December

SOEL Searching for the Essentials in Action!

The November meetings of the Study of Early Literacy (SOEL) network were hosted by elementary schools in our community. We only need to look to our local schools to see exemplary literacy practices in action! 
Our experiences with and connections to teachers and students helps us to see the Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy in an authentic way: 

Ann Arbor Northside STEAM hosted our November 7th meeting of SOEL 1- Equity, Engagement and Motivation in Literacy to look at prime examples of Essential #1- Deliberate, research informed efforts to foster literacy motivation and engagement within and across lessons.   In our brief observations across several classrooms, we saw an abundance of bullet #2- provides daily opportunities for children to make choices in their reading and writing in what children read, where in the classroom they read it, how they read it, and their reading partners. 
Thanks to SOEL member Brooke Stidham and teachers at Northside STEAM for our day!

SOEL 2- Reading Instruction in Early Literacy met November 14th at EMU during the Responsive Teaching Institute hosted by the AI Team of WISD. Presentations by Dr. Ernest Morrell and Dr. Laura Jimenez (two of five speakers) highlighted the importance of culturally relevant literacy practices, connected to Essential #8- Abundant reading material and reading opportunities in the classroom, bullet 2, books and other materials connected to children's interests and that reflect children's backgrounds and cultural experiences. See Dr. Morrell's and other presentation slides here for a snapshot of sessions.
 **Save the date for the next Responsive Teaching Institute on January 17th!   

Paddock Elementary hosted the November 15th meeting of SOEL 3- Writing Instruction in Early Literacy.  In our observations of writing instruction, we clearly saw Essential #6- Research- and standards-aligned writing instruction,
bullets #1- Interactive Writing Experiences, #2, daily time for children to write,  and #3, instruction in writing processes and strategies.  
**Thank you to SOEL member Tracy Terris and Paddock staff for hosting!

Grades 4&5 and 6-12 Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy

 On December 5th at WISD there will be an overview of the Essential Instructional Practices for Literacy in Grades 4 & 5.  Register HERE by November 30th!  $25 


6-12 Essentials for Secondary Literacy-
The Inquiry into Disciplinary Literacy and Learning (IDLL) network will meet at Creekside Intermediate on December 13th to examine the bridges from Grades 4& 5 Essentials and shifts into the draft 6-12 Disciplinary Literacy Essentials for which we are a pilot group for the state of Michigan. 
Our experience in a grades 5 & 6 building will help us understand the progression from literacy instruction in upper elementary into Disciplinary Literacy in the secondary grades. 
*Thanks to IDLL member Melanie Dever and Creekside staff for hosting!

Online Professional Learning Links

Did you know that several SOEL teachers are featured in videos on the LiteracyEssentials.org site?    This is more evidence of authentic examples of the Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy Instruction in our county classrooms! See Caroline Jacob in this video, modeling Essential #4, Bullet 5: Listening for sounds in words to estimate spelling.

 Picture Books and Read Alouds are for EVERYONE!

Dr. Ernest Morrell is the director for the Center for Literacy Education at the University of Notre Dame.  In a recent two part blog post, his team at the CLE detailed how to use picture books at every age- also referencing the Essentials! 

See Part 1 for early and upper elementary grades and Part 2 for middle and high school grades. 
How do you use picture books and read alouds in your classroom?