#INspirEDlit
November 2019 Vol. 20
November
November is a time to snuggle up under a blanket and read! Some of our favorite student reads include: She Persisted, We're All Wonders, Turtles All The Way Down, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and Perks of Being A Wallflower.
Check out more ways to access diverse, engaging books with TeachingBooks below to meet the needs of all students.
Introducing TeachingBooks - An Extensive Literacy Resource for All Indiana Schools!
The Indiana State Library's INSPIRE service licenses TeachingBooks to enrich all of our connections to the books and authors read in our schools.
TeachingBooks is a "one-stop-shop" of 167,000+ vetted digital materials about children's and young adult books that excite students about reading and support our literacy instruction.
Please invite your teachers and librarians to freely explore and use this service.
How to sign in to Indiana's paid TeachingBooks access:
1. Go to https://teachingbooks.net/INSPIRE
2. Click 'Sign In' and enter your school email
3. Follow the prompts and if you have any issues email accounts@teachingbooks.net
4. Enjoy!
Training and unlimited support are free and part of this Indiana State Library license. Request them at https://teachingbooks.net/Support
Please forward the following link to your tech directors so it can be set up in your SSO, LMS, OPAC, and any technology you're using. These integrations are all part of the statewide license and are no cost to the school corporations.
Mentor Text Lists
One way to increase student engagement through reading is by providing engaging texts. Check out International Literacy Association's (ILA) Literacy Daily post on What Research Really Says About Teaching Reading.
Help us build a database and earn Professional Growth Points (PGPs) by sharing your favorite texts and sample lesson plan ideas here using the Mentor Text Lists form. For every 10 texts you share, you will earn 1 PGP. Just email Rose Tomishima to receive your PGPs.
Meet Your New Secondary Literacy and ELA Specialist, Kelly Waller
Literacy Updates from IDOE
Literacy Framework
The Literacy Framework is a tool you can use to curriculum map and plan for this upcoming school year. Does your school utilize a curriculum map, scope and sequence, or pacing guide? Use the Literacy Framework to dive into each standard through I can statements, question stems, practical examples, and digital resources!
Over the course of the 2019-2020 school year, additional resources will be added. Stay tuned!
Have special requests for support? Feel free to reach out to us at any time. That's what we are here for!
Ideas and Insight
Five Components of Reading: Fluency Overview!
Fluency is the ability to recognize words easily, read with greater speed, accuracy, and expression to better understand what is read.
Ways to incorporate Fluency into Instruction:
Find it in the Literacy Framework
Using the search tool, click on Reading Foundations to access Indiana standards that utilize Fluency skills. For example, third grade reading foundation standard 2.RF.5 states: Orally read grade-level appropriate or higher texts smoothly and accurately, with expression that connotes comprehension at the independent level.
Practical Examples for 2.RF.5:
- Model fluent reading behaviors by talking out loud about what you are thinking while reading. For example, "Oh I see this sentence ends with an exclamation mark. I should make my voice sound excited while I read this sentence."
- Model choppy, non-fluent reading, so students can hear a difference between fluent and non-fluent reading.
- Have students echo read fluent reading, participate in choral or partner reading.
- Allow students to use whisper phones while reading, so they can hear their reading and work on fluency.
These examples and considerations come from the Indiana Literacy Framework. For additional resources, guidance, and practical examples please visit the Literacy Framework here.
What does this look like in the secondary setting?
Try Literacy Circles! See below on our book recommendations for more information!
Another great site for fluency at the secondary level: AdLit Fluency
Resources
Book Suggestions
From Phonics to Fluency
By: Timothy Rasinski and Nancy Padak
From Phonics to Fluency provides methods, strategies, and activities for teaching decoding and reading fluency that fit easily and effectively into any classroom situation. The guide is based on solid literacy theory, reading research, and actual classroom practices. It helps teachers put students on their way to improved word recognition, more fluent reading, and better reading comprehension—all in a manner that nurtures students’ lifelong fascination with words and reading.
Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles
By: Harvey Daniels and Nancy Steinke
Mini-lessons are the secret to book clubs that click. Each of these forty-five short, focused, and practical lessons includes Nancy and Harvey's actual classroom language and is formatted to help busy teachers with point-by-point answers to the questions they most frequently ask.
The Megabook of Fluency
By: Timothy Rasinski & Melissa Cheeseman Smith
The book is packed with engaging text and tools, an assessment scale, and high quality ready-to-use lessons including text phrasing and tonality, echo reading, word ladders, and more! Given the importance of fluency-- and its pivotal relationship to comprehension and word recognition--the potential is high for improving students' overall reading achievement, and their performance in other content areas.
Educator Opportunities to Check Out!
Second Annual Indiana's Educating the Whole Child Summit: February 19-20th
Registration for the Second Annual Indiana’s Educating the Whole Child Summit is live and can be found here with keynote speakers: Dr. Isaiah Pickens and Dr. Adam Saenz. Please note that if you are having one person register a group of people for your district, they will have to submit separate registrations by leaving and re-entering registration. Click here for the Handle with Care presentation.
If interested in submitting a proposal, click here.
Questions should be directed to Christy Gauss at jcgauss@indiana.edu.
Mock Caldecott Award Workshop
Indiana Council of Teachers of English (ICTE)
Literacy and Tech: Thought of the Month!
Imagine if you could engage every student in your class, every day. What if you could instantly see who’s confused and who’s ready for more? That’s the power of Pear Deck. And now, with the Pear Deck for Google Slides Add-on, you can add the magic of formative assessments and interactive questions to your presentations right from Google Slides.
Connect on Twitter!
1. Tweet about all things LITERACY using #INspirEDlit
2. Follow the hashtag and connect with other coaches and educators
3. Follow @EducateIN for the latest updates from Indiana Department of Education
Literacy's Who To Follow:
Who: ILA
Handle: @ILAToday
What: The International Literacy Association is a global advocacy & membership organization dedicated to transforming lives through literacy.
Rose Tomishima
Joseph Risch
Kelly Waller