How Elementary Teachers Can Build Community and Literacy at the Same Time

With Examples from Our K-6 Literacy Program, Wonders

By Lori Kuntz, Curriculum Specialist, McGraw Hill

Can you name one thing about each student in your classroom that is unique to them? How much time do you routinely set to have class meetings or conversations with the students in your classroom?

You’re probably thinking, There is no way that I can add one more thing to my classroom routine. How can I possibly find time for classroom conversations?

Building a socially connected classroom is directly linked to improving literacy, helps create a supportive environment, and encourages a positive self-image and self-worth in each student. With that said, how can you not find the time?

According to EdResearch for Action's May 2024 report, Strengthening School Connectedness To Increase Student Success,

“Students feel more connected to school when teachers use explicit strategies to show that they care about them, know them as individuals, and are willing to respond to their distinct needs.”

The researchers found that these various strands of research all point to the same overarching conclusion:

“Students are more likely to succeed when they feel connected to school.”

Today, we’re going to talk about how the Essential Questions and topics from Wonders can provide you the opportunity to address not only literacy and reading but also build a connected classroom.

Let’s start with an understanding. What is reading? What is literacy? What is the difference between reading and literacy? What additional types of literacy are there?

Reading: “Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation….Reading in its fullest sense involves weaving together word recognition and comprehension in a fluent manner. These three processes are complex, and each is important.” (Leipzig, 2001).

Literacy: “Beyond its conventional concept as a set of reading, writing, and counting skills, literacy is now understood as a means of identification, understanding, interpretation, creation, and communication in an increasingly digital, text-mediated, information-rich, and fast-changing world” (UNESCO 2025).

There are different types of literacy. The ability to have conversations about your thinking, beliefs, and values, and then support that thinking with evidence, is an important part of literacy.

When students are given the opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings and hear different perspectives from others to build understanding, they become more reflective, more thoughtful, and, in the end, more literate.

The bottom line: Conversation is an important part of literacy.

Using Wonders to Foster Connections and Build Community

How can you use McGraw Hill’s Wonders to build both connections and literacy in the classroom? By using the Essential Questions provided at the beginning of each Text Set.

The Essential Questions were created to connect concepts to the stories students read throughout the 5 or 10 days (of a text set) to build knowledge, comprehension, and understanding. Many times, these thought-provoking questions help students see themselves within the concepts.

These questions can be used as “starter conversations” for classroom discussions but can also be expanded. These expanded questions help connect students to their own actions, thoughts, and feelings around that concept. The overarching goal is to guide students to see the best in themselves and the best in others while having honest conversations with vulnerability.

It goes without saying that to have vulnerable conversations, a classroom must be authentically positive, including the celebration of and the freedom to make and learn from mistakes, a continuous acceptance of our differences, and the recognition of emotions in ourselves and each other. Of most importance, teachers exhibit all these same traits. In other words, the willingness to show what it’s like to be human.

So, what are some of these Essential Questions, and how can they be expanded?

Here are a few examples from various grades:

1st Grade

Start Smart, Week 1: “Who am I?” (What are some of my favorite things to do/toys/foods/sports? My family, my fears, my talents)

Unit 1, Week 4: “What do friends do together?” (What makes a good friend? Who is a good friend in our classroom? Would you like to thank someone in our class who is a good friend? How am I a good friend? What does a good friend look like? Is there anything you could do to become a better friend?)

Unit 2, Week 4, “How do people help out in the community?” (How is a classroom similar to a community? What jobs are important in our classroom community? Who is a good helper in our classroom? How are you a good helper? What more would you like to do to be a good helper? How important is it to recognize others that do good work?)

Unit 6, Week 1: “How can we work together to make our lives better?” (What things are important to have happiness? Who makes your life better and why? Who are you thankful for? What makes our classroom a better place each day? How do we feel when someone does something kind? What would you like to do more of that makes you and those around you happy?)

3rd Grade

Unit 1, Weeks 1 & 2: “How do people from different cultures contribute to a community?” (How do you contribute to our classroom community? Our school community? How do our differences make our classroom/school and community better? Who do you notice contributes to our classroom/school in a positive way?)

Unit 2, Week 5: “How do people figure things out?” (How do you respond when you are struggling with something? How does positive self-talk help you? What have you said to yourself in a positive way, or what would you like to start saying to yourself? Who do you notice is a good problem solver in our class, and what have you noticed them doing? Who helps you figure things out at home or at school?)

Unit 3, Weeks 3 & 4: “What makes different animals unique?” (What makes you unique? Why is it important to be unique? How does it help a classroom/school/community to have people with unique traits in it? What makes our classroom unique? How do you feel if you’ve been treated differently? What words help others feel proud of being themselves and unique?

Unit 4, Weeks 1 & 2: “How can you use what you know to help others?” (Who helps others in our class? How does it make you feel when you help others? What would happen if people did not help each other? What are you good at that you could teach or help others with?)

You may notice that the expanded questions all share some commonalities; they provide students the opportunity to build student agency, become more introspective, and grow in reflection and self-awareness, all the while learning how to recognize the good in others.

4th Grade

Many times, the stories the students read will provide natural opportunities for these discussions, like the stories used in 4th grade, Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds, The Talent Show by Dan Gutman, or Speaking Out to Stop Bullying, an expository paired selection text.

Unit 1, Weeks 3 & 4: “How Do Your Actions Affect Others?” (What are your talents and strengths? How do you recognize strengths and talents in others? How do you react to negative opinions and reactions about you? About others? Why is it important to speak out? Why is it important to be a good listener?)

In addition, you can provide extension opportunities for students to build connections with you and their classmates that will help keep the concepts in the forefront and show your value in your classroom conversations. You can do this through a celebratory activity when students meet a goal you’ve set with them:

• Using the Arts for creating, drawing, singing, and writing about themselves, their strengths, their friends, and their family.
• Providing character buddies or reading buddies, and/or consistent work partners, builds connections both inside and outside the classroom (also with younger/older students!)
• Celebrating songs about strengths and differences
• Providing students a “share time’ of their ‘favorites’ through a “Hero/Star of the Week” activity. You could also encourage students to share family photos at that time.
• Introducing and using vocabulary related to social awareness and self-awareness throughout your daily teaching and conversations to improve discussions.

It may feel, at first, that you don’t have enough time in the day to do this; however, by integrating this into your day, in the end, your classroom environment will provide more time for you to address all those objectives and standards throughout the year.

By taking advantage of and expanding on the Essential Questions in Wonders, you will help build a strong bond in your classroom, influence a growth mindset, and encourage the WHOLE CHILD.

You are making a difference through those meaningful conversations, creating lifelong memories, improving their literacy, and setting them up for success in their future.

Lori Kuntz is a former elementary teacher and elementary and middle school principal with over 30 years’ experience in K-12 education. In her current role, Lori works with school administrators, specialists and teachers throughout the U.S. Central Atlantic region, currently focused on the use of Wonders © 2023. Lori lives in Galien, Michigan.

Lori graduated with high honors in both her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Indiana University, and her master’s degree in educational leadership from Western Michigan University in Educational Leadership with a focus on Curriculum. In her free time, she enjoys family, grandchildren, music (also playing the piano and guitar), domestic and international travel, hiking, and golf.

References

Leipzig, D. H. (January, 2001). What is reading? WETA.

What you need to know about literacy. UNESCO.org. (2025, February 11). https://www.unesco.org/en/literacy/need-know