Professional Development Books Worth Reading {The Story of My Thinking}

I absolutely LOVE the end of the school year because I feel like it's such a great time to reflect on what went well in my classroom and what didn't.  This summer I feel like I really need to dive into my writing instruction and most importantly writer's workshop.

Two years ago, I attended a writing training by Gretchen Bernabei that my district hosted.  She had so much to share about how to help students organize their thinking to help them craft their writing.  Their writing really is a story of their thinking and it just made so much sense!  She is also a Texas teacher, which I love!

The book that I wanted to share with you guys is this one...

You can purchase your own copy HERE.

The book is divided into thirteen chapters and each chapter is a lesson.  This isn't a book that you will want to read and then place on a shelf, it's a book that you will want to read in the moment of planning when the need for the lesson arises in your classroom with your students.  Here is an example of one of my favorites.

My second graders sometimes struggle with writing personal narratives because they always want to write about the same things or they say that they can't think of anything to write about.  The authors suggest having the students write a quick list of important moments in their life but instead of them listing just ten moments, you guide them to dig a little deeper.

The thing that I love the most about this book is that you can really adapt each of the lessons to fit any grade level.  I've used a lot of the lessons with my second graders and after reading a few more over the past few days, I know I can adapt them as well.  One of the lessons in the book is about indelible moments and my students loved writing about an indelible birthday party moment on actual birthday cards that I had put in the writing station.  It was so much fun and meaningful for them!

This summer I would love to read more PD books about writing.  What are some of your favorites?  I would love to add to my summer reading list, so let me know by leaving a comment.