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:
As the 2018-2019 school year comes to a close, SOEL teachers took time in our last meetings to reflect on and share what they learned about literacy instruction, the changes they made in teaching because of that learning, and how that, in turn, resulted in student learning. *Please see our charts from PreK SOEL and K-3 SOEL and our quick visual summary below:
IDLL and the Disciplinary Literacy Essentials!
After giving feedback three years ago, studying them for two, and being a pilot county for one, The Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction in Secondary Classrooms have finally been publicly released. In 2019-2020, our Inquiry into Disciplinary Literacy and Learning will continue to study disciplinary literacy through book studies, school visits, and collaborations with EMU and UM.
2019 Reading Book Lists from ILA
Just in time for summer reading, The International Literacy Association released the Choices Reading Lists. Each year, thousands of children, young adults, and educators around the United States select their favorite recently published books for the Choices reading lists. These lists are used in classrooms, libraries, and homes to help readers of all ages find books they will enjoy. Check them out for yourself and the children in your life:
Why is Diverse Literature Important in All Classrooms?
A start to our diverse books lending library: picture books on top,
upper EL and MS in the middle, HS on the bottom.
Thoughtful conversations and planning with SOEL and IDLL teachers, guidance on text selection from guest speaker Dr. Laura Jimenez from our Responsive Teaching Institutes, a wish and a book list from the late YCS teacher Caroline Jacob, and ongoing collaboration with Dr. Shayla Griffin, Culture and Diversity Consultant at WISD, are all part of helping us build and shape a county-wide lending library for diverse books. After selecting some K-12 diverse texts, SOEL met with Dr. Griffin to help understand and communicate why diverse and multicultural literature is important in all classrooms. Dr. Griffin says:
1. Multicultural books act as mirrors that affirm, validate, and celebrate our children’s identities
and lived experiences and the contributions people like them have made to the world.
Dr. Shayla R. Griffin, PhD. 2018
2. Multicultural books act as windows that expose students to the diversity of the broader world.
3. Multicultural books can help students and educators interrupt bias and prejudice.
Stay tuned for more on the Caroline Jacob Memorial Diverse Lending Library available in the 2019-2020 school year for Washtenaw County educators.
What are We Reading to Learn?
SOEL Teachers summarize, review and recommend books from
professional reading time this year
Professional books, and the time to read them, has always been part of SOEL since we formed in 2013. A few of our titles this year were:
Every Child a Super Reader: Seven Strengths to Enter a World of Possible, by Ernest Morrell and Pam Allyn, was a favorite for a second year in a row. Centered on Belonging, Curiosity, Friendship, Kindness, Confidence, Courage and Hope as Super Reader strengths, this book will certainly be on our SOEL list again next year, as it connects specifically to Essentials #1 and #10.
Identified classroom conditions to set up instructional agility and student investment;
Learned key components of instructional agility;
Learned strategies for developing student investment through instructional agility;
Reflected on our current instructional agility and student investment practices to determine next steps.
Take-aways centered on what student investment in assessment can do for their engagement in the classroom, particularly around literacy.
Examining diverse texts
SOEL 2 learned more about equity, inclusion and social justice in literacy and in school leadership during the March 14th Responsive Teaching Institute. SOEL learning on the importance of a book being written by who it is about will influence an upcoming county wide lending library of diverse books. Here are a few reputable sites educators can visit to help build a diverse classroom library:
SOEL 3took a field trip to 826 Michigan to learn about the writing non-profit in Ann Arbor and volunteer with a 2nd grade classroom from Lincoln Community Schools.
IDLLteamed up with the EMU Office of Campus and Community Writing to examine Disciplinary Literacies in college classrooms and the support for students at the University Writing Center.
Levels of Concern for Writing
Writing is prioritized in many classrooms across various subjects at EMU. From writing to learn in the various content areas, to learning to write genres specific to the discipline, professors and instructors detailed their instructional thoughts and decisions around writing in their classrooms. The University Writing Center helps student writers prioritize their writing in levels of concern- with purpose and audience of the highest concern and conventions of the lowest concern.
Upcoming Professional Learning
Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy Overviews-
SOEL Explores Sound and Rhthym in Early Literacy Learning
Through our SOEL at WISD collaboration with the University Musical Society at UM, teaching artist Marcia Daft demonstrated Sound Writing- Exploring Rhythm, Reading and Writing. First graders at Perry ELC in Ypsilanti participated in rhythm activities for identifying syllables in classmate's names, and ease of movement for classroom transitions.
Marcia then came to our SOEL meeting at WISD to work with teachers on incorporating rhythm into reading and writing in the classroom.
Celebrating March is Reading Month
Our friends at EMU's Campus and Community Writing (C2W) are celebrating March is Reading Month and the connections between reading and writing. Students, teachers, and family members are encouraged to conduct interviews with each other about their reading habits—and write up what they discover. You can use the interview questions linked HERE to get you started. If you share your writing with EMU C2W, along with signed permission forms, they will publish the pieces on their website and even select a few to be featured in their social media platforms.
Join the Assessment Literacy and SOEL Networksin learning more about how to structure learning environments that better allow teachers to accurately assess and respond to student learning and make real-time decisions that foster student investment. Educators will be able to identify the classroom conditions to set up instructional agility and student investment, describe key components of instructional agility, learn key strategies for developing student investment through instructional agility, reflect on current instructional agility and student investment practices to determine next steps.
Join all network teachersin learning about applying culturally relevant pedagogy across content areas. Participants will examine how the integration of content areas can further engage students in learning.
Presenters include:
Dr. Laura Jimenez on selecting culturally responsive books Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz on critical English education, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, racial literacy in urban teacher education.
While today, February 1, is officially World Read Aloud Day, we know it is really EVERY day!
Visit LitWorld for resources such as bookmarks, booklists, and events, but especially for their Read Aloud Guide to get started now and continue in the future.
SOEL and Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy
We did end up cancelling our January SOEL meetings due to the #polarvortex2019, but let's not forget that we can always see many SOEL teachers demonstrating Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy on the LiteracyEssentials.org site.
In this video, you'll see longtime SOEL member, Roshawda Miller talk about coaching reading in small groups.
Join us February 14th 8:30-3:30 at Saline Liberty School to process learning and plan forward for Culturally Relevant Teaching as part of our next Planning and Implementation Day. Also, save the date for the next Responsive Teaching Institute on March 14th at EMU when we will host Dr. Dorinda Carter Andrews, Dr. Laura Jimenez, Dr. Terry Flennaugh, and Kimberly Wardell Stone.
Teacher Action Research
Are you interested in learning about Teacher Action Research? The 4th in our SOEL Teacher Action Research Webinar Series with Dr. Cathy Fleischer will be on February 13th at 4:00.
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.
