Literacy Week

Today was a busy day! Time flies so quickly when the days become packed with so many interesting activities. Since this week is literacy week within the school, 6 books were read to the students over the course of the day. We had a guest speaker come into the class who read some great books. The one book that really caught my eye and that was very engaging for the students was called, “The Book With No Pictures”. Although it had zero pictures for the students to look at, the students loved it! It incorporates a play on words and uses many silly, whacky, made-up words that the kids really enjoy. There is a lot an educator can do with this book while reading it. In this case, the speaker had the students repeat some of the silly words back to her. It was very playful and had a way of engaging the students. I love how every book brings something different and a new experience to the class. I read two books to the class today: “Giraffes Can’t Dance” and “What Does It Mean To Be Present?” These books are very different but have similarities as well. They both have great visuals and they both tell a great story with morals added within the text. I have realized that my favourite stories are the ones that teach the children something valuable. Children’s literature is so much more than just simply a book meant to entertain. Through books, children learn life lessons and how to become well-rounded individuals. In the books that I read today, the students learnt about being in the present moment and how to persevere even when others tell you that you can’t. These social and emotional learning books are so important to incorporate into the class because they teach the students so much about life. I am pleased to see how the new curriculum is working at incorporating more SEL because I think it is so important as educators to teach students about things that matter and help them build strategies so they can overcome anything. I think we have a responsibility to help mold our students into great citizens and teach them lifelong lessons that they can use outside of the classroom. It was also pajama day today which was fun to see the children participate in and be excited about it. After reading 6 books today, it was a great way to end literacy week. Some classes do not incorporate many books throughout their day, but I am glad to be a part of a class where literature is such an important part and books are used as an avenue to teach about anything.