I love lists. I make them, use them, and generally live by them.

It’s fitting then that I enjoyed reading a recent article by S. Rebecca Leigh on Choice Literacy about a poster liked called “Unlucky Arithmetic” which lists “13 Ways to Raise a Nonreader”. Using this poster as inspiration, Rebecca wrote her own list called “Unlucky Arithmetic: 13 Ways to Raise a Nonwriter”. As I was getting ready to print these out to display in my office, my friend Janet Pohl sent me a note about another list on NCTE.  “A Spellers Bill of Rights” is detailed in an article by Sandra Wilde which lists 9 “rights” students have with regard to spelling:

1. The right to express yourself in first-draft writing regardless of what words you do and don’t know how to spell.
2. The right to do a lot of reading, which is probably the greatest single factor in spelling acquisition.
3. The right to actively construct knowledge about the spelling system.
4. The right to developmentally appropriate education in spelling.
5. The right to learn that spelling does matter.
6. The right to know about and have available a lot of ways to come up with spellings (including just knowing how to spell the word).
7. The right to learn how to proofread.
8. The right to have spelling placed in its proper context as a small piece of the writing and language-learning process.
9. The right to be valued as a human being regardless of your spelling.

(From Primary Voices K-6, Nov. 1996, V.4, N.4)

These lists offer a another starting place for discussions with teachers, parents and even students about the rights and responsibilities of learners.

“In many ways, May and June echo the winter holiday season for families with school-aged children. There are gifts to buy, goodies to bake, relatives to include and entertain, and rehearsals and ceremonies to attend. All of this happens on top of our regular, already over-busy lives. If we are feeling stretched, it’s because we are!”- From Celebrating June: How to Enjoy Your Child’s End of Year Events

A few weeks ago I read several posts about the end of the year and summer learning ideas. The post above was from a parent’s perspective and reminded me that as an educator I need to remember my work is a partnership with parents.

Maybe there is a way for me to schedule end-of-the-year activities differently? Maybe there is a way for my school to make the end of the year celebratory, but not overwhelming? Maybe this parent is right- and offering the feelings of many?

My good friend Sarah Toa (Grade 1 Teacher- SAS- Pudong) has agreed to let me post for you the word-wall sheets she uses with her first graders in lieu of a traditional word wall. These tools are wonderful for emergent spellers. Sarah begins the year by putting several copies of the alphabet-chart at each table. Later, as children become more proficient spellers, Sarah adds a laminated word-chart to each table.

Another idea might be to provide each child with his own word chart to keep in his writing folder. Then, as the child comes across other words he frequently uses and needs to remember how to spell (for example, his brother’s name or the name of his city) you could write his important words directly on his word chart in permanent marker.

Sharing ideas like these keep us connected around the world. Do you have something to add?

Being a literacy coach this year has given me time to really dig into our big three: Reader’s Workshop, Writer’s Workshop, and Word Study. However, the most important work has been making time to meet with groups of teachers. This experience has been unlike any I’ve had previously as an educator. Having time to talk and reflect on my practice with other professionals has been rewarding, motivating and (dare I say it…) fun.

Not that finding the time has been easy.  I’m fortunate to have an administrator (and curriculum coordinators) who see the value in this teacher “intentional talk”.

Which is why I’ve proposed the following with the hope that we can build on this idea.

Collegial Conversations:

What is it?
A time for teachers to come together to talk about a topic for 30 minutes.

Goal of these conversations?
To generate discussion/healthy debate, to answer questions using the expertise we have on staff, to explore a new idea or strategy to use in our classrooms, to celebrate the important and fulfilling work we are doing to impact the lives of our youngest ACS students.

Who is invited?
Everyone! Each week an invitation will be sent out with the topic and time of the meeting included.

How do we make this valuable?
1. Participation is vital! If possible we would like to have at least 1 teacher present from each grade level. (The meetings times will fluctuate each week.) Having TAs cover classes so teachers can attend is important and supported.
2. Similarly, we need teachers to attend with good intentions and an open mind. These conversations are meant to be a safe place to talk and explore and learn with supportive colleagues.
3. Initially topics will be gathered from the staff; then as meetings progress, new topics and ideas will come up. Keeping the discussions timely and grounded in what we need will help sustain interest and make our work valuable.

**Did you know??? Regie Routman- literacy expert will not visit a school to offer PD unless a system like this is in place?