Literacy Matters
Secondary ELA Edition
Greetings Secondary ELA Teachers!
Welcome to your secondary ELA newsletter! You can look forward to receiving this publication periodically throughout the school year. We are excited to share with you district information and various resources centered around teaching and learning. We hope you enjoy.
Summer 2018 Professional Learning Opportunities
GCS-TLPD: 2018 Summer Balanced Literacy Training for ELA Teachers New to ARC
Teachers in grades 3-8 and English I teachers who work in schools that have opted-in will become familiar with the balanced literacy resources from American Reading Company and learn how to use a developmental reading taxonomy to guide instructional decisions for core instruction and differentiated support. Session dates are 7/30, 8/13, 8/21, and 8/23. Please Note: You only need to register for and attend ONE session. Each session takes place over two full days.
GCS-TLPD: 2018-2019 Focus PD 6th Grade (Summer 2018)
Teachers will participate in a book study that focuses on incorporating various pedagogical practices into the GCS TEACH, PLAN, EVALUATE model. Session dates are either morning or afternoon, offered as half-days on 7/16 and 7/17. Please Note: You only need to register for and attend ONE session.
GCS-TLPD: Next Steps in ARC Core Literacy Instruction (2018 Summer)
This session is designed for teachers grades 3-8 and English I teachers who have previous experience implementing ARC in their classrooms. The time provided will be to allow teachers an opportunity to plan collaboratively in order to explore ways in which they can supplement current core literacy instruction as outlined by their ARC frameworks. Session dates are either morning or afternoon, offered as half-days on 7/18 and 8/9. Please Note: You only need to register for and attend ONE session.
GCS-TLPD: 2018-2019 Focus PD English II (Summer 2018)
Teachers will participate in a book study that focuses on incorporating various pedagogical practices into the GCS TEACH, PLAN, EVALUATE model. Session dates are either morning or afternoon, offered as half-days on 8/1 and 8/2. Please Note: You only need to register for and attend ONE session.
Please contact Kathy Saunders or India Smith with any questions regarding these professional learning opportunities.
ELA Canvas Course
The Secondary ELA Canvas resource provides balanced literacy resources, pacing guides, Focus PD, standards maps, and opportunities for communication and collaboration. If you are not a member, complete this survey to join. Please contact Kathy Saunders or India Smith for assistance.
Secondary ELA Supervisor Contacts
Kathy Saunders, saundek@gcsnc.com Learning Areas: 10 & 11
India Smith, smithi@gscnc.com Learning Areas 8, 9, & 12
Need help locating your Learning Area, click here.
Taking Care of SELF this Summer
It is that time of year once again. Towards the end of every June, the highways start to get slightly less condensed, the crossing guards go home, and those buildings that house hundreds of children throughout the fall, winter, and spring are empty and quiet. Summer break isn’t the chief reason why anyone would decide to do this job. But it is a pretty decent incentive. And now that we are here, there are a few vital things that every teacher must do during their summer break. Want to make it through the rigor of another ten months teaching children? Well, Click and Read “5 Things Every Teacher Should Do During Summer Break” by Matthew R. Morris for some quick and easy tips to take care of SELF this summer.
Summer Selection Reflection
Here's a peek inside the article
Summer Selection Reflection:
How Can I Refresh my Selection Habits? By: Kate Lechtenberg
For a teacher or librarian, summer reading is not just fun and relaxing; it’s research for our future work with young readers. As part of this research, it’s also a good time to take stock of our individual selection strengths and weaknesses, our leanings and our blind spots as we choose books. Summer is a great time to reflect on how we can broaden our reading and selection habits so that we make sure we are serving all our students and patrons.
Recently, I’ve been researching different approaches to choosing texts for classroom instruction, specifically, how teachers and librarians supplement “standards-aligned” textbooks in schools. As I’ve surveyed the literature on selecting classroom texts, I’ve noticed four main selection lenses that teachers and librarians use for selecting core and supplemental texts for classroom use.
Consider these lenses, and think about which ones you tend to focus on when you select books for classroom use:
1. Reading levels and language needs
2. Genres and formats
3. Conceptual understanding
4. Cultural perspectives