Let’s give our kids velcro so that new knowledge has something to grip onto. Strategies alone will not do the job.

Literacy is the most fundamental gift that any teacher can give the children in their care. From Literacy all other learning is possible. Literacy is about equity, it is about social justice, it is also about connection and joy!

Bringing everyone together in a shared response. Building student knowledge, inclusion and engagement. What could be better than that?

Ask any teacher if they do oral language in their classroom, and the answer is a most definite yes. We are teachers, of course we teach speaking and listening skills to all our students. In fact it’s impossible not to. Oral language is our main way of communicating with our students.

“Because, but, so.” I first heard those words uttered by a very well informed colleague advising a prep teacher on how to give his students a great foundation to their writing skills. It seemed so simple.