Katherine Malmquist, Post 3: Routman, Teach with a Sense of Urgency

I chose this chapter because I was interested in how they described teaching with a sense of urgency.  Yes, we know that we do not have much time with our students, and that is especially true when you are a related arts teacher.  Instead of seeing my students every day, I see them once a week and sometimes if there is a school holiday/workday or if we have a special event I may not see some students during that week.   This means when I see my students I need to be extra diligent and intentional with my teaching. 

On page 52, the author talks about including interactive reading.  This is a very important part of my library class time because there are many things that I want to teach our students, but I also want to expose them to literature while they are in my classroom.  When the lesson allows, I need to do more turn and share with your neighbor so that everyone has a chance to share their ideas, and the ideas shared on page 53 are also great exit questions to help guide the instruction for the next week.  This will help make the learning more authentic, especially when they are sharing questions they may have (nonfiction turn and talk options). 

My favorite quote from the chapter is, “Kids never let me down, no matter where I teach.  If I expect them to achieve and I take the time… they always succeed” (62).