In the blink of an eye, another school year is upon us!
For those of you who sent your littles off to school this week, we are here for ALL the big feelings (anxiety, excitement, nostalgia, relief?)
If you’re wondering what you can do to support your child’s school this year, consider becoming a volunteer reader, or sponsoring a family literacy night! OR, if you’re just trying to get a handle on school routines again, we’ve got you! Take a peek at our Homework Do’s and Don’ts, then treat yourself to a late morning nap. (That’s a thing, right?)
For the teachers among us, we’re cheering you on, every step of the way! We’d like to send you off with a new literacy activity that’s flexible AND impactful. It’s live on our websitetoday! If you’re curious about learning more strategies to promote joyful reading and writing in your classroom, we’re offering our Building Blocks of Literacy Workshop in schools all around the East Bay. Drop us a line to let us know you’re interested in professional learning opportunities.
As a final note, I’d like to send an enormous virtual hug to all of our sustaining members. We may be tiny, but we’re doing really big things! Your monthly contributions give us income we can rely on so we can offer more free and sliding scale programs for our community. If you haven’t already, consider partnering with us as a sustaining member to bring joyful, research-based literacy experiences to children and those who teach and love them.
I’m forever grateful for the support of this community!
Here’s to a new school year, full of learning and love,
Meet Volunteer-Turned-Teaching Fellow, Paige!
We sat down to interview our newest Teaching Fellow, Paige Clark, who started with us as a volunteer at the height of pandemic teaching in 2020. Here’s some of what she had to say about her experience as a volunteer:
What brought you to WITW?
Alexis came to one of my teaching classes in the fall of 2020. I never heard someone describe teaching reading the way she did.
What did you like the most about your experience volunteering?
I had limited opportunities to work with students because of the pandemic, so even being able to do something virtual was really huge. I liked that it was small groups so I felt like I could build connections with the students– even now, some of them remember me, which is pretty cool!
What is something you learned through your work with WITW?
Really getting back to the basics of teaching reading. Let’s think about a word, let’s talk about a single word and use that to get kids reading. Now that I’m pursuing my master’s in teaching reading, it’s something I’ve brought with me to my program. A focus on the fun of learning how to read!
What makes WITW unique?
The Structured Word Inquiry feels like something that’s been missing from a lot of programs I’ve worked with. Also the approach to be out in nature. A lot of times I’ve seen literacy separated from other content areas, so seeing how literacy is a part of everything is really important and what makes it different from other literacy programs.
How has WITW contributed to your career goals?
This is a big one! I started at WITW when I was a sophomore in college. Initially I was doing a master’s in teaching, but with all that I learned from this organization, that’s when I decided to transition to a master’s in teaching reading specifically. It’s completely changed what I’m studying and who I’m working with. That’s been the biggest thing!
This fall, Paige will be working with us to provide small group reading intervention. We’re so excited to *officially* welcome Paige to the fellowship! Thank you, for all you bring to this team!
—-----
Want to find out how you can get involved as a volunteer? Fill out our volunteer application or email any questions to team@wordsinthewild.org.
It’s clear teachers are going to need every tool in their toolbox this year! That’s why we’re sharing one of our favorite, anytime, anywhere word games that can be planned in advance or pulled out on the fly. This game is so versatile– it can make a fun literacy center, fill that extra 5 minutes when your students finish early, or become part of your routine for group instruction.
By offering contrasting cases, Going on a Picnic turns students into detectives, searching for meaningful patterns in words as they work to uncover a secret rule. They love it, we love it, and now it’s all yours!
Visit ourwebsite to download the game with full instructions!
YOU Make it Happen!
Our team is hard at work making sure students get the support they need to learn to read and write in ways that are connecting and empowering. But we can’t do this work alone!
$10/month helps us offer sliding scale support for students who struggle with reading. (That’s less than 33 cents per day!)
$15/month provides a month’s worth of free story times to the families in our community.
$20/month provides 1 teacher training in how to teach reading as a science, impacting 1000’s of students!
You participated in a program with Alexis Filippini or Words in the Wild in the San Francisco Bay Area, or connected with us online. Thanks for opting in!
