Secondary English Weekly #2
Issue Two / September 3-7, 2018
DID YOU MISS THE OPENING NEWSLETTER?
AIR TASK GROUP ACTIONABLE REPORT COMING SOON
1. AIR TASK GROUP
During the summer of 2018, an AIR TASK GROUP made up of teachers whose positions and capacities included being classroom teachers, building coaches, curriculum specialists, content experts, English department chairs (high school), and English curriculum liaisons (middle school), looked closely at CCS’s ELA AIR data over the past three years to discover challenge areas and what could be done to make the most gains in 2019. Later this month, an actionable report will be produced as the culmination of that work. It will contain data charts with summarized conclusions about how to increase achievement, suggest a method for approaching AIR preparation in classrooms that focuses on great teaching strategies for ELA, and include readily-usable AIR preparation resources.
2. A SNIPIT OF SOME OF THE DATA IN THE REPORT
As a preview of the ELA AIR TASK GROUP REPORT, here are a few charts created from the Spring 2018 AIR test data for your perusal and reflection. Think about how these charts can inform your teaching. How can we help our students achieve greater success on the AIR ELA assessments?
DID YOU KNOW? CCS RESOURCE TOUR AND NEWSLETTER SECTION
1. DID YOU KNOW TOUR
If you have an opportune time for me to stop by your building and visit with you and the other ELA/English teachers, invite me. This would be an informal visit. I would plan to highlight some resources and answer any questions you have. Talk with your colleagues and email me at cphillips3865@columbus.k12.oh.us with your invitation:)
2. DID YOU KNOW NEWSLETTER SECTION
This section of the newsletter will occur regularly and highlight one or two resources to continue to get the word out about what resources are available and how to make use of them. This week it will highlight TeachingBooks.net.
-------
DID YOU KNOW YOU HAVE ACCESS TO TEACHINGBOOKS? DID YOU KNOW IT HOUSES THREE LISTS OF NOVELS AVAILABLE FOR YOUR USE? DID YOU KNOW THAT IT HAS A VAST LIBRARY OF NOVEL AND AUTHOR RESOURCES FOR YOUR CLASSROOM?
- TeachingBooks (https://www.teachingbooks.net) is an online library of novel and author resources. It is free to all teachers and librarians and can be accessed from any CCS computer because it recognizes CCS IP addresses. You can also access it on non-CCS computers by using "columbus" as both the login and password. (You can change the login/password to create for a customized experience.) Among the TeachingBook resources are lesson plans, author interviews (some in the author's homes), videos, text complexity charts, etc. Anything on the site can be shared with students and parents in varied ways such as Google Classroom, QR code, email, or bookmark.
- CCS High School Curriculum-Novels in Warehouse or Pearson Textbooks
- CCS Middle School Curriculum-Novels in Warehouse or Pearson Textbooks
- CCS Novels Available in the English 6-12 Curriculum Office
You can access the three CCS Novel Lists from the TeachingBooks site in these two ways:
- Go to https://www.teachingbooks.net, click on "Resources for My Books" on the CCS TeachingBooks HomePage, then scroll down to the Columbus City Schools Lists.
- Go to https://www.teachingbooks.net, hover over "Search" and select "By list." Then type "columbus" in the search bar. (This can also be done by clicking the "List" tab once you are into the system and not on the Columbus Home Page.)
HERE is a very brief video introduction for locating the three CCS Novel Lists on TeachingBooks. Please know that using a normal search on the TeachingBooks site will give access to resources for any title, those on our lists and those not on our lists.
--You can also access the CCS Novel Lists by clicking on the Text & Novel Access Quick Link on the ELA 6-12 WebPage https://www.ccsoh.us/English6-12.
--Also on the ELA 6-12 Webpage, you can click on either the Curriculum/Instructional Resources 6-8 or Curriculum/Instructional Resources 9-12 Quick Link to find these other helpful documents/videos:
LOGIN PROTOCOLS FOR COMMONLIT, TEACHINGBOOKS, AND ACHIEVE3000
WEBINARS AND RECORDED TRAININGS FOR NEWER PRODUCTS.
UPCOMING WEBINAR: TeachingBooks is hosting a Webinar on Thursday, September 20, 2:00 PM ET to acquaint you with the newest content on TeachingBooks. Register here for "For the Love of Reading: TeachingBooks.net." This Webinar could prove extremely helpful if you have never used TeachingBooks:)
USE THIS LIST TO GUIDE WHAT YOU DO IN THE CLASSROOM-ANOTHER LOOK
Hopefully, you took some time to read over these Ten Principles for ELA which also appeared in the newsletter last week. If you did not, I am giving you another week to read and think about them:) Actually, they are going to remain in the newsletter all year and some weeks, there will be a deeper dive into one of the principles. They really get at the heart of our Standards and can be seen as vital practice options that should be included when you are planning lessons. These are the BEST PRACTICES you should aspire to have for optimum student learning. Take some time this week to be reflective of the ten practices listed. Are each of them present in your classroom units? Which ones are very innate and which ones have been harder to implement? How can these be central to TBT conversations? Are there routines that could be established discipline- or building-wide based on the ten principles? Can you see the correlation to the Standards? What are they? How can you introduce the principles to students and have them as part of the conversation? . . . To be continued next week.
1-Make close reading of text central to lesson.
2-Structure majority of instruction so all students read grade-level complex texts.
3-Emphasize informational texts from early grades through graduation.
4-Provide scaffolding that does not preempt or replace text.
5-Ask text-dependent questions.
6-Provide extensive research and writing opportunities (claims and evidence).
7-Offer regular opportunities for students to share ideas, evidence, and research.
8-Offer systematic instruction in vocabulary.
9-Provide explicit instruction in grammar and conventions.
10-Cultivate students’ independence
READ EVERY DAY and WRITE ROUTINELY
Last week, this section of the newsletter talked about how the outdated approach to curriculum that asked our students to only produce four pieces of writing (one per quarter) never gave them enough practice to truly grow their writing. Ohio's State Standards ask students to "Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences." Writing Standards are also included in Science, Social Studies, and Technical Subjects. Hopefully, you have seen an increase in writing across contents. Having students write across the disciplines could transform K–12 education. Research says that, if grounded in generous amounts of reading and discussion, writing routinely in multiple subjects could have more impact on college and career success than any other factor. Check out this article from Educational Leadership that goes a bit deeper into why writing routinely can transform education. Think about sharing it with your social studies and science colleagues. Maybe come up with a building-wide plan that vastly increases our students interactions with writing and watch those standardized test scores rise!
Demystifying Writing, Transforming Education by Mike Schmoker
Writing can foster deeper learning in every content area—if we let it.
WIN PRIZES, FIND IDEAS, GO ON OUTINGS, AND GET INVOLVED!
POETRY SLAM CONTEST--NATIONAL DROPOUT PREVENTION CONFERENCE
The 2018 National Dropout Prevention Conference is being held in Columbus from October 28-31 and they are looking for three students to spit poems and win prizes.
- THE CHALLENGE: Students should write a letter in the form of a poem to anyone (or anything) of their choice. Then, they need to videotape themselves reading it. The subject must be related to dropout prevention and civic engagement. The letter can be addressed to someone in their life or someone they’ve never met: maybe an at-riskstudent, a person they admire, or a political figure. They can write letters to their feelings - fears, joys, or even insecurities. The possibilities are endless! If they are not sure what to write about, have them start with "Dear..." and let their heart worry about the rest. You can also have them check out our 5 Tips for Writing Letter Poetry for ideas.
- ELIGIBILITY: Current high school students who are 18 years of age or younger are eligible to enter. They must submit a video of their poetry slam performance by Thursday, September 20. Submissions will be reviewed by a committee. Submissions are accepted online at bit.ly/SubmitMySlam.The top three slams will be featured at the 2018 National Dropout Prevention Conference in Columbus, Ohio. Other submissions may be on display throughout the conference.
- PRIZES: Grand Prize: $500 Scholarship, Second Place: $300 Scholarship, Third Place: $200 Scholarship SUBMIT SLAM POEM HERE. MORE INFORMATION HERE.
UNITS OF STUDY-LUCY CALKINS OFFICE HOURS BEGIN THURSDAY 9/6
Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) is pleased to announce the return of the popular Office Hours Webinar series from Lucy Calkins this Thursday, September 6th! In these Webinar sessions, which will occur on the first and third Thursday of the month, Lucy and her TCRWP colleagues will respond to questions you pose live. Because CCS has supplemental sets of the Units of Study in Writing in our middle schools, these Office Hours Webinars could prove very useful. Register now for the opportunity to discuss your burning questions with Lucy and to receive practical advice on how to:
- get your year off to the right start
- raise the level of your practice
- support effective implementations of Units of Study
- and much more.
- REGISTER HERE. Note: Participants must register separately for each Office Hours session in the series. Look for registration emails the week before each new session.
CCS UNITS OF STUDY IN WRITING ACCESS: Middle schools (including K-8 and K-6 buildings) have one or two sets of Units of Study in Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing by Lucy Calkins for teachers to utilize. This resource uses writing workshops to help students master the three writing types in Ohio’s Learning Standards. Lucy's Office Hours may just be the support you need to use this product with fidelity. You can also access a Google Folder with Units of Study information (including how to get the product digitally so every ELA middle school teacher has access), user tutorials, and support documents at https://tinyurl.com/UofSWriting. The Google Folder can also be found on the ELA 6-12 Webpage by clicking “UNITS OF STUDY (WRITING) INFORMATION, ACCESS GUIDES, AND RESOURCES" at the "Curriculum/Instructional Resources 6-8" Quick Link.
SPEC ED UNITS OF STUDY OPPORTUNITY: Adapting Units of Study in Writing for Special Ed/IEP Institute: Grades 2-8 Monday, December 3 - Wednesday, December 5.
During this institute, you will get the opportunity to explore the workshop model in order to take advantage of every component that can help you best facilitate student growth. TCRWP will offer multiple entry points to the reading and writing Units of Study series, providing all kids access. How important it is that our teaching aligns with Universal Design for Learning! Click here to learn more.
CORWIN WEBINAR SERIES
Starting September 17, Corwin's free Monday Afternoon Webinar Series will resume. This season you can look forward to live Webinars with John Hattie, Jessica and John Hannigan, and Ken O'Connor—to name just a few. It doesn’t get much better! Download the print schedule here. Register here.
Must-Know Logistics:
- Frequency: An average 3-4 webinars per month
- When: Just about every Monday
- Time: Almost always at 3:30 PDT / 6:30 EDT
- Duration: One hour
- Cost: FREE!
JACQUELINE WOODSON VISIT THIS WEDNESDAY 9/5
Gramercy Books in Bexley presents an exclusive central Ohio evening this Wednesday, September 5th at 7 pm with Jacqueline Woodson, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The event will feature the author in conversation with Ann Fisher, host and executive producer of All Sides with Ann Fisher on WOSU Public Media. The $10 general admission ticket may be applied toward the purchase of either of Woodson’s new books published on August 28th (Harbor Me, her first middle grade book since her 2014 National Book Award–winning Brown Girl Dreaming, and The Day You Begin, a picture book) which will be available at the event to be held at Bexley High School’s Schottenstein Theatre, 326 South Cassingham Road. Get your tickets HERE.
THE GREAT AMERICAN READ—HAVE YOU VOTED?
Get ready for the return of The Great American Read on PBS, Tuesday, September 11 8/7c. Explore the list of 100 books and vote for your favorite novels once a day, every day! Voting will close on October 18th. Consider having your students vote and root for their favorites.
BARNES AND NOBLE BOOK HAUL BLOWOUT ENDS MONDAY 9/3
Barnes and Noble is having its first-ever Book Haul Blowout! From 8/28-9/3, score 50% off select top titles in stores and online — plus, buy any bundle of three books in-store & get a free tote bag, while supplies last. Show your book haul picks from their end-of-summer sale using #BNBookHaul! Shop now: http://spr.ly/6186DxbLw.
OHIO VOICES FALL ISSUE
Check out the newest issue of the Ohio Voices from the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. If you are not a member consider joining this group and attending its annual conference. You can check out membership and conference info at https://www.octela.org.
BULKBOOKSTORE $500 MONTHLY GIVEAWAY
BulkBookstore's Educators Monthly Giveaway of $500 in free books shows appreciation for teachers, librarians, and schools around the country. Click HERE to enter.
Carla Mae Phillips
Email: cphillips3865@columbus.k12.oh.us
Website: https://www.ccsoh.us/English6-12
Phone: (614) 365-8386
Tim Wangler
Email: twangler8446@columbus.k12.oh.us
Website: https://www.ccsoh.us/English6-12
Phone: (614) 365-8386