5 Book Recommendations for a Summer Break

Can you feel those summer vibes? Are you getting ready for the summer break? I hope so – I’m sure you really deserve some time offline, without teaching, interacting with students, writing reports and other entertaining aspects of your work. However, if you already feel the pangs of conscience and consider some professional development, I’ve got something I can happily recommend: books!

Well, you have every right to look at me, silently thinking I’ve gone mad, but I assure you – not yet. I simply know of some books that are easy to read, good to reflect upon and full of ideas that will make your life easier. So, if you’re looking for something light to read that will eventually support your development, you can try one of these books:

50 Tips for Teacher Development by Jack C. Richards

To quote the author “for many teachers, professional development is like the weather: it just happens, and, if you are lucky, it may happen somewhere near you.” This book is a small volume packed with useful tips, starting with individual rookie teachers and finishing with the entire school environment. If you feel you’re stuck with your professional development, that’s the perfect book for you – and a perfect book for holidays, easy to pack even in a small handbag.

50 Creative Activities by Alan Maley

This book originates from the same series as the previous one, so it’s similarly compact and easy to carry, however, in this case you might need a notebook and something to note down the ideas that will spring to your mind. You will find great ideas on creative writing, working with music and sound, working with drama and the voice, playing with language and hands-on activities.

What I really like about this book is that each idea can be a great source of inspiration, prompting you to come up with your own ideas, perfectly adjusted to your students!

500 Activities for the Primary Classroom: Immediate Ideas and Solutions by Carol Read

We all know that teaching kids requires not only knowledge and patience, but also wild amounts of ingenuity and creativity – the younger the learner, the more creative you must be. This is one of those books I can recommend for everyone – even if you don’t teach children it may still prove useful; perfect when you need to cover for a colleague… or when your own (or your friends’) kids want to have fun and expect you to come up with a creative idea – this book is a great help!

700 Classroom Activities by David Seymour and Maria Popova

This is probably my most favourite teaching book ever. It consists of tips, ideas, games, warm-ups and it’s kept short, simple and organised. No useless theory, just 150 pages of useful ideas.

Believe me or not, I actually taught a whole-year conversational course based mostly on this book and we all had a lot of fun. That’s why I’ve called this book THE ultimate book a teacher should have. It’s extremely useful, well-written, short and simple: perfect for a teacher who sometimes happens to be a scatterbrain and needs some help to get things organized. And to top all this, it’s also written so well you’ll have a lot of fun just reading it.

SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient – Powered by the Science of Games by Jane McGonigal

This book is not about teaching. Or so you may think, because once you read it, you might experience mindshift that will entirely change your teaching approach – and not only your teaching, as this book may change your approach to life. Such was my case, to be honest, and I’ve already known the power of gaming!

This book will help you use games in a classroom in a more reflective way, and that will definitely make them more goal-oriented and personalised. What’s more, you’ll be able to get a unique insight into your students’ minds and use games to make them feel more engaged during the lesson.

I hope you’ll have as much fun reading these books as I did.

Enjoy your summer break!