This newsletter has been created by Wayne RESA literacy consultants for literacy educators. In each issue, you will find Literacy Learning Network updates and information, statewide initiative updates, book synopses, teaching and coaching strategies, and upcoming professional learning opportunities. We look forward to partnering with you as we engage in best practices in literacy instruction for all students.
Literacy Learning Network Updates
RESA-Led Book Studies
Over the last couple of years, WRESA’s Literacy team conducted two book studies: No More Random Acts of Literacy Coaching by Erin Brown and Dr. Susan L’Allier and Cultivating Genius by Dr. Gholdy Muhammad. Recently, a group of COSAs also completed a book study of Shifting the Balance by Jan Burkins and Kari Yates. Many participants enjoyed the studies, integrated some strategies and concepts into their instructional practices, and changed some personal beliefs about different ideas or gained a deeper understanding of the content.
Professional learning experiences can help develop instructional practices, push academic thinking and discourse, and stretch personal beliefs or mindsets. If educators implement concepts from the book study into their instructional practices, observe their peers, and participate in continuous conversations that shift pedagogies, risk-taking is a factor.
Three months is an ideal time to conduct a book study with staff because it feels smooth, but the process is not too long or creates boredom. Calendarizing dates and specifying chapters or pages to read in advance provides adequate preparation time for participants. Remember to ask a few reflective questions or reflect on quotes from the text to promote conversations. Make it fun, engaging, and collaborative using Google Docs, Google Classroom, or Padlet to share ideas and resources.
Our Mission and Core Values
Our Literacy Learning Network Advisory Team recently drafted and revised a set of Core Values and a Mission statement to further ground our county-wide commitment to excellence in literacy instruction for all Wayne County students. From discussion to draft to feedback and revision, the process was collaborative and comprehensive. The Mission statement and Core Values can be found on our Literacy Learning Network site, and both affirm our collective belief that excellence, collaboration, and equity are foundational to “empower[ing] learners to develop lifelong literacy identities.”
Coaching Connections
Our Wayne County Coaching Network and the COSA Collaborative have engaged in several all-day professional learning sessions this fall. Highlights include a renewed focus on the Literacy Essentials as our statewide framework for literacy teaching and learning, opportunities to engage in and lead professional book studies, and designated time to practice and refine coaching skills and dispositions. Our work is ongoing as we continue to develop a county-wide coaching culture that celebrates the unique needs of our many districts and PSAs.
Statewide Updates
After the 2021-2022 pilot year, the newly revised middle school (grades 6-8) MAISA Units are now live. The revision team suggests that schools begin with the About the Michigan Middle School ELA Units document. Additional supports include a self-paced Pear Deck as well as virtual networking sessions.
Join us in Grand Rapids in March! The Annual Michigan Reading Association Conference welcomes many nationally recognized literacy experts, including Shawntai Brown, Justin, Rogers, Brittany Rogers, Sonja Cherry-Paul, Aeriale Johnson, Angeline Boulley, Kylene Beers, Bob Probst, Kelly Gallagher, Penny Kittle, Colby Sharp, Alice McGinty, Julia B. Lindsay, Troy Hicks, and Stephanie Affinito. Also, cast your votes for the Great Lakes Great Books Awards! Voting is open until January 14, 2023.
Recordings from the 2021 and 2022 Building a Better Assessment Future Conferences are now available online. Engage in learning at your own pace as you work to “elevate assessment […] to propel student learning.”
Read, Write, ROAR! is an English Language Arts program for kindergarten through 3rd grade learners. Each lesson helps students build literacy skills through word-building lessons, read-alouds, writing exercises, exploring informational text, and more. Taught by Michigan teachers from across the state, the program features lessons aligned with state standards and teaching techniques while demonstrating the research-based best practices outlined in Michigan’s Literacy Essentials.
Section 35a(10) of FY 23 State School Aid Act allocates $10,000,000 to MDE to administer and provide training of, in partnership with Lexia® Learning, Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) (grades K-3), or LETRS for Early Childhood Educators (LETRS EC) (Pre-K) to interested pre-K to grade 6 educators and pre-K-12 certified special education personnel with endorsements in learning disabilities, emotional impairments, or speech and language impairments. Registration for Cohort 5 is open and training will start in January 2023.
While November officially marks National American Heritage month, this teachers’ guide from the National Endowment for the Humanities will introduce teachers and students to the cultures and explore the histories of some of the over 5 million people who identify as American Indians in the United States, with resources designed across humanities curricula and classrooms throughout the year. For something closer to home, try this resource written by the Confederation of Michigan’s Tribal Educators that aligns resources to our specific MI SS K-12 standards. Click here: Michigan Social Studies Standards Guide | CMTED
Books and Strategies
Book Talk
Igniting Passion in Readers of All Ages
All Because You Matter
Tami Charles
In this beautifully illustrated book by Bryan Collier, Tami Charles writes a story about a couple telling their unborn baby how much he matters. Charles eloquently and metaphorically places mirrors, windows, and sliding doors in the text so Black children can see their cultural and historical identities. As the child grows into a toddler, he sees himself in pictures and realizes his place in the universe matters. When children of other cultures look through the windows and sliding doors of this poetic story, they may make connections to their academic, cultural, and social identities and the daily challenges they encounter in and out of school.
Isaiah Dunn Saves the Day
Kelly J. Baptiste
In her second book about the endearing protagonist Isaiah Dunn, Baptiste once again taps into the many issues students confront at home, at school, and in their communities. Between his sister Charlie, his mom, Miz Rita, and his friends, Isaiah begins to doubt his time management skills. Yet, when urged by his teacher to join a mentor-mentee program, Isaiah adds another commitment and begins to mentor the unruly Kobe. He is about to give up when he discovers Kobe’s secret, and through the power of stories and the wisdom of his late father, Isaiah is finally able to be a true mentor and friend.
Ida in the Middle
Nora Lester Murad
Ida is a Middle Eastern teenage girl who experiences racism firsthand in school because of her Palestinian culture. Each year Anti-Arab racism becomes more prevalent, and students treat her as a dangerous outsider and blame her for violent outbreaks in the Middle East. For safety precautions, Ida’s parents transferred her to a private school when she entered the eighth grade. Students were assigned to explore and create a school-wide presentation of something they were passionate about and proud of for their eighth-grade capstone civics project. As Ida navigates through school, she tries to find her place and choose who she wants to be, a Palestinian or an American.
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry
Joya Goffney
In her first novel, author Joya Goffney captures the anxiety and awkwardness of high school seniors as they tentatively plan for their futures. Her main character Quinn has learned to cope by making very personal lists, and unfortunately, her lists land in the hands of bullies who promptly begin to blackmail her. As Quinn confronts her truths, fears, and hopes, she learns about the bonds of family and true friendships, and she finds unexpected allies along the way. Quinn’s journey is one of both self-awareness and self-acceptance, and she ultimately learns to live without lists and to love herself as she is.
Rebellious Read Alouds
Vera Ahiyya
Vera Ahiyya’s Rebellious Read Alouds is not an ordinary book or ideas to store on a bookshelf. It provides educators with a list of diverse books to add to your classroom library and inspire student discourse around culturally relevant topics using read alouds. Additionally, Ahiyya comprised an array of resources to add to a teacher’s toolbox along with 45 read aloud lessons to compliment the picture book titles. The resources align to ELA and social justice standards.
Not Light, But Fire
Matthew R. Kay
With a conversational and engaging tone, Matthew Kay guides educators to consider the ways they can ignite difficult and critical conversations in their classrooms. Like the book’s title, which invokes Frederick Douglass’s charge to abolish slavery, Kay urges readers to engage their students in conversations about race. By building a stable classroom environment and carefully scaffolding discourse moves, students will become fluent in “meaningful, productive dialogues about race” both within and beyond the classroom.
2022 MCTE Teacher of the Year: Janice Rowley
Janice Rowley’s journey to excellence has certainly been eventful. From her college days as a world-class sprinter and hurdler to her tenure as an Eastern Michigan University professor, Ms. Rowley began teaching for the Detroit Public Schools Community District with a clear vision of self: “Teaching is not just a profession. Teaching is who I am.” Having worked in the district for the past 21 years, Ms. Rowley has spent the last seven teaching English Language Arts at Renaissance High School. Her fervent desire is to build “a culture of readers,” as evidenced by the Phoenix Lending Library she cultivated through donations and personal purchases. This library, housed in an office within the media center, burgeons out into the main space because there simply is not enough room to house all of the books. The robust collection of young adult books are colorfully arranged, and students can be found on the comfortable furniture enjoying a good book. “I know the power of reading,” Ms. Rowley says, “and I know students aren’t reading enough.” Ms. Rowley’s reputation as a dedicated and student-centered teacher, illustrated by the several students who stopped by as we talked, caught the attention of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English (MCTE). Annually, MCTE chooses a Teacher of the Year, and as an NCTE affiliate, the MCTE Teacher of the Year also receives the NCTE High School Teacher of Excellence Award. As such, in October and November respectively, Ms. Rowley was recognized for her unwavering commitment to student success. It is clear that she sees the value of setting a strong foundation as well as upholding rigorous standards for her students, but she is also acutely aware of the many hats teachers wear today. As Ms. Rowley voiced concerns about teachers’ fatigue and general overload, we pondered a perfect world for educators and students. “In a perfect world, families and communities would get more support so that kids can be here and be present. [In a perfect world], teachers need to be knowledgeable and understanding so that they can provide an equitable environment. [In a perfect world], all children should have one adult in their lives that requires them to do the very best they can do every day in school.” While the present day is by no means perfect, the students of Renaissance High School have undoubtedly found the “one adult in their lives that requires them to do the very best,” and her name is Janice Rowley.
Noteworthy News
The Disciplinary Literacy Task Force has been working on self-paced courses for individual teachers or those working in teams as they begin to implement the Disciplinary Literacy Essentials. Course 1, Identity and Community, Course 2, Framing Problems and Setting Purpose, and Course 3, Planning for and Implementing Assessment, are live! All courses are free and include SCECHs. The remaining four courses will be gradually released throughout the 2022-2023 school year, but Course 1 will lay a strong foundation for the learning ahead.
Professional Learning
| Upcoming Events at Wayne RESA |
See our new interactive Wayne RESA Course Catalog (below) for links to course offerings, their descriptions, and online registration in Learning Stream. Simply click on the cover image below, and then click on Literacy in the Table of Contents to peruse our offerings. Don’t forget to check for interdisciplinary offerings by clicking on additional content areas. Many of our professional learning events will continue to be offered virtually. If the format for a session or series is unclear, please contact any of the Literacy Team members for details. |
Tech Resources: Where can I find...
Marley Dias, teenage author and activist, was motivated to find books with protagonists that look like her. Check out her website that includes a database of #1000BlackGirlsBooks as well as the short video that describes her mission.
Looking for an interactive platform to increase engagement? Try Edpuzzle. It can be used to customize online video content as a tool for teaching and/or learning.
Wayne RESA Literacy Team
Michelle Wagner, Manager of Educational Services
Mari Treece, Executive Director of Educational Services
If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, and you’d like to subscribe to it, please contact Laura Gabrion.
33500 Van Born Road • Wayne, MI 48184 • 734.334.1300 • 734.334.1620 fax • www.resa.net
Board of Education
James S. Beri • Mary E. Blackmon • Danielle Funderburg • Lynda S. Jackson • James Petrie
Daveda Colbert, Ph.D., Superintendent