Happy summer holidays!
*Please note, this is not an advertisement and I am not receiving any payment for sharing my thoughts on these books*
The start of the summer holidays marks the beginning of a new journey for many aspiring teachers - your university graduation! After this, you are all set for the next big step that is starting your teacher training :) For others, you have completed your training and have been awarded with QTS.
While lots of trainee teachers and ECTs spend much of their summer holidays preparing for September by reading the curriculum, planning lessons and gathering resources, something I always recommend to my trainees is to rest up and read! Over the next few weeks, I'll be focusing my blog posts on the different things you can be doing to get yourself ready, without overdoing it and while allowing yourselves to enjoy the summer holidays. This week I'm starting with some useful CPD books that are easy reads and will familiarise you with some of the things you will expect to see, come across or find useful when you start in September.
There is a wealth of teaching books out there, and there are so many I'd recommend reading as the year goes on, but here are 5 golden nuggets that I think would be useful to new and aspiring teachers:
Don't Call it Literacy! By Geoff Barton
Often, the word 'literacy' is seen as synonymous with 'English', and this is something that really bugs me. I hear some teachers say, "It's the responsibility of English teachers to to teach literacy." Literacy isn't just about learning to read and write: it's ALSO about successful communication, oracy, listening and responding. Isn't this the duty of every teacher? In work in a school that has a large proportion of underprivileged families and the number of students who apply to university is far below national average. As well as offering a good academic education, we also focus on our students' literacy skills so that when they leave us, they have confidence in their communication skills, so that they are armed for whatever career journey they take on next.
That's why I love Geoff Barton's book. As well as offering a broad horizon of ideas and knowledge, Barton highlights the importance of sharing the load when it comes to literacy. Every school and every student is different, and this book shares plenty of useful suggestions and research that will support the implementation of teaching literacy skills within the while school curriculum and within individual classrooms, regardless of the age, subject, affluence and demographic of your class and school.
My favourite quote from this book:
"I've written this book for those we might call 'real teachers' - that is, people who are in the classroom working with young people pretty much every day.... You are the kind of people who, many years ago, taught me and made me want to become a teacher."
Want a head start on your Teachers' Standards evidence portfolio? This book will be fab for TS2 (promoting good progress and outcomes) and TS3 (subject knowledge)!
The Teacher's Guide to Grammar by Deborah Cameron
A small part of literacy is grammar. Don't we just love this word?!
While I studied university, I realised that I was not confident enough in my own knowledge of grammar to teach it confidently. Now, grammar is taught in English, but much like literacy, all teachers regardless of subject should have a basic understanding of grammatical structures. This isn't for the purposes of teaching, but ensuring there is consistency across the school, and that when speaking, writing and reading, we are all modelling what we expect from our students.
Deborah Cameron's book is great for all teachers, whether you are simply refreshing your memory, teaching yourself something from scratch or looking for teaching ideas. If you are going to be teaching English and are out of practice, I recommend the whole book. If, on the other hand, you are looking to refresh or learn individual grammar rules, you can focus on specific chapters.
Like 'Don't Call it Literacy!', this book is another good read for evidencing TS3 in your portfolio!
If you complete reflections on this reading, you will be able to produce a strong piece of evidence for TS3.
Rosenshine's Principles in Action by Tom Sherrington
Now we get to the science of learning! Every school has their own expectations in terms of pedagogy and learning structures. For example, my school use what we can the 'Mastery Flow Model' when planning lessons. I've visited other schools, as part of my training, my own CPD and spoken with trainees and ECTs about learning theories and expectations in their previous schools, and something that stands out is how most learning theories and pedagogical strategies are underpinned by Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction.
Rosenshine, as adequately put by Sherrington in the introduction, breaks down the science of learning in a way that is simple and clear, and gives rise to the research that is becoming more and more popular regarding the way that children learn.
Sherrington's book is fantastic in the way that not only does it include Rosenshine's Principles for reference, but how it explores each principle and strand, and how these look in the everyday classroom. The book is filled with valuable ideas about sequencing modelling, questioning, reviewing and the stages of practice, and offers research and discussions that focus on the minds of children and the cognitive science theories that surround education today. I particularly found this useful while researching the Mastery Flow Model and ensuring my students are retaining their learning and keeping this in their long term memories, so that when they reach the next year or key stage, it's not the dreaded case of having to 're-teach' key skills and content because they have slept since they first learned it!
When evidencing the Teachers' Standards, you might find your reading from this book helpful for TS8 and TS5.
The Learning Rainforest: Great Teaching in Real Classrooms by Tom Sherrington
Another Tom Sherrington book, and this has been one of my favourite reads. The Learning Rainforest is all about accessible education in the real world. Many people who run Trusts or who have been out of the education sector a while can sometimes have an inaccurate view of what real schools look like today. Some of our salaried trainees highlight that their summer training sessions with their universities or providers do not accurately capture the reality of the classroom and so are misinformed when they arrive for their first day. This book is useful in the way that it captures real life experiences, current research and pedagogy, and discusses prominent education and classroom issues with real teachers. It is relatable in the way that Sherrington and the contributors and researchers acknowledge that no schools can be directly compared with one another, and that often there is more to education that just academic achievement.
It is filled with research, strategies, tips and support, real experiences from a range of teachers in different settings, and I have found it to be super helpful in supporting my trainees and ECTs. It is also something I recommend for teachers with any level of experience! The curriculum is always changing, our students are always changing and we are forever adapting our own methods, and there is something for everyone in this book.
If you'd like to use this book and your reflections in your evidence portfolio, I recommend focusing on TS8 and TS1.
Retrieval Practice: Resource Guide - Ideas & Activities for the Classroom by Kate Jones
While there are so many more books I'd love to recommend (I think I will create another post!), I think Kate Jones' book is very useful for when you are first starting in the classroom.
Again, every school will have its own expectations, but a large number of schools are heavily focusing on retrieval practice. Underpinning strategies that move learning into long term memory is the idea of regular and appropriate retrieval. My school, for instance, require retrieval starter activities in every lesson. This book is part of a retrieval practice collection by Kate Jones, and I recommend it to all teachers at any stage of their teaching career because it is filled with theory, research, resource ideas, strategies and activities for all subjects and year groups.
I have included it in this post as it id always helpful to have a bank of retrieval ideas at the ready, but mostly because retrieval tasks are a good way in when you first start your teaching practice or teaching episodes. If you are a salaried trainee, you will be expected to teach from day one. If you are unsalaried (PGCE, SCITT, etc), you will begin by observing, before moving on to team-teaching and taking segments of lessons, usually starters or plenaries. This book will be very helpful in providing ideas and resources to support you when you begin to take on these parts of the lesson.
In terms of your Teachers' Standards portfolio, your readings and reflections will be fantastic evidence for TS3, TS4 and TS6.
Closer to September, I will post a recommended reads part two as there are plenty more books that I know trainees and ECTs will find super useful :)
Have you got any books you would like to recommend? Subscribe and comment below, or head over to my Instagram @mrs_b_teacher and comment on my post!
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