I am so lucky that I get to work closely with so many amazing people.  Our school is literally filled with awesome teachers who are passionate about kids and teaching- not only are they fun to be around, it also makes you want to be a better teacher.  Positivity is contagious, right?!

Last year I noticed the Grade 1/2 teacher started everyday with a story and I was immediately intrigued.  I always started my day with the regular “housekeeping” stuff like agenda’s, collecting any money or forms, and then I moved onto calendar/ circle time.  This would typically take between 45 minute to an hour at the beginning of the year- crazy hey?! Printing in those agenda’s is a real task at the beginning of Grade 1! When I asked this teacher how she enjoyed starting her day with the story it was clear she loved it.  She instantly was so excited to tell me how awesome it was- and once she explained why she did it, it was a no brainer for me.   

Every year around June I start planning and reevaluating my previous year plan.  I keep what seems to be working, and change those routines that just never became natural for me or the kids.  The start to my day was the first thing to get a makeover.  I now start my day with a story and it is by far my most favourite part of the day, let me tell you why I love it!

4 Reasons You Should Start Your Day With A Book

1.) Builds vocabulary.  When students listen to someone read aloud they are able to enjoy text they typically wouldn’t be able to read.  It allows for conversations around words they may not know.  It also allows students to understand more complex sentence structure.  Reading is probably the most effective way to expand a children’s vocabulary.  It’s as easy as this: the more words they’re exposed to the more words they’ll learn! 

2.) Late students-  there is always at least one in every bunch.  I am a strong believer in not punishing students who show up late- especially if they are under the age of 16.  They can’t drive, it’s not their fault.  I will most definitely have a friendly conversation about the importance of being on time with their parents but I NEVER make a student feel bad for being late.  I could write an entire post on this I am so passionate about it… hmmm maybe I just will! I always welcome students with a smile and a welcome them whether they’re 5 or 45 minutes late…at least they came! Wow- okay, I went off on a bit of a tangent there, sorry! Anyways, starting the day with a story allows those students who happen to show up late to just slide right in and not feel overwhelmed by work they have missed. 

3.) Reading aloud models good fluency.  My students are continually “copying” behaviors they see in and outside of school.  Some are great… and some not so much  Reading aloud to your students using expression teaches / encourages them to do the same! It is seriously adorable when I read with my students and they slowly begin to show expression when they read… I love it!!! 

4.)Fosters the love of reading!  Kids LOVE it! They seriously do.  They are constantly picking stories from the library, bringing books from home, or off our classroom bookshelf for me to read to them.  Start the day on a positive note, it really will make all the difference!  

I could seriously go on forever about why you should start your day with a story but I think you get the point! Just grab a book, and get to it! I promise you won’t regret it!!

Happy Reading!!

The post TTT: 4 Reasons You Should Start Your Day With Story time! appeared first on Teach Me Style - A style, beauty and life blog..

Ps. Did we survive Halloween? Barely? Not really? Can’t talk about it… cool. I’ll drop it.

Alright, back to me talking about Christmas on November 1st, I promise it’s for good reason.  For the last few years my class has participated in Operation Christmas Child.  I seriously cannot think of a sweeter way to spend a few hours of your time than with your students’, than filling a box full of goodies for a child who typically would not receive anything.  The discussion and life lessons it brings to light are the type of teachable moments we as teachers live for.

Here is a general idea of how I introduce Operation Christmas Child to my class:

Typically I start by reading a Christmas story to get my students into the spirit.  They will most likely wonder why you’re reading a Christmas story so early, tell them they will find out shortly.

After reading, I tell my students to close their eyes and think about what Christmas means to them and what makes them the most excited when they think about the holiday.   Most will reply with presents, snow, stockings, delicious food, visiting with family, etc.  This is when we talk about how some people, near and far, don’t have a warm house to live in, food for their tummies, or presents to open on Christmas morning.  Although OCC is for children in third world countries, I feel it is important to remind students that there are people who live right here in our city that experience this as well (we have another school event to support local charities).

After having a discussion around how the students would feel if they were in that position and they woke up on Christmas morning with nothing, I guide the conversation in a way that will help them to come up with the idea to participate in OCC.  Some years it’s easier than others but typically I like to try to make it seem like it’s their idea.

After we decide to do fill the shoebox comes the fun part, brainstorming a list of what we want to fill the shoebox with! I try to encourage them to think of things that the others might want and need, not necessarily what they want.  Once the students have come up with a list I go out and do the shopping sans 24 kids… that would be a little too cray cray!  *If you were teaching an older class you could set a budget and have the students figure out what they could afford, etc.

Once I have bought all the goodies, I bring them back to school to show the kids and we pack the boxes. We typically do one for a girl and one for a boy.  It is SO adorable to see the look of excitement on the students faces.

SO now, you still may be wondering why I have Christmas on my mind so early? Well, Operation Christmas Child pick up week is November 14th- 20th!

Will your class be spreading a little extra cheer this Christmas? If so, find all the information you need here!

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Today’s post isn’t about how I teach students to read or what programs I like to use, instead I am talking about reading incentives.  Every year my students are given a R.E.D folder (Read Every Day). This is the home reading program I use.   In the front of the duotang there are strategies we are working on, ideas for comprehension questions, as well as their incentive chart.  I love having prizes for my kids… learning to read is friggin’ hard and in my opinion they deserve it! The prizes are not given out as the students reach different reading levels, instead, they are rewarded a prize after every page they fill out (30 books).  The more they read, the bigger the prizes get!  The first is an eraser, then a pencil, then a pick from the prize bin, etc.  The last one is always a special lunch with yours truly.  The kids LOVE this!  Most students don’t earn this until the Spring as you need to read a lot of books (180 to be exact) to earn this coveted reward Because the weather is usually warming up at this point, we often head outside for a picnic.  I always provide a special treat.. the kids just think it is “totally groovy” -direct quote from a student last year.

This year, my VP registered our school for the Book It! program through Pizza Hut.  The purpose of this program is to help children develop a lifelong love of reading – awesome, right?!  The program runs from October 1st – March 31st.  Teachers set monthly classroom goals.  This can be whatever you choose…number of pages, number of minutes, how many books, etc!  Any students that reach the goal set for the month can redeem one coupon per month at any Pizza Hut restaurant for the duration of the program! How fun?! Who doesn’t love PIZZA?!

I cannot wait to introduce this program to my students!  We are starting to work on Daily 5 Read to Self very soon… perhaps reaching 2o minutes will be our first goal!

If you would like to learn more about the program or want to register your class check out their website here!

Happy Teaching y’all! Keep up the good work… you are amazing!

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