Recommended Books Connected the 4cs of Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Communication

The links below will connect to Amazon Descriptions and Reviews for each book. You can also explore and review the book choices in my Amazon Book Store. 

If you have a favorite educational book to recommend, a review of a book, or something else connected to these books, please consider adding it to this Wakelet or send me a link and I will add it.

Stanley and the Very Messy Desk by Carrie Baughcum

"Grab your lucky pencil and your favorite paper. Then, join Stanley the Hamster for some paws on, create to connect fun! As you learn how to: PICK the topic for your sketchnote, FILL your paper with words from your learning, DOODLE to improve your thinking, and COLOR to strengthen your connections during a sketchnoting adventure that you can start today and use tomorrow!"

My Pencil Made Me Do It by Carrie Baughcum

"The pencil is a single tool that has the power to reset mindsets, enhance thinking, improve retention, recall, and comprehension, calm us and make us smile...all this from our pencil! My Pencil Made Me Do It is a unique, hands-on, create-to-connect and doodle-to-learn book that will have readers DISCOVERING powerful moments, LEARNING the power behind visual thinking, and doodling to learn."

CREATE: Illuminate Student Voice through Student Choice by Bethany Petty

"Because we need to prepare students with the tech skills they’ll need to thrive in the future, teachers know that creativity in the classroom has to be coupled with tech fluency. Fortunately, learning to use tech tools is not only intriguing for kids, it also opens up a world of possibilities for students to create, engage, and imagine."

40 Ways to Inject Creativity into Your Classroom with Adobe Spark by Ben Forta and Monica Burns

"Experienced educators Ben Forta and Monica Burns offer step-by-step guidance on how to incorporate this powerful tool into your classroom in ways that are meaningful and relevant. They present 40 fun and practical lesson plans suitable for a variety of ages and subjects as well as 15 graphic organizers to get you started. With the tips, suggestions, and encouragement in this book, you’ll find everything you need to inject creativity into your classroom using Adobe Spark."

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

"An inspiring guide to creativity in the digital age, Steal Like an Artist presents ten transformative principles that will help readers discover their artistic side and build a more creative life."

Ready, Set, FAIL!: Using Failure & Risk-Taking to Unlock Creativity by Carl Hooker, Christine Ravesi-Weinstein, and Dr. Adam A. Phyall

"The lack of risk-taking and embracing of failure as a learning tool stifles creativity and innovation. This book is designed to tackle that challenge and provide ideas for both teachers and providers of professional learning with new ways to motivate learners of all ages and open up their creative pathways."

Fifty Strategies to Boost Cognitive Engagement: Creating a Thinking Culture in the Classroom by Rebecca Stobaugh

"Transform your classroom culture from one of passive knowledge consumption to one of active learning and student engagement. In this well-researched book, author Rebecca Stobaugh shares how to build a culture of thinking that emphasizes essential 21st century skills -- from critical thinking and problem-solving to teamwork and creativity."

Neurodevelopmental Differentiation: Optimizing Brain Systems to Maximize Learning by Andrew Fuller and Lucy Fuller

"Imagine schools where everyone learns at high levels. Not just some students. Every student. This resource aims to help educators bring these schools to life through the power of neurodevelopmental differentiation. Backed by scientific and educational research, the book outlines how to assess and build students' inherent strengths in eight major areas in order to increase engagement, mastery, and ultimately, success."

Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms: Preparing Learners for Their Future by Eric Sheninger

"The world has and continues to change in ways that are difficult to predict. Regardless of the forces at hand educators play a pivotal role in preparing students for success now and in the future. Eric Sheninger makes the compelling case that the best way to do this is to create a disruptive thinking culture in the classroom and beyond."

Teaching for Deeper Learning: Tools to Engage Students in Meaning Making by Jay McTighe and Harvey F. Silver

"Far too often, our students attain only a superficial level of knowledge that fails to prepare them for deeper challenges in school and beyond. In Teaching for Deeper Learning, renowned educators and best-selling authors Jay McTighe and Harvey F. Silver propose a solution: teaching students to make meaning for themselves."

Critical Thinking & Logic Mastery by Thinknetic 

"This book bundle includes: Critical Thinking In A Nutshell: How To Become An Independent Thinker And Make Intelligent Decisions; Conquer Logical Fallacies: 28 Nuggets Of Knowledge To Nurture Your Reasoning Skills and The Habit Of Critical Thinking: Powerful Routines To Change Your Mind And Sharpen Your Thinking."

The Collaborative Classroom: Teaching Students How to Work Together Now and for the Rest of Their Lives by Tevor Muir

"In The Collaborative Classroom, Trevor Muir brings to light the dynamic possibilities that occur when students learn to work together. Muir shares how to teach students to do it effectively so that teachers can actually love group work. He shares the tools, techniques, processes, and inspiration developed from his own classroom and from the insights and experience gained from master educators and industry leaders."

Collaborative Teams That Work by Colin Sloper, Gavin Grift, and Anthony Muhammad 

"Collaborative Teams That Work is the ultimate guide to excellent collaboration. To support your PLC's path forward, authors Colin Sloper and Gavin Grift outline 12 specific actions that lead to greater, more effective teamwork. Rely on this resource as you set up your collaborative teams, and then refer back to it before, during, and after meetings to maintain focus on the right work."

How to Talk to Anyone About Anything by Ian Tuhovsky and Sky Rodio Nuttall

"This is the book that will teach you to be that person. By the time you finish reading, you’ll know how to talk to anyone about anything."

Developing Digital Detectives by Jennifer LaGarde and Darren Hudgins

"From the authors of the bestselling Fact vs. Fiction, this book offers easy-to-implement lessons to engage students in becoming media literacy “digital detectives,” looking for clues, questioning motives, uncovering patterns, developing theories and, ultimately, delivering a verdict."

The Essential 25: Teaching the Vocabulary That Makes or Breaks Student Understanding by Marilee Sprenger

"Students encounter these and other academic vocabulary words throughout their school years, but too often, they don't have a firm grasp of these words' meanings or what skills they require. Enter vocabulary expert Marilee Sprenger, who has curated a list of 25 essential high-frequency words that students must know to be academically successful, especially on standardized tests, and be ready for college and career. In this indispensable guide for all educators."