Professional Development Library

Adams, C., & Pierce, R. (2006). Differentiating instruction: a practical guide to tiered lessons in the elementary grades. Waco, Tex: Prufrock Press.

Inclusion and differentiation are frequently-used words in the education field for teachers and administrators trying to meet the needs of all students in their classrooms and schools.  The authors are not only professors at the university level they also are professional development speakers that provide consultations with schools.  Differentiation has not always been taught to educators and this book provides the opportunity to help educators learn a model to assist students in their classrooms to be more successful.

Our administrator gave this books as a summer reading suggestion to our teachers so they could understand how to teach to all students.  It’s unfortunate that many teachers don’t understand differentiation in their classrooms.  As a special educator, differentiation was widely discussed in many undergraduate classes.  I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn’t understand differentiation or would like to use a different model in their classroom.

Birsh, J. R. (2011). Multisensory teaching of basic language skills. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.

Judith Birsh is an educational consultant, Certified Academic Language Therapist, and author of this book about multisensory teaching.  This book is a great tool for teachers of literacy and helps the reader to understand how to teach students using multisensory techniques.  It also gives great literacy rules to use in the classroom with a wide array of research to back up the techniques.  There is also a companion workbook that goes along with the text that helps the teacher practice and understand the many facets of literacy.

This book was part of my training through Texas Scottish Rite Hospital and I refer to it often as well as bookmark pages for students to use such as the doubling and dropping rules.  As a teacher of multisensory instruction, I believe in what this author writes and practice the techniques she lays out in the book.  This book is great for teaching grammar and those with reading disabilities such as dyslexia and dysgraphia.

Cain, S., & Laird, M. (2011). The fundamental 5: the formula for quality instruction. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

The Fundamental 5 book can be seen in classrooms and taught as professional development in schools all over the country.  Both authors of the book work in school administration bringing many years of experience to teachers and administrators everywhere.  Teachers know about instruction yet this book provides strategies that give high-yielding instruction to students in small and large classrooms.  Once teachers learn the fundamental five practices they are sure to improve student engagement and learning. 

Given to me by my former campus administrator for book study, I have implemented these strategies in my diverse classroom.  Every day I frame my lesson and anyone who enters my classroom can see what students are learning at any given time.  I have always been a wandering teacher and appreciate the power zone and how to engage students by using these practices.  Having this book at my fingertips allows me to periodically check what I am doing and adjust as needed for the student’s benefit.

Clark, R. (2003). The essential 55: an award-winning educator's rules for discovering the successful student in every child. New York: Hyperion.

This multiple award-winning book is written by Ron Clark, a teacher and author who didn’t want to teach initially.  After living the many adventures Ron’s life gave him around the world he was home for a short period of time before the next adventure.  Ron’s mother convinced him to take a job as a teacher in the local school where a teacher had died; Ron had no intention of taking the job.  When Ron went for the interview and met some of the students something in Ron changed.  Ron believed the education system could be better and he proved to many people he could.  The Essential 55 are rules and explanations of why he has these rules in his classroom. 

My current administrator highly recommended this book to our campus staff and I had heard about Ron Clark and his academy in Chicago.  This book is such a great tool for any teacher to use at any time because the rules teach courtesy, manners, and empathy.  As a special education teacher, I have learned to “pick and choose” my battles based on several factors as well as clearly defining what is expected in my room.  This books has helped me to stand my ground when it comes to rewards and manners.

Donovan, L. (2015). A child's touchstone: dyslexia guidance for "less than perfect", parents, teachers, and pediatricians. Tustin, CA: Fresh Voice Publishing.

In her first book, A child's touchstone: dyslexia guidance for "less than perfect", parents, teachers, and pediatricians, Lorraine Donovan gives readers an inside look at someone who lives with dyslexia and parents a child with dyslexia.  The paper, artwork, font size and spacing helps people with dyslexia and other reading disabilities to read the text with ease.  Educators can use the “what to look for” lists to help identify possible reading problems with children in their class and be able to collect data, use RTI (Response to Intervention), and refer the student for testing as needed.

A child's touchstone was a required reading text for my academic language therapy training and a new book that could showcase dyslexia in a different perspective.  Although the book is very heavy I enjoyed reading the book with the font size and spacing.  It has been easy to copy a page or devise a list for teachers to use in the classroom to watch for any potential reading problems in their students.

Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2017). Guided reading: responsive teaching across the grades. Portsmouth, NH: Heinmemann.

Written by educators, Guided Reading walks teachers through the process of literacy in the classroom and suggests ways to assess literacy progress.  Both authors are highly respected in the field of literacy and have written many books to help educators make an impact in their classrooms.  This book has a large resource section in the back of the book along with a variety of forms to use for running records and literacy progress tracking.

As an undergraduate student at Amarillo College and former employee of Amarillo ISD I had won this book at a conference and have kept it close by for when I needed to use it.  Five years later I am using this book in my classroom with students who are identified with specific learning disabilities as well as struggling readers.  This book has been highly recommended by our contract literacy coach and administrator to track progress with literacy on our campus.  I find this book easy to use and refer to it often.

Jones, F. H., Jones, P., & Jones, J. L. (2007). Tools for teaching: discipline, instruction, motivation. Santa Cruz, CA: F.H. Jones & Associates.

Dr. Jones has worked with schools to help improve management in classrooms by helping teachers understand how children learn, problems they may face in the classroom, and possible difficult challenges such as behaviors that can become problems for the whole class.  This book is not only easy to read but it also gives teachers a chance to explore their talents so they can help their student be successful.  This book has been updated with a companion DVD that gives the reader an overview of the program Dr. Jones offers.

Recommended by veteran teachers, this book is a great tool not only for new teachers but for any teacher brushing up their skills in the classroom.  Along with this book are further resources on the web, http://www.fredjones.com/, that teachers, substitutes, and administrators can view and try in their learning environments. 

Kaufman, C. (2010). Executive function in the classroom: practical strategies for improving performance and enhancing skills for all students. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub. Co.

The author, Dr. Christopher Kaufman, is a licensed school psychologist, workshop speaker, and researcher who specializes in working with students who have attention and learning difficulties affecting their executive functioning.  The lay out of the book is like a textbook that gives a lot of theoretical data, brain data, and strategies to use such as writing, organizational skills, and time management to name a few.  Not only does the book provide information about the brain and some of its disorders but it has role playing activities, strategies, and forms to use in the classroom.

After listening to Dr. Cheryl Chase at a WTAMU workshop and hearing her talk about Christopher Kaufman, I perused the bookstore and purchased this book.  Although I have not read the book in its entirety It has been helpful for me as a special educator trying to assist students who may have executive function problems.  Executive function is definitely all teacher could learn from and should be aware of when they have students in their classrooms struggling.

Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that put students on the path to college. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Another book written by a teacher highlighting techniques for teachers to use in the classroom, this book has been on several best-seller lists and recommended for all teachers to use in their classrooms.  The layout for the book is divided into two parts where essential techniques is the bulk of the book and literacy skills and techniques is the much smaller portion.  A DVD is also part of this book that shows specific techniques for teachers to view and ultimately implement in their classroom.

This book was a required text for undergraduate studies and a campus book study.  This book can enhance what teachers have learned in school and apply to their classrooms.  I appreciated the literacy part however I wish there was more emphasis on literacy.

McGregor, T. (2007). Comprehension connections: bridges to strategic reading. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Tanny McGregor is a teacher, literacy specialist, author and so much more sharing her experience with literacy to help teachers improve how they teach comprehension to students.  Her book takes the reader through the pieces of comprehension with visual examples by herself, other teachers and students, quotes, and additional texts.  Teachers can apply what they have read, and heard if they have attended her workshops, to their classroom strategies.

Having an autographed book by the author is quite special and hearing the author at a workshop made the Comprehension Connections easy to apply in the classroom.  During my academic language therapy training my trainers also highly recommended this book when teaching comprehension.  It was a great joy to meet this author and hear different ideas that can be used to engage students with their reading.

Miller, D., Kelley, S., & Lesesne, T. S. (2014). Reading in the wild: the book whisperer's keys to cultivating lifelong reading habits. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

 Written by teachers for teachers, the authors compiled numerous responses from their first book to create a book that could instill a love of reading for children and anyone else.  This text explores if our society is creating lifelong readers and if not why not.  The appendixes give the reader plenty of tools to use in the classroom for fostering reading such as lists, inventories, and resources. 

Again, this is a required text for two of my graduate classes and has become a very important part of my current job.  Since our school has decided to no longer use AR (Accelerated Reader) for reading rewards and comprehension and look for something new this book is becoming an integral part of learning for me and my colleagues.

Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The first days of school: how to be an effective teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong.

One of the most suggested books for new teachers, The first days of school takes the reader through typical classroom management with tips and suggestions.  The author, Harry Wong, is also a motivational speaker with a series that can be viewed by teachers using some humor.  This book will have the reader identify, plan, and execute effective ways to teach and manage students in the classroom.

This book was one of the required texts for my undergraduate study in classroom management and has been very helpful to me, particularly when I struggle with certain tasks to be done.  One of the most beneficial tools I learned was to make no more than four or five rules because rules are “made to be broken.”  Coming into my first teaching job and seeing the “no list” just made me giggle because it is one of the most ineffective ways to teach children how to act and behave.