Teacher Tales #50 – SEL, Impact and the Power of Read Alouds: Christine, elementary teacher and children’s book author
In this episode, we have a delightful chat with Christine about her love of animals, reading and the impact her life experiences had on becoming the teacher, and now author, she is for children. Like many children we have in our classrooms, Christine was shy as a child and did not feel comfortable being “in the spotlight”. So, as a teacher, she decided to do “Read Alouds” with her students in which every student had a choice to join in or not. She understood the impact that giving students choice to experience real world, personalized and meaningful connections were to hook and empower student learning, especially with reading. We talk about how many reading programs today are too impersonal and computerized and don’t really give our students or their teachers the choice to follow their own interests, preferences and heartfelt joy of reading and learning. However, Christine shared with us how we can still be creative, be individual and at the same time cover the standards and academic expectations for the most impact and successful outcomes. You will be inspired by Christine and want to learn more about how she has found another path to be of service to the profession, to give back and to make a difference in the lives of children. If you want to learn more about Christine and her services, you can check out her website here and purchase her book, Elephant Beach, here. Stay tuned for her elephant series to be released as well as her book on how to help children process grief. Thank you, Christine!