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Transform Your Teaching with the TeachersFirst Book Club!

Use popular books, the CASEL SEL framework, and Habits of Mind to unlock social-emotional growth.

Apply by 3/13!
Young female high school teacher reading a novel and planning a lesson based on the CASEL SEL framework.

Embark on an extraordinary 8-week professional learning journey that will revolutionize how you approach social-emotional learning (SEL) and classroom engagement. Our innovative book club isn't just another teacher professional development program—it's a game-changing experience designed to empower educators like you.

What Makes This Book Club Unique?

Gamified Learning: Turn professional development into an inspiring adventure. Take the role of a bard-in-training as you work to help the citizens of the 5 villages of the CASEL framework practice empathy and develop social-emotional skills.

Technology Integration: Discover how to integrate cutting-edge AI and free edtech tools into lesson planning and use them to design 5 activities you can use with any text.

SEL Mastery: Develop concrete strategies for supporting students' emotional intelligence.

Community Connection: Collaborate with educators across grade levels online.

Schedule & Program Highlights

Our spring book club starts March 30 and ends May 19. Educators can expect to spend 3 hours per week reading, responding to prompts, and completing activities. Over the course of our 8-week program, you will:

  • Read books tailored to the elementary, middle, or high school level.
  • Enjoy a flexible hybrid learning format by participating in asynchronous discussions and completing extension activities online.
  • Earn up to 30 professional development units (PDUs).
  • Receive $20 reimbursement upon completing the book club.

Featured Books

Participants will select one (high school) or two (elementary and middle school) of the books listed below to read and discuss during our asynchronous book club:

Cover of Wonder by R.J. Palacio, which has a line drawing illustration of a young boy with dark hair on a blue background.

Elementary School
(Grades K-5):

  • Wonder by R. J. Palacio
  • My Two Grannies by Floella Benjamin
  • Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev
  • The Day You Begin by Jaqueline Woodson
  • The Rough Patch by Brian Lies
  • The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
  • We’re Not From Here by Geoff Rodkey
  • Thirst by Varsha Bajaj
  • Save Me a Seat by Gita Varadarajan & Sarah Weeks
  • The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Cover of Front Desk by Kelly Yang, depicting a 10-year-old Asian girl working the front desk at a family-owned motel.

Middle School (Grades 6-8):

  • Front Desk by Kelly Yang
  • New Kid by Jerry Craft
  • Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston
  • A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
  • Pie in the Sky by Remi Lai
Cover of This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda, depicting a young Japanese American boy standing near the barbed wire of an internment camp.

High School (Grades 9-12):

  • This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda
  • Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
  • The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
  • Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
  • The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

Who Should Join?

We welcome all elementary, middle, and high school educators living in the US—everything we cover in the book club can be adapted to fit any grade level and text. Many of our participants are:

  • Teachers in grades 2–12
  • Library Media Specialists
  • Technology Coaches
  • Literacy Coaches

Application Deadline: March 13, 2026

Don't miss this opportunity to reimagine your classroom and bring technology and empathy together so your students can thrive. Apply now and become part of a community dedicated to nurturing both academic and social- emotional growth!

Space is limited—secure your spot today and revolutionize your teaching approach!