The Teacher Log…and You

SWR and You Column, June 29, 2011

How important is it to create a Teacher Logbook?  Two favorite expressions come to mind:

• “don’t reinvent the wheel” and …
• “you have to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run”

Inevitably, at least one student in my seminars ask, “Do I really have to make a Teacher Log?”  The answer?  Absolutely!

SWR’s author, Wanda Sanseri, emphasizes this in four places just in the first 18 pages of Spell to Write and Read.  It is repeated elsewhere, as well.  Could it be the creation of a Teacher Log is a key concept?

Look at the text. Don’t believe me, believe the author:

• “Getting Started”: Page 6, item 4:
• “Step 1: Plan Before Teaching”:
  • page 13, bottom paragraph,
  • page 14, A Learning Log,
  • page 18, BEGIN CREATING A SAMPLE LEARNING LOG
  • Steps 8, 9, 10:
  • “Step 8: Introduce the Learning Log”:
    • page 43, “Prepare to Teach”
    • “Select the Type of Log” (same page):
    • “Step 9: Dictate Consonant and Vowel Page”
      • page 48, “Prepare to Teach”
      • “Step 12: Begin Daily Spelling in the Wise List”
        • page 69, “Prepare to Teach”

Working knowledge of the teacher manuals is required.  To achieve this, work with the books from Step 1 forward.

Aesop’s famous fable, The Tortoise and the Hare, ended with this moral:

“slow and steady wins the race.”

Likewise, your application of SWR principles in the Teacher Log solidifies your understanding of the program faster than any other teacher task.

Show your students that you did this.  Show your completed logbook proudly.

Model the pride of ownership and workmanship you want to engender in them.

Set the example: create your own log! You and your students will reap the rewards.