MW Substack 031: Book Review Issue #2
Do you still read books about teaching and leading? Reflecting on the ideas of colleagues is a great way to add some DIY to your PD this summer!
Welcome to MiddleWeb Substack. It’s a free twice-monthly, topical, five-minute read for middle grades educators, featuring a selection of MiddleWeb’s most popular and influential articles, a book review, and a noteworthy 4-8 resource or project we’ve spotted. That’s it!
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►OUR 2025 SUMMER BOOK REVIEW FESTIVAL
During school breaks, we've often put together a "Book Review Festival" post at our website, featuring professional titles that educators might enjoy reading. Last summer we decided to showcase the work of our (mostly school-based) reviewers in the MiddleWeb Substack instead.
Now we're back for Year Two!
Here are short summaries of 23 popular reviews from the past year. We hope you'll find a good book for DIY PD summer reading. If not, you can check out our complete list of published reviews here.
Engagement Strategies for Summer & All Year
Elementary and middle school educators searching for practical, adaptable student engagement strategies that can be implemented immediately will find inspiration in 50 Strategies for Summer School Engagement. A valuable resource for all year long, writes Michael McLaughlin.
Using Scaffolding to Meet Rigorous Expectations
In Scaffolding for Success Barbara Blackburn and Melissa Miles explore the intricacies of educational scaffolding, offering educators a comprehensive framework you can use to design supportive learning environments that enhance student engagement, learning and achievement. Reviewed by Melinda Stewart.
Build Grammar & Usage into Writer’s Workshop
Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson (with Lisa Thibodeaux) is more than a book on teaching grammar, usage, and style; it is a well-written, funny, smart glimpse into the classroom and inner landscape of a master teacher. The best of Writing Workshop coupled with intentional instruction, says ELA teacher Jeny Randall.
A Parent Guide Through the Middle Grade Years
What do middle graders need from adults, especially their parents? Looking into brain science and social, academic, tech and ethical issues, educator and parent Jody Passanisi asks readers to think back to their own childhoods and then consider how to best support their kids. Middle school teacher leader Sarah Cooper highly recommends Chaos to Context.
Supporting Healing and Justice at School
In Becoming an Everyday Changemaker, Alex Shevrin Venet guides educators as they become effective, equity-centered, trauma-informed changemakers who provide healing and justice at school. Her book includes many insights, moments of reflection and useful exercises, writes education consultant Randy Ross.
A Collaborative Math Classroom that Works
Teacher Elisa Waingort-Jiménez strongly recommends The Collaborative Math Classroom with its many tools as a must-read for all teachers, coaches, interventionists and others interested in creating and supporting spaces for authentic math learning experiences. Suitable for all ages and grade levels.
An Illustrated Guide to Teaching Multilinguals
Through a combination of clear explanations, real-life strategies and vibrant illustrations by Valentina Gonzalez, Fisher&Frey's Welcome to Teaching Multilingual Learners breaks down the task of teaching multilingual students into digestible, well-structured concepts, writes Melinda Stewart.
Leadership Strategies to Build Teacher Morale
Improving Teacher Morale and Motivation by Ronald Williamson and Barbara Blackburn provides school leaders with key strategies for directly addressing teacher morale and effectiveness. Systems coach and former principal Matt Renwick reflects on three of the book’s valuable principles.
Improving Opportunities & Outcomes for Black Kids
Leadership author Baruti Kafele’s motto,”If it impacts the students, we must be willing to discuss it,” really sums up what this book covers and what equity and social justice work is all about. We cannot continue with business as usual and think we will have better outcomes, writes Claire Stein.
Reach Past the Timeline with Thematic History
In Teaching Beyond the Timeline, China Harvey and Lisa Herzig show how to make history more relevant, exciting and connected to the present by using thematic history that integrates chronology. Social studies teacher Sarah Cooper enthusiastically recommends sharing the book and its friendly intricacy.
Engaging All Students with Imaginative Writing
In Who Gets to Write Fiction, teacher Ariel Sacks illustrates the value and practicality of offering more opportunities during writing instruction for students to imagine and create, says reviewer Stacy Haynes-Moore. One highlight: The book includes four months of curriculum with integrated roles for students.
Reflections on Teachers’ Life-Shaping Power
Ruth Miller finds Julie Hasson's Lessons That Last an indispensable guide to enriching teaching practice and fostering an impactful learning environment. The book’s lessons, drawn from interviews with former students, affirm the significance of teachers’ work and the lasting influence we have.
Essential AI Strategies for Every Classroom
Whether you’re curious about ways to bring artificial intelligence into your lesson planning – or the rapid evolution of AI has you feeling anxious – Monica Burns’ EdTech Essentials: 12 Strategies for Every Classroom in the Age of AI can help guide you in the effective use of new technologies.
Students Engaging with Content and Each Other
Lauren Porosoff’s Teach for Authentic Engagement seamlessly ties together the big ideas of student engagement with easy-to-follow protocols, writes Laurie Miller Hornik. The book delves into the three spheres in which the students can engage: the content, their work, and each other.
Engage All Students with Offbeat Math Problems
Try It! Math Problems for All by Jerry Kaplan is just what math teachers want: a collection of offbeat, open-ended problems, riddles and brain teasers to engage the most reluctant student. Math teacher Michael Hernandez can’t wait to lure in his middle schoolers.
Serving Gifted Students from Low-Income Homes
In Unlocking Potential, Tamra Stambaugh and Paula Olszewski-Kubilius provide a guidebook to move forward with gifted programs that meet the needs of students living in poverty. “This will be a resource that shapes our gifted education program a long time into the future,” writes district gifted coordinator Kim Rensch.
Grow & Celebrate Your Most Valuable Teachers
Instead of focusing only on teachers who need to improve, the authors of Invest in Your Best recommend that school leaders recognize the achievements of the school’s best teachers and tap into their expertise. A perspective-shifting read, says department chair Stephanie Choate.
How We Can Become Better Writing Teachers
Carol Anderson and Matt Glover have authored a helpful, easy-to-follow book, writes veteran teacher Elisa Waingort-Jiménez. Their eight strategies center on specific craft and genre moves that will help teachers become better writers as they help students develop their own skills.
Create the School Your Students Deserve
With its tools, approaches and ideas that can work in any school, Turning It Around by Todd Whitaker and award-winning principal Courtney Monterecy is a valuable addition to the literature on school improvement, writes former principal and leadership expert Dr. Ron Williamson.
How Your School Can Be Gender Inclusive
In Gender-Inclusive Schools, Dave Edwards provides practical advice for educators, administrators and caregivers to help create climates that are predictably safe and affirming for their gender-expansive students. Melinda Stewart expects the book will be an invaluable resource.
Creating a Place Where Kids Feel They Belong
For educators committed to creating inclusive and supportive school environments, Belonging in School by Dominique Smith, Doug Fisher & Nancy Frey serves up 11 evidence-based modules with actions and strategies and a highly visual style designed to help students feel included, writes 6th grade teacher Ruth A.S. Miller.
100-Word Stories to Support SLIFE Literacy
100-Word Stories by Kim Culbertson is a valuable resource, providing a structured yet flexible framework that serves as a tool to enrich language instruction and a catalyst for exploration and creative expression in the classroom. It will be especially valuable to her SLIFE learners, writes Melinda Stewart.
Making an Impact Outside the Classroom
After looking into the realities of teaching in general and the signposts that indicate an individual teacher may be ready to leave a current position, Starr Sackstein delves into the nitty-gritty of how to transfer existing skills and gain new ones, writes Sarah Cooper.
One more thing before you go: If you'd like to become a reviewer yourself, visit our how-to page at the MiddleWeb site and browse our Current List of Books for Review.