These Powerful Titles Should Be Required Teacher Reading

Professional Development and Inspiration

As an English teacher, I am constantly reading: fiction, nonfiction, poems, essays, sports news, Instagram captions, bathroom graffiti. Anything. I’ll read it. Perhaps it’s a job hazard, but most of what I read anymore is teacher reading: blog posts and articles by teachers, professors, academics, and activists. It’s a diverse reading list, and I wanted to share some recent highlights with you.

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Required Teacher Reading for Curriculum and Instruction

As a teacher, you love your students first. However, new instructional strategies and classroom inspiration are a runner up. It’s too easy to burnout in education, and new ideas can be essential to staying engaged in this profession. Here are some curriculum and instruction teacher reads that have inspired me lately:

-“The OPTIC Approach: Strategies for Teaching Visual Literacy” by Daina at Mondays Made Easy was super helpful in terms of introducing me to a strategy I’d never considered. This would be something great to tackle as my students move in to more complex texts and research.

-“Literature is a Verb–An Introductory Lesson” from Gina at AP Lit and More is a good post for re-focusing on the act of teaching reading, interacting with text, and writing. There are so many intersections in teaching language arts, and the idea of “literature as a verb” solidifies those connections.

-“An Antiracist Roadmap for Discussing Tough Topics in Class” by Rann Miller writing for Edutopia provides some good questions for assessing your classroom in terms of anti-racism. This article also includes strategies for having challenging conversations with students.

-“Stirring Up Trouble with ‘The Crucible’ | Challenging the Classics” by Julia E. Torres for School Library Journal provided me with lots of food for thought. I love teaching The Crucible (find my pre-reading activities here and my assessments here). But Torres’ article gave me some pause and also provided some suggestions for making the reading of this drama a more critical experience.

-Similarly, “White People Need to Reckon with Atticus Finch’s Racism” by Sandra Schmuhl Long for Electric Lit also gave me pause. Long described some of the internal dialogue I’ve been having with reading and teaching this book and its companion Go Set a Watchman. My students are working through To Kill a Mockingbird and these accompanying texts right now, so this was a particularly timely read.

What I’m Streaming Right Now

In addition to teacher reads about curriculum and instruction, many of the videos and podcasts I listen to also relate to education. Overall, these are the titles that stand out right now!

-“For Every One” by Jason Reynolds features the author performing his poetry. His words are comforting, challenging, uplifting, and devastating all at once. And my students love him. You can read an excerpt here or check out the entire book here.

-The “Nice White People” Podcast, produced by a New York Times Company, describes itself as focusing on “the 60-year relationship between white parents and the public school down the block.” I’m not a great podcast fan (I start making lists in my head), but this one caught my attention, in part because Nicole Daniels and Michael Gonchar put together a discussion guide that takes you through each episode.

-After reading this post about 3 Ted Talks to Pair with The Hate U Give by Amanda from Engaging and Effective Teaching, I’ve been watching her Ted Talk recommendations. Each one is powerful and thought-provoking. Before reading Amanda’s post, I’d seen Smith’s talk before, but the others were new to me. (My most-recent Ted-ed recommendations are here and my favorite YouTube recommendations are here.) Check out The Hate U Give here.

Firstly, 3 Ways to speak English by Jamila Lyiscott
Secondly, How to raise a black son in America by Clint Smith
Thirdly, How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them by Verna Myers

When You’re Teaching in a Pandemic and Need a Laugh

So you’re teaching during a pandemic? Me too! Sometimes all you want to do is cry? Me too! But I’m trying not to touch my face right now, so it’s really hard to wipe the tears. That’s where these recommendations come in!

-“5318008: On Boobs And YA Books” by Kelly Jensen at Book Riot probably has a very specific audience. And I am part of it. This collection of thoughts and book recommendations made me laugh and add to my TBR.

-Do you really want to laugh about the wild nature of this school year? McSweeney’s has three articles that you should read if you need to laugh until you cry (or laugh so you won’t cry).

First, read this “Job Posting” for a Middle School Language Arts Teacher / Cheerleading Coach / Custodia / Nurse / COVID-19 and Anti-Racism Specialist.
Then, read “Your School District’s Reopening Survey.” This is scary funny and scary accurate.
Finally, read “Teacher,” inspired by Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl,” which is one of my favorite short stories!

Talk Nerdy To Me or Titles that Are Teacher Reading Adjacent

At the end of the day, I’m just a girl sitting in front of the computer waiting to find a nice bilingual guy (Klingon, elvish, Belter creole–I’m not picky). In other words, I’m pretty nerdy, which is why these articles were particularly appealing.

-In “Listen, Bro,” Jo Livingstone writes for Poetry Foundation about a new translation of Beowulf. I taught Beowulf for years, and it was never a favorite. But Livingstone’s article almost makes me want to check it out again.

-“The Linguistic Evolution of Taylor Swift” by Chi Luu for JSTOR was another article with a specific audience: me. You know I love Taylor Swift. She has even inspired an entire teaching strategy. So this analysis of how her accent has evolved over eight albums was fascinating!

-“What Irony Is Not” by Roger Kreuz for the MIT Press Reader spoke to my teacher soul. My sophomores will dig into irony this week (using these listening guides). While we won’t talk about irony to this depth, I enjoyed every word of this article.