I consider myself a novice gardener. I started four or five years ago when the teacher who ran the garden club at my school moved to another school, and I realized that we needed someone to coordinate and continue the work she had started.
A fellow teacher and I worked to keep the momentum going, and I realized how amazing it is to plant and grow vegetables. This realization led me to take a look at my own very neglected yard, and I started the journey of learning how to plant and maintain a garden. This past summer as I wandered around my yard, thinking about where things should go, planting vegetables and flowers, and digging out goutweed and other invasive species, it felt akin to setting up a classroom.
My inexperience often means it takes me time to make gardening decisions: I have to really think about what I am doing and where things should go. As a seasoned teacher, my classroom setup is faster: I have years of experience knowing what works, how I might tweak things, and an understanding that the classroom will evolve over time. The school year is long, and how the space is used by students and teachers is dynamic.
I remember my first year with a classroom: I spent two weeks setting up. I put fadeproof paper with borders on every bulletin board, purchased lots of supplies at the teacher’s store that I never really used, and spent a great deal of time arranging posters and areas on bulletin boards. A few weeks into the school year, a school reorganization happened—I was moved into a different classroom and all of that work was lost. I should have spent that time hanging out in my backyard, enjoying the last gasps of summer!
Looking back, I’ve realized that whether you teach 6-year-olds or 13-year-olds, setting up a room isn’t about filling empty wall space—it’s about deliberately preparing the ground for your students to take ownership.
Here is the essential setup to focus on before day one:
Desk Layout and Learning Zones: Set up desks as well as areas of the classroom where different types of learning can occur (e.g., reading area and books, building area, games, math manipulatives). A break spot for emotional self regulation can also be very helpful.
Material Management: Label student materials (e.g., lockers, duotangs/notebooks). Determine a plan and space for students to access school supplies such as pencils, rulers, scissors, glue sticks, and markers.
Anchor Walls (Not Decor): Keep bulletin boards mostly bare. Leave room to co-create class agreements, anchor charts, and display student work as the year unfolds. Organize a space for Jobs, and determine what those jobs are.
Visual Routines: Draft a daily schedule and calendar. Using green painter’s tape directly on a board creates clean grids that keep both you and students grounded. Make daily, weekly, and monthly routines visible and editable.
First-Week Foundations: Plan the initial community-building routines and draft your day-one home communication. If you have time, set up a parent/guardian communication binder and an Occasional Teacher binder.
Think deliberately about the spaces you want, and remember that the classroom environment should be developed collaboratively with the students. A conversation about classroom agreements and learning starts on the first day and continues throughout the year, and so the walls and spaces of the classroom should reflect the students’ work and ideas. Like a garden, the students will change and grow, and the classroom space should reflect that transformation over time.
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Beauty and Joy in Mathematics
As a student, I would venture to say that math was felt very different. There were a lot of equations and my teacher would write examples on the board to help us to find the right answer to the problems. I could follow along with the examples and formulas and felt confident in completing my homework and worksheets.
As an adult in university, I had a really great professor. He was so passionate about mathematics and often talked about the “beauty” of math. Things shifted for me as we spent a lot of time trying different strategies to get the right answers. This was the beauty my professor kept talking about! Thinking about problems and trying out new ideas for solutions.
Fast forward a few more years and as a teacher candidate, I was now responsible for helping students to understand math. This was a catalyst for me! I wanted my students to have amazing math experiences that would empower them to become mathematicians. It seemed like some things never changed; I was a math student again, in a different way this time. I had a wonderful professor while studying my Bachelor of Education. His classes were all hands on; there were visuals and there were experiences and he chatted with us about our thinking and learning. He made space for us to explore, to question, to articulate what we saw and thought and wondered about.
Math continued to be beautiful as I used representations and manipulatives. Mathematics lived here between what I saw and experienced in magnitude and measurement and what I wrote down on the page. It wasn’t just magic or following examples, it was a language that helped me to communicate what I was doing and what I saw happening.
In those early days of my career, I engaged in a lot professional learning opportunities including co-planning and co-teaching with colleagues, watching videos of classrooms, reading research and new resources, and even observed some amazing teacher mentors doing amazing math. I earned a Math Specialist as an AQ through ETFO and it was such an inspirational experience to engage in thinking about building my knowledge as a math teacher. Teaching math was was exciting and a space where my teacher colleagues and I found joy.
At this stage of my math journey, I still find math beautiful, but also enjoy a sense of curiosity and wonder. When I’m planning and reading the curriculum expectations, I always make sure to click on the teacher supports found under the specific expectations. The examples show the kinds of things students might write to demonstrate their thinking and the manipulatives they might use to represent their ideas. I take my time with the key concepts too; they help me deepen my own understanding of the math I want students to explore. The sample tasks are a great tool as well. They paint a picture of what the learning experience could look like in the classroom and spark ideas for how I can frame those moments so students have the chance to experience math in a way that leads them to make sense of the mathematics. All of these supports are there to help math feel vibrant and alive.
While I’m not a mathematician like Sophie Germain or Maryam Mirzakhani, I find beauty and wonder in math. Of all possibilities, this journey has led me to becoming a math teacher and maybe that’s the kind of mathematician that students need.
Taking a Break
There is a moment in the classroom when the students are curious. You’ve probably noticed this moment because it changes the energy of the entire room. There’s a certain buzz of anticipation; maybe it’s the moment when they are waiting to see what happens next in a science experiment or listening for the next exciting part in the shared reading. It’s the moment of pure engagement.
On the other hand, there are other moments when it seems like the students feel disengaged. The classroom feels sleepy and dull, the students are clearly disinterested. I’m sure you’ve felt that moment, too. The vibe in the room feels like I’m putting on a performance and getting a one star review.
It’s at these moments that I recognize we need to take a break; we need something to re-energize our systems and get us back on track. Over my years in teaching, I’ve learned the importance of breaks. As a student, I can remember many moments of just listening to information or sitting and working for (what felt like) hours and eventually being unable to absorb any more information. My students feel the same way sometimes! I’m not always the best ‘edutainer’ and sometimes I’m focussed on getting stuff done, but deep down I know that if the students are hitting a plateau then they are no longer in a place of learning.
This is a great opportunity to take a break! Reading the body language and emotions of students also means that we can respond to them. If you’re feeling the energy start to dip or frustration start to grow, consider taking a break to bring the students back to a learning stance. I know that when I’ve spent a lot of time in heavy thinking, a break is always welcome. While there are many different kinds of breaks to offer, there are a few of my stand by favourites that can easily be incorporated into the classroom.
Movement Breaks
Have a class that likes to get up a move? A movement break is a great body break that helps students to move their bodies and have a little fun. This could look like a dance break. Have your students choose a few of their favourite songs and have a moment of music and fun! You might choose a movement break that gets them to use their imaginations, such as move around the room like you’re at 1.5 speed or 0.5 speed. I’ve even had students share their own favourite movement break with me, whether it’s Simon Says or Silent Ball, honouring student voice is a great way to let them be creative and feel heard.
Talking Activities
I love a good moment to chat with my friends. You might try some talking breaks that incorporate movement, such as Would You Rather where students move to one side or another when making a decision and share their ideas with their peers. Another fun talking break we use is Mingling to Music; students move about the room to music and when the music stops they must discuss a question or statement with a friend standing close to them. You might even ask students to create questions or topics that they would like to discuss with their peers. You will likely find out some cool things about the students’ interests!
Brain Teasers
Not all breaks need to involve movement, sometimes a quick brain teaser or game will do the trick. A fun strategy game we play are counting games, such as Count To Ten, where students can strategize how to eliminate their friends from the game. One year my students loved a game we called Top Ten where we would try to guess the Top Ten of something, such as Top Ten Disney Movies, or Top Ten Animals You Would Find on a Farm. I’d Google the answers beforehand and, in teams, the students would try to guess the answers on the top ten list. I learned a lot about what my students liked that year because they all wanted to submit their top ten subjects which ranged from baseball teams to R&B artists.
In the rush to get through the lesson plan, these breaks might feel like time away from learning, but they’re actually part of the learning. I consider them an investment that helps students return to engagement, that energy we all feel when the room suddenly comes alive again. In all honesty, they help me return to that place too. We all benefit from a break when tasks feel heavy or our thoughts feel sluggish. Our brains need variety, our bodies need movement, and all of us need moments of connection and play.
When the room feels heavy or the energy dips, this is an opportunity to understand more about my students. An invitation and a reminder that we are building a learning community together and these fun activities can help us to learn about one another and share some smiles. When we honour these moments, we make space for the magic to return. And that’s when the real learning begins.
Check out these links to some of the games in the post:
Silent Ball: https://www.playworks.org/game-library/silent-ball/
Simon Says: https://www.playworks.org/game-library/simon-says/
Count To Ten: https://greatcampgames.ca/casual-games/ten/
Mingling to Music: https://www.eleducation.org/curriculum/protocols/musical-mingle/
Would You Rather: https://www.weareteachers.com/would-you-rather-scenarios-elementary/
Structured Literacy Shift Series: Final Thoughts
Over the past year I have been reflecting on my shifts in practice in relation to my literacy practice. You can see them all below:
- Structured Literacy Shift # 1 – Explicit Instruction
- Structured Literacy Shift # 2 – Morphology Instruction
- Structured Literacy Shift # 3 – Progress Monitoring
- Structured Literacy Shift # 4 – Positive Self-Talk
- Structured Literacy Shift # 5 – Oral Reading Fluency
- Structured Literacy Shift # 6 – Vocabulary Instruction
- Structured Literacy Shift # 7 – Structured Read Alouds
There have been many more shifts, as I continue to learn about better and best practices. However I named these shifts because they are the ones that stayed in my practice in lasting ways and had a significant impact on student outcomes. Each shift was not an add on, but rather a better understanding that literacy development extend beyond phonics instruction to include other areas such as reading comprehension, vocabulary, morphology, writing.
What kept me motivated was the way my students decoded unfamiliar words with more confidence. I heard it in their dialogue and use of language during discussions. I noticed it when they make connections across texts and ideas. These were not isolated successes. This was the result of sustained, intentional shifts in instruction.
Through these shifts, I learned that meaningful change in literacy instruction (or any practice for that matter) is not about constantly adding something new. It is about strengthening and refining what works. It will not work well the first time (and most of the time quite frankly, it did not). Engaging in critical dialogue with peers, collaborating with colleagues and experts, and reflecting on assessment data helped me to refine these practices over time.
These shifts are not an endpoint. They are a foundation that I will keep refining. I know there will always be more to learn, more to refine, and more to shift. But perhaps the more important question is not what else we can add, but what we are willing to stay with long enough to see real change?
Community
Every year I start in my garden just a little bit later than the year before, not on purpose, but because May and June are so busy as a teacher. “Professional” gardeners on social media share helpful advice – from when to plant to when to close down the garden to what grows best in different light, soil, and other conditions. Sometimes I’m even able to follow these best practices!
But my favourite ‘professionals’ are the real people in my circle. My friends, with whom I swap stories when they come for a visit. My neighbours, when we theorize about why we have the same plant but mine grows a lot bigger and wider while hers is a more manageable size. These conversations, as “amateur” gardeners, are as much about sharing as they are about gardening. We try new strategies when we are rooting plants, move our leafy friends to different windows or places in the garden and chat about the differences we see in their growth and thriving. We’re trying new things, learning, sharing our results (for better or worse!) and thinking through challenges together. It’s like ongoing science experiments that we partake in and share the results of in a never ending science fair.
Our staff at school feels like the same kind of community. Colleagues come together in small but meaningful ways. Maybe it’s the conversation in the hallway, sharing strategies and resources that we felt worked well and ones where I need a little advice. It can be the scheduled prep time where we bring in student work and look at it together. Sometimes it’s sharing the frustration when things didn’t go as planned and brainstorming together for a solution or a little shift that might make the difference. Every story about someone else’s classroom becomes a little cutting I can root in my own teaching.
New ideas and resources take time to implement as we adjust, experiment, and observe together. I rarely teach a new lesson perfectly the first time. It can take awhile to work up to best practices, but it’s my colleagues that offer advice, and share their own stumbles that inspire me to keep trying. In teaching, as in gardening, there’s a joy in trying something new and seeing what happens. There’s comfort in knowing that I’m not on this learning journey alone. Just like gardening, teaching is ongoing, collaborative work where the results are never final, but always full of possibility.
Each spring, Annie starts her seeds indoors quite early and always saves some to share with us. Mal builds new structures and garden boxes and shows me her newest creations. Sandy always reminds me to just enjoy playing in the dirt and not to worry about perfection. I’m always late to the garden centres but it gives me the opportunity to get the best deals and share or swap what I find. My busiest time of year, as a teacher, falls during the optimum planting months, hence why I’m usually late to the party. Yet there’s no judgement from my little circle of gardeners, only support for my imperfect-but-always-trying practice. And through their encouragement, their joy, and their acceptance I’m reminded that growth always finds its way in community.
Good at math?
I can’t tell you how many times in my career I’ve heard students share with me “I’m not good at math!”. This often comes out of frustration when a task is challenging, students feel pressure or compare their performance to others. Math confidence is so important to foster as it’s tied to belonging, self-efficacy, and achievement.
This year my school has been focused on improving students’ experiences in math, and helping them see themselves as successful mathematicians. In the fall, we collected some data to assess how students felt about math in different divisions. We found that as students moved into the junior and intermediate grades, their beliefs about themselves as mathematicians often shifted from positive to negative. It was a powerful reminder that students do not just learn math content over time; they also develop beliefs about whether math is ‘for them’.
As a school team, we decided to become more intentional about how we end each math lesson, whether it’s a 3-part lesson or a purposeful practice. At the end of each lesson, we now include a verbal self-assessment checklist. For example, students might hold up 5 fingers, and put a finger down if they tried more than one strategy, or used math talk, etc. This small routine gives students a chance to reflect on their learning, notice the actions that support mathematicians.
I have also been trying to make math feel more positive in my own classroom. I have found that when I normalize mistakes, students are more willing to take risks. I also praise perseverance, strategy use, and mathematical thinking rather than only correct answers. I also incorporate a self-assessment during exit tickets, so students can name how they are feeling about the learning. When students feel seen and supported, they are more likely to participate and try again.
“I’m not good at math” is not a complete sentence in our classroom anymore. With the right structures, encouragement, and opportunities to reflect, students are beginning to extend the phrase “I am not good at math but or and… I can persevere and try different strategies.” When students begin to see themselves as capable thinkers, their relationship with math starts to change.
How do you respond when students say, “I’m not good at math!”?
Rethinking Invitations in the 2026 Kindergarten Curriculum
Many of us are probably wondering what the new Ontario Kindergarten Curriculum will look like in classrooms that have embraced play-based learning for so many years. How will play fit into our teaching now that the curriculum places a stronger emphasis on structured literacy and numeracy?
The most substantive change in the 2026 Kindergarten Curriculum is the focus on evidence-based systematic and explicit instruction in foundational language and mathematics. However, I don’t see this as a rejection of the 2016 Kindergarten Program. Instead, I see it as an iteration that builds on what we have already been doing while placing a stronger emphasis on intentionally teaching foundational knowledge and skills.
For me, this means that play is not something we move away from. Instead, it is something we become even more intentional about. The curriculum recognizes three instructional approaches: evidence-based systematic and explicit instruction, student-centred play, and inquiry-based learning. As educators, we determine which approach, or combination of approaches, will be most effective when planning responsive and inclusive Kindergarten programs.
One of the things I have always loved about teaching kindergarten is creating simple invitations to play. There was something joyful about setting up materials with intention before students arrived and then watching their curiosity lead them.
With the new curriculum, those invitations still have an important place in our classrooms. Rather than thinking that every learning experience needs to begin with an invitation or that every experience needs to begin with direct instruction, we can think more intentionally about the learning goal and which instructional approach will best support it. Sometimes that may mean explicitly teaching a skill first and then providing opportunities for children to practise and apply it through play. At other times, play or inquiry may be the starting point that allows us to observe children’s thinking and determine what they are ready to learn next. This balance is what I find most exciting.
Outdoor learning continues to be one of my favourite places for this to happen. It is a powerful environment where children can build on classroom learning while developing oral language, early reading, number sense, and problem-solving in authentic and meaningful ways.
Let’s imagine that you have just finished teaching a lesson on one-to-one correspondence. Rather than moving to a tabletop activity or a worksheet, students head outside to an invitation filled with pinecones, sticks, and stones. Suddenly, those natural materials become tools for counting with accuracy, comparing quantities, making sets, creating patterns, and talking about their mathematical thinking. The same materials can also become a follow-up to a literacy lesson where students describe, label, sequence events, and build their oral language and vocabulary.
In this example, the play experience is not replacing explicit instruction. Instead, it provides children with an opportunity to practise and apply the knowledge and skills they have been taught in a meaningful context. The learning is intentionally connected to the curriculum and to the learning that came before it, while still allowing children the freedom to explore, problem-solve, communicate, and make choices within their play.
The other day, while spending time outdoors with a group of kindergarten students, we started talking about the hot weather and all the ways we like to stay cool. It immediately brought back memories of some of my favourite outdoor invitations. It also made me realize that many of these experiences fit beautifully within the new curriculum with just a slight shift in our planning.
One outdoor setup that became a class favourite was a fence music wall made from old pots, pans, lids, and wooden spoons. Students gathered to explore sounds and rhythms, and every group used it differently. Some created songs, others made repeating rhythm patterns, and a few worked together to put on their own performances.
Now, we might explicitly teach students to hear and produce syllables, clap simple rhythm patterns, or identify beginning sounds in words and then provide opportunities for students to practise these skills through play. To further build on the connection between the lesson and the play, we could add word cards to the music wall using words from our explicit instruction. Students can clap the syllables in each word, identify beginning sounds, read familiar words, or use the cards as they create chants and rhythms. Once outdoors, students can continue practising those same skills by experimenting with rhythm, creating rhymes, and sharing ideas with one another. The invitation becomes a meaningful way to reinforce foundational literacy skills while keeping the joy and agency of play at the centre.
Another favourite was our PVC waterfall wall attached to the fence. Equipped with funnels, tubing, cups, and containers, children spent long stretches of time testing ideas, changing the flow of water, and solving problems together.
Following explicit instruction on comparing capacity or using mathematical language such as full, empty, more, less, and equal, we can provide opportunities for children to practise those concepts in a hands-on way outdoors. They can estimate, compare, measure, test predictions, and explain their thinking as they work together. In this way, the play experience reinforces mathematical language and concepts while giving children opportunities to apply what they have learned in a meaningful and engaging context.
There are so many other outdoor invitations that can be adapted just as easily.
Looking back, I realize that invitations to play have always been about creating meaningful opportunities for children to explore and make sense of the world around them. That hasn’t changed.
What has changed is the way we may think about the relationship between explicit instruction, play, and inquiry. The 2026 Kindergarten Curriculum does not mean that we need to choose between explicit instruction and play-based learning. Instead, it asks us to be intentional about how and when we use different instructional approaches to support children’s learning.
If anything, the new Kindergarten Curriculum reminds us that explicit instruction and purposeful play can work beautifully together. When we intentionally teach foundational skills and then provide engaging opportunities to practise and apply them through play, we create learning experiences that are both purposeful and joyful. The goal is not to replace play with explicit instruction, but to create a thoughtful balance where children receive the instruction they need while still having meaningful opportunities to explore, experiment, communicate, problem-solve, and learn through play.
The Joys of Co-Teaching: Part 2
Hello Fellow Travellers,
In response to Part 1 of this conversation, a collaborative thought partner asked me some key questions. From those questions, I have synthesized the gist for us to think through and respond here:
- As some of our members have not had the chance to have co-teaching opportunities, what would you say to those who wonder how realistic these opportunities are for them?
- How can we support early career teachers who may not know about how they can do this?
- What if an instructional coach or consultant does not offer? How can they look into this?
One Size Does Not Fit All
I do understand that everyone is not ready to reach out to someone within the school or outside the school. Some members may be unaware of the possibilities and promise in this practical strategy–and the many benefits of a co-modelled pedagogical partnership.
Look around you and take small steps.
Follow someone’s work on social media if you prefer that path.
First Things First
For new teachers, it is important to think about planning or examining curriculum expectations as well as assessment practices. For that ETFO has many easily accessible resources on the Members site. Register and login to access them.
Sometimes, it is a matter of reaching out to colleagues you meet at professional learning workshops in your school district or those you may attend with ETFO – ask to partner because these collaborations do not always germinate in one work site as well when they thrive across different locations the learning is richer because we can learn from one another.
Please reach out, as I like hearing from you.
With You, In Solidarity.
Rashmee Karnad-Jani
The Joys of Co-Teaching: A Grade 7 Experience (Part 1)
What Do You Value Most?
In the work that we do as ETFO members, many of us know and speak about the things we value most. Collaborative colleagueship, connections with families and time spent with students on a daily basis are the three things that matter a lot to me. There are others but I shall speak about them at another time.
Collaborative Colleagueship
I have listed this aspect at the beginning because without this key ingredient, the other two do not quite work out the way one would like. Although we may be identically credentialed as Ontario Certified Teachers, we may have more in common with some colleagues in terms of beliefs, interests, advocacy practices and so on. It is important, therefore, to listen and be present because even when people may have very different interests, our professional standpoints may align and lead to a long and productive working relationship. Therefore, an open mind and a learning stance are key.
Connections With Families
Even though right now, I am not in direct contact with families the same way as I was when I was a school-based teacher, I am always delighted when I attend school events, awards ceremonies, graduation or meetings with families because there are multiple opportunities to learn from people who know our students well. That said, I am delighted that in September, I am going back to a school-based assignment as a Special Education Resource Teacher or SERT.
Time Spent with Students
This is the heartbeat of the work that you and I do, isn’t it?
In the May-June period, I was invited to co-teach with a colleague and it was a Grade 7 classroom, the same spot where I started my career over two decades ago. I was excited and curious whether things have changed a lot in the teacher-student relationship since 2015, because that was the year I moved to teach Kindergarten to Grade 3 and then moved on to teach Grades 3-4.
Joining A Conversation
Co-teaching is like joining a conversation. It is not about going in with “here’s what I know” but asking “what are you working on and how can I walk with you?” In collaborating with my colleague at this school, I learned that the students had been engaged in rich learning experiences and were at the stage of their learning where they were working on products such as videos and other presentation forms to showcase their understanding. They were writing biographies. Their guiding question was “Who Deserves a Biography?”
Who Are You?
It is amazing how all students may have questions but whether they ask them directly or not is largely based on their age-grade-comfort level as well as other factors.
In younger grades, there is never any qualm about asking who I am and what my favorite colour or ice cream flavour is.
In Grade 7, there is a distance, smiles and nods but no direct questions yet. So what do I do?
I Invite Questions
I say to students, “I am a visitor in your classroom and while your teacher has introduced me by name, I am sure you have other things you are wondering about. Please ask me one question per table group and we will go around one more time if you want to ask more.” I also let them know that I shall answer the questions the next time I visit the class so as not to take up too much of their class time that day. After some consultation, the students come up with questions.
Neither my colleague nor I had to re-direct any questions because the students in all the classes where I have done this work keep their norms of engagement in mind it appears.
The Questions
These last two questions were greeted by sharp intake of breath by some students. My colleague and I discussed later that in our next co-teaching visit, I would begin there. |
Reading Together
Remember this book I had spoken about in an earlier conversation with you? This copy was available in the classroom although I had brought my own.
I read it to the Grade 7 class and promised to come back when their teacher and I coordinate time to co-teach. I thanked them for welcoming me.
Heartfelt Thanks
I am aware that everyone does not get such opportunities.
I am therefore deeply grateful when colleagues make room, pull up a chair, share their vision for their students’ learning. When we collaborate this way, it lets me see that these realities are very much present and possible in the brick and mortar buildings in which we do our work and if the conditions do not allow for this to happen yet, there are partnership possibilities across work sites.
We do find our people. We just have to show up and tune in.
With You, In Solidarity
Rashmee Karnad-Jani
Structured Literacy Shift # 7 – Structured Read Alouds
In the beginning of my career, read alouds used to be a one-time event. To be quite honest, not much planning went into it, besides ensuring it connects with current learning goals. However, in recent years, I have changed my approach. Read alouds are now more purposeful, and usually a more structured lesson. To read about my other shifts, see below:
- Structured Literacy Shift # 1 – Explicit Instruction
- Structured Literacy Shift # 2 – Morphology Instruction
- Structured Literacy Shift # 3 – Progress Monitoring
- Structured Literacy Shift # 4 – Positive Self-Talk
- Structured Literacy Shift # 5 – Oral Reading Fluency
- Structured Literacy Shift # 6 – Vocabulary Instruction
Structured read-alouds made me more intentional with how I introduce texts in my classroom community. Rather than reading it once and moving on, I return to the same text with a clear purpose each day. This allows students to experience the text in different ways and at different depths.
- Day 1: Read for pleasure; It is often a shared starting point, where students can simply listen, enjoy, and begin to connect with the story. I often introduce the author, ask some pre-reading, during reading and post-reading questions orally with the students to help build understanding.
- Day 2-3: Vocabulary; I explicitly introduce Tier 2 vocabulary and re-read the text. Students make meaning together through discussion, and making real-life connections. This is often followed up by an “exit ticket” after some collaborative work, so I can assess understanding.
- Day 4-5: Knowledge building/comprehension tasks: By this point, students are ready to think more deeply about the message, the characters, or the author’s purpose. The students often engage in some collaborative work around these tasks.
Afterwards, I may introduce other texts or media related to the same message or learning, even if it is not a multi-day read-aloud. This helps extend thinking and build connections across texts and ideas (also known as text sets).
This shift showed me that understanding does not happen all at once. It grows through revisiting, conversation, and time. When I stay with a text longer, my students have more opportunities to think deeply, speak confidently, and notice more of the author’s message.
Structured read-alouds have helped me see that depth matters more than speed. By giving a text time, I am also giving my students time, and that time makes the learning stronger. This is equitable practice, as it supports all learners.
I highly recommend “Ramped-Up Read Aloud” by Maria Walther to deepen your understanding of structured read alouds further!