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The latest news, this month’s free book and poem, and other helpful resources from JillE Literacy.
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JillE Literacy

October 2025

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Trivia Tidbit

  • Sunday, October 5th was World Teachers’ Day!

  • The Old English name for October was Winterfylleth, because it marked the beginning of Winter!

  • Before 46 BCE, the Roman Calendar began the year in March—that’s why the name of October comes from the Latin word octō, meaning eight: it used to be the eighth month!

Book Bag

Bullying Awareness Month—Growing Hearts and Minds
with JillE Read Alouds

At JillE Literacy, we believe every day is an opportunity to help children grow—as readers, thinkers, and kind, empathetic human beings.


October is Bullying Awareness Month, a time to reflect on how we can intentionally nurture kindness, inclusion, and empathy in every classroom.


Each JillE Read Aloud by Jill Eggleton supports this goal by embedding authentic social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies into engaging, meaningful stories. Through rhythm, rich vocabulary, strong characters, and relatable themes, children learn to recognise emotions, build relationships, and make compassionate choices.


Teaching with Confidence

Every JillE Read Aloud includes:


  • Comprehensive teacher notes that link the story to SEL competencies and classroom discussion prompts
  • Audio support, modelling fluent, expressive reading for daily interactive read-alouds


💚 Featured Digital Title: Brachio

This October, enjoy free digital access to Brachio—the gentle dinosaur who stands up for others and shows what kindness, courage, and inclusion look like in action.


Brachio’s story and accompanying teaching notes help students explore empathy and fairness—essential skills for preventing bullying and creating safe, caring learning communities.


Every JillE Read Aloud grows language, literacy, and compassion—one story at a time. 


Bonus Book—Green Feathers

Green Feathers is a short but powerful book about a chick who becomes the target of bullying because his green feathers make him look different from the other chicks in the henhouse.

Green Feathers offers rich opportunities for social-emotional learning, prompting discussion about kindness, inclusion, and appreciating differences.


Ideal for comprehension and oral-language development, thinking skills, and writing, Green Feathers includes built-in teaching panels and can be used for Tier 2 instruction or for independent reading practice.


A perfect text to reinforce empathy, self-acceptance, and social understanding in the classroom.

Visit the Book of the Month page to access these e-books and stomp out bullying with JillE Literacy!

Poetry Power in Practice—Spider Lies 🕷️

Like the spider, poetry can be deceiving.


Children’s poems often appear short and simple—yet the best poems offer humour, surprise, and thought-provoking depth that lingers long after reading.


“Spider Lies” is one of those poems—deceptively simple, yet full of intricate strands to explore. Revisiting this text helps students develop:

  • Oral language and vocabulary
  • Reading fluency and phrasing
  • Comprehension and creative response
  • Phonics and phonemic awareness

With JillE Literacy, each poem includes a five-day lesson plan, making it easy to focus on a new teaching opportunity each day.


🎃 Watch out for our Halloween Picture Hunt!

Coming soon—a fun downloadable activity to accompany Spider Lies.

Check out the Poem of the Month page to access the poem, five-day lesson plan, and printable student version.

New from Jill Eggleton: Poetry for Grade 2 & 3!

We’re also delighted to announce the release of Jill Eggleton’s brand-new JillE Poetry for Grade 2 and Grade 3 poetry packs.


For struggling or multilingual readers, poetry is especially powerful—shorter texts that aren’t intimidating, yet filled with vocabulary, rhythm and meaning.

Why poetry matters:

  • Builds vocabulary through rich, playful language

  • Strengthens fluency and memory with rhythm and repetition

  • Encourages thinking and imagination through vivid imagery

  • Supports social-emotional learning, as Jill’s poems feature strong characters and situations that invite discussion, empathy, and reflection

Watch the New FREE Video from Joy Allcock!

Why do so many students reach Grade 2 still unable to write independently?


The truth is simple: writing requires its own explicit, structured instruction—aligned to the Science of Reading.


We cannot expect students to learn to write through learning to read.


In this free PD video Lifting Writing Achievement, Joy Allcock explains the problem and shares a proven approach that accelerates both writing and reading achievement.

Watch Now

Gratis Gifts

Check out our Samples and Downloads page for these free resources and more!



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