Knowing that speaking and listening are important literacy skills, but often not incorporated into curriculum, Erik Palmer, consultant with ASCD, developed a media literacy unit entitled "Listening in the Digital Age." Erik answers questions such as Who teaches students to evaluate sound? Who teaches students to evaluate images? Who teaches students to evaluate video? Read Erik's whole article here. He will be coming to WISD on October 1st for a workshop on his speaking and listening framework for the K-12 classroom! (more info. to come this fall).
Using Text Sets to Support Common Core Implementation
Students need to be able to critically think about increasingly complex texts and to read across informational and literary texts. Building strong text sets can be one way of supporting teachers in providing the necessary reading experiences. A text set is a group of books used to build background knowledge and common vocabulary around a theme or topic.
In the text set an anchor book is used as the focus of a unit or lesson and a series of additional information at various reading levels is strategically chosen to support the anchor text. The materials available at the Library of Michigan MDE site explain how the sets can be created and used. You will also find text sets listed here in this growing resource site.
Upcoming Professional Development
Writing Collaborative- Secondary Writing in the Content Areas- June 18, 19, 20 at WISD. Register HERE
These are useful for communicating, collaborating, note-taking and annotating.
Pocket helps manage your readings. If you get numerous online reading suggestions per day or week, this is a great tool to manage them and keep them all in one place. It has a "night" function that dims the screen.
GroupMe allows you set up a private group for text messaging. A class could have its own GroupMe discussion space, and then students can send each other reminders, ask each other questions, etc. This tool allows the class to communicate with each other inside and outside of classroom hours, and the students can go to each other for help. Works on phones, mobile devices like iPads or iPods, and computers, so students don't need a smart phone.
Remind101allows you to send texts to students without seeing each other's phone numbers. Several teachers use this one to send reminders like "First draft due tomorrow, and don't forget the Works Cited page."
Evernote is more of a "one-stop-shopping" app. It lets you manage notes, images, readings, and more all in one place. It has a free level and then for pay you get additional capabilities.
Subtext Subtext is a digital reading program built for K12 classrooms. Read and collaborate with your classroom for free by creating private groups, embedding discussion, finding content, researching, annotating and more.
*Thanks to RCWP teachers and Chelsea Writing Collaborative teachers for sharing!
Literacy Professional Development Offerings this Summer
Writing Collaborative Teacher Workshop at WISD- Secondary writing instruction in all content areas.
Inkstains- A summer writing camp for middle and high school students- located at EMU.
Read what literacy consultant Franki Sibberson suggests for some thoughtful literacy activities for the end of the school year and some non-fiction, picture books, YA novels and inspirational texts for all readers this summer.
NATIONAL POETRY MONTH is not just for English teachers!
Inspire the Next Poet Laureate!
Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers and poets throughout the country join to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events. Here are some helpful links.
•Edutopia offers a number of resources, including perspectives on how to teach poetry, classroom activities, and inspirational videos.
• At the American Academy of Poets, educators can sign up to get a free poster and check out other resources celebrating the event, including 30 ways to celebrate poetry.
• The Library of Congress offers Poetry 180, a poem a day for American high school students.
Writing in the Digital Age
In this Edutopia Big Thinkers video, Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, co-director of the National Writing Project, talks about writing in the digital age and how writing has evolved. How has communication through writing changed? As you watch and listen to Elyse, think about how this applies to your classroom, your students, and your teaching.
Professional Development
Writing Collaborative (grades 4-12)
April 29, 30, and May 16, 2014 at WISD 8:30-3:30
OR
June 18, 19, 20 2014 at WISD 8:30-3:30
*All details, costs, and registrations can be found on WISDGoSignMeUP!
____________________
Reading Apprenticeship (grades 4-12)
April 22, 23 and May 14, 2014 at WISD 8:30-3:30
OR
June 24, 25, 26 at WISD 8:30-3:30
*All details, costs, and registrations can be found on WISDGoSignMeUP!
The National Center for Literacy Education (NCLE) has shown that educators' most powerful learning experiences come from working with their colleagues. In a recent survey, NCLE wanted to find out if schools and districts are taking a capacity building or incentive driven approach to putting the CCSS for literacy in place. The graphic below illustrates their findings:
On February 27th, teachers of all subject areas, instructional coaches, and administrators met with Literacy Leaders of Washtenaw and Livingston counties to plan for literacy instruction implementation in their buildings. If you missed it, please view the highlights below for updates on Writing Collaborative and Reading Apprenticeship.
*Upcoming Writing Collaborative and Reading Apprenticeship Training for Teachers:
Part of being literate means being able to read, comprehend, and write about graphs. Graph of the Week provides graphs, questions for reading and thinking about them, and writing prompts for each graph, and it is all free!
*Thanks to Brandon Szwejkowski of Milan Area Schools for sharing these at our Writing Collaborative meeting!
______________________________ Other Literacy PD this Spring & Summer
Sometimes we are so focused on teaching literacy skills to students, we lose track of how our own language might be influencing student learning. The Responsive Classroom has some tips on using language to reinforce, remind, and redirect in the classroom:
Growth Vs. Fixed Mindset
Our particular mindset is something that touches each of us no matter what role we are in in our jobs and personal lives. It is especially crucial when thinking about our work in education with students. Carol Dweck published her work on mindset back in 2006, but has been receiving a great deal of attention lately.
The infographic below is an excellent summary of growth vs. fixed mindset and I've copied a brief definition from Brainpickings:
A “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way. A “growth mindset,” on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities. Out of these two mindsets, which we manifest from a very early age, springs a great deal of our behavior, our relationship with success and failure in both professional and personal contexts, and ultimately our capacity for happiness.
What is your mindset?
How does it influence the work you do in education?
Upcoming Literacy PD at WISD
Writing Collaborative (grades 4-12):
February 6, 7, and March 7, 2014 at WISD 8:30-3:30
With the added snow day, I hope everyone has had a chance to re-charge and get ready for the rest of the school year. Please check out these reflective writing prompts for the new year (for you and your students), children's and young adult must reads for 2014, and our upcoming literacy professional development offerings at WISD.
Questions to Ask for New Year
( Eric Liu FROM CNN) -- Here's a New Year's resolution that's easy to keep, good for your health and beneficial for your relationships. And it won't cost you a penny. Sound too good to be true? Read on.
In recent months, I've been working with a group of creative thinkers who are mining the meaning of a good life. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Bill Damon and Howard Gardner are renowned psychologists who've collaborated to create the Good Project, which explores the behaviors and mindsets that add up to good work, good play and good citizenship.
Together, with Lynn Barendsen, we've developed a simple set of questions for the New Year. They're catalysts for reflection rather than formulas for imitation. Their purpose is to get us thinking about our purpose, in both private and community life.
We originally developed these questions for young people, on the belief that the new generation doesn't get enough structured opportunities to explore meaning and values. But the truth is, it's not just millennials today who might lack purpose, feel uncertain about shared beliefs and goals or wish they could be part of something greater than themselves. It's people ofall ages.
We Americans rarely get to make a truly mindful assessment of who we are, what's shaped us and why we hope to change. If we did that first, we'd probably be more capable of making wise resolutions and keeping them. We'd become more conscious of the web of relationship and mutual obligation that holds us together and that makes our freedom truly worth cherishing. And we might just end up being better humans.
So I invite you, whatever your stage of life, to explore these questions. Ask them of yourself. Talk with family and friends about them. Write and share your reflections. Feel free to adapt and revise the questions to suit your circumstances. And let us know on Twitter what the experience is like for you and those close to you.
If you make it your first resolution to consider these questions well, your other resolutions will almost certainly end up being more honest, more meaningful to you and more useful to others. Enjoy reflecting, and may your new year be happy -- and deeply good.
Who you are
1. Think of something (an activity, a job) to which you're really committed and that takes up a lot of your time. Why do you do it? Do you consider it time well spent? Why or why not? What would make you stop being involved?
2. Who or what do you consider your community? What do you do for the community? What would you expect the community to do it for you?
3. To whom or what do you feel responsible? What does that entail? What happens when you don't meet that responsibility?
4. Are you a good worker? A good citizen? A good person? How do you distinguish among them? Which is most important to you?
Influences
5. Who's influenced you, and how do you pass it on?
6. What individuals and institutions do you admire and why (current or past)?
7. What/whom don't you admire and why?
8. What and whom do you love?
Aspirations
9. What would it mean for you to be successful? How important is recognition, through money or esteem? What about unheralded acts or contributions?
10. What would it mean for you fail? Who or what will make that judgment for you and about you?
11. What kind of person do you want to be right now?
12. What should -- and shouldn't -- be written in your obituary?
Children's and YA Reading Lists for 2014
This list from the American Library Association (ALA) for Notable Children's Books for 2014 is worth a read if you get an opportunity to purchase new books for your classroom or library. Notable is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children’s books, the term “notable” includes books for all age levels (through age 14) of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry, folklore, and picture books that reflect and encourage children’s interest in exemplary ways. The evaluation criteria to be used are:
Our Study of Early Literacy (SOEL) group here at WISD has been deep into reading recent research and learning from top experts at local universities. Dr. Tanya Wright from MSU shared this video illustrating the importance of teaching more than just vocabulary words. Look below the "tip of the iceberg" to reveal what is included in truly understanding the meaning of a word.
Writing Collaborative: Addressing Instruction for 21st Century Writing Skills
Writing Collaborative was developed at WISD by five Washtenaw County teachers. The mission of Writing
Collaborative is to understand writing in content areas in order
to make explicit the processes and strategies needed to expand and improve
student writing. Writing Collaborative believes that:
Teachers should maintain
ownership for their students’ writing in their content area.
An interdisciplinary approach is
key to improving student writing.
Content area teachers who
understand their own writing processes are the best mentors for their student
writers.
Teachers are the best teachers of
other teachers.
Educational practice should be
balanced with theory and research.
Students should have flexibility
and choice when writing.
Reading Apprenticeship provides a
foundation for better writing instruction.
Interested in training?
During the initial 3-day
training, Writing Collaborative helps teachers help their students determine:
ØWhat we do when we write
ØThe practices of successful writers
ØHow to help students attend to their metacognition and make
thoughtful choices as writers
ØFour Sure Things Teachers Can Do to
Improve Student Writing
·Mind
the GAP:genre, audience, purpose
·Use
models and modeling
·Increase
opportunities for students to write
·Give appropriate feedback
*See the bottom of this post for dates and registration info.
*We are interested in learning more about the needs of teachers in the area of writing instruction. Please take this SHORT SURVEY to help us continue quality professional development in this area.
*Have you already been trained in Writing Collaborative? If you are a secondary science or social studies teacher looking to work more on your content area writing instruction, Dr. Chauncey Monte-Sano and Dr. Leah Bricker at the University of Michigan are offering opportunities. Contact Melissa Brooks-Yip at mbrooksyip@wash.k12.mi.us or 734-994-8100 ext 1266
In Reading Today, Lauren
Aimonette Liang (University of Utah), Naomi Watkins (University of La Verne),
and Deanna Day (Washington State University/Vancouver) suggest ways to find
challenging, high-quality texts that match the criteria of the Common Core
State Standards. “Be aware of the various types of nonfiction, and strive to
include a variety in classrooms,” they urge. Teachers should also consider
different formats: picture books, magazines, novels, how-to guides, and a
variety of informational texts.
