Join Read Into This host Beth Lyons as she explores how virtual read alouds have been used with fellow teacher-librarian Julie Vandendool and kindergarten educator Aviva Dunsiger throughout the 2020-2021 school year. Our discussion stems from a Twitter thread between the three of us looking at why read alouds seemed to have been more successful when in a virtual space than in the bricks-and-mortar space while following safety protocols. How do we balance supporting the literacy needs and sharing of stories with students and educators using virtual tools with the power we know that comes from small group discussions and the connections made when talking about the books together? Both Julie and Beth reflect on how the act of sharing stories in a large school-wide setting using virtual tools allowed for a small act of community gathering in a year when we were all so far apart. How can we engage in a story and the learning connected to themes and inquiry sparks when working with grades ranging from kindergarten to Grade 8. We know that stories act as “mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors” (Rudine Sims Bishop) but how have they also acted as “keys” (Julie Vandendool) to a shared common space?

Julie Vandendool- Alloa Public School LLC
@AlloaLlc

Aviva Dunsiger
@avivaloca

Poem shared by Julie-
Her Books and Stories by Erin Hansen
https://inspiration.allwomenstalk.com/her-books-and-stories-by-erin-hanson/

Sparks that helped structure our discussion:
“We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories” ~Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human

The Science of Story- https://news.berkeley.edu/berkeley_blog/the-science-of-the-story/

Jonathan Gottschall Tedx- https://youtu.be/Vhd0XdedLpY

Texts mentioned in this episode:

The Truth About Wind by Hazel Hutchins & Gail Herbert
I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith
What Riley Wore by Elana K. Arnold
A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary
Malaika series by Nadia L. Hohn
I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe
Take It Back by Kia Abdullah
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
Cultivating Genius by Gholdy Muhammad
Calm, Alert, and Learning by Stuart Shanker
Inquiry Mindset by Trevor Mackenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt
Make Writing: 5 Teaching Strategies That Turn Writer's Workshop Into a Maker Space by Angela Stockman
Creating Inclusive Writing Environments in the K-12 Classroom: Reluctance, Resistance, and Strategies that Make a Difference by Angela Stockman