Book Snap #2 Why did you choose this book?

This book was recommended to me by my sister in law who read it for her book study last year.  The title really got my attention because I am always looking for ways to create and maintain better all around habits.  My sister in law said this book was life changing for her so I really wanted to find out what it was about. I am hoping that this book with help me create way to make small changes throughout my daily routine that can help me as a parent, teacher, and person. 

I have been wanting to read this book because I read the previous book by these authors, titled Know Better, Do Better: Teaching the Foundations So Every Child Can Read.  I borrowed a colleague's copy to read as I was first getting familiar with the science of reading.  It was out of print for a while, so when I finally found a new edition for sale online I bought it AND discovered that there was this sequel!  Teaching reading comprehension at the elementary level has been a topic of much discussion and criticism in our district this year so I decided I needed to learn more in order to guide instructional planning.

I decided to join the pilot of TWR this year and wanted to learn more about it. The book includes step-by-step strategies that break writing down into do-able parts. TWR starts with sentences and builds up to longer pieces. I was interested in how these methods not only strengthen writing skills but also improve reading comprehension and critical thinking. Since writing is important in all subjects, I thought this book could be a useful tool. 

I chose this book because I feel like my lifelong readers are dwindling. My students have access to the highest of interest books and I still feel like some of them do not have the stamina to read or the joy to stick with books. It seems like many of them are just reading along without really truly thinking about what they are reading, comprehending, or drawing conclusions about life and the world around them.

I chose to read The Digital Delusion by Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath because of the caption on the back of the book, "Our Children Are Struggling." The quick synopsis of the book states that schools have become dominated by screens and now lack deep learning "born of human connection" resulting in failing performance, limited attention and lacking in academic rigor.

I often wonder how technology fits into my classroom in a meaningful way.  With so many digital tools available and encouraged/required in early education, I wanted to better understand whether technology truly supports how young children learn or if it sometimes takes away from child development. 

Ultimately, I chose this book to help me make more intentional instructional decisions, balance technology use in my classroom, and ensure that my teaching practices align with what is best for my students' cognitive and developmental needs. 

Knowing that I’m thinking about moving from kindergarten to pre K, I figured the book Purposeful Play would be a helpful way to better understand how younger kids learn. The main idea of the book is that play is not just free time, it is actually a big part of how children learn and grow. It talks about how kids build skills like language, social skills, and early academic understanding through different types of play.

The book also explains how teachers can make play more meaningful by setting up activities on purpose and guiding students without taking over. I feel like I need help in learning how to guide not direct students. Overall, I think this book will help me get a better idea of how to create a classroom where play is not just fun, but also supports real learning.

I chose to use "Mathematical Mindsets" as my book study after a colleague recommended it as a meaningful and practical read for math teachers. Over the years, I have consistently heard students say, “I hate math,” and I wanted to better understand where that mindset comes from and how to address it in my classroom. My goal in selecting this book was to find strategies that help shift students’ thinking, build confidence, and create a more positive and productive learning environment. I am particularly interested in learning ways to challenge fixed mindsets and replace them with a growth-oriented approach so students can see themselves as capable of success in mathematics.

I chose this book because, as an instrumental teacher, I use to hearing 'this is hard', 'I can't do this' and 'that other student can do because they are naturally good at it' (Spoiler, that other student practices and works hard).  Students and humans want things to be easy for them.  I'm hoping this book will give me new insights into, and strategies to develop Grit in my students to help them understand they need to put the work in to get the results they want.  In order to be good at something we have to practice it and do things wrong and not give up, I want students to understand this.

Even before this student entered my class in September as a second grader, I already was aware of the difficulties he had with reading and writing. I had conversations with his Kindergarten and First Grade teachers about the struggles he exhibited with learning to read and write. He continued with these same struggles and difficulties through the beginning months of second grade and then testing was arranged for him. Testing results came back showing he had a learning disability: dyslexia. It was then that I wanted to learn more about dyslexia and how to best help my student learn to read and write with this disability.

Throughout the webinar, the instructor referenced how Bain's work sought to uncover how students remember details.  Usually, I am somewhat reluctant to jump in to such literature as much of the scholarship tends to have a narrow focus on a specific age group or grade level.  Similarly, I was aware of similar research related to Mindset and the Science of Reading.  These previous trainings were helpful, but not always easy to translate to an approach that can work for high school Social Studies students.  However, with Bain being a former Social Studies teacher, I was intrigued how she might employ the research specifically for courses that require high levels of content knowledge.