Balanced Literacy Connection
PUSD Initiative - Vol 1 Issue 4 - May 13, 2016
Dear Literacy Leaders:
Teachers and children are engaged in discussions about books. Children are learning how to share books through book commercials. Teachers are gathering for professional development in new leveled book rooms and have had the opportunity to browse these new books. It is exciting to see all of the work you've done to prepare for next year.
Though our work is truly just beginning, you have begun to lay the foundation that we will build on this summer and when we return in the fall. Until then, celebrate the successes. And it is our hope you will find time this summer to cultivate your own reading life, whether that means reading a series you've had your eye on or exploring professional books about literacy. We hope you will have fun wherever your reading journey takes you.
If you think of it, please take photos of yourself "caught reading" this summer so we can include them in the Balanced Literacy Connection at the beginning of the school year. Until then, thank you for investing in this important work and becoming literacy advocates on your school sites.
May your summer be filled with many new book journeys,
~ Helen, Alyson, Jamie, Frances, Debra, Carmela, Ann & Jose
May Balanced Literacy Goals
- Supporting teachers and students as they create summer reading plans and goals.
- Sharing with students and families various free summer reading clubs in the community (check out the public library for more information).
- Implementing ongoing 'book talks' or 'book commercials' in classrooms and across the school.
Tots, Tweens & Teens Book Fest
Shout Outs
Roosevelt CRT Confers With Student
Cleveland Principal Caught Reading
Kinder Class Recommends Books to School in Michigan
Cleveland Teachers Learn in Their New Book Room
Author Jason Reynolds Visits Marshall
Roosevelt Leveled Book Room in Action
Online Food for Thought
Book Trailers: A Great Way to Share Book Commercials with Kids
Books You Won't Want to Miss
Thunder Boy, Jr.
Thunder Boy Jr. is named after his dad, but he wants a name that's all his own. Just because people call his dad Big Thunder doesn't mean he wants to be Little Thunder. He wants a name that celebrates something cool he's done, like Touch the Clouds, Not Afraid of Ten Thousand Teeth, or Full of Wonder.
But just when Thunder Boy Jr. thinks all hope is lost, he and his dad pick the perfect name...a name that is sure to light up the sky.
Fly Guy Presents: Snakes
It's time for a field trip! Fly Guy and Buzz are going to the zoo to learn all about snakes. With straightforward text, humorous asides, and kid-friendly full-bleed photographs throughout, young readers will love learning about these slithery creatures. Award-winning author/illustrator Tedd Arnold really brings nonfiction to life for beginning readers! And this book has eye-catching holographic foil on the front cover!
Lily and Dunkin
Sometimes our hearts see things our eyes can’t.
Lily Jo McGrother, born Timothy McGrother, is a girl. But being a girl is not so easy when you look like a boy. Especially when you’re in the eighth grade.
Dunkin Dorfman, birth name Norbert Dorfman, is dealing with bipolar disorder and has just moved from the New Jersey town he’s called home for the past thirteen years. This would be hard enough, but the fact that he is also hiding from a painful secret makes it even worse.
One summer morning, Lily Jo McGrother meets Dunkin Dorfman, and their lives forever change.
Websites & Blogs Worth Following
- Two Writing Teachers - https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/
- Nerdy Book Club - https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/
- Read Write Think (NCTE) - http://www.readwritethink.org/
- Chart Chums - https://chartchums.wordpress.com/
- Choice Literacy (some free and some paid here) - https://www.choiceliteracy.com/
- There's a Book for That - http://thereisabookforthat.com/
- Teachers Write - http://www.katemessner.com/teachers-write/
- Read Write Reflect - http://readwriteandreflect.blogspot.com/
- Watch. Connect. Read. - http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/
- A Teaching Life - https://ateachinglifedotcom.wordpress.com/
- The Goddess of YA Literature - http://professornana.livejournal.com/
- Kid Lit Frenzy - http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/
- TC Reading & Writing Project - http://readingandwritingproject.org/resources
- Growing Educators - http://growingeducators.com/events/
- Heinemann - http://www.heinemann.com/blog/
- Stenhouse - http://blog.stenhouse.com/
- Scholastic - http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-ideas
- Richard Allington - http://www.teachersread.net/home
- Penny Kittle - http://booklovefoundation.org/
- The Reading Zone - https://thereadingzone.wordpress.com/
- LitLearnAct - https://litlearnact.wordpress.com/
- Blogging Through The Fourth Dimension - http://pernillesripp.com/
- A Kind of Library - http://akindoflibrary.com/
- Sharpread - https://sharpread.wordpress.com/
- Kass & Corn - http://kassandcorn.com/
- Kate & Maggie - https://kateandmaggie.com/
- Portable Teacher (Lee Ann Spillane) - http://www.portable-teacher.blogspot.com/
- Resource - Full - https://franmcveigh.wordpress.com/
- Ruth Ayres Writes - http://www.ruthayreswrites.com/
- Barry Lane - http://www.barrylane.com/
- Unleashing Readers - http://www.unleashingreaders.com/
- http://www.teachmentortexts.com/#axzz41xKQzPEK
Columbia University's Teachers College Reading & Writing Project has a collection of classroom videos on Vimeo that take you inside reading and writing workshops at various grade levels. Check them out here: https://vimeo.com/tcrwp/albums
Important Dates
Monday, June 6 to Thursday, June 9, 2016
- Balanced Literacy Institute for All Elementary Teachers - training option 1 of 2
Monday, July 25 to Friday, July 29, 2016
- Summer Reading Institute - only for accepted Reading Workshop Project teachers
Monday, August 1 - Thursday, August 4, 2016
- Balanced Literacy Institute for All Elementary Teachers - training option 2 of 2
Monday, August 1 - Friday, August 5, 2016
- Summer Writing Institute - only for accepted Writing Workshop Project teachers ~ these teachers must sign up for June Balanced Literacy Institute