WEBVTT

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Picture this, it's 2:30 PM and you're
staring at your lesson plans thinking,

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how am I supposed to fit in more
reading time when I still need to

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cover fractions in the water cycle, and
that social studies unit on community

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helpers, if you've ever felt like
you're playing curriculum Tetris, trying

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to make all the pieces fit together,

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you're not alone.

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Today, I'm going to share three
simple strategies that will help you

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weave literacy into every subject
without adding extra prep time

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to your already packed schedule.

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The struggle is real.

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We are expected to cover
more content than ever.

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Yet we know that students
who read across subjects,

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become stronger readers overall.

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Research shows us that students
need at least 90 minutes of

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literacy instruction daily.

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But most of us are lucky if we get
an hour of dedicated reading time.

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Here's what I've learned, you
don't need to add more time

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'cause you don't have more time.

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You just need to be more strategic
about the time that you already have.

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Today I am sharing three strategies that
you can use starting tomorrow to help you

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integrate literacy across the curriculum.

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Strategy one is the picture book bridge.

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The fastest way to integrate
literacy is through picture books.

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Picture books have multiple purposes.

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They are fantastic.

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They make reading fun.

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When you're reading to children,
you're modeling what good reading

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looks and sounds like, and the
right picture book can make

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connections to other learning areas.

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The Tiger Who Came to Tea
becomes a math adventure.

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When students organize a tea party
where they need to estimate costs

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and solve problems about sharing and
portions what happens when unexpected

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guests arrive, students naturally
move into addition, subtraction, and

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even early multiplication concepts.

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Not to mention the social studies
connection of learning about tea

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traditions in different countries, and
the biological science connection of

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learning about animals and their habitats,
their adaptations, and life cycles.

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The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
is perfect for teaching plant

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life cycles, urban ecosystems
and environmental stewardship.

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Students read about Liam's transformation
of the city and then observe real plants.

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They document their growth and
they write scientific observations

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about what plants need to thrive.

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This is a perfect lesson
plan and picture book.

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For teaching real hands-on
learning and scientific

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observation and data collection.

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Q Poodle 5 integrates everything
students read about problem solving.

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Then they design their own inventions.

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They apply mathematical concepts
to their creations and they

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think critically about solutions.

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It's literacy, it's math, it's
science, it's design technology, all

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wrapped into one engaging experience.

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The key, though is to choosing books
that connect your content, not just

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books that happen to be about your topic.

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Look for stories that raise
questions, that create emotional

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connections or present problems
that students want to solve.

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Strategy two is the vocabulary spiral.

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Every subject has its own language.

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And that's your literacy goldmine.

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Instead of just teaching vocabulary
in isolation, create a vocabulary

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spiral where words build on
each other across subjects.

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Here's how it works.

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Let's say on Monday in science,
you introduced the word observe

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during your plant growth experiment.

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On Tuesday, in your math lesson,
you use observe when students

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notice patterns in data.

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On Wednesday, in social studies, students
observe details in historical photographs.

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And Thursday in your writing, students
observe their descriptive paragraphs and

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then Friday in your reading, students may
observe character actions and motivations.

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And by the end of the week, observe isn't
just a science word, it's a thinking

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tool that students can use anywhere.

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So if you just start with three to
five words per week, choose words that

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appear across subjects like analyze
and compare and evidence or sequence.

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Your students start internalizing
these words 'cause they're

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using them everywhere, not
just for memorizing for a test.

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Strategy three is the
reading, writing connection.

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This is where the magic happens.

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Every subject naturally
creates opportunities for

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authentic reading and writing.

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In math, students write explanations
of their problem solving strategies.

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They read word problems more carefully
when they know they have to explain

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their thinking to you or to a partner.

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In science, when students keep observation
journals, they read informational

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text about their experiments.

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They write hypotheses.

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They're practicing literacy skills
while learning science content.

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And in social studies, students
read from primary sources, writing

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from different perspectives and
creating historical narratives.

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The secret is making reading and writing
feel necessary, not like an add-on.

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And when students need to read to
understand their science experiment

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or write to explain their math
thinking, literacy becomes purposeful.

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Here's your implementation tip.

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Start small.

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Don't get overwhelmed.

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Pick one subject and try
one strategy for two weeks.

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Don't overall everything at once.

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I recommend starting with picture books
because they're the easiest to implement.

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Choose one book that connects to
next week's math or science lesson.

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Read it multiple times over the week.

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I like to read them every day.

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Discuss it, and then transition
into your regular lesson.

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Notice how students' engagement
changes when they have that

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shared story experience.

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Once you're comfortable with picture
books, add in the vocabulary spiral.

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And remember, you're
not creating extra work.

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You're being more intentional about
the work you're already doing.

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And if you are thinking, well, this
sounds great, but how do I find the

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right picture books for my curriculum?

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While I've got you covered.

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I've already created ready to use
picture book lesson plans that connect

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to every major curriculum area.

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Each plan includes the book connection,
discussion, questions, and follow

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up activities that seamlessly
blend into your existing lessons.

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You can find these lesson plans on my
site at go.bloomingcurious.com/resources.

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They're designed by me, a teacher
for you, teachers who need practical

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solutions that work in real classrooms.

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Remember to help students become better
readers and writers, they need lots

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of opportunities to practice, but you
don't need to find more time to do that.

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You just need to be more strategic about
the teaching you are already doing.

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Try one strategy this week
and let me know how it goes.

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Remember to visit my resources page for
Done for You Integrated picture book

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lesson plans that make cross curricular
literacy integration simple and effective.

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I leave a link for you in the show
notes, so that'll be really easy for you.

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Until next week.

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Remember, curiosity is your
superpower, so stay blooming

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curious.