Summer! One of the best things about the teaching profession is getting to enjoy summer break. It is hard earned and well deserved. But let’s all be honest; summer is our time to catch a little r & r (because we all know it doesn’t happen during the school year), but it can be really hard to turn off the teacher switch. Summer can also serve as a wide open opportunity to grow our craft a bit. Here are four ways to grow as a teacher this summer from the comfort of your own home:
- Take a digital workshop – We’ll start with the obvious. You could enroll in one of the many high-quality workshops available online these days. There are tons to choose from, but I do have a couple of recommendations:
Anything by Brave New Teaching is outstanding! BNT is a podcast and professional development company run by two high school English teachers. They are both masters in their craft, and they have a gift for bringing the best out in other teachers.
Keeping the Wonder is also a fabulous place to find some awesome workshops. It is a company formed by four master teachers who wanted to help other educators find and keep the joy in their profession.
- Podcasts – A great way to grow as a teacher this summer and gain some valuable professional ideas is to listen to podcasts aimed at growing educators. It’s so easy to pop on a podcast at just about any time: while taking a walk, as you wash the dishes, during a drive in the car, etc. Here are a few of my favorites:
Brave New Teaching – While they have amazing digital workshops available, BNT is first and foremost a teacher podcast.
Teaching to the Top – Created by another teacher duo. They specialize in helping teachers with all things productivity and organization.
Teach Me, Teacher – Every episode features a new teacher sharing their expertise.
- Pick one unit to rework – It’s hard to think about updating your entire curriculum, but it may not seem quite as daunting to rework a single unit. Choose one unit that you think has some room for growth and re-do it from scratch. Take the time to examine the contents of the unit and allow the cream to rise to the top. I suggest backward planning it from the final assessment down to the daily plans for each day. If you’re new to backward planning, check out my blog post on the subject. I also have a free inquiry-based backward design unit planning template, or you can use your own. Spending a little time this summer planning a solid unit will bring a large return in a small time investment.
- Read – One of the simplest ways to contribute to the growth of your curriculum is to keep the texts fresh and new. I’m not sure about you, but I always keep a (mental) running list of books that I think have potential for use in my classroom. However, I rarely get a chance to actually read and investigate them to see if they truly have merit for use within my existing curriculum. Summer is the perfect time to read one or two of them! For me, reading can be the best escape, and what better use of my time than to do something that I enjoy and that also benefits my classroom!
I hope that this list is helpful! If you decide to try any of these, please share and tag me in your social media posts @trickedoutteaching!
Comment below and share how you plan to grow as a teacher this summer!
If you like this post, you should also check out my other blog posts at trickedoutteaching.com.
Feel free to email me with any questions you may have at [email protected]. Please also check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store for more free and inexpensive resources!
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