Reading List: What Great Teachers Read

Introduction: What Books Are Today’s Teachers Reading?

What makes a great teacher? The answer to this question has evolved dramatically over the past few decades as new research emerges about how our brains process reading, how mathematics can be taught more effectively, how cultural backgrounds shape learning, and how technology is rewiring childhood itself. We’ve compiled nine influential books that offer fresh perspectives on these crucial questions, from the latest findings in cognitive science to insights about cultural responsiveness. Together, they paint a picture of where education has been, where it’s going, and how we can better serve all students.

Language at the Speed of Sight by Mark Seidenberg

This book has become a cornerstone text in the “science of reading” movement, helping spark a nationwide revolution in how we teach children to read. Seidenberg, a cognitive neuroscientist, explains that explicit phonics instruction is crucial for most children to become skilled readers—a finding that challenges popular “balanced literacy” approaches that downplay phonics. He’s particularly critical of how teachers are trained, arguing that education programs often ignore the extensive scientific research about how children learn to read.

Seidenberg’s book has been influential in recent years as more states and school districts move toward evidence-based reading instruction. Reviewers say it’s an “indispensable” tool for understanding the disconnect between reading science and educational practice.

Reading in the Brain by Stanislas Dehaene

This exploration of how our brains learn to read has become a foundational text in understanding how children acquire this vital skill. Dehaene, a cognitive neuroscientist, reveals how our brains repurpose ancient systems (like the primate visual system that recognizes objects) to accomplish the relatively recent cultural invention of reading.

Dehaene’s book is particularly notable for explaining why certain teaching approaches work better than others—for instance, why the shapes of letters aren’t arbitrary but mirror the patterns our brains are already wired to recognize. Emily Hanford, the journalist behind the influential “Sold a Story” podcast, says she's “never filled a book with so many sticky notes.”

The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler

This is another title that challenges conventional wisdom about how we teach reading in American schools. Wexler reveals a paradox: Our intense focus on teaching reading comprehension “skills” (like finding the main idea) while cutting back on subjects like science and social studies might be hurting students’ ability to understand what they read. Drawing on cognitive science research, she explains why background knowledge is crucial for reading comprehension—if you don’t know anything about baseball, for instance, even simple baseball-related texts will be hard to understand.

The book has become particularly influential as schools rethink their approach to literacy, with Wexler making a case that teaching kids about the world is just as important as teaching them how to decode words.

Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond

This book moves beyond surface-level diversity initiatives to explain how culture actually affects learning at the neurological level. Hammond shows that culturally responsive teaching isn’t about simply mentioning diverse historical figures or rapping lesson content: It’s about understanding how students’ cultural backgrounds influence how they process information and build trust with teachers.

Hammond’s book is often praised for its practical insights into how teachers can use this knowledge to help students, especially those from marginalized communities, build their cognitive capacity and become independent learners. Hammond’s work has become especially influential as schools work to close achievement gaps and create more equitable classrooms.

Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool

This book challenges popular myths about talent and expertise, revealing that deliberate practice—not just natural ability—is the key to exceptional performance in any field (or field of study, as the case might be for students). Ericsson, a leading expert on expertise, explains that it’s not enough to simply repeat an activity (like typing or teaching) to get better at it. Instead, true improvement requires working at the edge of your comfort zone, getting immediate feedback, and focusing on specific aspects of performance.

The book is valuable for educators as it offers insights into how both students and teachers can improve their skills more effectively. While Malcolm Gladwell popularized Ericsson’s research as the “10,000-hour rule,” the book explains that what matters isn’t just the time spent practicing, but how you practice.

Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You’d Had by Tracy Zager

This book reimagines how mathematics can be taught by closing the gap between what mathematicians actually do and what happens in most math classrooms. Zager shows that real math isn’t about memorizing procedures: It’s about taking risks, making connections, and using intuition. Through rich classroom examples and compelling research, she demonstrates how teachers can help students think like mathematicians: asking deep questions, embracing mistakes, and finding joy in the subject.

Teachers appreciate the book for its dual focus on student and teacher growth, which acknowledges that teachers need to reconnect with their own mathematical curiosity to create more engaging classrooms.

Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl

Based on over a decade of research with over 400 teachers, this book challenges traditional classroom practices that often lead to students mimicking rather than thinking. Liljedahl offers practical strategies to transform mathematics classrooms into spaces where students engage in deep thinking, from having students work on vertical surfaces (like whiteboards) to using randomized grouping.

The book has become popular for its concrete, research-backed methods that help teachers move beyond the “I do, we do, you do” model to create classrooms where students actively puzzle through challenging problems together. While written for math teachers, its insights about promoting student thinking have influenced educators across subjects.

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

This urgent book examines how smartphones and social media have fundamentally rewired childhood, leading to a dramatic rise in anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges among young people. Haidt, a social psychologist, reveals how we’ve shifted from “play-based” to “phone-based” childhoods, with teenagers now spending 6-8 hours daily on screens.

The book is notable for identifying a dual crisis: digital under-parenting (giving kids unlimited access to devices) alongside real-world over-parenting (protecting kids from every possible physical risk). Recommended by Bill Gates as “a must-read for anyone raising, working with, or teaching young people,” the book offers practical solutions for parents, educators, and policymakers to help the next generation develop healthier relationships with technology.

Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks

This collection of essays reimagines education as a path to freedom and joy rather than just a transfer of information. hooks argues that teaching should be about empowering students to think critically and challenge systems of oppression, drawing on her own experiences as both student and teacher.

The book has become a classic thanks to its vision of the classroom as a collaborative space where everyone’s presence is valued and where genuine learning requires vulnerability from both teachers and students. While written in 1994, its message about education as a practice of freedom continues to resonate with educators who want to create more engaging, equitable, and transformative learning experiences. As one reviewer notes, this isn’t a book you read once and shelve, but one to return to again and again.