Reading Clearly
Newsletter
How do you know if the task you agreeing to take on is worth your limited time and energies? Check out my post on the importance of staying in your lane when asked to take on additional responsibilities as a school leader.
The post from #1 was an uptake of a previous post titled “What is your job with a capital J?”. I recommend school leaders conduct their own T-chart analysis of what tasks are and are not your responsibilities. The idea came from the helpful resource The Together Leader by Maia Heyck-Merlin.
The “Capital J” question is lifted from a chapter title in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s mindfulness guide Wherever You Go, There You Are - an excellent resource for improving one’s social/emotional well-being.
Speaking of mindfulness and education, check out English teacher Mark Levine’s blog Mindful Literacy - he posts daily about his current thinking around cultivating awareness in the classroom.
Should we be teaching reading differently when students are online? I explore this question in my post on deepening comprehension in digital spaces.
Social networks such as Wordpress and Twitter can be effective for highlighting our process as well as our products. Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon is a current reread for me. He has excellent ideas for engaging with an audience during all parts of the creative process (such as the template for this newsletter).
Dr. Maryanne Wolf’s article on “bi-literacy” was a primary resource for the digital reading post. All educators should become familiar with her research.
Kevin Hodgson, a 6th grade teacher, shared in a comment how he and some of the teachers he works with are using a digital tool, Hypothesis, to closely read the Wolf article highlighted. Check it out!
We do our students and ourselves a service by slowing down during these first days of school. A post I wrote on this topic describes a 4th grade teacher’s classroom environment, especially her willingness to co-create the space with her students.
What is a favorite picture book to read aloud on the first day? I chose School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex and Christian Robinson. Funny and reassuring.
Take care,
Matt
P.S. In case you missed this summer’s book study on Literacy Essentials by Regie Routman, you can read and respond to every post by clicking here. Many literacy leaders contributed to this online professional learning experience.