LTL Podcast Episode 24: Back to School Mixed Bag Episode

It’s back to school time! My kids just went back to school this week, and I started teaching last week. I love this time of the year – getting back to more structure and new routines. Because it’s back to school season – this is a mixed bag episode. In episode 23, I shared the “I Statement” activity I read about in Katie Cunningham’s book Story: Still the Heart of Literacy Learning. I tried it out with the students in my reading methods class during our first class session and I follow-up on how it went. Spoiler: It went well! I also talk about the decisions I made with using this activity with the students and possible extensions into the content areas.

I have been asked quite a bit about the stories to read to children. My short answer – any story that can form connections between yourself and your students or between the students in the classroom. I share some examples of what stories did for my former fifth grade students as well as for my older daughter.

Finally, I talk about how September is more like the new year for me than January – because I’m on the academic schedule. The summer is much more laid back for me, and September really marks the time when structure and new routines are in place. I set some professional and personal goals that I share at the end of the episode.

I hope you will have a listen to this episode!