9 Books that EVERY Teacher Should Read

If you’re an elementary teacher looking for some books to enrich your career and life, then you’re 100% in the right place. These books are not the typical books that are recommended by the school administration or the board. They are not classroom management books, or about teaching specifically – rather, they’re books that will enrich and deepen your understanding of things you deal with each day.

These books will enhance your expertise as a teacher by teaching you some surprising facts about education, deepening your understanding of child psychology and behaviour, and learning and potential in general. They will help strengthening your abilities as a leader and mentor and (possibly) shift your values in terms of what you think is important in the classroom.

Having worked as a teacher for nearly 10 years, I’m also an avid reader and read 5-6 books every month. These are so fascinating and enjoyable to read, that you will be inclined to take notes, even if you aren’t usually a note-taker. These books would also work well for a staff book club. So, let’s jump in – books to put on your reading list if you’re a teacher!

9 Books that Every Elementary Teacher Should Read

1. Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things

By: Adam Grant
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.6)

Hidden Potential is not directed at teachers, but at anyone who’s interested in the topic of what makes people naturally good at something, and why some people succeed and other’s don’t. It shared some surprising details about why it is that often people that don’t often present as being strong at something initially can go on to excel at it.

It’s one of the most fascinating books I’ve ever read. Psychologist Adam Grant talks about what we’ve been missing (as leaders, teachers, business owners) when it comes to assessing the potential in people that we teach, hire or lead. Topics like growth mindset, failure, leadership and mediocrity are discussed – it’s so fascinating and mind-blowing; a must for anyone working in education.

2. The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way

By: Amanda Ripley
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.5)

The Smartest Kids in the World is about an observation of three American exchange students who lived in three different countries in the world where students score significantly higher on the PISA. The book discusses the reasons why are kids on the other side of the world (from North America) are harder working, more intrinsically motivated and cope with failure better than American students.

It comes down to very different educational values, processes and culture. The countries the students lived in were Poland, Finland and South Korea and the American students spent a whole year living there, examining how different things were done in the school sysem compared to at home, and research is done to figure out why the students in those countries fare so much better than North Americans on the PISA. Fascinating read for an educator to open their eyes to how differently things are done in different parts of the world.

3. When the Body Says No: The Hidden Cost of Stress

By: Gabor Mate
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.7)

When the Body Says No talks about how stress is stored in the body over time, and the long-term effects of ongoing stress. He talks a lot about how harmful it is for our bodies to suppress emotions, and gives medical reasons of how supressing our emotions impacts us emotionally and physically.

The author, a doctor, touches on early life stressors quite a bit (the first few months or even years of a baby’s life impact them tremendously later on.) He also talks about many diseases, such as MS, cancer, and autoimmune disorders, where he makes a strong argument that stress is a factor.

I wish I’d read this book in my early teaching days to that I could have understood the extent of how important it was for me to look after my mental health. Understanding how deeply stress can impact you can help you avoid teacher guilt when you know that your body and mind need rest.

4. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

By: Johnathan Haidt
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.7)

The Anxious Generation will help you understand how technology access from a young age impacts young minds – specifically, pre-teens and teenagers. The author, a psychologist, is strongly against cellphones in classrooms and will explain why. Specifically, this books looks at Gen Z as an example, as they were the first generation to hold smartphones in their hands as they were just entering puberty. It looks at the impact that it has had on their lives and makes recommendations for coming generations.

I would say this is a must if you teach the older grades especially, but also to understand the impact of tech on kids in general. If you’re a parent yourself, you may be very interested.

5. There’s No Such Thing As Bad Weather

By: Linda Åkeson McGurk
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.7)

There’s No Such Thing As Bad Weather was written by a Swedish American mom who experiences culture shock about how the relationship between kids and the outdoors and how it’s handled in schools in North America. She does a lot of research and presents fascinating findings about the benefits of spending time outside.

She discusses the attitudes towards the outdoors in Sweden and how much it differs from America. Even if you don’t work in a forest school where the outdoors is a given, this book will make you think differently about ‘indoor recesses’ when it’s raining, or even the comments you make about spending time outside when the weather isn’t ideal. While you can’t change the way things are in the US, you can inspire children to have a better relationship with nature.

6. You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters

By: Kate Murphy
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.5)

You’re Not Listening was a really groundbreaking book for me. Yes, a whole book on listening. I know it sounds boring but I walked away wishing that everyone would read this book. Often in school, we’re taught how to make an argument, how to get your point across and persuade people, but rarely how to listen to others talk. Like really listen.

Nowadays, in the age of social media, we’re all about building brands, having an audience, holding people’s attention and be seen. I think that listening to others is a big thing that often gets left out of the equation. I honestly believe that the world would be a better place if people were taught to be good listeners.

Are you listening when people talk to you, or are you waiting for your turn to talk? Do you show curiosity or dig deeper into what people are telling you, or ask yourself why they’re even sharing this thing with you? Picking up this book helped me to be a better friend, partner and mother because I learned to focus on something (listening to the important people in my life) more than I ever had before.

7. What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

By: Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Bruce Perry
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.7)

What Happened to You? is a book that Oprah wrote with a doctor that discusses trauma and how it impacts people for the rest of their lives. Hardly anyone will get out of life without going through some kind of trauma. Many of us experience long-lasting scars in childhood. This book helped me understand my own trauma – but it was also very relevant in helping me understand how it impacted students that I’d taught in the past as well.

8. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High

By: Joseph Grenny, and Kerry Patterson
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.7)

Crucial Conversations is a book that walks you through having tough conversations with other people. It was a helpful book for me to read in the midst of not having a great relationship with my admin at the time. Having hard conversations is never fun, but they are also so important. It’s not specifically teaching or even work-related, but the tips you learn can definitely be applied to dealing with your admin or difficult parents, or even your personal life. It gives tips for any conversation that has the potential to get heated, and helps you to calm the situation and to the heart of what you and the other person both really want.

9. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

By: Matthews Desmond
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.6)

If you’re a US-based teacher, then Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City is a relevant read to understand poverty, how it impacts families – but also know the behind the scnes of the laws stacked against them. It would be useful for understanding the workings behind ‘the system’ and how that may play into the lives of some of your students. I have to admit that I haven’t read this one, because one thing that really strikes a cord with me is poverty. But, if you do read it, I’d love to hear what you thought!

I hope that this gave you some amazing reads to add to your reading list. If you read an amazing book that you think would enhance the lives of teachers from reading it, please contact me with the suggestion! I would love to hear it.