Our word of the day is Hiraeth!

What does it mean?

It’s a noun that means a longing for a home you can’t return to, or never was.

What does it mean?

Be patient. Eventually something good will happen to you.

Where does it come from?

The related phrase all things come to those who wait was used by Violet Fane in 1892.

To keep our students sharp over the summer, we often assign subject-specific reading, math drills, and projects. However, as educators, we also need to hone our own skills, develop new ideas, and reflect on our practice. Here are five ways to kickstart your summer learning.

1. Construct Your Learning Archive

When planning curriculum or attending professional development, we collect resources — both physical and digital. However, we need an efficient way to organize what we find valuable. In the past, this has resulted in the accumulation of binders or folders, but now we also have files scattered across devices.

Take time this summer to create a learning archive. A great digital system supports the individual learner and can be saved, searched, or shared. Whether you choose Evernote, OneNote, or Google Drive, think about how you can start organizing all of your learning and making it accessible from any device and at any time. If you prefer handwritten notes on paper, make sure to pick a tool that allows you to easily take pictures of those notes, add them to your archive, and search them later.

In addition to collecting notes, think about how you might archive online resources. You could add links and notes to a Google Doc or an Evernote note, or build a shareable library using Diigo or Pinterest.

Not only is summer a great time to get organized for the coming school year, but it’s also a fantastic time to explore.

2. Read for Inspiration

Though many schools assign summer reading books to their faculties, we would recommend adding one of these titles to your list:

500 Activities for the Primary Classroom by Carol Read

Children Learning English by Jayne Moon

Learning Teaching: A Guidebook for English Language Teachers by Jim Scrivener

Teaching Practice by Roger Gower, Diane Phillips and Steve Walters

Teaching English Grammar by Jim Scrivener

3. Design Your Digital Space

If you already have or want to set up a class website or blog, an email newsletter for parents, or a learning management system take time over the summer to design and test your digital space.

4. Redesign Your Physical Space

Your current students have become comfortable in your classroom, office, or lab. They understand your expectations and routine. Fast-forward to fall. What do you want your students to think when they enter your space? Is this a class where they’ll engage in group work and discussion? Do they have choice in how they demonstrate their learning? What do you have on the walls? Where is your desk? All of these considerations help set the tone for your students.

What does it mean?

It’s a noun that means lasting for a very short time.

What does it mean?

Different people have different ideas about what’s valuable.

Where does it come from?

The earliest example I found in Google Books is in Hector Urquhart’s introduction to 1860s Popular Tales of the West Highlands:

Practical men may despise the tales, earnest men condemn them as lies, some even consider them wicked ; one refused to write any more for a whole estate ; my best friend says they are all ‘ blethers.’ But one man’s rubbish may be another’s treasure, and what is the standard of value in such a pursuit as this?”

What does it mean?

It’s a noun that means dawn.

Some of the phrases, like “in someone’s good books,” are associated with positive feelings or actions. However, the word “book” can be also used to describe things in negative light. The example is “to bring someone to book.”

There is probably only one idiom on the list that most people know and use – “don’t judge the book by it’s cover.” What about the other nine? Your knowledge of idioms about books is not a closed book, is it?

a closed book

1. something that you accept has completely ended
Example: As far as she is concerned, her marriage is a closed book.

2. something or someone that is very difficult to understand
Example: I’m afraid accountancy is a closed book to me.

an open book

something or someone that is easy to know about because nothing is kept secret
Example: Her life is an open book.

read someone like a book

to be able to understand easily what someone is thinking or feeling
Example: I know what you’re thinking – I can read you like a book.

the oldest trick in the book

a dishonest method of doing something that you know about because it has been used many times before
Example: Flattery is the oldest trick in the book, so don’t fall for it!

in someone’s good books

used for saying that someone is pleased with you
Example: I’m trying to get back in her good books.

by the book

correctly, following all the rules or systems for doing something in a strict way
Example: He always tried to do everything by the book.

bring someone to book

to punish someone, or to make them explain their behavior publicly when they have done something wrong
Example: If policemen have lied, then they must be brought to book.

take a leaf out of someone’s book

to copy what someone else does because they are successful at doing it
Example: They should take a leaf out of industry’s book and pay both management and staff on results.

don’t judge a book by its cover

used for saying that you should not form an opinion about someone or something only from their appearance

cook the books

to change accounts and figures dishonestly, usually in order to get money