Secondary Literacy
-English and Reading- August 2021-
Literacy Leaders,
It is that time of the year as we officially embark on the 21/22 school year. I hope you feel refreshed from summer break. I encourage you to put a picture from a favorite summer memory in your office to peek at when you need a mini-mental vacation.
You're the best around! This is the year we truly uplift literacy like no other. Let's kick off by celebrating the success of our fellow English General Paper teachers and coaches. It is #BecauseofaTeacher that our students are able to reach By providing consistent opportunities with grade-aligned resources, holding high expectations, and deep engagement student outcomes soared! You matter- don't forget the impact even 20 seconds can have.
We have missed you and we look forward to seeing everyone soon for early release day or over the next few weeks within your buildings.
Please reach out to your Pasco Literacy Team if you need anything.
Warmly,
Your #PascoLiteracy Team
Big Ideas to Read Closely
Onboarding and Refresher Screencasts and PD
- Check out the Together We Learn recordings here!
- Secondary Literacy PD Hub here
- Check out the quick one-pager onboarding/refresher mini-series to get oriented to your resources here.
StudySync McGraw Hill Grades 6-10
Be sure to access your materials via the app on your myPascoConnect dashboard.
Check out the Secondary Literacy 21-22 Overview for information related to:
- Novel titles and division by course- Important Note: Some novels will be taught in ELA and some will be taught in stand-alone Reading courses. Please see the designation.
- Scope and Sequence
Assessment Overview - Updated!
English General Paper, EGP (Grade 11)- Important Information
English General Paper Assessment Information
This year there are Progression Checks and Mock Exams for EGP. The upcoming optional Progression Check 1 window is now open. All of the materials to get going with the EGP assessments in the myProgress platform can be found here. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need assistance.
Progression Check 1 Administration Information
Progression Check 1- Paper 2 Mark Scheme
- Upfront Magazine- Teachers and students will have access to Upfront this year both paper copies and digital access. See the link here for the digital activation code.
- Curricular Materials:
English General Paper Coursebook (IF YOU ARE NEW TO TEACHING THE COURSE, please email crhernan@pasco.k12.fl.us or tlima@pasco.k12.fl.us if you need your digital teacher book code).
See this one-pager for information regarding all of your curricular materials.
The Great Gatsby (print)
See this one-pager for information (same as above), as it houses your “how to” for accessing your resources.
View this screencast to help you with navigating the new resources on the SLN (if you taught the course last year, there have been a lot of updates made to the Canvas course to help support you so be sure to check them out!)
View the following TWL session, which outlines all of the ins and outs related to Paper 1, Paper 2, and marking in addition to reviewing the resources on the SLN.
See this one-pager for information regarding all of your curricular materials
Review the Secondary Literacy Framework to help support you as you plan.
Review the Quarter 1 curriculum map and review the coursebook with your PLC to discuss launching the year.
Getting Started with StudySync- Virtual Asynchronous PD
Check this out! Get started with the StudySync Self-Paced basic training. Complete the course that takes approximately 3 hours and get a certificate of completion!
See this link for more information!
DBQs
- New teachers? Consider signing up for a demo! It lasts 30-45 minutes and takes teachers through the basics of DBQ Online. Link to signups here!
- Do you need deeper professional development? Have you experienced the virtual, self-paced professional development course which goes much further into the pedagogy of The DBQ Project? There is no cost for DBQ Online. Link to signups here!
Lexia PowerUp- Grades 6-10 Stand Alone Intensive Reading
There were many requests for Lexia Power Up Scoring Guidance. Check out some tips based on teacher feedback in working with students in the program here: WeeklyScoringGuidanceLexiaPowerUp
Assessment Overview - Updated!
News in Education
To request free copies of the Times for your classroom, go to tampabay.com/nie, and click Sign up here on the homepage.
o Fill out the online request form completely.
o It is important to double-check that the school address and email address you have entered is correct.
o If you had an order for the 2020-2021 school year, you must verify that order before placing a new order.
Check out all of the details in the flyer attached below.
Office Hours for Secondary English and Reading
Topic: Office Hours
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81655919842?pwd=YjZjOWFldnVHdDlaMUJhaW5maVhxdz09
Meeting ID: 816 5591 9842
Passcode: Uplift
Tuesday, Aug 24, 2021, 03:30 PM
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Items of Interest
Pasco County Libraries
USF Stavros Center
The USF Stavros Center will be presenting a webinar on “Literature’s Lessons on Economics & Opportunity: 10 Titles from the Florida B.E.S.T. Standards for English Language Arts” on Tuesday, August 24th from 5:00 to 6:30 pm.
The new Florida B.E.S.T. Standards for English Language Arts include a reading list that emphasizes the integration of content and collaboration among teachers in a variety of subject areas. This presentation will use 10 additional titles from this list for grades 7-12 to address the theme of Economics and Opportunity.
This presentation will provide lesson ideas and classroom resources such as articles, text excerpts, video clips, and activities to explore Economics and Equality for courses in English Language Arts and Social Studies.
Literature’s Lessons on Economics and Opportunity:
10 Titles from the Florida B.E.S.T Standards for English Language Arts
Webinar by the USF Gus A. Stavros Center
Thursday, August 24th, 2021
5:00 – 6:30 pm
To register, go on-line (www.usf.edu/stavros/programs). If you have questions, please contact us by email (StavrosCenter@usf.edu)
Review
SLN
#PascoLiteracy
ELA and Reading
Secondary Learning Network
What's New?
Note that the ELA and Reading courses are now combined into one page. Check out the short screencasts here for a quick overview of your course Canvas page.
Pasco Secondary Literacy Homepage had a facelift- to make the network easy to use so that you can find the resources you need quickly and efficiently. English and Reading course content are now housed together to support cohesive planning. You will also find links to Florida’s B.E.S.T. ELA Standards, the current newsletter, feedback form, and contact information for your #PascoLiteracy Team!
Course Homepage includes additional links
· Grade Level Scope and Sequence
· Professional Learning Opportunities
· Pasco Students Speak
· Resources for Families
Inside each Quarter and Unit, there are supporting documents to support teaching and learning.
· Unit Overview
· Unit Planning Tools
· Evaluating Student Learning
Updated SEL information that includes Pasco grade-level SEL benchmarks aligned to each text along with information on approaches to addressing sensitive content. Additional opportunities beyond natural connections to the theme(s) are called out in the lesson plans.
Student-facing Canvas pages are available to use with students with pre-loaded discussion forums and writing tasks. You can still edit, revise, and personalize these Canvas pages to use with your students!
Reading Endorsement
Beginning of the Year Course
This image located on your myPascoConnect dashboard will take you to the 2021 All Staff Beginning of the Year Course. District departments have come together to create one place for all employees to access to the most important information necessary in order to ensure a successful start to the 2021-22 school year. Each of the departments have contributed to the creation of this course and have created acknowledgment quizzes for you to take in order to verify you have reviewed the required and optional materials. Please take some time to explore this resource.
Together We Learn ’21 Session Recordings NOW AVAILABLE on the PD Hub
Together We Learn ’21 Session Recordings NOW AVAILABLE on the PD Hub
Together We Learn ‘21 themed "Summer Time and the Learning is Easy" took place July 26, 27, & 28. Just over 2,000 dedicated teachers, school staff, and leaders attended 223 sessions of virtual learning. If you were unable to attend or would like to revisit any session recording please visit the TWL page on the main landing page of the PD hub. Enjoy!
Early Release 21-22 Overview
We are excited to share with you our plan for early release 21-2. All general education classroom teachers (including departmentalized teachers), ESE support facilitators, Speech Language Pathologists and academic interventionists will participate in professional learning workshop facilitated by District staff, school-based coach(es), admin and/or teacher leaders focused on Uplifting Literacy in Pasco County Schools. Specials/Electives teachers will engage virtually with teachers in the same roles from other schools. Professional learning will be focused on the Teaching and Assessing Cycle and will be facilitated by District content leaders and/or teacher leaders. Student services staff will engage virtually with staff in like roles from other schools. Professional learning will be focused on MTSS for Behavior and will be facilitated by District supervisors and content leads.
Dates for the early release are:
September 8th
October 6th
November 10th
December 8th
January 12th
February 2nd
March 9th
Secondary Office Hours
Here you will find the office hours schedule for this fall semester. Office hours are an opportunity to connect with OLL Supervisors, Senior Specialists and Program Coordinators regarding your curriculum questions. We look forward to seeing you.
Curriculum Resources
As we reunite with our students this year back in the classroom, we will continue to use our learning networks aligned to our approved adopted resources; connections to focus standards; MTSS; and vetted assessments/resources for unit and lesson planning support. The Elementary/Secondary Learning Network is a live resource, which we monitor throughout the year and adjust every summer based on feedback from you, administrators, and coaches on what would make your work smoother.
Once again, this year, we understand that there is a likelihood that individual and potentially groups of students may need to be out throughout the year based on the status of COVID cases. Therefore, student facing courses were developed by Pasco teacher teams to continue the momentum with Canvas usage. These courses are aligned to our ELN/SLN and contain curriculum resources and some assessments. As always, we want to ensure the approved resources and curriculum are being used in the classroom, but the pedagogy and teacher craft is always alive and strongly encouraged, please use the aspects of core resources that best meet the needs of your students. When you need to make changes to the course to align for this purpose, we only advise that you unpublish modules/resources that you do not plan to use, versus delete. You never know when you may need a resource that is in the course, and once deleted it is hard for us to repair in individual pushed out courses.
LEAD Professional Development for Aspiring Leaders
Interested in LEAD? Click here to learn more!
Contact Us
Damien Cabrera
Email: dcabrera@pasco.k12.fl.us
Twitter: @damien_cabrera
Cassie Hernandez
Secondary Literacy
Email: crhernan@pasco.k12.fl.us
Twitter: @herncas22
Courtney Lough
K-12 Literacy Intervention and Achievement
Email: clough@pasco.k12.fl.us
Twitter: @clough6
Danielle Varcardipone
Reading Professional Development & Learning
Email: dvarcard@pasco.k12.fl.us
Twitter: @LiteracywithV