Reading Year in Review - 2013

Inspired by Regie Routman's most recent post about what she's reading, I thought I would do the same on my blog. Below are the books I read in 2013. I am sure I read a few more than what was listed here, but I was too busy reading to post them on Goodreads! Some of these titles are rereads, noted with an *. These books deserved another read because they had more to offer than one round would provide. The Sandwich Swap Abdullah, Rania Al The Mysteries of Harris Burdick* Allsburg, Chris Van The End of the Beginning Avi Tiny Titans Vol. 8: Aw Yeah Titans! Baltazar, Art Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein Brown, Don Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking Cain, Susan Underwater Dogs Casteel, Seth Coaching Conversations: Transforming Your School One Conversation at a Time Cheliotes, Linda Gross Teaching Students to Read Like Detectives: Comprehending, Analyzing, and Discussing Text Fisher, Douglas Motion Leadership in Action: More Skinny on Becoming Change Savvy Fullan, Michael The Ocean at the End of the Lane Gaiman, Neil Projecting Possibilities for Writers: The How, What, and Why of Designing Units of Study, K-5 Glover, Matt The Fault in Our Stars Green, John Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning Hattie, John Shift Howey, Hugh Wool Howey, Hugh Everything Bad is Good for You* Johnson, Steven Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives* Johnston, Peter H Wherever You Go, There You Are* Kabat-Zinn, Jon Big Red Lollipop Khan, Rukhsana Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2) King, Stephen Assessment in Perspective: Focusing on the Reader Behind the Numbers Landrigan, Clare Marty McGuire Messner, Kate Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits Miller, Donalyn No More Independent Reading Without Support Moss, Barbara Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for Understanding in Today's Lesson Moss, Connie M Galaxy Zack: Hello, Nebulon O'Ryan, Ray To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others Pink, Daniel H. An Orange for Frankie Polacco, Patricia Hamlet's BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age Powers, William The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way Ripley, Amanda Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative Robinson, Ken Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)* Rowling, J.K. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore Sloan, Robin John, Paul, George & Ben Smith, Lane Abe Lincoln's Dream Smith, Lane So What Do They Really Know?: Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning Tovani, Cris The Read-Aloud Handbook: Seventh Edition* Trelease, Jim Embedded Formative Assessment Wiliam, Dylan Each Kindness Woodson, Jacqueline The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1) Yancey, Rick World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students Zhao, Yong Books of Note

Favorite Fiction: The Wool trilogy by Hugh Howey

Humanity is sequestered to a silo underground, due to some event that made the surface of Earth uninhabitable. How the remaining members of civilization live and interact in this alternative world makes for a fascinating read. I have read the first two installments and plan to read the final book soon. If you investigate the back story on this series, you will discover the author self-published his writing online as a short story, in order to sustain ownership and to get feedback on how the story should proceed. Using his fans' input, he crafted the rest of the Wool series, which then lead to a larger book deal. Is this the future of writing? If excellent science fiction like Wool is the result, I wouldn't mind.

Suggested Nonfiction/Informative: The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

This resource should be in the home of every young family. Some hospitals hand this book to new mothers and fathers after delivery. Whenever a parent asks me about what they can do to help their child become a reader, my response is usually, "Read aloud to them, every day." My school received a grant to promote reading aloud with our families. We will be hosting a book study on The Read Aloud Handbook with parents starting in January, along with putting up Little Free Libraries in our community. Look for a post on the Nerdy Book Club blog on January 4th to learn more about this essential title.

Recommended Paired Reading: The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way by Amanda Ripley and World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students by Dr. Yong Zhao

Although I did not read both titles at the same time, I believe they would work well together if someone were studying education in the age of technology and globalization. In The Smartest Kids, Amanda Ripley follows three U.S. students as they participate in foreign exchange programs in South Korea, Finland, and Poland. That all three score higher than the U.S. on the PISA, an internationally-based standardized test, is no accident. This piece of investigative journalism gives the audience an anecdotal perspective of the difference between the U.S. educational system and these three countries. Although I felt the author gave too much credence to one assessment, she does make a compelling case that the U.S. does need to ramp up our expectations for students' learning, especially in mathematics. Ripley also showcases the greater amount of respect other countries have for the teaching profession.

Where The Smartest Kids gives the reader an up close and personal report about education, World Class Learners provides a more aerial, 20,000 feet in the air point of view on learning. Dr. Zhao also looked at the PISA scores, and placed them side-by-side with an assessment on students' engagement and entrepreneurship potential. The result: A strong correlation between high test scores and low creativity. The author, a professor in the University of Oregon's College of Education, surmises that when schools focus on one right answer due to tests, students' imagination and innovation skills are not as developed. When you combine this evidence with the fact that standardized test results cannot be used to teach more responsively, one wonders what we are really measuring and why. As Dr. Zhao astutely points out in his most recent post on his blog, "Global benchmarking can only give you the best of the past."

Where their two philosophies converge is the belief that U.S. schools can do better. Whether it is through better teacher preparation programs, or through professional development focused on student interests and project-based learning, both authors believe life long learning and high expectations are the key to our country's future success.

What's On Deck? Books I Want to Read in 2014 Sophia's War: A Tale of the Revolution Avi The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains Carr, Nicholas G. The City of Mirrors (The Passage, #3) Cronin, Justin Life Itself: A Memoir Ebert, Roger Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance Gawande, Atul Dust (Silo, #3) Howey, Hugh * Future Perfect: The Case for Progress in a Networked Age Johnson, Steven High-Impact Instruction: A Framework for Great Teaching Knight, Jim Unmistakable Impact: A Partnership Approach for Dramatically Improving Instruction Knight, Michael James (Jim) Let the Great World Spin McCann, Colum * Sunshine McKinley, Robin The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. Messner, Kate * Children Want to Write: Donald Graves and the Revolution in Children's Writing Newkirk, Penny Kittle Thomas Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living Offerman, Nick Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation Pollan, Michael The Long Earth Pratchett, Terry The Abominable Simmons, Dan Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time Tschannen-Moran, Bob Any thoughts on the titles and perspectives I share? What books did you thoroughly enjoy this year? What's on your to-read pile for 2014? Please share in the comments.