August

Literacy, Equity and Engagement Tools 

While I am feeling inundated by a plethora of resources coming through all social media and e-mail, there are a few that catch my eye as they relate to literacy, equity and building community in classrooms- virtual or face-to-face: 

All Students Need Anti-Racism Education

Online Teaching Can Be Culturally Responsive

First Week of School Stations

EduTopia Learning Stations to Kick off The Year

How to Make a Digital Bookshelf in Google Slides

We know articles and activities certainly don’t solve the multiple challenges we are facing right now, my hope is that they may allow some reflection and help in planning at some point in the near future.

 

WISD Professional Learning in August 

August 10, 13, 18, 20, 21 Cultivating Genius Book Study

August 13th Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy Grades 4-5

August 14th Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy Grades K-3

August 19th Back to School EdCamp

August 20th Socially Just Assessment and Grading 

*Register for all in the WISD ABC System

*Please contact Melissa Brooks-Yip for Literacy topics and Amy Olmstead Brayton for Assessment 

_____________________________________________________________________

Register HERE

______________________________________________________________________________

 Summer Literacy Learning in our Community

AADL Summer Game

Northfield Township Area Library Summer Reading Club

Dexter Library Summer Reading Family Events

Saline District Library Imagine Your Story

Chelsea Library Summer Reading Program

Manchester Library Youth Summer Reading Registration

Ypsilanti Library Summer Challenge

Milan Public Library 

March

Change it up for March is Reading Month! 

Every month is Reading Month, but since March is designated as such, I encourage you to try some new things with reading in your classroom, no matter what your position or grade level in education. Here are four ideas to get you started:

1. Learn from SOEL Teacher Holly Bella about vocabulary in Interactive Read Alouds:


3. Try Book Talks to engage and motivate readers:

3. Start a Math Book Club! PBS Teachers show us how Reading Can Expand What Kids Think About Mathematics


4. E-mail me to check out books from the Diverse Lending Library at WISD

SAVE THE DATES for Summer Professional Learning! 

Yes, it's time to think about summer learning at WISD!  
Plan ahead by saving these dates.   
*Exact times and details TBD

August 14th:  Grades K-3 Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy one day overview (pre-requisite for SOEL 2020-2021)

August 13th:  Grades 4&5 Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy one day overview  (Pre-requisite for SOEL 2020-2021)

August 4, 5, 6:  Grades 6-12 Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy  three day workshop  (Pre-requisite for IDLL 2020-2021)

August 17, 18, 19:  K-12  Social Studies Standards, Framework, and Literacy Essentials Three day Workshop 

August 13: KRA Training for new K teachers in Washtenaw County

Creating Context for Teaching Night- one day in August, TBD 

January

Reflecting on a Decade and Starting a New

The end of one decade and the start of another spurs reflection in all aspects of life, personal and professional. Teaching Tolerance, We Need Diverse Books, and Edutopia offer resources to help educators and students reflect on the last 10 years, and set intention for literacy and instruction in 2020 and beyond.

Looking Back and Pressing Forward by Teaching Tolerance

Book Talking Kit from We Need Diverse Books

New Year's Resolutions: Don't Do It!  by Elena Aguilar for Edutopia

Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities

 Creating Context for Teaching Night

February 20th, 2020 WISD 8:30-3:30 FREE
*Most applicable to secondary ELA teachers.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum presents Creating Context for Teaching Night. 

The workshop will include: 

• How to teach Night within the larger historical framework of the Holocaust; 

• A history of antisemitism for context prior to reading Night;

• An exploration of materials and instructional strategies available in Echoes and Reflections to support effective teaching of the memoir; 

• The use of interdisciplinary materials including art work, photographs, poetry and personal narratives; 

• Identifying significant themes of the memoir; 

*SCHECHs Pending 

 REGISTER HERE

It's All About Inquiry: Understanding the Social Studies Standards, C3 Framework and Literacy Essentials
This is a three day training free to all Washtenaw County Educators

In this three day session, we work with educators to build background knowledge of the three documents through a short history and purpose, connecting through the thread of inquiry, and planning for long term work in instruction and assessment in social studies classrooms.

February 27, March 5, March 26

At Milan Middle School Librarium, Milan, MI
REGISTER HERE

The Diverse Lending Library at WISD

Don't forget about the Diverse Lending Library available to all Washtenaw County educators. E-mail me to check out books or ask questions about our books! 

For questions on anything in this Literacy Newsletter- please contact Melissa Brooks-Yip at mbrooksyip@washtenawisd.org 

July & August

Light Summer Reads

As we end July, and I see school supplies show up in stores, I start thinking of the first days of school! I appreciate some light reads with new ideas that are offered in Choice Literacy:

• For Instructional Coaches on Building Coach-Teacher Relationships

• Building Routines in the Early Elementary Classroom

• Voice and Choice in the Middle School Classroom

• You may also want to check Literacy Updates from MDE

Upcoming Professional Learning

Teaching the Holocaust, Empowering Students

July 31 8:30-3:30 at WISD

Register HERE

Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy-

 One Day Overviews

 August 1st for grades K-3 at WISD 8:30-3:30

August 2nd for grades 4-5 at WISD 8:30-3:30

At the end of each session, registrants will be invited to join the SOEL network for the 2019-2020 school year. 

**Also, don't forget about the online modules for the PreK and K-3 Essentials

January 2019

SOEL Highlights of 2018

As we enter 2019, we look back on SOEL with additional members, more classroom observations for the Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy, aligned book studies, our arts integration collaboration with UMS, and considering our past to plan for our future.  Take a look at a few images we captured as part of our school year learning thus far. 

4th and 5th Grade Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy

On December 5th, 30 literacy coaches and teachers came together for a one day overview of the Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy, Grades 4&5.  Our theme for the day was "Shifts and Bridges".  Together, we did a close read and review of these Essentials to identify shifts from the K-3 Essentials and bridges to the Grades 6-12 Essentials.  We will host another overview in the spring, date TBD. 

Inquiry Into Disciplinary Literacy and Learning Meets in an Intermediate School

Thanks to IDLL member Melanie Dever for organizing and hosting the December 13th meeting at Creekside Intermediate in Dexter. After reading the grades 4&5 Literacy Essentials and the 6-12 Disciplinary Literacy Essentials, we got a chance to observe in several 5th and 6th grade classrooms. This helped us to see the bridges from upper elementary to secondary literacy practices.

Through a Success Analysis Protocol, we also elevated themes of success in disciplinary literacy instruction from IDLL teachers, and the student learning as a result.

Our next meeting is January 17th as part of the Responsive Teaching Institute. While it is a regular meeting date for us, everyone is welcome to register .

Our guests will be Dr. Ernest Morrell,  Dr. April Baker-Bell, and Dr. Richard Milner. 

Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities

RESCHEDULED: The 4th in our SOEL Teacher Research Webinar Series with Dr. Cathy Fleischer will be on February 13th at 4:00.

No registration is necessary. 

Join us at:  
https://zoom.us/j/189529059

If you missed previous webinars, catch up HERE!

Echoes and Reflections Offerings

Echoes & Reflections is dedicated to reshaping the way that teachers and students understand, process, and navigate the world through the events of the Holocaust. The Holocaust is more than a historical event; it’s part of the larger human story. Educating students about its significance is a great responsibility. We partner with educators to help them introduce students to the complex themes of the Holocaust and to understand its lasting effect on the world.

Join us February 25th or March 5th. Free. Register HERE

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?

November

Teacher Planning & Implementation Day

Planning and Implementation Days were introduced this year to give teachers involved in an instructional or assessment network some intentional time to plan around their new learning in order to put it into classroom practice. 


On the first Planning and Implementation Day, October 18th, teachers had time with experts and consultants who frequently speak at our network meetings. Consultants were available on this day solely to support teacher's self identified professional learning needs.   

We were fortunate to have a plethora of expertise working with us that day:

Dr. Cathy Fleischer, EMU- Teacher Research and writing

Dr. Darin Stockdill, UM- Disciplinary Literacy

Dr. Gina Cervetti, UM- science units K-3

Heidi Roy-Borland, WLES, Coach-  K-3 reading instruction

Jenny Miller, AAPS, BLE - K-3 Writing instruction

Tonya Saragoza, MAS, Coach- Teacher Research, Reading Instruction 3-5

Tracy Terris, MAS, Coach- Reading and Writing Instruction K-3

Kate Rossetter, Coach, Howell-  PBL, Information in Action Kits

Members of the Achievement Initiatives Team at WISD - on literacy, assessment, responsive mathematics, & coaching.

Future Planning and Implementation days will be February 14th and April 18th.

Upcoming Professional Learning

Join us as we explore how educators can engage in culturally relevant pedagogy in literacy, mathematics, and science!

• Decentering Whiteness-  Selecting Complex and Compelling Texts for your Classroom- Dr. Laura Jimenez

• Engaging Students in Responsive Science Instruction - Dr. Felicia Mensah - Columbia University

• What is Powerful Literacy Instruction? - Dr. Ernest Morrell - University of Norte Dame 

• Mathequity - Dr. Aris Winger - Georgia Gwinnett College

• Achieving the Goal of Leading for Equity - Dr. Richard Milner - University of Pittsburgh

FREE to all educators in Washtenaw & Livingston counties

$35 for all other attendees

Register HERE  

*******************************************************

Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy- Grades 4 & 5 OVERVIEW for Literacy Coaches

The purpose of literacy essential instructional practices for grades 4 and 5 is to improve children’s literacy in Michigan. Professional development throughout the state can focus on this set of research-supported literacy instructional practices for daily use in the classroom. Expert research suggests that each of the 10 practices outlined in this document can have a positive impact on literacy development. The use of these practices in every Michigan classroom every day can make a measurable, positive difference in the state’s literacy achievement. Join us for a one-day overview of these practices. Cost is $25.00   Register HERE

*For questions regarding registration for any event, contact Jay Kirby at WISD. 

May

SOEL 3 - Writing Instruction in Early Literacy

SOEL teachers observing Mini-Lesson and Conferring

The Study of Early Literacy, cohort 3, has a focus on writing instruction, Essential #6 of the K-3 Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy. Our April meeting was spent on Learning Walks in SOEL classrooms, specifically looking at Writer's Workshop.  Thanks to SOEL member Jennifer Miller for hosting our day! 

Literacy Learning Opportunities for All! 

 *See linked flyers for all information/registration

• May 16- IDLL at UM to examine Disciplinary Literacy

• May 22, 23, 24 - SOEL Teacher Action Research Celebration

• June 26, 27-  Disciplinary Literacies Summer Institute for teachers in Grades 6-12, all subjects

• July 31-  K-3 Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy- An overview

• August 1, 2, 3-  SOEL Summer Institute 

I'm happy to answer any questions about Literacy Professional Learning! 

April

Dr. Ernest Morrell on Building Powerful Family-School Literacy Connections

On March 13, we welcomed Dr. Ernest Morrell back for a third session this year on Every Child a Super Reader.  This time, Dr. Morrell led participants through a thoughtful planning session on building and sustaining school-family literacy.
                     

Upcoming Learning Opportunities