September

International Literacy Day

This happens to fall on our first day of school this year!  The International Literacy Association has named this year "People Power: Start a Literacy Movement." ILA provides an activity kit for all ages inspired by their focus country, the Philippines. You can also build a Little Free Library as a service project to celebrate literacy all year round. If you celebrate International Literacy Day, ILA asks that you share on social media with #ILD15 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

Michigan Reads! One Book One State Children's Book Program

This year's book is Do Unto Otters: A Book about Manners by Laurie Keller.  Are you new to Michigan Reads?  Check out the video , overview, and programming guide available from the Library of Michigan. 

Upcoming Professional Development

At Eastern Michigan University

EdCamp EMWP:

Total Contact Literacy

October 24, 2015

8:00am-4:30pm

Pray-Harrold Hall

Eastern Michigan University

More details at

http://edcampemwp.blogspot.com

August

 Back-to-School 

What's Your Name?

     Summer isn't quite over yet, but with August here, many of us will begin to think about starting the next school year.   Every year the vignette"My Name" from Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street  serves as a perfect piece to read and do a name activity with new students.  I first learned this activity in a teacher education class at MSU, but there are many adaptations.  Here are two covering various grade levels. These can also be shortened to one class period or less.

• ReadWriteThink: Investigating Names to Explore Personal History and Cultural Traditions. ( MS and HS)
• Using Literature to Prompt Writing Across the Grades-  My Name and Kevin Henkes's Chrysanthemum.  (Younger grades)

Upcoming Literacy Professional Development

Writing Collaborative in Literacy Today July/Aug 2015

Writing Collaborative was just published in the International Literacy Association's Literacy Today!



Literacy Today July/Aug 2015

July

Summer Reading for Educators

We share summer reading lists with students to keep them reading over the summer, but what about educators?  There are lists for you, too!  Education Closet's Summer 2015 Reading List has suggestions for professional learning, pleasure reading, family reads, and a look ahead to titles for your classroom next year.  

What are you reading this summer?   Share your titles in the comment section.   

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Summer Professional Development

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Echoes and Reflections:  Holocaust Education

August 27, 2015   8:30-3:30 at WISD

FREE and open to ALL Social Studies teachers in grades 6-12  

SCHECHS available

Lunch not provided

Echoes and Reflections is a comprehensive Holocaust education program that delivers professional development and a rich array of resources for middle and high school teachers. Echoes and Reflections prepares educators to teach about the Holocaust in a way that stimulates engagement and critical thinking while providing opportunities for students to see the relevance of this complex history to their own lives.
See more information HERE 

REGISTER HERE

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Fall 2015 Professional Development

June

It's June!  

How do you Keep Calm and Teach On at this time of year? 
K-12 Teachers from our literacy networks shared many suggestions in our May meetings that keeps kids engaged so you can teach on:

• Get outside!  This is a good time for students to write using the five senses, nature observations, the health benefits of being outdoors or a myriad of other things that come to us with a change of scenery. 

• Reflect!  Teachers and students need to reflect upon all the hard work done throughout the year.  Take some time to review all of that and write reflection letters to yourselves or parents.  

• Storytelling!    If you feel you didn't read aloud as much as you wanted to this year, or your students like oral storytelling, make time for that now. It's engaging for all age groups.

• Try a new tool!  Exercise skills learned throughout the year with a new tool:
• Pinterest for creating food groups/healthy meal boards
• This I Believe writing
• Kahoot game based learning
• Aurasma presentations for augmented reality
• Wonderopolis to explore the many questions kids have.

Summer Reading

Keep your students reading this summer with these SUMMER READING LISTS 
and SUMMER READING PROGRAMS.   

Summer Professional Development

  Writing Collaborative

June 16, 17, 18     WISD     8:30-3:00     Open to all grade 4-12 teachers      $125

REGISTER HERE

 Helping teachers and students understand writing in the content areas in order to make explicit the processes and strategies needed to improve student writing.

**All trainings are three days in length: 

 Lunch not provided.  SCHECHS available.

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The Study of Early Literacy  

 August 3-7    8:30-3:30  WISD   FREE

 ( Open to PreK-3 Livingston and Washtenaw Educators only) 

The Study of Early Literacy (SOEL) is a committed group of PreK-3 educators learning, researching, and applying best practices in the teaching of early literacy.  While SOEL gears up for our third year, we are pleased that our work has led to a publication in the Michigan Reading Journal.  

Interested in joining us this summer and for the 2015-2016 school year?  Read and complete this form or contact me at mbrooksyip@washtenawisd.org or 734-994-8100 ext. 1266.

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Echoes and Reflections:  Holocaust Education

August 27, 2015   8:30-3:30 at WISD. 

Open to ALL Social Studies teachers in grades 6-12  FREE SCHECHS availableLunch not provided.

Echoes and Reflections is a comprehensive Holocaust education program that delivers professional development and a rich array of resources for middle and high school teachers. Echoes and Reflections prepares educators to teach about the Holocaust in a way that stimulates engagement and critical thinking while providing opportunities for students to see the relevance of this complex history to their own lives. 
See more information HERE 

REGISTER HERE

May

Crafting Digital Writing

     April 23 was a day of Crafting Digital Writing with Dr. Troy Hicks for over 75 teachers of Washtenaw and Livingston County.  Our day is documented on Troy's Wikispace designed especially for that day. Through careful consideration of our Mode, Media, Audience, Purpose and Situation, we explored multiple digital tools to use for our own writing as well as in K-12 classrooms. After a look at many real-life student and teacher examples, we had time to explore and create.  A group favorite was WeVideo, a tool for creating digital stories. 

*Save the date for October 8th, 2015 when Troy returns to work with us on Digital Reading! 

Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities

     May 16, 17, 18- virtual and free! 

   This virtual conference is hosted by the faculty at the University of Michigan School of Education and School of Information. The WISD and LESA is proud to partner in 4T.

The conference is FREE and OPEN to all educators.   The sessions target K-12 practicing and preservice teachers.   Links to the virtual rooms are found on the conference schedule page.  SCHECHS are available.  Register today! 

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  Writing Collaborative

June 16, 17, 18     WISD     8:30-3:00     Open to all grade 4-12 teachers      $125

REGISTER HERE

 Helping teachers and students understand writing in the content areas in order to make explicit the processes and strategies needed to improve student writing.

**All trainings are three days in length: 

 Lunch not provided.  SCHECHS available.

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The Study of Early Literacy  

 August 3-7    8:30-3:30  WISD   FREE

 ( Open to PreK-3 Livingston and Washtenaw Educators only) 

The Study of Early Literacy (SOEL) is a committed group of PreK-3 educators learning, researching, and applying best practices in the teaching of early literacy.  While SOEL gears up for our third year, we are pleased that our work has led to a publication in the Michigan Reading Journal.  Interested in joining us this summer and for the 2015-2016 school year?  Read and complete this form or contact me at mbrooksyip@washtenawisd.org or 734-994-8100 ext. 1266.

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Echoes and Reflections:  Holocaust Education

August 27, 2015   8:30-3:30 at WISD. 
Open to any Social Studies teacher in grades 6-12  
FREE 
SCHECHS available
Lunch not provided.
Echoes and Reflections is a comprehensive Holocaust education program that delivers professional development and a rich array of resources for middle and high school teachers. Echoes and Reflections prepares educators to teach about the Holocaust in a way that stimulates engagement and critical thinking while providing opportunities for students to see the relevance of this complex history to their own lives. 

See more information HERE 

REGISTER HERE

April

 Student Choice and Authentic Learning Experiences 

A message coming through loud and clear in all of our teacher network studies here at WISD/LESA is the importance of authentic literacy experiences for students.  From collaborations with Dr. Nell Duke to Dr. Ernest Morrell, our learning this year moves us toward making school activities authentic for students.   Listen to what Nancie Atwell, winner of the first Global Teacher Prize, says about authentic literacy experiences.  

The Study of Early Literacy: A Network Model for Teacher Professional Development

The Study of Early Literacy is a committed group of PreK-3 educators learning, researching, and applying best practices in the teaching of early literacy.  While SOEL gears up for our third year, we are pleased that our work has led to a publication in the Michigan Reading Journal.  If you ever wanted to know more about SOEL and the network model of teacher professional development, this article is for you.   Still have questions?  Contact me! 

 Spring Professional Development Offerings

March

     The 4T Virtual Conference began as a grassroots effort in 2011 as an opportunity for educators from across the globe to connect, network, and learn from each other about issues in technology education.  About 700 K-16 educators from across the globe sign up each year to attend the conference!  The conference is hosted by the faculty at the University of Michigan School of Educationand School of Information.  We are proud to partner with Oakland County Schools, the Washtenaw Intermedia School District, and Livingston ESA in Michigan.

The conference is FREE and OPEN to all educators.   The sessions target K-12 practicing and preservice teachers.  The conference is held virtually—no plane tickets, no hotel fees!  Links to the virtual rooms are found on the conference schedule page.

LitWorld & World Read Aloud Day March 4

World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words and creates a community of readers taking action to show the world that the right to literacy belongs to all people. By raising our voices together on this day we show the world’s children that we support their futures: that they have the right to read, to write, and to share their stories.

  Check out LitWorld to learn more about their work, AND to get free kits for World Read Aloud Day for your classroom, building, or office. There is even a FREE picture book to download. Plan to participate? Please share in the comments below.

Spring Literacy Summit on Digital Writing at WISD 

February

Socially, Culturally and Technologically Relevant Instruction 

On January 21, Dr. Ernest Morrell  led a workshop on Socially, Culturally and Technologically Relevant Instruction with a focus on literacy.  Dr. Morrell's main points centered on:

• Cultivating Youth Voices for motivation, literacy, identity, achievement, and social awareness.

• Using multicultural literature to develop powerful reading identities. See reading ladders!

• Using Popular Culture to engage students and teach critical reading of media.

• Teach kids to do research and using findings for social action.

See Dr. Morrell's PowerPoint slides here. 

Did you attend?   How did Dr. Morrell's workshop influence your thinking about instruction?   Comment below! 

LitWorld &

World Read Aloud Day

 March 4

World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words and creates a community of readers taking action to show the world that the right to literacy belongs to all people. By raising our voices together on this day we show the world’s children that we support their futures: that they have the right to read, to write, and to share their stories.

  Check out LitWorld to learn more about their work, AND to get free kits for World Read Aloud Day for your classroom, building, or office. There is even a FREE picture book to download. Plan to participate? Please share in the comments below.

Upcoming Literacy Professional Development at WISD

  Writing Collaborative

 Helping teachers and students understand writing in the content areas in  order to make explicit the processes and strategies needed to improve  student writing, including:

-What we do when we write

-Practice of successful writers
-Helping students measure metacognition
-Four sure things teachers can do to improve student writing

**All trainings are three days in length: 

 Winter 2015- February 25, 26, and March 12      REGISTER HERE

SAVE THE DATE!

  April 23, 2015   8:30-3:30 

Mixing Sources, Amplifying Voices:

Crafting Writing in a Digital Age

K-12 Literacy Summit with Dr. Troy Hicks  at WISD

As the inputs continue to multiply, how can we help students find, evaluate, and synthesize information from a variety of sources? More importantly, how can we help them craft digital writing in effective ways, utilizing the information that they have found to develop multimedia texts? Bring your favorite device, because in this interactive workshop we will explore a variety of web-based tools and mobile applications to help students mix together a variety of sources and amplify their digital voices.

*More information on registration to come

January - Happy New Year!

Socially and Culturally Relevant Literacy

We are ready to kick off the first half of 2015 and the second half of this school year with a focus on socially and culturally relevant literacy.

Dr. Ernest Morrell will be joining January 21st at WISD from 9:00-3:00.

*In network members of RA,WC, or SOEL at WISD/LESA register HERE

*Outside network register HERE

*SCHECHS available for this day

C3 Coffee with Cameron

College, Career, & Civic Life- C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards and The Civil Rights Initiative

Join us on January 13, 2015 from 4:15-5:30 for an informal overview on the C3 Social Studies standards with Jim Cameron, Social Studies Consultant from the Michigan Department of Education.

The Michigan Department of Education is in the process of updating the K-12 social studies content expectations (GLCEs and HSCEs) through the lens of the C3 Social Studies Framework’s Indicators and Arc of Inquiry.

Do you have questions about the C3 Framework or the updating process?

Do you have comments and ideas to share about what should be done?

Do you have suggestions for updating the content expectations?

Civil Rights Initiative

The Southern Poverty Law Center evaluates state social studies standards across the country and gave Michigan an “F” for our GLCEs and HSCEs. MDE is working with the Michigan Civil Rights Department, U of M’s School of Social Work, and U of M’s Law School Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse to improve our civil rights content. Register HERE.

Upcoming Disciplinary Literacy Training

  Writing Collaborative

 Helping teachers and students understand writing in the content areas in  order to make explicit the processes and strategies needed to improve  student writing, including:

-What we do when we write

-Practice of successful writers
-Helping students measure metacognition
-Four sure things teachers can do to improve student writing

All trainings are three days in length: 

• Winter 2015- February 25, 26, and March 12

REGISTER HERE

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Reading Apprenticeship

Participants will: 1. Learn about the RA framework and     instructional practices that support students'      reading improvement. 2. Develop and refine their own classroom     practices in RA. 3. Learn powerful instructional strategies    that support content-area reading, writing,    and thinking. 4. Learn a set of rich routines to support the    'metacognitive' conversation at the heart of RA.

Training- Winter 2015: February 3, 4 and 24.   REGISTER HERE