I recently saw a quote on Instagram by Dr. Justin Tarte: “As educators, the more we know about who we teach, the more effective we will be with what we teach. Taking time to get to know our students isn’t fluff time, it’s academic time.”

What are you doing to get to know your students? Will students write to you in a journal each week? Have you given your students an interest inventory? What kinds of activities have you planned to help the class get to know each other? A few ideas:

Journal Entry Prompts – For one of their first journal entries, put the following prompts on the board:

• “I want you to know…”
• “I am most proud of…”
• “My favourite thing to do is…”
• “I am worried about…”

Students can choose one prompt or more than one. By giving this choice, most students will connect to at least one option and be motivated to write. To help build relationships with your students, write a sentence or two back each week. And remember, do not ‘correct’ or ‘mark up’ your students’ journals. Focus on content and building connections.

Guess Who? – Early on in the school year, ask students to write one factual statement about themselves. It could be anything. Something they enjoy doing. Number of siblings. Type of pet and the pet’s name. Anything! Write something yourself, too. Then, collect all of the sentences. Randomly pull one and read it to the class. The class has to ‘guess who’ wrote it. (Be sure to read everyone’s sentence even if it’s not all at once.)

If you have favourite ideas to get to know your students, please share them here!

Our students should be reading each and every day in our classrooms. Sadly, if they are not reading with us, many of them are not reading without us. And yes, they will be reading text that we choose in science, social studies, and in math. And yes, sometimes they will be practicing with decodable books or levelled books, even. But there should also be time embedded into your daily schedule for independent reading. How long? In her book, Sometimes Reading is Hard, Robin Bright suggests:

“Fifteen minutes is magic!… Carving out 15 minutes a day can make all the difference. That length of time is considered consequential in helping students improve their decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension reading skills. And it’s so easy to make this a part of your daily routine.”

The key is ensuring that students are actually reading and not fake reading. How?

• Let them choose ANY book on the shelf during this time.
• Set an example and read when they are reading.
• Generate book buzz by talking about books and getting students excited about reading!
• If you notice someone not engaged during independent reading, do whatever it takes to find something they enjoy: a topic, genre, or specific author. (As a starting point, consider giving an Interest Inventory at this time of year. What do they like to do? What are their passions? If they could learn about any topic, what would it be? Hockey, knitting, music, animals? There are books on EVERY topic: find one to hook your reluctant reader.)
• Talk about the importance of reading and remind them that it is a skill they will use every day of their lives!

Remember, you set the tone for independent reading. If you see it as an extra or unnecessary, so will your students. Collect those fieldtrip forms or check signatures in agenda books at another time. Show students you value this time and the opportunity to read!

This is my favourite time of year to give PD. Why? Teachers are refreshed and ready to set important routines and foundational practices for the year ahead!

Today I want to suggest a routine for YOU to make planning for language arts significantly easier: make yourself a weekly language arts schedule.

How?

• Consider the forms of writing that students will engage in each week; my suggestions are journal writing, reader response, and freewriting. (The other forms can be tackled throughout the year but they don’t need to be on your weekly schedule.)
• Decide when you are going to add words to your Word Wall and engage in other word study activities during the week.
• If you teach primary, be sure to set aside time for daily phonics instruction and a morning message.

Also consider how the gradual release of responsibility will factor into your week:

• When will you schedule your mini-lessons–the explicit instruction of reading and writing skills? (I tend to schedule a mini-lesson connected to reading on Mondays; later in the week, I schedule one on writing.)
• When will students work in literacy stations–time to practice their skills with their peers and time for you to work with a small group?
• When will you schedule independent practice for students, especially daily independent reading? (More on independent reading next week…)

By establishing a weekly schedule, much of the time you normally invest in planning is done for you. You can then focus more on preparing effective mini-lessons. Both you and your students will become familiar with the routine and know what to expect each week.

See page 33 in this preview of Literacy Leadership Matters for sample weekly schedules.

Some of you are already back at it with students. The rest of you are likely counting down the days before you begin–and having those telltale school dreams. Whatever the case, enjoy the excitement and opportunities this time of year provides: the newness of it all.

You’re likely feeling a little more refreshed, a little more balanced than a few months ago. But it doesn’t take long to fall into the hecticness of school-life. When planning your school year, be intentional about planning for some regular self-care to maintain balance as best you can. Build ‘something’ for you into your week and find an accountability buddy.

Choose something that revitalizes you: time to work out, twenty minutes of daily reading or a walk, writing in a journal, a coffee date by yourself or with a friend, hot yoga… anything, but something!

As Eleanor Brown reminds us, “Self-care isn’t selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” Teaching is a tough gig. Knowing the importance of your role, remember, taking care of you will ultimately benefit your students, too.

Wishing you a wonderful year!

For many of you, the last week of the school year has finally arrived!

Amid the cleanup, chaos, and fun, reflect on the year: one… word… at… a… time.

How? Begin with the words–This year–and let students add one word at a time. For example, “This year was so much fun. Remember when…” To keep a swift pace, it tends to work best when you go around the room in order but you could also try keeping it more spontaneous. Push through the laughter until it comes to a natural end!

Don’t be surprised if students want to do it a second time…

Depending on where you teach, you may be celebrating the beginning of your summer break. If so, enjoy your well-deserved rest!

For many others, there is still the final push of a week, maybe even two. You can do it!

Invite students to write a letter to themselves to be opened a year from now. This is an opportunity for both reflection and goal-setting. Provide paragraph (or sentence) prompts that students can choose from. Consider the age of your students and set a suggested number: ideally a minimum of three.

• “I am grateful for…”
• “My favourite memory from this year is…”
• “My biggest challenge this year was…”
• “I am proud of…”
• “Next year, I want to…”
• “I predict…”
• “As I write this, I feel…”

Ask students to seal their letter in an envelope and write “Dear ____________. To be opened June 2025.” Pass the letters along to next year’s teacher or school.

P.S. Challenge yourself to write a letter to your future self too!

Give students the opportunity to create a top ten list for next year’s students. Let each student choose from the following:

• The top ten things about Grade _________! (insert grade level)
• The top ten things about ____________’s class! (insert your name)
• The top ten things about this school!

Once students have chosen their topic, encourage them to brainstorm as many things as they can. Of those, they can circle or star the best ten. Once they have narrowed their list down to ten, ask students to rank the ideas with number 1 being the absolute best thing about their chosen topic.

When they write the actual list–which will be left for incoming students–they should start at number 10, progressing to number 1.

Encourage creativity by providing options:

• invite students to work in partners if they choose,
• perhaps the list is made into a ten-page book with one idea per page,
• maybe they embed their top ten list into a poem,
• they might prefer to create slides, one idea per slide, or
• perhaps they choose to record a video of their top ten list.

The options are endless!

This week’s blog has been postponed due to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Round 4 here we come…

Gooooo Oilers!

June is nearing. As the school year begins to wind down, carve out time for some reflective writing opportunities for your students. I will share one idea each week over the next few. Challenge yourself to participate as well.

This week, ask students to choose someone who has had a positive impact on them in some way: a coach, teacher, family member, or friend. Take the time to freewrite–seven or eight minutes–a note of thanks to this individual. Provide these prompts that you and your students can move in and out of during the freewrite: “Thank you for…” “Did you know…?” “I am grateful that you…“

After they have read their writing to themselves–on the same day or a subsequent day–give students an opportunity to revise and edit their work. Explain that they will have a choice of Thank You cards, stationary, and envelopes for their revised note of thanks. It is important to emphasize that they do not have to use their entire freewrite for their thank you message: they can choose the sentences they like best, adding to or changing those already written.

Model the revision and editing processes with your own writing. Even if you choose not to show students your writing, think aloud and explain some of the changes you have made. You might explain that you have chosen to exclude your first few sentences of your freewrite on your actual thank you note (an example of revision). You might also explain that you noticed a few spelling mistakes in your original freewrite and have corrected the spelling (an example of editing).

Remind students to present their best effort as effort communicates a message to the recipient too.

And even though students are completing this activity within your class, be sure to respect their privacy: some of the letters may be quite personal.

This May long weekend was rainy and cool. I didn’t mind… Much of the weekend was spent reading. The over-700 page book is due at the library on Wednesday with a waiting list of 137 people. I’m close! (On page 534 as I write this.) It’s one of those books I can’t put down and yet I don’t really want to finish.

The Covenant of Water is a sweeping story of a family across generations: tragic and beautiful, cursed and blessed, a story of struggle and hope. How is it that I read about characters in India in the early 20th century and I think so much of my own family–those around me still and those already passed?

The power of story is profound. One of the characters within this book says, “Fiction is the great lie that tells the truth about how the world lives!” Agreed. A well-writtten story may change us if we’re open. Deep within the pages of a book, we learn about others and ourselves. Deep within those pages–through distance and perspective–we discover truth.

Is there a book that has changed you? What truths have you discovered through someone else’s words? How might your students change through the books you read in class?