The following blog post was written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis.

Every summer, I see lists and lists of recommended summer reading books for students. But how do we get kids to actually open those books? For starters, we can help students find books on topics they find interesting. However, that still might not be enough to motivate them to read when they’d rather be playing in the pool.

Here are our TOP 5 favorite educational tweets of the week, which were retweeted and/or clicked on the most by you — our loyal Twitter followers! These tweets were originally tweeted by @eyeoneducation and some of our other favorite Tweeters. If you're not yet on Twitter, join today!

The legacy of modern science fiction and fantasy giant Ray Bradbury is enormous and multifaceted. Taught in school, his work can be interpreted through the lenses of social oppression, colonization, censorship, dystopianism, and so on. But outside academia, readers are just as likely to respond to his writings with simple excitement: “Wow, cool!”

In the novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953), Bradbury envisioned a futuristic society in which books are illegal and firemen are charged with burning them. The book, which was itself banned during the McCarthy era, is an example of how a work of art can take on meaning and political significance beyond what was intended by its author...

The following guest post was written by Rebekah Stathakis, author of A Good Start: 147 Warm-Up Activities for Spanish Class.

I find that breaks from school are a great time to reflect on my lessons and work on revising them to make them more effective for all of my learners. During the school year, I often jot down notes at the end of the day to record how my lessons went. When I have some spare time, I glance through my previous year’s lesson plan book and my notes to select a lesson (or even unit) that I know I can improve..

We're taking a short break from sending tips, but we'll be back with new tips in August.

Until then, here are the Top 5 Literacy Tips from the 2011-2012 school year!

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was in New York last week praising education officials on the city’s increased use of test scores to define student, teacher, and school success.  We were also in New York last week conducting a research study in several New York City public schools. As part of a two-year research project, we have had the privilege of working in dozens of 4th and 5th grade classrooms across the five boroughs.

Here are our TOP 5 favorite educational tweets of the week, which were RT'ed and/or clicked on the most by you — our loyal Twitter followers! These tweets were originally tweeted by @eyeoneducation and some of our other favorite Tweeters. If you're not yet on Twitter, join today!

We're taking a short break from sending tips, but we'll be back with new tips in August.

Until then, here are the Top 5 Math Tips from the 2011-2012 school year!

In Awakening Brilliance in the Writer’s Workshop, Lisa Morris discusses the power of using mentor texts to help students improve their own writing: “Mentor texts are pieces of literature that teachers can return to time and time again to show students possibilities for structure and craft.

We have asked the members of our panel: Describe how you’ve used a mentor text to help students write narratives, informative texts, and/or opinion pieces, as now required by the Common Core.

We're taking a short break from sending tips, but we'll be back with new tips in August.

Until then, here are the Top 5 Professional Development Tips from the 2011-2012 school year!

We're taking a short break from sending tips, but we'll be back with new tips in August.

Until then, here are the Top 5 Teaching & Learning Tips from the 2011-2012 school year!

Did you know that we've been celebrating our flag's "birthday" on June 14th for more than 100 years? Commemorate our stars and stripes with your students by introducing some fun classroom activities into your lesson plan!

Here is a list of entertaining activities your students will enjoy!

Teachers are constantly learning with their students and are always in search of new strategies to improve their classroom setting. Every teacher hopes to make a long lasting impression on his or her students. The combined experience of Todd Whitaker and Annette Breaux make the strategies offered in Making Good Teaching Great uniquely effective for connecting teachers with students in a meaningful and powerful way.

We're taking a short break from sending tips, but we'll be back with new tips in August.

Until then, here are the Top 5 Annette Breaux Poems & Tips from the 2011-2012 school year!

In our monthly E-News, we bring you the latest education news, resources, and classroom ideas from the Eye On Education Blog and other blogs we read. Click below for our favorite educational blog posts from the past month.