I recently stumbled upon two books that seem especially timely: Teach Kindness First by Kathleen Murray and Stop the Hate for Goodness Sake by Andrew B. Campbell and Larry Swartz. We strive to create classroom environments with kindness and empathy at the core, leading to behaviour and beliefs that students will carry beyond our classrooms: these books provide specific ideas to support us in our endeavours.

Effective teachers also use powerful mentor texts to ensure engagement, diversity, and topics to spark meaningful conversation and powerful writing. Three picture books that address kindness and yet are presented quite differently: Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates, and Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson and Sydney Smith. Using one on its own is effective; bringing the three together even more so.

It seems there is no better time to counter the hateful rhetoric that is so prevalent these days. After all, “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” Lao Tzu

Last week we were lucky enough to be in New York City, a city I can’t get enough of, it seems. We soaked up the sun in Central Park where the leaves were a feast for the eyes. We enjoyed a day surrounded by the masters at The Met. We spent some time at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. And we were fortunate to see three Broadway plays.

Although I’ve been to NYC before, last week I was struck by thoughts different than during my previous visits. The reason, I’m sure: the upcoming U.S. election. As we watched the Broadway shows and as we toured the 9/11 Museum, I was again reminded of the importance of story. Stories connect us to others. Stories reveal our humanity. Stories invite us into worlds, experiences, and perspectives other than our own. These opportunities seem especially important in this blatantly divided world we live in.

Even though I do not live in the United States, I admit to being anxious about the week ahead. Regardless of the result of the election, there will be intense emotion and potential violence. My hope: that we seek to understand each other on a human level and approach everyone with kindness despite differing opinions.

Have you noticed that children sometimes seem more open and accepting than the adults around them? As teachers, we have an incredible opportunity to share stories with diverse characters and perspectives, to engage in meaningful–and sometimes difficult–conversation, and to help nurture a sense of empathy.

As Maya Angelou once said, sometimes, “It takes courage to be kind.” This quote in and of itself would be a provocative discussion starter for our students.

Let’s face the week ahead with courage and kindness. We may not be able to affect what goes on south of the border, but we can affect our own orbit…

Learning a second language can be exhilarating and exciting. It can also be intimidating, confusing, and exhausting. To add to the complexity of this experience, many of our students who are learning English are dealing with significant life changes and sometimes trauma.

Consider how we can apply translanguaging–using knowledge of one language to help with another–in our classrooms. Morphology is a natural connection since many words share common roots and origins across languages. When talking about vocabulary and breaking down words, invite multilingual students to share words from their language(s) to see if there are connections. This is enlightening for all of our students!

Be open and intentional about including other languages in your classroom in a variety of contexts. Rather than discouraging the use of another language, empower your students to share their language–either orally or in writing. Not only does this validate and affirm our multilingual students, but it also positions a second language as an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

“To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world.” Chinese Proverb

Do you know about YRCA?

The Young Reader’s Choice Awards (YRCA) is for children in Grades 4 to 12 living in Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana and Washington. It is sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA).

What’s so great about these awards? Students choose both the nominated books and the winners!

YRCA divides the nominated books into three categories: Junior, Intermediate, and Senior. When I was teaching, I would find the nominated books from the appropriate level and be sure to have multiple copies of each in my classroom. (In many schools, librarians or teachers purchase these books for the school library knowing they are popular student picks.) My students and I passed those books around and read as many as we could by voting time.

Perhaps your class wants to join the fun! This year, votes are due by April 15, 2025.

For more information, check out these websites:

YRCA 2025 Nominees

https://www.epl.ca/yrca

Each day leading up to Halloween, share one of these jokes or riddles. (Don’t be surprised if you end up talking about puns and word play…)

• What did the pumpkin say to its carver? Cut it out!
• What position does the ghost play in soccer? Ghoul-keeper.
• What kind of music do mummies love? Wrap music.
• How does a ghost cow laugh? Moo-ha-ha-ha.
• Why don’t mummies have friends? Because they’re too wrapped up in themselves.
• What’s a vampire’s favorite fruit? Neck-tarines.
• Why are vampires bad at art? They are only able to draw blood.
• Why didn’t the skeleton go to the scary movie? He didn’t have the guts.
• What do dentists hand out at Halloween? Candy. It’s good for business.
• Knock Knock. Who’s there? Witch! Witch who? Witch one of you has my candy?
• Knock Knock. Who’s there? Phillip! Phillip who? Phillip my bag with candy!
• Knock Knock. Who’s there? Olive! Olive who? Olive your costume. It’s amazing!

I can’t take credit… see this site for these and many more!

And check out these for younger students.

Nature is calling but maybe not in the way you think. The vibrant fall colours are certainly calling to me. I’m struck by the deep reds, explosive orange and yellows, all contrasting the ever-greens. Albert Camus has said, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” At this time of year, I savour the view and love the sound as the leaves crunch beneath my feet.

Is nature calling your class outside?

Take a quiet walk together and then freewrite outdoors: “I see…”, “I hear…”, “I notice…”, “I feel…”

Gather in the grass to read your favourite fall book:

• Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson
• Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
• If You Find a Leaf by Aimee Sicuro
• The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming
• Leaves by David Ezra Stein
• Little Tree by Loren Long
• The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger

Complete a reader response entry after your read-aloud: “This reminds me of…”, “My favourite part of this book…”, “I love…”, “Nature is…”

Ask each student to collect leaves to use in an art project later in the day!

Listen to the call of nature… the possibilities are endless!

I often speak about the emotion tied to literacy learning. As students enter the literate world–learning to read and write on their own–there is often much excitement and joy! For some, these positive feelings continue as they refine their skills and realize the myriad of opportunities that literacy provides. Yet sadly, frustration and reluctance overtake excitement and joy for many students.

As important as it is to teach literacy skills to our students, it is equally important to maintain a sense of fun and pleasure in our literary pursuits. How?

• Sharing favourite books through read-alouds.
• Finding books our students will enjoy to explore on their own.
• Learning fun, fascinating facts!
• Exploring many genres of text.
• Playing with language through rhyme, riddles, alliteration…
• Connecting with students through journal writing.
• Uncovering the many functions of writing!

Pam Allyn has said, “Reading is like breathing in and writing is like breathing out.”

How will you breathe life into your classroom through literacy?

Can you believe we’ve reached the end of September? Are you tired already? If so, you are certainly not alone. I have worked with hundreds of teachers this month and everyone agrees: September is an incredibly busy month setting routines, getting to know students, diving into curriculum, and sometimes learning new curriculum.

Take the next few minutes to reflect on the beginning of the school year.

If in writing, begin with the prompt “This month…” and see where it takes you. Or, simply reflect on these questions:

• What did you do this month that you are especially proud of?
• What will be your biggest challenge this year? What small steps can you take to mitigate or ease this challenge?
• Have you been functioning in survival mode or have you taken time to enjoy the days as well?
• How do you think your students would describe their start to the year?

Etty Hillesum once said, “Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” As you forge ahead with the school year, every so often, bring her words to mind: “the rest we take between two deep breaths.” You’ve got this.

Is it any surprise that I love word play?

When I was teaching my own class, I embedded word play into the routine of the day, typically after a recess break. I would write a word puzzle, challenge, or riddle on the board for students to work on as they were settling back into class. In this context I called them Brain Benders and students would complete the activity in a Brain Bender notebook.

When I was an administrator, I often supervised a wing of the school during lunch. As I walked from class to class, I would put some kind of word play on the board for students to talk about and try to solve while they were eating. Most often, by the time I made my way back around to each class, they were excited to tell me the solution.

Whatever your context or role, here are a few ideas to get you started!

For these word riddles, students have to figure out what the letters represent:

• 26 L of the A
• 88 K on a P
• 18 H on a GC

You can also ask students to generate a long list of… (pick one!)

• outdoor sports
• crayon colours
• jobs for dogs
• uses for paperclips
• things made out of plastic
• words that begin with the blend sl (or any grapheme you want to reinforce)
• compound words
• adjectives that might describe a spider

On another day, put up a jumbled word. Challenge students to find the word which uses all of the letters but they can also make as many other words as they can using the letters provided. Choose a content area vocabulary word to reinforce what you are already doing in class. For example:

• nmateg (The word using all of the letters is magnet, but students could also make words such as: at, ate, eat, game, gate, get, gnat, mate, meat, name, neat, net, tame, tan, team, ten…)
• myecadocr (The word using all of the letters is democracy but students could also make words such as: car, came, code, come, dome, dye, may, mode, race, ray, road, roam, rod, rode, yard…)

Although we call this word play, we can be intentional about reinforcing many concepts during this time!

When teaching students literacy skills, I am transparent: I want them to understand that reading and writing are skills they will use every day of their lives.

To help them understand the relevance of reading, ask your students to brainstorm a long list of things we read. You may choose to brainstorm ideas together or ask them to brainstorm with a partner or small group. Once they have their lists, give them a blank page (or use a Literacy Notebook if you have one), and ask them to write this title in the middle: Reading is Everywhere. Then, they can add words and/or pictures to depict the many things we read!