Nivedita Mukerjee
Education consultancy for parents and schools
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #255, 27th May 2025
What are your blind spots? As a parent, educator, or student? How do you manage those biases that fester in your blind spot? Here are some ideas that might trigger your thoughts in that direction.
This is a free newsletter. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email address here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
Because your brain uses information from the areas around the blind spot to make a reasonable guess about what the blind spot would see if only it weren’t blind, and then your brain fills in the scene with this information. That’s right, it invents things, creates things, makes stuff up! It doesn’t consult you about this, doesn’t seek your approval. It just makes its best guess about the nature of the missing information and proceeds to fill in the scene.
- Daniel Gilbert
Books are, at their heart, dangerous. Yes, dangerous. Because they challenge us: our prejudices, our blind spots. They open us to new ideas, new ways of seeing. They make us hurt in all the right ways. They can push down the barricades of ‘them’ & widen the circle of ‘us.
- Libba Bray
One Video of the Week
Dr Sasha Vassar invites audiences to rethink how information overload shapes perception, revealing how collaboration and fresh perspectives can unlock hidden insights. Where others see superfluity, Vassar recognises hidden patterns; turning the chaos of learning into something luminous. Award-winning researcher and educator Dr. Sasha Vassar bridges computer science, biomedical engineering, and pedagogy, pioneering generative AI tools to enhance learning.
And finally… against all odds
Bhadrasen Negi, VIDYA star alumni – In conversation with Nivedita He worked his way through many homes and realised his dream of becoming an engineer. Here’s an awe inspiring story of how an 8 year old boy from a shepherd family in remote Kinnaur village of Himachal is today leading a successful like of a husband, father and a computer scientist in Los Angeles.
Meet Bhadrasen Negi, Senior Application Developer at Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County Internal Services Department Long Beach, California, United States.
Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #254, 20th May 2025
What is it to be brave? What does it look like in situations and what it is not? Mothers day just went by and as I reflected upon myself as a mother, my mother in law, my grand mother and quite a few other mothers that I have known and known of over the years and found many shades of bravery in a whole range of events that happened to happen in our-their lives. Here’s to bravery! Don’t miss the powerful ted talk in this issue to get some more perspective on the shades of ‘brave’.
“Kelly Corrigan’s TED talk “To Love Is to Be Brave” highlights the essence of bravery in family life. She recounts personal and observed moments of immense courage, emphasizing the importance of compassion, listening, and staying present amidst difficult circumstances. The ultimate act of bravery, she suggests, is letting go and allowing loved ones to navigate their own paths. The reward for such bravery is a profound human experience filled with selfless love and humble awe.”
This is a free newsletter. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email address here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.” Thomas Paine
“There isn’t a perfect mom, a perfect house, a perfect kid, a perfect life.
There’s just real.
And real is one mom after another after another after another who wakes in the morning and see those kids who call her mom and pulls herself up and tries.
She stumbles, but stands up.
She worries, but gives.
She loves.
She mothers.”
― Rachel Marie Martin
One Video of the Week
Family life often requires extraordinary bravery, from navigating the daily challenges to surviving the unexpected crises. Author and podcaster Kelly Corrigan offers profound wisdom (and seven key words) to help you focus in on what matters most.
Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week
A StoryWalk is a way to publish student writing:
You are already finding ways for your students to publish and share their writing and now you have another way to showcase their work. Plan to have each student select a poem from their poetry writing unit to post as a celebratory culmination. Or have them write silly short stories and display them outdoors. Just think of student generated story experiences as other ways to celebrate and enjoy their finished pieces outdoors or even down long school hallways or the wall of the school facing a playground. By doing this you are acknowledging the hard work of your student writers, getting kids outside and experiencing new connections between writing and setting.
StoryWalk connections to literacy development:
In addition to providing the authentic purposes for writing, revision and editing described above, other ways to develop reading and writing strategies and skills will emerge based on your student’s needs and interest.
· Reading aloud/fluency practice: Students who would benefit from repeated reading aloud might take groups of younger children on a guided tour of a StoryWalk. The repeated readings to a real audience would keep the experience fresh and authentic and help build fluency and expression for the host reader. This experience allows students to practice reading aloud, with focus on fluency and prosody, with an authentic purpose. They might read to families, their favorite adults in school, younger students or even friends and classmates.
· Ubiquitous sticky notes: The StoryWalk version! It has been a normal practice for a lot of librarians to use sticky note questions on some of the pages from any of their books. This is always done just to engage the readers in the story. Some of their notes ask readers to dive deeper into the story, and others ask them to apply what is happening in the story to their own lives. For example, At the end of a StoryWalk featuring “Mama Built a Little Nest” there might be hints for finding nests in nearby trees, or suggestions and materials for building your own.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera
Consulting home and school librarian reading guide
Career assessment, guidance, and placement strategies:
If you’re a student currently in Grade 11 and planning to apply to universities abroad, you’re at a critical point in your academic journey. With around 4 months before applications open, this is your window to showcase who you are beyond your grades. College admissions teams are not just looking for academic scores—they’re looking for potential, personality, and purpose.
Here are 8 things students can do to strengthen their profile for college admissions:
- Make a list of all co-curricular activities the student has participated in since Grade 9.
- Categorize these activities into hobbies and skills to better understand areas of interest and development.
- Identify the purpose of each activity—whether it stems from interest, showcases leadership, reflects passion, or highlights academic achievement.
- Focus on long-term engagement, as consistency and sustained involvement demonstrate commitment and depth.
- Pursue meaningful activities, such as:
- Learning a skill (e.g., baking, writing)
- Nurturing a talent (e.g., music, art, sports)
- Completing online courses to deepen academic goals
- Giving back to the community through volunteering or service
- Learning a skill (e.g., baking, writing)
- Shortlist key activities—especially if the list is long—that showcase academic interest, leadership, and community service. Aim to develop these over the next 25 weeks.
- Create a LinkedIn profile to begin building a personal brand and professional presence online.
- Demonstrate key traits that universities value, such as problem-solving, risk-taking, leadership, perseverance, and consistency.
Building your profile is not about doing “more”—it’s about doing things that matter, and doing them with purpose and consistency. You already have a story—now is the time to sharpen it and show the world who you are and who you’re becoming.
For career guidance, connect with Team Fermata, www.fermataco.com
Showcase: Thrive Beyond School – A unique STEAM education project for very young learners.
Samyuktha (7 years old) and Tara (5.9 years old) took part in a series of hands-on experiments, including float and sink testing, exploring volume through water displacement, and creating a density column. Through these activities, they learned that density and volume help explain why some objects float and others sink.
In the float and sink experiment, they noticed that lighter materials like plastic or wood tend to float, while heavier materials like metal usually sink. When learning about volume using the water displacement method, they discovered that even oddly shaped objects take up space, and this space can be measured by the amount of water the object displaces. In the density column activity, Samyuktha and Tara were excited to see how liquids such as honey, water, and oil formed separate layers. They understood that this happened because some liquids are denser than others meaning they are heavier for the same amount of space. These experiments helped them build a clearer understanding of scientific concepts in a fun and visual way.
And finally… against all odds
Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #253, 13th May 2025
“You’re old enough to make your own decisions. We trust your judgment.” OR “You’re not ready for that responsibility yet. I need to approve your choices.”
“Be yourself. Your uniqueness is your strength.” OR “Why can’t you be more like others? You need to fit in better.”
“Take care of yourself. Your mental health matters more than grades.” OR “You need perfect grades to succeed. Other activities are distractions.”
When students, especially adolescents, are actively forming their identity and worldview, how do you shape your messaging? Consider this as a parent or as an educator.
This is a free newsletter. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email address here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“End is not the end if fact E.N.D. Means “Efforts Never Dies. – Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
“There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.” – Ralph Marston
One Video of the Week
A few words can change the course of a life; they have the power to shrink, expand or transform someone’s identity — even your own. Social psychologist Mesmin Destin explores how everyday interactions and experiences play a powerful part in who we become, sharing the key moments and messages that can inspire us to grow into our best selves.
Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week
Where to do a StoryWalk?
Everywhere! Playgrounds, hallways, gardens, wooded areas, libraries, cafeterias and classrooms can all be the perfect setting for a special book. What could cheer up sick students better than reading “ A Bad Case of Stripes”. It’s a great idea to laminate pages from joke books and other quick reads for the walls of any classroom. By doing this regularly you will see the value in having books become integrated into physical spaces because StoryWalks give the message that books and the written word belong everywhere.
Logistics: How to make a StoryWalk
· The Book: You’ll need two copies of the books, three ideally. While there are copyright restrictions for copying books, once you buy the book you can take it apart to post the pages. You will need two copies because pictures are printed on both sides and ideally, you’ll have a third for revisiting in the classroom as a read aloud or for students to pick up on their own. Budget considerations: The paperback version often less expensive is fine.
· Lamination: You’ll want your outdoor story to withstand rain, wind or even snow. Laminate the pages with the thickest possible laminating sheets so that they don’t curl, and you can use them multiple times.
· Posting pages: You’ve got lots of choices here, depending on what works best for your site. Outdoor natural areas or gardens can use stakes or fences indoor walks can be displayed on walls or bulletin boards. Sturdy wooden garden stakes or the stronger green metal ones can become a part of a permanent path or be installed when you’re featuring a StoryWalk.
· Page height: How tall is your audience? The height of your most intended audience will be important to consider, whether it’s you and your colleagues setting up a walk for your students or your class designing their own StoryWalk for others.
· Sharing resources/dissemination: Once you have created a walk out of a picture book or your students have written one the lamination preserves it for use the next year and allows you to create a reusable resource for the entire school or even district. The story pages might be checked out of a central library for other schools or classrooms to use. After the initial energy of installing the stakes or hallway hooks, your main focus will be selecting new books for the walks.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera
Consulting home and school librarian reading guide
Showcase: Thrive Beyond School – A unique STEAM education project for very young learners.
This week in STEAM class, our young scientists Samyuktha, Neev, Mayra, and Tara had so much fun learning about the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas!
We started with a fun guessing game using clue cards to figure out the topic. Then, during our Matter Hunt, the children searched around the classroom to find things that are solids, liquids, or gases and drew or wrote them down. In State Charades, they acted like tiny molecules standing still like solids, swaying like liquids, and moving fast like gases to see how matter behaves.
During the Ice Melting Race, they guessed which ice cube would melt first and watched to see what happened.
Finally, in their Matter Journals, they drew and labeled examples of each state and even showed how matter can change. Through movement, experimentation, and observation, students discovered that matter is all around us and always changing.
Tara:5.9 years old Neev & Mayra:6.9 years old Samyuktha : 7years old
And finally… against all odds
Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #252, 6th May 2025
When our children read literature that is not contextual to them, all of most of the time, what happens?
Some or all of the following:
They may struggle to connect with characters or situations, making comprehension more difficult.
They might miss cultural references, idioms, or historical context that are crucial to understanding the text.
Engagement often decreases when children don’t see themselves or their experiences reflected in what they’re reading.
They may internalize subtle messages about whose stories “matter” in society if they rarely encounter characters like themselves.
While they can still learn from these texts, the extra cognitive load of navigating unfamiliar contexts can detract from deeper analysis and enjoyment.
How can we make stories more relevant? more contextual? include characters that are relatable? I a setting that they are familiar with? Alongside exposing them to world literature? a new academic year has just rolled in. What are your educators, parents, and children picking up to read?
This is a free newsletter. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email address here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new after all.”Abraham Lincoln
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.”Walt Disney
One Video of the Week
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week
Why a StoryWalk?
The pandemic challenged all of us to be outside in safe and rewarding ways, StoryWalks have enticed families, classes, and individuals as a perfect way to experience the outdoors together, to get some fresh air, exercise and to share the rewards that stories offer regardless of any setting. StoryWalks have staying power because they invite readers to experience the universality that literature offers. StoryWalks can reflect an individual’s own experience but also deepen this experience through new information or perspectives.
What makes a good StoryWalk book?
· Provide a deeper look or connection into a setting. These might be nonfiction books about ecosystems, history of a place or characteristics of a neighborhood. It offers a way to connect, wonder and imagine in a particular setting.
· Support exploration of a curricular or social goal. A StoryWalk offers the chance to immediately connect local surroundings with literature in the science curriculum.
· It invites readers of different ages and experiences to engage in the book, providing an experience for a broad age range audience. Consider how a book might offer information in varying levels of depth and detail.
These guidelines are to help you choose a book that works for your setting, your students and your community as well. Stay tuned for Where to do a StoryWalk? And Logistics: How to make a StoryWalk? Until then keep reading 😊
Keep reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
Showcase:
Thrive Beyond School – A unique STEAM education project for very young learners.
From designing to testing
During the egg drop challenge activity, Tara learned about the science of impact and how soft, cushioning materials can help prevent damage. She applied her engineering skills to design two different egg protectors. In one, she used straws, foam, bubble wrap, and tape to create a strong and supportive structure. In the other, she used cotton pads, cloth, cotton balls, and tape to cushion the egg gently. After testing both designs, Tara observed that the eggs remained safe and thought about which materials worked best. This hands-on activity helped her understand real-world packaging and the importance of testing, problem-solving, and making improvements. Tara: 5 years 9 months
And Finally… against all odds
“It is no point thinking about what I don’t have. Rather, I should think about what I have.” Tharika
Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #251, 29th April 2025
If you want to know what society is going to be 20 years hence or even 10 years hence, ask an experienced preschool teacher – said Clifford Stoll in his Ted talk featured in the issue today, in 2008. What do you think? I would agree! I love spending time with preschool teachers, even as I am getting older and humbler, as an educator.
Over the last three decades, I have taught various subjects. I started with teaching communication and news journalism to post-graduates and under graduates. After that, I moved on to teaching life sciences and genetics to highschoolers. This was followed by learning about early childhood years, primary years and middle years with International Baccalaureate while setting up a chain of IB schools. Moral of the story? Most difficult, most enjoyable and most insightful have been the times with preschoolers, preschool teachers, and preschool curriculum.
Let me know what you found out from the preschool educator. Ask them what they think society is going to be like in a few years from now.
This is a free newsletter. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email address here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“Learn as if you were not reaching your goal and as though you were scared of missing it.” — Attributed to Confucius
“People learn something every day, and a lot of times it’s that what they learned the day before was wrong.” — Bill Vaughan
One Video of the Week
Clifford Stoll could talk about the atmosphere of Jupiter. Or hunting KGB hackers. Or Klein bottles, computers in classrooms, the future. But he’s not going to. Which is fine, because it would be criminal to confine a man with interests as multifarious as Stoll’s to give a talk on any one topic. Instead, he simply captivates his audience with a wildly energetic sprinkling of anecdotes, observations, asides — and even a science experiment. After all, by his own definition, he’s a scientist: “Once I do something, I want to do something else.”
Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week
Storywalks: With the continuation of last week’s topic, Storywalks is just another way of engaging readers/writers to this ingenious literacy activity. You could encounter StoryWalks by other names such as poetry walks where students can look around various rhyming words and create their own poems, book walks where class can discuss the novel study done collaboratively or even song walks and so on.
What is a StoryWalk? Picture this: It’s spring and everyone is eager to get outside. Your students pick up their clipboards and pencils and head out to the park next to the school. In front of a big tree is the cover of a book, “Mama Built a Little Nest” and page one is visible a few paces away, enticing students to walk along a path that will reveal page by page the ways that different birds build their nests. It’s easy to imagine how this book would compel readers to look carefully at the trees and shrubs around them to see whether they could find any nests.
What is a StoryWalk? Invented by Anne Ferguson with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Vermont. It is simple but ingenious – invite readers to walk along a path with staked pages of an engagement related to the setting . Like Mama built a Little Nest whose exploration of birds and their nests matches up perfectly with a walk near trees, the best walk books deepen the reader’s understanding of the place. The cafeteria hallways are a perfect place to offer a powerful message about these StoryWalks.
Why are these StoryWalks important to do? What makes a good Story Walk book? Stay tuned for our newsletter next week and will discuss deeper on this thought. Until then…
Keep reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
Showcase:
Thrive Beyond School – A unique STEAM education project for very young learners.
In this STEAM activity, students learned about crystals through a fun and hands-on experiment.
The lesson started with a magical story about how crystals form deep underground when hot magma cools down. This helped spark their curiosity and made the science easy to understand. They learned that crystals form when certain materials come together and harden, especially inside rocks called geodes.
Using eggshells, warm water, food coloring, and Epsom salt, they created their own crystal geodes. As the water dried, they observed crystals forming and talked about what they saw. They learned that things like heat and the amount of salt can change how big and fast the crystals grow.
This activity helped them explore science through stories, art, and observation in a fun and simple way. Samyuktha & Havishka :7 years old Neev & Mayra: 6.8 years old
Tara:5.8 years old
And Finally… against all odds
Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #250, 22nd April 2025
When faced with evidence contradicting your beliefs, do you revise your thinking or dismiss the evidence?
Do you distinguish between what you know with certainty versus what you believe or suspect?
Do you actively seek out different perspectives and criticism of your ideas?
Do you have a scientific attitude whether or not you are a scientist is the quest. For Scientific Attitude is a life skill, not a curriculum. What do you think?
This is a free newsletter. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email ID here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“At its heart, what is distinctive about science is that it cares about evidence and is willing to change its theories on the basis of evidence.”
― Lee McIntyre, The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience
“The virtues of science are skepticism and independence of thought.” – Walter Gilbert
One Video of the Week
Teman Cooke hold a Ph.D. in theoretical physics but has no love for the scientific method. He explains a interesting alternative that will challenge your thinking.
Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week
Finding ways into outdoor literacy learning:
Let’s continue with last week’s topic and dig deeper understanding on various settings for moving literacy outside the classroom.
For many students, literacy means the reading writing they do in the classroom yet reading and writing happen everywhere we go. Purpose, audience and place are compelling reasons to shape writing and reading when literacy moves out of the classroom and into real world settings, both natural and engineered. Here are some suggestions along the ways that might be helpful for rural suburban and urban schools. We should always consider the space, safety and strategies to support a wide range of literacy and language skills.
Starting places for moving literacy outside the classroom:
There are multiple ways to create experiences outside the classroom that invite students to make discoveries about literacy, particularly about purpose and audience.
· Wood/Natural Area
· School Garden
· Playground
· School Common spaces
· Shady areas around the school
· Broader Community
Once you are ready to do an outdoor literacy session on a beautiful day then “A StoryWalk” might be a perfect way to launch it to your classroom. Stay tuned until next week’s newsletter as we discuss STORYWALKS. Until then… keep reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
Showcase:
Thrive Beyond School – A unique STEAM education project for very young learners.
In our STEAM class, the children performed the Egg Inertia Experiment and explored the concept of inertia. They observed that when the tray and tube were swiftly removed, the egg dropped straight into the glass instead of moving with them. This demonstrated that objects at rest stay at rest unless acted upon. The children enjoyed the surprising outcome and learned that careful setup and quick movement were important for the experiment to work. After a few tries, they were thrilled to see the egg successfully land in the glass
Samyuktha 7 years old
Neev & Mayra:6.8 years old
Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #249, 15th April 2025
When you read something from the perspective of another person, you step out of your own head and step into someone else’s and get to imagine you were somewhere else, seeing something else, doing what the person is doing and feeling what that person is feeling.
What does it do to your brain? How does it help your brain to live, laugh and connect? Here are some ideas of setting up reading corner in your classrooms where the child’s brain can find imagination and connections in their very busy childhood. What about a reading corner at home for yourself, as an educator or administrator, or parent?
I think it is a great way of providing a space for mental well-being of both children and adults. Try it.
This is a free newsletter. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email ID here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” ― Walt Disney
“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax all you need is a book!” ― Dr.Seuss
One Video of the Week
Speaking is already in our genes. But reading is not. Until about 100 years ago most people didn’t do it all. When we read fiction especially, we create new pathways in our brain. Reading 30 pages of fiction every night gets the pathways thicker and thicker. Our brain needs a workout just like our body. Rita Carter is a writer, broadcaster and journalist who specializes in the workings of the human brain. Her books include the first layman’s guide to neuroscience: Mapping the Mind, which has been translated into 14 languages. For seven years she presented London’s nightly news programme, “Thames News”, and has written for magazines and newspapers throughout the world, including the London Times, Telegraph, Guardian and New Scientist. She has a deep interest in bringing art and science together and is a Patron at the influential London-based Foundation “Art and Mind”.
She has won many awards for her work, including, on three occasions, the Medical Journalists Association award for excellence and she holds an Honorary PhD in Brain science from Leuven University – one of Europe’s oldest academic institutions.
Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week
Move Literacy Outdoors:
April is Earth month so let’s discuss literacy outdoors as it can happen anytime and anywhere. When Kindergarten students register for their Kindergarten classroom it’s a wonderful opportunity to teach them literacy outdoors. Just start with T for Trowel, D is for Dirt and N is for nest and so on. Once you start with a couple of examples your students would jump right into it and start observing things around them. This way the class walks from post to post, chanting the words aloud and during the course of this literacy based walk they practice alphabetic order. And you will create an outdoor literacy experience that invites your students to consider purpose, audience and discovery. And they will also begin to see that they can take their emerging literacy skills wherever they go.
If you’re wondering what literacy might look like outside the classroom, it’s everywhere. The very first word a young child may learn to read is STOP, a useful directive encountered at crosswalks and streets everywhere. Supermarkets use signage to direct us to items on our shopping lists and once we find them other signs identify the product and price.
Why move Literacy Outdoors?
During pandemic every educator struggled and was compelled to think nimbly and that’s when a lot of our classes moved outdoors. A tough challenge at first, but once new routines were established and curricular adaptations made – think sensory paths, nature journals and phonics treasure hunts – educators discovered unanticipated benefits. During a recent focus group discussion, a teacher actually shared that after having her class outdoors everyone in her class is calm and more settled back in the classroom after being outside for a lesson. Another teacher observed that her students were better able to focus on learning when she balances outdoor and indoor experiences. Also, a science teacher described how twice-weekly nature journal writing has been transformative for her students and their ability to make specific observations is transferring into all of their writing. So for the month of April try to encourage your students to read outdoors!
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
Showcase:
Thrive Beyond School – A unique project for very young children in STEAM education, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
In this fun and colorful STEAM activity, children explored important ideas through hands-on learning. They identified, described, and compared 2D shapes, learning about sides, corners, and symmetry. Using vibrant Holi colors, they enjoyed mixing shades and designing creative patterns with shape stencils.
They also searched for shapes in real-life objects and nature, building their observation skills. While creating their artwork, they used planning and design skills, just like real engineers. This engaging activity showed children how Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math can come together in fun and meaningful ways.
Neev,Mayra& Tashi:6.8 years old
Samyuktha :7 years old
Tara & Arnav: 5.8 years old
Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #248, 8th April 2025
What is rigor? We often hear in schools that we need more rigour in studies. Sometimes parents come to us and say, teachers need to plan for more rigour in the school… what does it mean as per dictionary? what does it mean in education? here are some thoughts worth giving a thought 🙂
rigor : Medicine
- a sudden feeling of cold with shivering accompanied by a rise in temperature, often with copioussweating, especially at the onset or height of a fever.
- short for rigor mortis.
- The meaning of RIGOR is harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment : severity.
- strictness, severity, or harshness, as in dealing with people. · the full or extreme severity of laws, rules, etc. · severity of living conditions
Now, you want to add rigor in education right? as teacher, parent, school management? here are some ways how it might make it meaningful.
This is a free newsletter. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email ID here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“The main point is first get the right people on the bus (and wrong people off the bus) before you figure out where to drive it. The second key point is the degree of sheer rigor in people decisions in order to take a company from Good to Great.”
James C. Collins
“Grow with discipline. Balance intuition with rigor. Innovate around the core. Don’t embrace the status quo.”
Howard Schultz
One Video of the Week
Barry Lane questions the understanding of rigor in education reform. Barry Lane is a writer, filmmaker, songwriter and author. He has worked in schools in all 50 states and abroad teaching writing. For the last 4 years Barry has been making a movie about education in America called, “What are Schools For?” The film examines the roots of educational reform and questions the mainstream assumptions about the purpose of schools. His latest book for teachers is Force Field for Good: Teaching Kindness through Song and Literature and includes 10 original songs to inspire communities of kindness. His recordings include, More Than a Number: Songs for Sane Schools. Available on ITunes and Bandcamp.
Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week
Reader’s Theater
Readers theater is a great oral interpretation strategy that groups can use to portray a key scene in a book. Although students must examine the text carefully in order to create an effective script, the performance only requires dramatic reading, so groups don’t need to spend a lot of time worrying about costumes, props, blocking or memorizing.
The best way to introduce students to reader’s theater is to have them perform a prepared script from a familiar piece of literature. Draft some students to do a cold reading as the rest of the class follows along. Afterward, have students examine the script and together make a list of the typical readers theater conventions for the presentation of a scene from a novel. Also, have the student compare the original text of the novels with the scripted version. Students should notice the following conventions.
The groups must provide an introduction to the books and scene so that the audience understands what is going on.
· Everyone has a part.
· There can be more than one narrator.
· There are coral parts where more than one person reads at the same time.
· The lines and paragraphs are broken up differently for the script.
· It is ok if lines are repeated for emphasis.
Skits are another way for literature circles to bring their characters to life. The challenge in this project is, first, to pick a couple of high interest scenes that someone who has not read the book can still relate to. Then students must write a script that includes some acting but also significant narration explaining plot details and the characters, so the audience understands what is going on.
Reader’s theater and skits are very effective ways of engaging students into the reading world.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
Career assessment, guidance, and placement strategies:
Balancing Academic Rigour and Self-Care in Hoste Lifel
Priya’s mother approached us, worried about her daughter, who was finishing her first year in college. During exams, Priya would unconsciously express her unhappiness to her parents through statements like, ‘I have not slept all night’, ‘I did not have time to eat lunch’, and ‘I always wanted to study BCA but you forced me to do law’. These remarks, along with the more disturbing ones, were causing her mother sleepless nights.
Our career expert began with an informal friendly conversation to understand Priya’s mindset. The discussion revealed that she was neglecting her physical and mental well-being, leading to academic stress during exams. The career expert provided her with practical tips on time management, maintaining a balanced diet, and practicing simple meditation techniques to relax her mind.
As parents, it’s natural to worry about our children. The key is to keep the conversations open and seek the guidance of experts like us.
Case study provided by: Team Fermata, www.fermataco.com
Showcase:
Thrive Beyond School – A unique project for very young children in STEAM education, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
This week, our little chefs had a fun time making Thandai, a yummy Indian drink enjoyed during summer and the Holi festival. They learned why this drink is special and explored ingredients like saffron, which gives a pretty yellow color and a sweet smell. While preparing the drink, the children also picked up many learning skills. They used cups and spoons to measure ingredients (just like in math), noticed how warm milk helped sugar dissolve and saffron release its color (like in science), and used a blender to mix nuts and spices (learning how tools help us). They also used their senses to describe how the drink looked, smelled, and tasted, which sparked their creativity.
It was wonderful to see the children asking curious questions like, “What happens when we mix sugar in warm milk?” Their responses were thoughtful—some said the sugar melts, others said it dissolves. Tara gave a beautiful answer: “When the sun rises, the ice melts. In the same way, when the milk gets warm, the sugar dissolves.” She connected it to the idea of how temperature affects dissolving—a big concept explained in such a simple way!
And of course, the best part was tasting the cool, sweet, and nutty Thandai they made all by themselves! Neev,Mayra & Tashi:6.8 years old Arnav & Tara: 5.8 years old
Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #247, 1st April 2025
What is character, according to you? Personality? Values? Morals? Behaviour? Purpose? Grit? Mindset?Attitude?
This is a free newsletter. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email ID here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness.” – Anne Frank
“A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.” Mark Twain
One Video of the Week
Character Lab Research Director Andrew Sokatch has a sobering yet attainable message regarding the education of today’s youth. While test scores and the reading, writing, math, science behind them are important, we are not properly and wholly educating our children if we aren’t alsoteaching character. Andrew argues character can and should be taught in schools, noting grit, persistence, self-control, courage, and humor, are all critical life skills for successful employment, marriages, and citizenship.
Having taught elementary, middle school, college, and graduate school students, and spending over a decade leading teacher quality research at Teach For America and The New Teacher Project, Andrew Sokatch is currently being humbled and inspired daily as a parent of two young children. All of which is to say he has spent a lot time thinking about what it means to be an effective educator, and has become singularly dissatisfied by the narrow current conversation over teacher quality. In his desire to broaden and deepen the definition of what it means to provide high quality education for all children, Andrew has recently joined the new nonprofit, Character Lab, as the founding director of research.
The “Game Changer” Andrew most admires is Robert Moses (the civil rights icon, not the destroyer of NYC), because he had a singular vision and plan and the courage to make it happen. In a field of giants he is one of the (mostly) unacknowledged truly great ones. Also, Joey Ramone.
Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week
Looking at Characterization:
When reading a novel, the biggest turn on (or turn-off) is the characters. If an author creates vibrant characters, we’ll want to finish the book. The characters don’t necessarily have to be people we want to be best friends with, but they at least need to be genuine, surprising, or captivating. Since characterization plays such an integral role in the reader’s experience, how the author crafts the characters is a valuable topic for literature circles.
Ways Authors Create Character:
· How they look
· The way they talk – Slang, accent
· The way they walk, eat or do things
· What they think
· What they say to other characters
· What other characters say or think about them
· The choices they make
· How they get along with other characters.
Various activities can be done around discussing Character’s Resume where you can pull out a character and discuss it in detail. While reading small passages from different books discuss what has been revealed about the character and how that affects the reader’s feelings. When students begin to discuss characterization, remind them to always question the reliability of information that comes from another character. Also, how does each character have a unique perspective of the story events? Do reflect on these questions:
· How has your character changed since the beginning of the novel?
· What strategies has the author used to create the character?
· Why do you think the author made that decision as she wrote?
Keep discussing various characters while reading a variety of texts this will help your class to build up curiosity throughout your reading.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
Career assessment, guidance, and placement strategies:
Case study provided by: Team Fermata, www.fermataco.com
Showcase:
Thrive Beyond School – A unique project for very young children in STEAM education, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
The Holi Colours Tie and Dye activity helped children learn important concepts in a fun and hands-on way. They discovered how colors mix and spread on fabric and saw how different materials soak up liquids. By choosing their own colors and creating patterns, they expressed their creativity and made unique designs. Tying the cloth and adding color also supported their fine motor development and hand-eye coordination. This activity connected them to the joyful festival of Holi and its celebration of colors.
Neev,Mayra,Samyuktha, Tashi & Havishka:6.7 years old
Arnav & Tara:5.7 years old.
Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.
3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV
Issue #246, 25th March 2025
1. Is the problem human-centered?
2. Is the problem ill-defined or complex?
3. Does the problem require innovative solutions?
It is end of the academic year and most school teams are getting ready to review last year and plan for the next academic year. If the goal is to create something new, or to drastically improve an existing situation, then design thinking is a good method.
What is design thinking? How can you use it to resolve the challenging situations? Get some clarity on the process first and then carry on.
This is a free newsletter. If you like my content, please subscribe by entering your email ID here.
Three Images of the Week
Two Thoughts of the Week
“It’s not ‘us versus them’ or even ‘us on behalf of them.’ For a design thinker it has to be ‘us with them’” -Tim Brown
“Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas.” — Donatella Versace
One Video of the Week
In all the conversations about improving education for children, the voices of students, teachers and community members are often left out. Educational designer Punya Mishra offers a method to shift that paradigm, taking us through new thinking on the root of success (and failure) at school — and how a totally new, different kind of educational system could better meet students’ needs.
Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week
The Envelope Please: Predicting Plot and Character
Smart readers are always predicting. They continually speculate on the answers to key questions: What’s going to happen to the main characters? How will the plot resolve itself? What motifs that appeared early in a book will grow in importance? And, at a larger level, what is this book trying to be about? What is the theme, or purpose that is unfolding as I turn these pages?
Of course, most of us veteran readers do this predicting at an unconscious level. In fact, we only notice how much we have been predicting when a character suddenly does something that makes us say, “Wait a minute! That’s not right! She’d never do that! Our students, however, may not have this prediction predilection built into their cranial hard drives quite yet and so this reading activity shows them how to make predicting very conscious and to give some thought to character and theme as well.
When you have finished about a third of a book – when the key characters have been introduced and all major conflicts set in motion it’s time for “ The Envelope Please” . Surprise is an important element of this lesson. Start by telling students to put their books aside and ask your readers that they are going to predict the endings of their books using The Envelope, Please form. This form will have prediction questions about the ending of the book, character change and various clues in the story. Have students quietly and individually complete the form, recording their best guesses and rationales about the outcomes.
Next, have one or two kids share their predictions with the whole class just for general flavor. This won’t be scintillating since not everyone is reading the same book. If kids want to change their predictions based on what these students say, they can amend their forms but shouldn’t scratch out their original prediction. Who knows? Their first instincts may turn out to be right.
The final step comes several days or weeks later, when books are completed. On the final day of discussion, distribute the envelopes to the groups and invite them to unseal their predictions. There may be a few hoots of triumph as prescient kids congratulate themselves on their good guesses, and groans as wrong predictions are revealed.
The important part of the discussion centers around how people made successful predictions. Encourage kids to ask each other: What made you think that? OR how do you see that coming? What were the clues?
This reading activity keeps the enthusiasm around the class and keeps them engaged with the text. It encourages them to work on their thought process and then share their ideas with their peers.
Happy Reading!
Meenu Gera, Consulting home and school librarian and reading guide.
Career assessment, guidance, and placement strategies:
Balancing Academic Rigour and Self-Care in Hoste Lifel
Priya’s mother approached us, worried about her daughter, who was finishing her first year in college. During exams, Priya would unconsciously express her unhappiness to her parents through statements like, ‘I have not slept all night’, ‘I did not have time to eat lunch’, and ‘I always wanted to study BCA but you forced me to do law’. These remarks, along with the more disturbing ones, were causing her mother sleepless nights.
Our career expert began with an informal friendly conversation to understand Priya’s mindset. The discussion revealed that she was neglecting her physical and mental well-being, leading to academic stress during exams. The career expert provided her with practical tips on time management, maintaining a balanced diet, and practicing simple meditation techniques to relax her mind.
As parents, it’s natural to worry about our children. The key is to keep the conversations open and seek the guidance of experts like us.
Case study provided by: Team Fermata, www.fermataco.com
Showcase:
Thrive Beyond School – A unique project for very young children in STEAM education, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Children explored ways to save water at home and school. They learned about rainwater harvesting—collecting rainwater for later use—and drip irrigation, which waters plants slowly to avoid waste.
Through a fun hands-on activity, they made their own drip irrigation system using plastic bottles and ear buds. They saw how tiny holes let water drip slowly, keeping plants hydrated while saving water.
This activity helped kids understand the importance of water conservation and how small actions can make a big difference! Neev, Mayra, Havishka & Samyuktha:6.7 years old Arnav:5.7 years old
And Finally…
Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.
3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me
Nivedita Mukerjee 