Another month in the school year has nearly passed and I have countless friends who are implementing a new schedule, and some are on their third or fourth version! While all of it is so stressful, Covid-19 has reaffirmed a truth: educators are the most resilient professionals. It seems that our model of education shifts every time the CDC releases a new report, and yet, I have seen teachers adapt to every shift and try to reach as many students as they can through thoughtful instruction. In case you need to hear this today, you did amazing work this week even if you don’t think it was your best. Teacher burnout was real before Covid and even more real now, so make sure you take the time to rest. It will all be there come Monday.
To help inspire you for your instruction next week, I want to share a *new to me strategy*. I was recently collaborating with a District Library Media Coordinator, Misti Werle from Bismarck Public Schools, and learned about Reading Frenzy. Misti had gone to a conference on Inquiry-based learning strategies, and one of the sessions was all about this book from Stephanie Havey & Harvey “Smokey” Daniels. The whole book is great and now Reading Frenzy is my latest jam. Since learning about it, I have shared it with countless others and have created over 10 myself. Gina and Kristy were so sick of me mentioning it that they suggested it as the topic of our next email to you all! Before I share what it is and how to do it, let me tell you why I am currently in love with it.
The strategy works in all grade levels and content areas.
It’s a great way to launch the inquiry process or keep it going by asking targeted thoughtful questions.
It gives learners a way to use their voices and make choices in subtle, but important ways.
Reading Frenzy does not take a ton of time, but the impact on learning is high.
It works in all learning modalities- hybrid, in person, online, synchronous or asynchronous.
Have I convinced you to keep reading? Good! This will now be a *Bonus* strategy from our book Connecting Together and found on our resources page, complete with collaboration strategies for online and physically distanced learning. You get the sneak peek of it below! If the images are blurry or small for you, click on the image to go to our site to download.
As we enter November, remember that we have some days off coming up! More importantly though, with the election being so close, please remember to vote! The former social studies teacher in me has to ask you to do your civic duty!
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