culture starts at the top; I want to model and promote the learning environment that will best produce active, reflective, and curious students who celebrate success by working harder for more of it. The title of the book says it all, and I'm excited to save 15% using a social media coupon code!

4. Harvard Business Review's 10 Must Reads on Leadership - Along with many others I have written before about the need for educators of all varieties to think of themselves as one part teacher and one part leader of people if they want to have the greatest impact. I am very interested in the perspectives of educational and non-educational leaders alike, and love the idea of essentially 10 miniature books in one. This will be fine companion to any beach day this summer!

What are you going to do with your professional time this summer? Don't waste an opportunity to get better at whatever you're trying to get better at!

Google Docs in the Classroom

As I began utilizing online collaboration tools for my teaching and learning last year, one of the first sites I immediately grew fond of was Google Docs. As soon as I began using it in the middle of the year in my AP US History class, I saw its value in assessment of writing, studying for exams, and preparing outlines in an interactive and reflective way. It immediately led to increased writing about the material we were covering, which directly led to improved performance on formal essays. It was also extremely effective as an organizing tool for a staff committee I chaired.  We were able to discuss differences and outline thoughts leading up to each meeting, which led to seamless and productive face to face gatherings. It eliminated many of the physical restraints such as time and other commitments that can plague staff committees.

The one frustration that came with using Google Docs was confusion and messiness that multiple editors can bring to an existing document. At times, clauses were accidentally deleted, or answers were misplaced or spaced in awkward ways. My AP class this year can attest to that from their summer assignment.  However, the new comment feature on the site seems to alleviate the only negative I saw.  It maintains all the collaborative benefits multiple sets of eyes on the same document can bring, but allows for the document itself to remain intact.  I was excited to use it in the classroom to analyze war quotes to begin a unit on morality and WWII earlier this week with my America & the World classes with juniors and seniors.

Allowing the students to comment on the document rather than edit opened up many new possibilities for classroom application of Google Docs.  The document remained clean, which allowed the students read the quotes without distraction and focus on what they want to say about each one.  The way they were able to discuss and dissect what they were reading while informally improving their ability to articulate their thoughts after reading with their writing was exactly what I was hoping for.  Being in the computer lab together allowed for the students to follow up written thoughts with conversation.  It was a rare occurrence where we were working on our reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills all at the same time.

I envision us using this tool in the future as a way to model the great reading strategies championed in Mike Schmoker's, Focus, as it allows me to show the students exactly what I would highlight through a difficult reading.  Comments provide readers the opportunity to essentially write in the margins, like one would do on paper.  Students that may be unsure of what to highlight and comment on in text would immediately benefit from seeing in real time what others are choosing to note.  Peer editing becomes cleaner, and I now have the ability to discuss writing samples with students in a more direct and efficient manner. I continue to be impressed with Google Docs, and the way it allows me to promote good reading habits and analytical writing in innovative and modern ways.