{"id":529,"date":"2019-08-14T17:18:39","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T17:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.resa.net\/ela-newsletter\/?p=529"},"modified":"2025-04-08T16:11:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T16:11:48","slug":"use-your-megaphone-inspiring-excellence-in-literacy-instruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.resa.net\/ela-newsletter\/2019\/08\/14\/use-your-megaphone-inspiring-excellence-in-literacy-instruction\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cUse Your Megaphone\u201d: Inspiring Excellence in Literacy Instruction"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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August 2019<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Literacy\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In order to support districts in creating and sustaining their literacy coaching frameworks, the Wayne County Literacy Learning Network<\/a> is offering training, professional learning, and networking opportunities.\u00a0 Please see this coaching brochure<\/a> for more information.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Wayne\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Statewide Updates<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The revised MI K-12 Social Studies Standards<\/a> have been approved by the Michigan Department of Education. The assumption is that schools will implement the new standards during the 2019-20 school year or when LEA\u2019s deem it appropriate. A newly aligned M-STEP for Grades 5, 8, and 11 is not expected for another two to three years. Until then, the test remains aligned to the previous standards. If you have any questions, please contact David Hales at halesd@resa.net<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>

The Essential Instructional Practices in Language and Emergent Literacy: Birth to Age 3<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>has been published by the MAISA GELN Early Literacy Task Force and will soon be added to the comprehensive set <\/a><\/span>of Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy.<\/span><\/p>

The Michigan Department of Education Fall 2019 Continuous Improvement Conference<\/a> is scheduled for\u00a0<\/span>November 18-19, 2019\u00a0in Lansing, MI. The two-day conference will focus on\u00a0<\/span>Meeting the Needs of the Whole Child through Systemic Thinking <\/em>and will feature keynote speakers Dr. Jim Harris and Michael Fullan.
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As a reminder,\u00a0<\/span>MDE has released the <\/span>cut score for the Read by Grade 3 (RBG3) legislation<\/strong> <\/em>(see below). Read more about the <\/span>decision-making process<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

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As we prepare for the implementation of\u00a0RBG3<\/strong><\/em>, MDE encourages the use of their Read by Grade Three Guide<\/a>, which includes resources such as a parent tool kit and supports for EL learners. Wayne RESA has also created a comprehensive Third Grade Reading Legislation Guide<\/a> with strategies for educators and families.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Literacy is one of three priorities established by MDE as part of its Top 10 in 10 Strategic Plan<\/i><\/b>. The Michigan Action Plan for Literacy Excellence (MAPLE) has three goals: to align policy, funding and resources; to support research-informed instructional practices; and to support literacy leaders. More information and resources are provided on MDE’s Early Literacy<\/a> page.<\/span><\/p>

EduPaths has created four modules on classroom library construction<\/a>. Topics include pertinent research, assessing needs through inventories, and building, sustaining, and organizing classroom libraries. 1.5 SCECHs are available upon completion of the modules.<\/span><\/p>

New district and ISD literacy coaches are encouraged to reserve September 23-26 for the following introductory session: K-3 Literacy Essentials, Intro<\/a>. Registration and additional information will be available soon.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The Communications Points for Early, Elementary, and Disciplinary Literacy<\/a> guide has been designed to <\/span><\/span>support state and local literacy leaders and educators with formal and informal communications points,\u00a0<\/span>including social media considerations, for the Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy documents.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Books and Strategies<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Book Talk<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Igniting a Passion for History in Readers of All Ages\n<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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* in honor of the newly approved MI Social Studies Standards<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Hello Lighthouse\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span>
Sophie Blackall<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>

\"CoverTenderly illustrated, Sophie Blackall’s 2019 Caldecott Medal winner recounts the life of a lighthouse keeper. Isolated at sea, the keeper sends letters via bottle and awaits deliveries of flour and beans. One such delivery brings his wife, and they spend their time together keeping watch over the rough waters of the sea. Eventually, the coast guard arrives with a mechanized light that will run unassisted. The lighthouse keeper and his family move to a home on land–their beloved lighthouse within view. Blackall’s end pages supply readers with additional details about lighthouses and the many sacrifices of their solitary keepers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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One Crazy Summer<\/i><\/b><\/span>
Rita Williams-Garcia<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>

\"CoverDuring the summer of 1968, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern travel by plane from their loving home in Brooklyn to the green stucco house of their preoccupied and indifferent mother.\u00a0 Having made the cross country journey to California alone, the three young girls yearn for their mother’s affection. Instead, they discover that her work with the Black Panthers takes much of her time and effort.\u00a0 Despite some initial reservations, the sisters begin to understand the Panthers’ deep community support and why their mother uses her writing as a platform to resist racial injustice.\u00a0
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The War that Saved My Life<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/span>
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>

\"CoverAda and Jamie live in London with their uncaring and often cruel mother. Born with a club foot, life is particularly hard for Ada. As conflicts throughout Europe intensify, city officials decide to relocate all of the city’s children to the country. Having rarely been outside of their apartment, Ada bravely walks with Jamie to the train, moving them away from London and into the unknown. Susan Smith, an older single woman, reluctantly takes the two children in, and at first, their relationship is fraught with problems. Eventually, Ada, Jamie and Susan acclimate to each other. Susan’s genuine love frees Ada from the loneliness and isolation she experienced in London, and the three forge a family tie that cannot be broken.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mare’s War<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/span>
Tanita S. Davis<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>

\"Cover<\/span><\/span>Octavia and Tali do not have the traditional, cookie-baking grandmother. Instead, she wears trendy clothes, smokes and prefers to go by Mare. Forced by their parents, the girls accompany her on a cross-country road trip. As Mare tells them the story of her turbulent young life in Alabama and her eventual escape to the Women’s Army Corps, which takes her across an ocean during World War II, the girls finally begin to understand their strong and admirable grandmother. The alternating narratives, framed by old letters and contemporary postcards, add an epistolary effect and weave together their generational stories of family, sacrifice, bravery, and resilience.\u00a0<\/span>
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Historical Fiction for Children: Capturing the Past<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/span>
Fiona M. Collins and Judith Graham<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>

\"BookIn this second edition, Collins and Graham continue to explore historical narratives and their value for young readers. The text is organized into three sections; the first, Exploring the Narrative Past<\/em>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>helps teachers assess and select appropriate and accurate historical fiction for their classrooms by considering what it means to write “responsibly about history.” In the next section, <\/span>Writing about the Narrative Past<\/em>, Collins and Graham provide accounts of authors who make pointed authorial decisions as they breathe life into their stories. Finally, in Teaching the Narrative Past<\/em>, the editors include the work of teachers and their students, thereby providing educators with concrete strategies for teaching historical fiction, evoking students’ responses about literature, and enriching their understanding of history.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Bringing the “Social” Back to Social Studies<\/i><\/b><\/span>
Deborah Macphee and Emily Whitecotton<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>

\"TheMacphee and Whitecotton present the notion that literacy skills should not be taught separately but as \u201c\u2026communicative practices that support all learning.\u201d\u00a0 They demonstrate this through a unit on the Revolutionary War in two fourth grade social studies classrooms.\u00a0 The teachers used the historical fiction Chains<\/em>, nonfiction texts (articles, trade books and the social studies textbook), and the big idea of \u201cpower\u201d to fuel their lessons. The authors concluded that by using the characters and plot of the story Chains <\/em>as a means of building empathy, the students were able to process and apply the nonfiction Revolutionary War facts in a deeper way when they were given the opportunity for discussion and time to write. Finally, by using intentional reading, writing and discourse to push students\u2019 thinking, the teachers elicited their students’ critical, civic, and reflective thinking.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Nurturing Literacy Skills through Social Studies and History <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In March, Dr. Nell K. Duke published a video<\/a> entitled Speaking Up for Science and Social Studies<\/em>; in it, she urges elementary-level teachers to consider the long-term detriments students face when instruction in science and social studies is limited or ignored. Quite simply, students miss important opportunities to learn about the world. Her plea, coupled with the Essential Instructional Practices in Literacy <\/em>documents, pushes educators to reevaluate what reading, writing, listening, and speaking look like across disciplines. In essence, communicative practices shift according to discipline, but they are communicative practices nonetheless. As Dr. Tanya Wright, leading literacy educator and researcher, asserts, “Content area learning supports literacy development.” <\/span>At the elementary level, along with learning about the world around them, students are exposed to new words and their meanings, can make interdisciplinary connections through reading and writing, and have access to a wider range of reading materials that may be better suited to their interests and\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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backgrounds. At the secondary level, social studies and history teachers can enrich instruction by making their students apprentices who frame common disciplinary problems and use literacy skills to solve them. For example, in a history or social studies course, teachers can pose particular economic, social, historical or political questions and allow their students to research, write about, discuss, and\/or present potential answers. By embracing disciplinary literacy practices, students begin to understand that literacy is not confined to the ELA block or classroom. In fact, communication practices stretch beyond a students’ education into their careers. Perhaps most important, “as Lee (2007) has eloquently argued, knowledge and skill in the subject areas is essential to supporting young people in becoming active participants in a democratic society” (as cited in Moje, 2009).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Building a Classroom Library<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Booklove\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Penny Kittle, leading author and secondary educator, envisions classroom libraries with books for every reader. A passionate advocate for building students’ interest and skills in reading and writing, Kittle asserts, “We can change the story of reading. We have to. Every child. Every year. Every classroom. Book Love–pass it on.” As part of this effort, she created the Book Love Foundation in 2013. Over the past six years, the Foundation has given out $500,000 in grants to over 200 teachers. This year, Selma Agic and Jessica Madden, English teachers at Hamtramck High School, were among the 66 recipients of Book Love Foundation grants. Eager to build culturally relevant and personally engaging classroom libraries for their diverse students, these Wayne county teachers filled out the comprehensive grant application. Their advice to future applicants includes the following tips:<\/span><\/p>