Curiosity has become my unofficial One Little Word for 2026. It all began when I wrote a TWT post in August entitled, Staying Curious: A Shared Responsibility. My original goal was to invite parents to question what was going on regarding writing (really, literacy) instruction in their children’s schools. The more I thought about this word, the more I began to notice curiosity missing from the world of education as a whole. As a literacy coach, I feel like curiosity is my job description. I don’t hold all of the answers, but I’m willing and eager to mess around in order to find solutions or better ways of doing things. I love this mode of discovery.

When our principal let our literacy team know that we would once again be able to have a vertical literacy team at our school this year, I thought this would be the perfect place to spark curiosity. Dawn, Ashley, and I planned our first meeting around our school goal, which centers around student engagement. We asked teachers what engagement looked like and sounded like. We asked them to think and discuss what they were curious about as they thought about increasing student engagement. The teachers complied but the conversation felt forced and in the end when we asked, “what should we do next?” you could hear in a pindrop in the silence that followed. I felt the heaviness of what teachers are being asked to do and there was a reluctance of taking on one more thing.

However, when someone suggested teaming up and doing some read aloud work together, there was a tiny spark of excitement. We ended that initial meeting with a glimmer of an idea, which was enough for our team to build upon.

On Monday afternoon, our vertical literacy team met again. Our principal was the first to the meeting and I let her know that the agenda was loose, “We’re going to just see where this goes,” I warned.

We opened by introducing two books we had chosen as potential read alouds. We let the teachers browse the books and then asked, “So what do you want to do?” The teachers chatted about which book they wanted to try and ulimately, the group decided on one. Teachers then paired up to plan a read aloud, an upper grade teacher with a lower grade teacher.

This is where the magic happened. This was the moment I felt the teachers invest in and get excited, and perhaps curious, about the work. I mostly sat back and listened in as the teachers talked about what read aloud has looked like so far in their rooms this year. (Read aloud has been a district-wide focus.) They discussed places they would stop. Potential questions and conversations that would ensue. Our paired-up second and fifth-grade teachers even pulled up their standards and compared how they. built upon one another. There was a buzz that I always hope for when we have an opportunity to pull teachers together, a buzz that for me is what keeps me going as an educator.

Writing this now, I realize that there is a parallel between what happened in our literacy team meeting and the focus of our read aloud work in classrooms this year. In my coaching around read aloud, I’m constantly thinking with teachers about ways to get students doing more of the work. I use the example all the time that yes, WE model retelling a story all the time, but how often are the kids actually doing that work? The words coming out of their mouths? As we’ve worked to make our read alouds tryly more interactive and intentional, we’ve seen a shift in engagement as students are doing more of the heavy lifting. They’re excited, engaged…curious.

In some of our pd sessions around read-alouds, teachers have said, “Can’t you just give us the plans?” While that may feel easier and would ensure perhaps more cohesion, I’m encouraged by the energy that can come from giving teachers space to be curious and I’m going to continue thinking about ways to make space for this work.

Where In The World Am I Writing From: I took advantage of our suprise snow day and a quiet house and began a draft, still under a cozy blanket on my couch!