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!

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…