Nivedita Mukerjee
Education consultancy for parents and schools
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #186, 30th January 2024
Play is hard work, and so is learning. Why is it so difficult to understand for parents and students that learning to play and learning to learn are both hard. Play is not a party, and neither is learning. The only party is the party. So if you are teaching in a school that has play-based pedagogy, or you are sending your child to a school with play-based pedagogy, it is still hard work. Not rote, not chalk and talk would mean teachers are putting in so much more effort to make it fun and engaging for students, ensuring that concepts are well entrenched, checking whether each individual child is learning at their pace, and more.
National Education Policy, National Curriculum Framework, Cambridge curriculum, International Baccalaureate, CBSE, ICSE, and State boards, all provide syllabus content and guidelines while the school works on a curriculum based on that along with a pedagogy that is best suited to their school vision, teacher training, and student needs. Many roads lead to being a successful student, hard work being an essential element of this journey.
Sure, go ahead and use Generative AI for smart work but continue alongside real efforts and hard work to build the life skill of persevering through the challenges of life and learning.
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Two Thoughts of the Week
“Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose.” —G.K. Nielson
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” —Pelé
One Video of the Week
Jerry Lee’s TEDx talk, “The Luckiest Man,” tells the story of his journey from growing up in a low-income household to earning $200,000 per year at age 24. Jerry discusses three moments in his life that he considers to be his luckiest and explains that his success was not achieved through shortcuts. He emphasizes the importance of investing time and effort into one’s goals.
The talk includes anecdotes about Jerry’s experiences in college, including applying for work-study jobs and internships. Jerry is the COO & Co-Founder of Wonsulting and an ex-Senior Strategy & Operations Manager at Google & used to lead Product Strategy at Lucid. After graduating from Babson, Jerry was hired as the youngest analyst in his organization by being promoted multiple times in his first 2 years. After he left Google, he was the youngest person to lead a strategy team at Lucid.
Jerry started Wonsulting to help millions around the world land their dream jobs. Through his work, he’s spoken at 250+ events & amassed 1.3+ Million followers across LinkedIn, TikTok & Instagram and has reached 200M+ jobseekers globally. In addition, his work has been featured on Forbes, Newsweek, Business Insider, Yahoo! News, LinkedIn & elected as the 2020 LinkedIn Top Voice for Tech & Forbes 30 under 30.
Guest Expert of the Week
Reading with Ms. Meenu
Wide Range of Reading Opportunities:
The more students read the more they learn. They learn about our world, consider new perspectives, and gain insights. We want our proficient readers to spend time reading a variety of texts independently, we can provide learning opportunities through read-aloud, shared reading, and audiobooks. Technology, such as audiobooks, allows older students who continue to struggle to access grade-level content and sophisticated vocabulary.
We can scaffold complex text for students by using structured shared reading strategies such as echo reading, choral reading, and buddy reading, allowing them to examine texts more closely and joyfully with teacher support. They allow students to practice decoding and fluency skills read for meaning, connect background knowledge and new information, and improve their vocabulary.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
And Finally…
Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #185, 23rd January 2024
This year, India marks the 75th Republic Day on 26th January 2024. How do you think we have done so far? What do you think of our education system dear teachers, students, and parents? How do you see us going forward? What do our students need? What does the future of India need? What do you understand by Democracy – at home, in school, and in the country? Is there a place for conflict, struggle, and change? after all, we are one of the largest democracies and democracy is a verb, not a noun.
It does not exist unless we participate, discuss, and do. Let us enjoy our democracy and never take it for granted. Happy Republic Day.
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Two Thoughts of the Week
“A government of laws, and not of men.”
—John Adams
“Prosperity or egalitarianism—you have to choose. I favor freedom—you never achieve real equality anyway: you simply sacrifice prosperity for an illusion.”
—Mario Vargas Llosa
One Video of the Week
Today, Hungary is in the gray zone between a dictatorship and a democracy,” says activist Tessza Udvarhelyi. “This did not happen overnight.” In a rousing talk, she reminds us just how close any country can come to authoritarianism — and offers on-the-ground lessons for how to keep democracy alive through focus, determination and imagination.
Guest Expert of the Week
Reading with Ms. Meenu
Give Rich Read-Alouds
Rich read-alouds are essential in building comprehension. Select complex texts above a student’s current grade level to build oral language skills, as well as their knowledge and vocabulary introduce them to new books, favorite books, classic literature, and high-quality informational texts in a variety of genres and by a variety of authors. Students need to experience different genres of books that represent a variety of subject backgrounds. Choosing texts with rich ideas and sophisticated themes can help students build world and word knowledge to support future reading.
Reading at home: Tips for Parents
1. Find a consistent time to read.
2. Sit next to your child and give your undivided attention.
3. Use a pencil to point to the words. You can point above the words while the child uses a finger to point below them.
4. If your child struggles to read a word, point to the part she or he misses the sound. Then have your child re-blend the word.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
And Finally…
Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #184, 16th January 2024
We have been having holidays, festivals, celebrations, and thus rituals. The start of the new year has brought my thoughts to – What is a ritual? Do you recognize the rituals you have in your classroom? in your school? in your family? or in the society you live in? Are they elevating your energy and bringing together the people you are practicing your ritual with and leading to a positive outcome? or are these rituals taking away from your intended outcome? How does having a ritual in a group help in psychological anchoring in a changing world? Do rituals unite or divide?
What is the benefit of routine and ritual in individual, family, community, and nation’s journey? Do we need to create some, review others, reject some, respect others’ rituals, or judge them? What are your thoughts about rituals? Perhaps time to think, and discuss with your friends/family/fellow educators and your classroom students. Here are some ideas to get you started.
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One Video of the Week
What is a ritual, and what is its impact in today’s society? “What isn’t a ritual?” asks Michael Norton in this fascinating talk about the role that ritual continues to play in our lives.
Guest Expert of the Week
Reading with Ms. Meenu
Neurological Impress Method to enhance the reading levels:
This method was introduced by Heckelman in 1969 and research has found it to be effective in developing fluency. Don’t be alarmed by the technical name. The Neurological Impress Method is simply alarmed by the technical name. The Neurological Impress Method is simply a form of paired reading where the teacher and student read the text aloud at the same time. The teacher should read slightly faster and louder than the student typically reads, while student and teacher track the text with a finger. During small group time, as I listen to individual students read, I might say, “Now let’s read this next page together. Try to keep your voice with mine.” It is very useful for students who need a little boost in their reading rate and prosody.
Advantage of Whole-Group Reading:
· There are many ways to address fluency in your whole-group instruction.
· You can:
· Read aloud a text, modeling appropriate pacing and prosody, while students follow along with a finger on their own copy.
· Do close reading, where you pause at words you want students to read and they read the word.
· Do choral reading, where you and students read aloud in unison.
· Do echo reading, where you read a short section of the text first (a phrase or sentence) and students repeat it. I find that beginning readers, especially, benefit from this.
All of these techniques are great ways to scaffold instruction, which is necessary when we read more complex text.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
And Finally…
Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #183, 9th January 2024
How is your, your child’s/ your student’s relationship to their cell phone? is it a tool, a device, or an attachment you/they can’t do without. Do you/they use it for learning something? finding something? connecting with someone? getting the work done? or is it the first and the last thing you/they look at when you/they go to sleep and wake up? Do you/they go for a walk anytime without your cell phone? or have an uninterrupted conversation without notification pinging your/their attention? When does it become an addiction that comes in your way of functioning instead of being an aid?
It is 2024, a brand new year has just begun. Let us do a reality check on our relationship with the phone.
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Two Thoughts of the Week
“Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party pooper of our lives. It interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a daydream, to imagine something wonderful, because we’re too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back to the office on the cell phone.”- Steven Spielberg
“Would I buy a cell phone for my 12-year-old?… No. I should have closer control over my child than that. He really shouldn’t be in places where he needs to contact me by cell. ” – Stephen Baker
One Video of the Week
Tanner has a comedic and uncanny way of noticing everyday events. He draws people in while entertaining them about his personal experiences pertaining to social interactions and common cell phone usage amongst the youth of today. Tanner Welton is a grade 8 student from the Langley, British Columbia. He enjoys public speaking, hockey, drama the outdoors and socializing with friends. He is a very social kid who takes a keen interest in people. He is very personable and charismatic. He notices the more subtle ways people interact and loves to evaluate these relationships and share stories.
He is empathic and caring towards others and notices when others feel sad, lonely or not accepted in groups. He wants all to be accepted and cared for and strives for fairness and understanding in the world. He has learned to be resilient as he faces his own daily challenges and is learning to overcome obstacles and see the light in his future.
Guest Expert of the Week
Reading with Ms. Meenu
Transition Out of Decodables:
Decodable texts are like training wheels: Kids need them for only a short time. The goal is to transition away from them as soon as the child is ready. They are just a stepping stone for sure. Once students have a strong phonics base and no guessing habit, move them into authentic texts (i.e. trade books).
The percentage of decodable words in books should vary so you can gradually transition your students to trade books. Some books are highly decodable, containing at least 90 percent of words with sound-spelling correspondences that the students have learned. Other books are less decodable, containing closer to 75-80 percent. Having a range enables students to gradually move from books with a higher decodability percentage to books with a lower decodability percentage and then to authentic text. It ensures a smooth transition and gives me confidence that each student is ready to attack more difficult texts without relying on cueing strategies.
What to look for in a decodable book series:
· The series follows a logical scope and sequence that progresses from simple to complex phonics skills.
· Each book has plenty of words that follow the target skill.
· Each book has a limited number of irregular words.
· Each book’s language and storyline make sense.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
And Finally…
Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #182, 2nd January 2024
You can wish the universe to conspire with you to achieve or goals, your wish to be fulfilled. Nothing wrong with that. But it would remain in the realm of positive thinking and may not move into possibility until there is an action plan attached to it.
Happy New Year dear educators, students, and parents. Have a super 2024, manifesting your wishes by setting goals and creating action plans for achieving the same. Here are a few tips that might nudge you along the way.
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Two Thoughts of the Week
“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”Confucius
“Action expresses priorities. “Mahatma Gandhi
One Video of the Week
Amara Leggett is an accomplished 16-year-old who has already graduated from both New Albany High School and Columbus State Community College.
Her talk centers around how to form a plan that allows you to do what at first seemed unthinkable, which for her meant graduating from high school and college simultaneously. Amara is an accomplished 16 year old – she has already graduated from both New Albany High School and Columbus State Community College. She will discuss how to form a plan that allows you to do what at first seemed unthinkable, which for her meant graduating from high school and college simultaneously.
Guest Expert of the Week
Reading with Ms. Meenu
Use Decodable Texts Instead of Predictable Texts with Beginning Readers:
Predictable texts are widely used by beginning readers. But I suggest replacing them with decodable texts. I’m not talking about beautiful authentic books such as The Napping House and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I’m talking about those contrived, early readers with repetitive language such as “We cleaned the garage. We cleaned the house. We cleaned the garage. We cleaned the house. We cleaned the school and so forth. Those books are written from the standpoint that reading is a natural process, and the best way to teach it is by encouraging students to memorize words and use pictures to identify words. But that is not how reading works. The only way for beginning readers to get through those texts is by memorizing the patterns or using the three cueing strategies I discouraged in Move 3. But that is not reading! It is memorizing and guessing. It gives the illusion of reading but creates damaging habits that can be tough to break.
Three Purposes of Decodable Texts:
1. Support readers in word identification.
2. Allow readers to apply what they’ve learned from your phonics lessons.
3. Direct the reader’s attention to the letters and sounds.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
And Finally…
Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #181, 26th December 2023
Reflecting on the year gone by. Looking forward to the year coming ahead. Picking out the aspects of our teaching-learning-living moments we enjoyed with our children/students. Activities that we want to do more of with our students and fellow teachers. Activities that gave us the energy. Actions that we did to give others around us positive strokes and inspiration to carry on with joy and vigor. What comes to your mind when you think of it? Want a structure for yourself your family or your students? here are a few ideas. Hope you find them interesting and useful.
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So, if you like my content, please subscribe to it by putting in your email ID here.
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Two Thoughts of the Week
We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.
John Dewey
It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.
Paulo Coelho
One Video of the Week
In this talk, recorded at TEDxEustis in January 2019, Dr. Julie Hasson shares her research into the impact of “The Teachers We Remember.” Her engaging talk details the experiences of students with teachers who impacted their lives and reveals ways techniques that teachers can utilize to have a greater impact on current students. Dr. Julie Hasson is the Nina B. Hollis Endowed Chair in Education at Florida Southern College. In addition to teaching graduate students, Julie is engaged in qualitative research exploring the lasting impact teachers make on students’ lives. She founded the Chalk and Chances project, an online community committed to celebrating and elevating the teaching profession.
As a a former teacher and school principal, Julie is passionate about making schools better places for teachers to teach and students to learn. Julie speaks to groups across the country about her research. She is also the author of Unmapped Potential: An Educator’s Guide to Lasting Change.
Guest Expert of the Week
Reading with Ms. Meenu
Explicit and Systematic Phonics Instructions:
A truly systematic approach to phonics means teaching all of the major letter-sound correspondences in a clear, sequential well-thought-out order. Students have to infer the words while they read. Any approach that is not systematic or explicit encourages us to teach phonics incidentally.
Habits of Teachers who practice Explicit and Systematic phonics Instruction.
What they do:
· Follow a clear sequence of phonics skills, progressing from simple to complex.
· Leave nothing to chance.
· Use a program that connects and unifies skills.
· Establish routines.
· Follow a step-by-step procedure.
· Gradually release responsibility using the “I Do, We Do, You Do” approach.
· Break down critical content into manageable chunks.
· Teach Interactively, giving students frequent opportunities to respond.
· Give students meaningful and judicious practice opportunities.
What they don’t do:
· Only teach concepts as they come up.
· Expect students to discover basic phonics concepts on their own.
· Work without a reliable scope and sequence.
· Work without established routines.
· Give phonics activities instead of providing solid instruction.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
And Finally…
Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #180, 19th December 2023
Philanthropy is a love market. What do you think? What comes to your mind when you think of philanthropy? or giving? When you grow up you can do – the student, when you grow rich you can do – the youth, when you have extra you can do – the vast majority, when you retire you can do – many middle-aged, When you grow older – you can do philanthropy… What do you think of the act of giving? What role do you as parents, and/or educators play in sharing your thoughts and teaching about philanthropy? It is the end of the year, it is Christmas, and it is time to think anew and share how you look at yourself as a giver, and how you role model for your students and children the act of giving.
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Two Thoughts of the Week
“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”
- Maya Angelou
“No one has ever become poor from giving.
- Anne Frank
One Video of the Week
Generosity is proven to make people happier. Imagine the difference we could make if we all increased our annual donations by just 1%. Ami Campbell, co-author of the book “Love Let Go: Generosity For The Real World,” educates us about the personal and global benefits of generosity. Ami Campbell champions generosity.
Co-Author of Love Let Go: Radical Generosity for the Real World, her writing has appeared in Philanthropy Daily, RELEVANT magazine, The Christian Century, and the Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin. She is a consultant and stewardship educator who helps people rediscover their giving selves. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
Guest Expert of the Week:
Reading with Ms. Meenu
Reading proficiency with Phonemes:
Phonemic Awareness:
Phonemic awareness is critical for students to become proficient readers. Students need to develop an awareness of individual phonemes and how they connect to graphemes and their written representations. It can be taught in short and frequent sessions. We need to get to the phoneme level quickly and briskly. Students develop an awareness of the external units before the internal units. We should connect our phonemic awareness instruction with letters. Science consciously evolves and so must we.
· Phonemic awareness is a critical component of reading instruction.
· Phonemic awareness and letter knowledge are reliable predictors of future literacy performance.
· The most common source of reading difficulties is poor phonemic awareness.
· It is the conscious awareness of phonemes (individual speech sounds) in spoken words.
· Blending and segmenting are the most critical phonemic awareness skills because they are necessary for reading and spelling.
There are 44 phonemes of English, which can be categorized into vowel and consonant phonemes. We can discuss these phonemes by their place and manner of articulation. As educators, we should plan our language lesson plan strategically.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
And Finally…
Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by:
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #179, 12th December 2023
A resolution is made for something that needs to be improved. Something you are doing and want to do more of. Something you do not do and realize that you need to start soon. Your birthday, a new month, a new year – great times to think afresh and start/improve on some aspect of your life. Had a discussion with your students/child lately? Good time to start now if you haven’t already been thinking before the schools close for the holidays. How to make them? How to keep them? Which ones are worthy to be included? Parents, this makes for a good discussion in the family and a great opportunity for role-modeling as well as getting insight into your child’s thought process.
Resolutions that are systematic, have accountability built in them, and are a two-way street have more chances of being followed through. Check out the video in today’s issue for some great tips.
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Two Thoughts of the Week
“Wishes are possibilities. Dare to make a wish.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!
“There is nothing magical about the flip of the calendar, but it represents a clean break, a new hope, and a blank canvas.”
― Jason Soroski
One Video of the Week
Austin Yoder, College Class of 2011 | Austin is studied Chinese and Philosophy. When he isn’t in school, he’s busy traveling the world, drinking tea, freelancing, and trying to game the system. Check out his website on AustinYoder.com.
Guest Expert of the Week:
Reading with Ms. Meenu.
Science of Reading:
Sometimes educators think the science of reading refers to a specific curriculum, program, or method. But the term refers to a large body of high-quality research on reading. It encompasses thousands of studies or as literacy expert Louisa Moats put it “ The science of reading is not an ideology, a philosophy, a political agenda, a one size fits all approach to a program of instruction or a specific component of instruction. It is the emerging consensus from many related disciplines, based on literally thousands of studies, supported by hundreds of millions of research dollars conducted worldwide in many languages.
Skilled Reading:
Skilled reading is a fluent execution and coordination of word recognition and text comprehension. Many strands are woven into skilled reading i.e. Language comprehension which increases strategically and word recognition, which increases automatically.
Language Comprehension
· Background Knowledge
(facts and concepts)
· Vocabulary
(precision and links)
· Language Structure
(syntax and semantics)
· Verbal Reasoning
(inference and metaphor)
· Literacy Knowledge
(print concepts and genres)
Word Recognition
· Phonological Awareness
(syllables, phonemes)
· Decoding
(alphabetic principle, spelling-sound correspondences)
· Sight Recognition
(of familiar words)
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
And Finally…
Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #178, 5th December 2023
How do you interact with the media around you? How do your students consume media? How do you interpret, deconstruct, and fact-check the media you, your students, your children, and your colleagues consume and share with each other? Is it part of your curriculum? does it form a part of your dinner table discussion? Media literacy connects school and the daily life of our students. If you are not already bringing media into your curriculum resources, every day, this is a good time to start. If you are doing it sometimes, then it is time to bring it in all the time.
Here are some thoughts that you might find useful as a parent and/or an educator for your child and/or students.
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So, if you like my content, please subscribe to it by putting in your email ID here.
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Two Thoughts of the Week
“When people talk to me about the digital divide, I think of it not so much about who has access to what technology as about who knows how to create and express themselves in the new language of the screen. If students aren’t taught the language of sound and images, shouldn’t they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read and write?” George Lucas
“Computing is not about computers anymore.” It is about living. Nicholas Negroponte
One Video of the Week
Quijada is the executive director of the Media Literacy Project. With more than a decade of experience as a media literacy trainer, and 20 years as a community organizer, she has a deep passion for media justice. Quijada presents nationally and internationally on the impact of media on culture, politics, and technology. She has co-founded various organizations in Albuquerque, including Young Women United, a reproductive justice organization by and for young women of color.
Quijada is particularly interested in media as a tool for self-determination and movement building.
Guest Expert of the Week:
Reading with Ms. Meenu.
Book Clubs:
Book clubs are an important part of connecting readers with each other and emergent readers. Book clubs promote adding context for the importance of questioning and inferring to comprehend text and having great conversations about books. Book clubs can be a connection between young library readers and adult public library readers. Readers can focus on many aspects of reading.
What do book clubs do?
· How readers figure out the unknown word level, plot level, idea level, character level, etc.
· Predictions with text support, how readers use prior knowledge plus text to get smarter, and how the reader writes the book.
· Reading content focuses on questioning and how do questions help us read better?
· What types of questions help us understand?
· What different purposes do questions serve?
· Reading content focuses on inferring and how to make predictions about text and confirm or contradict predictions as you read.
In a Teacher Librarian’s role book clubs play an important role and create a community of avid readers. Young adult readers participate in buddy reading activities and encourage junior readers to be part of it. Educators have seen many positive results of running Book Clubs in their libraries or local bookshops to inspire young readers into a reading environment.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
And Finally…
Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by the following :
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #177, 28th November 2023
Alright, the last month of the year is coming upon us and it is time to rack up our own Kind-o-meter and help it flow to our community whether you are a parent, student, or teacher. How do you do it? if you have it in your heart show it. If you are unsure, here are some tips and yes, lists of ways to do it! Get-Set-be kind!
This is a free-to-subscribe newsletter. So, if you like my content, please go ahead and subscribe to it by putting in your email ID here:
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Two Thoughts of the Week
“You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” —The 14th Dalai Lama.
One Video of the Week
Kindness is a common language we all speak. It doesn’t cost anything and means everything. And the sooner we start practicing it, the better we get at it. Whether you are 7 or 77, you will appreciate words and gestures when conveyed with kindness.
Cindy is a kindness ambassador at her school. At just 7 years of age, she is well known at her school for being the most caring, helpful, and kind student – an accolade she cherishes. She speaks English, French, Mandarin and Spanish.
She also loves to sing and recently won a gold prize at the KPU International Music Festival.
Guest Expert of the Week:
Reading with Ms. Meenu.
Role of a Novel Study:
· Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development. While novel study students apply their knowledge of word origins to determine the meaning of new words encountered in reading materials as Novels. And then use those words accurately in reading.
· Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials) Novel study helps students to read and understand grade level appropriate material. They analyze the organizational patterns, arguments, and positions advanced.
· Literary Response and Analysis. During various novel study sessions students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature that reflect and enhance their studies of history and social science. They conduct in-depth analyses of recurrent patterns and themes.
· Writing strategies. Novel study helps students write coherent and focused essays that convey well-defined perspectives and tightly reasoned arguments. The writing demonstrates the student’s awareness of the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing process as needed.
· Writing Applications (Genres and their Characteristics) Students combine the rhetorical strategies of narration, exposition, persuasion, and description to produce texts of at least 1500 words each.
A novel study needs significant time to think, read, and develop writing for various purposes. It is encouraged to start a novel study with a group of emergent readers.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
Dear reader,
I have been a research scientist, a journalist, and an educator for over 3 decades. I read and, I write. With this weekly newsletter, I share what I read, learn, and, experience. At the same time, I engage with students, parents, and teams of teachers across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and ed-tech organizations.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
This newsletter is supported by the following :
Nivedita Mukerjee 