Secondary English Weekly #12
Issue Twelve / November 12-16, 2018
TEACHINGBOOKS WEBINAR FOR CCS TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY-EARLY RELEASE DAY
TeachingBooks.net is an online library of novel and author resources that is FREE for all CCS teachers and librarians. If you want to dig a little deeper into this resource, plan to attend a Webinar from 2-2:30pm during Early Release time on Wednesday, November 14th.
--To attend the Webinar go to teachingbooks.net/book and log in as a guest. Please test the link prior to the Webinar time to make sure you have the necessary Adobe plugin on your viewing device. SEE THIS FLYER FOR MORE DETAILS.
Webinar Specifics
Facilitator: Mary Ellen Graf, Implementation & Training Specialist @TeachingBooks.net
Learning Objective: Deepen connections to books while discovering online materials to engage readers, support families, and empower colleagues.
Agenda:
- Locate CCS Secondary Book Lists on TeachingBooks
- Locate and examine book and author resource pages
- Create an Educator Login
- Expand access using Google Translate
- Discover new titles
- Communicate and collaborate using sharing tools
TeachingBooks Highlights
-You can access lesson plans, author interviews, 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.
-You can make novel lists for classrooms, grade-levels, & libraries and share them with students.
-The lists of novels for Grades 6-12 that are available in the CCS Book Warehouse and the
Secondary English Curriculum Office are housed on TeachingBooks.
ENGLISH TEACHER VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR CCS/I KNOW I CAN COLLEGE APPLICATION WORKSHOP
THREE MORE SCHOOLS NEEDED FOR HIGH SCHOOL WINTER DEBATE TOURNAMENT—REGISTER BY FRIDAY!!
HIGH SCHOOL DEBATE-SECOND ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL WINTER DEBATE TOURNAMENT
We would like to have three more schools register for the second annual high school debate tournament to ensure that teams from the same schools get a chance to compete with teams from other schools.
-It only takes two students to make a team. You probably have some students in your building who competed in debate in middle school. Find them and form your teams. Debate teams are made of two students. Those students prepare to debate both the affirmative and negative sides of the policy debate resolution. On the day of the debate, each two-person team will be told which side (affirmative or negative) they will be debating during each of the three rounds.
Each school can bring up to five teams (10 students).
REGISTER YOUR TEAMS HERE BY THIS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH!!
There is still plenty of time to practice and prepare your students for the tournament.
The tournament happens on Friday, December 7th from 8:30am-1pm in the Ruff Learning Center (631 Pleasant Ridge, Bexley) at Capital University. (Team check-in is at 8am.)
Teams will compete using the following resolution. Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce its restrictions on legal immigration to the United States.
**Be sure to register your school NOW even if you don’t yet know the names of students on your teams. That can be added later. The deadline for having all your names added is November 30th.
DEBATE FOLDER WITH REGISTRATION AND RESOURCES: https://tinyurl.com/debatehs2018
TWO MLK SPEAKING CONTESTS
1. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. YOUTH ORATORICAL CONTEST-REGISTER BY NOV.26TH
"It's Our Time. A Movement Toward Justice."
Students from schools all over Central Ohio in Grades K-12 are invited to showcase their oratorical skills! This year’s contest is on Saturday, December 8th at the King Arts Complex (867 Mt Vernon Ave. Columbus, OH 43203). Students in Grades 6-8 should prepare to speak for 4 minutes and high school students should plan five-minute speeches. Here is a list of suggested topics, however, the students can choose their own topics:
- Share the meaning and relevance of The City of Columbus 2018 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Oratorical Contest theme: “It’s Our Time. A Movement Toward Justice.”
- In Dr. King’s famous quotation, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” what was MLK’s interpretation of justice and how does that align with your own belief?
- In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail," he defends the strategy of nonviolent and justice for all. Dr. King’s Letter provides a moral reason for his being in Birmingham, saying that “he came to Birmingham to battle injustice.” Because he believes that “all communities and states” are interrelated, he feels compelled to work for justice anywhere that injustice is being practiced.
- Relate one’s own commitment to Dr. King’s philosophy of justice.
- The 21st century depends upon me … (Expound on what this means to you.)
- What did Dr. King’s life mean to you (the contestant)?
- Research major events in Dr. King’s life and writings about his life.
The Registration Informational Packet is available HERE. You can download this POSTER to help publicize the event. The Deadline to Register is Monday, November 26th by 5:00 p.m.
NOTE: A STUDENT MAY BE ABLE TO LENGTHEN THEIR MLK BREAKFAST SPEAKER SPEECH INTO AN ENTRY FOR THIS CONTEST!!
2. MLK BREAKFAST SPEAKER: A CCS STUDENT-ONLY CONTEST-ENTRIES BEING ACCEPTED NOW—DEADLINE DECEMBER 10TH!!
CCS will select one student speaker to represent the district at the 2019 Martin Luther King Breakfast, held on January 21st at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Exhibition Hall C. The student chosen will get into the breakfast free and receive two complimentary tickets for his/her parent or guardians. The competition to become that speaker is open to all students in Grades 6-12. The CCS Superintendent will introduce our student speaker.
HERE is a flyer to use to increase participation.
Theme of Speech: The Purpose of Education-intelligence plus character
Length of Speech: 3 minutes max.
Deadline for Entry: Monday, December 10th
How to Enter: Have your teacher send or share a recording of you reciting your speech to the ELA 6-12 Curriculum Office or have your teacher contact the ELA Curriculum Office to come out and videotape you giving your speech. Teachers can email speeches as attachments or make a requests to have students recorded to cphillips3865@columbus.k12.oh.us, or text/share videos to 740-228-1509. Please Include the student's name, school, grade, contact information, and the teacher’s email & phone number.
OCTELA 2019 CONFERENCE CALLING FOR PRESENTERS-DEADLINE NOVEMBER 30TH & CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS OPEN
The deadline for submitting a proposal for OCTELA’s (Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts) Spring Conference is rapidly approaching! The theme this year is Lighting the Fire: Inspiring Creativity in Teaching and Learning. They want to hear from YOU! How do you flex your creative muscles when lesson planning? What lessons showcase teaching as an art, or ask students to be creative? How do you balance creativity with the Ohio Learning Standards and standardized assessments?
-Grab the lesson that best highlights your own creativity or that of your students (and a buddy if you don’t want to do this alone!) and head over to the OCTELA proposal page to submit it today! Aren’t sure if your idea meets the requirements? Check out the details on the call for proposals page and look at the proposal rubric, or just submit it anyway!
There are two different types of presentations:
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Individual or Panel Presentations: 45-minute breakout sessions that engage the audience
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Workshops: 90-minute sessions in which participants make something, led by workshop facilitator
There are many benefits of presenting, including:
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Showing evidence of accomplished professionalism in the OTES rubric
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Making connections with educators across the state
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Gathering feedback from educators to improve your own practice
The deadline to submit a presentation proposal is November 30th!
REGISTRATION is open for OCTELA 2019 which will be held at the Worthington Doubletree Hotel on March 1-2, 2019. Keynote speakers will include Dr. Alfred W. Tatum, Marc Tyler Nobleman, blogger Love, Teach, and Dave Stuart, Jr.
NEW BOOK FROM CAROL JAGO IS A CALL TO ACTION FOR SECONDARY READING
In The Book in Question: Why and How Reading Is in Crisis, Carol Jago issues a call to action.
Reading is in crisis. Too often, too many students are choosing not to read. "There is urgency to our work," she argues. "We are living in an increasingly polarized world. Books offer access to lives and stories outside the boundaries of our limited first-hand experience. Without those stories it can be difficult to empathize with others. And without empathy, I fear we are doomed."
Along with her research-based rationale for the critical importance of reading, Jago offers practical suggestions for how to nurture a community of readers, providing a wealth of ideas for helping students to:
• Begin to think of themselves as readers
• Choose books for themselves purposefully — for pleasure and for challenge
• Know what to do when confronted with unfamiliar vocabulary
• Develop confidence navigating complex sentence structures
• Overcome their instinctive fear of poetry
• Participate (both speaking AND listening) in classroom conversations
• Find time to read outside of class
• Write from the heart about what they have read
The book includes an extensive recommended book list for middle and high school classroom libraries.
DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS A NEW PROCEDURE FOR ACCESSING BUILDING-WIDE DASHBOARDS FOR COMMONLIT?
CommonLit CLEVER LOGIN
Click on the Clever Icon on a CCS Computer or Go to https://clever.com/in/columbuscity.
Click on the CommonLit icon.
--Administrators/Coaches/Department Chairs (Building Dashboards)
After clicking on the CommonLit icon, select “CommonLit for Leaders” on the top, right of your screen.
DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN FIND ELA MINI-ASSESSMENTS AT ACHIEVE THE CORE WITH PASSAGES AND ALIGNED STANDARDS?
TEACHER CLARITY
-With an effect size of .75, which is well above average, teacher clarity is low-hanging fruit when it comes to students’ learning. We can choose to increase clarity tomorrow and reap the benefits. Teacher clarity just requires that you know what students need to learn, communicate learning intentions and success criteria to students, and deliver lessons in a coherent way so students will learn more. Attend this webinar for expert insight on how to get started. By the end of this webinar, you will be able to:
- Define teacher clarity and describe its impact on student learning,
- Distinguish between learning intentions and success criteria, and
- Increase teacher clarity in your classroom or school.
LESSONS ARE AVAILABLE EACH WEEK TO HELP PREPARE STUDENTS FOR AIR SUCCESS USING THE READ METHOD
THIS WEEK'S LESSON:
- November 15, 2018 (Finding Evidence 3)
-If you have missed any of the lessons released thus far from September and October, they are available below and on the ELA 6-12 Webpage, at the "Thursday Standardized Test Prep" Quick Link. These lessons are based upon the CCS 2018 AIR Data Report and its recommended actions simplified in the READ Method for AIR Preparation.
- September 20, 2018 (Complex Text/Text Annotation)
- September 27, 2018 (Complex Text/Word Pyramid & Question Quads)
- October 4, 2018 (Analyzing Questions)
- October 11, 2018 (Analyzing Answers)
- October 18, 2018 (Writing Guide Acronym)
- October 25, 2018 (Passage and Prompt Analysis)
- November 1, 2018 (Finding Evidence)
- November 8, 2018 (Finding Evidence 2)
USE THIS LIST TO GUIDE WHAT YOU DO IN THE CLASSROOM
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
TEACHER CONTESTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
TEACHER SOLIDARITY TOUR: TEACHROCK.ORG PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMES TO THE NEWPORT THIS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH!
You love music. Your students love music. This TeachRock workshop will provide you with techniques and content that will help you confidently use music to engage your students--even if you've never touched an instrument. Even better, it'll be fun. The Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul Teacher Solidarity Tour Professional Development experience includes a one-hour workshop, curriculum materials, a t-shirt, and a concert.
IT'S SIMPLE AND FREE! YOU CAN EVEN BRING A GUEST!
- RSVP FOR THE COLUMBUS SHOW/WORKSHOP HERE. November 14th, 6pm @ The Newport Music Hall
- VISIT TEACHROCK.ORG TO ACCESS OTHER SHOWS, DOWNLOAD RESOURCES, AND LEARN MORE.
NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH
Have you started your novel? Are you celebrating NaNoWriMo in your classrooms. Here are a couple resources to help you.
1. Middle School and High School Workbooks for NaNoWriMo can be found on the English 6-12 Webpage at the "ELA Strand Resources" Quick Link. Once on the Strand Resources page, you will find them in the Writing Resources list.
2. You can sign up to "officially" be part of NaNoWriMo at https://nanowrimo.org.
TECHNOLOGY FOR DIFFERENTIATION IN HIGH SCHOOL PD
- Presenter: Jennifer Zutterling
- Dates/Time: November 28th from 2:45 - 4:15 p.m.
- Location: Centennial HS - Room 101
- Target Audience: High school teachers interested in using technology to help differentiate instruction.
There are a variety of technology tools available to help teachers differentiate instruction. This presentation is to provide a list of technology tools available, show some examples of how to implement some of them, and provide attendees the chance to get online and check out some of the tools themselves.
--Register on CCS PD System (PDS)
APPLICATION TO BECOME A MENTOR TEACHER TO UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DURING SECOND SEMESTER.
If you have been a CCS Teacher/Licensed Support Person for at least three years and want to mentor a university student next semester (student teacher, observation student, OSU FEEP student, field placements, etc.), complete this online application: http://www.columbus.k12.oh.us/studentrequest.
NOTE: If you have already completed the application for this school year, you do not need to do it again. Your username and password are your Lotus Notes username and password (same as the ones you use for iLEAD/SLOs). If you do not remember them, please contact that HELP Desk at 8425. CCS Teachers and Licensed Support Personnel mentoring university students now have a wide range of opportunities to earn CEUs. CEU credits for mentoring university students range from .5 CEUs to 3.0 CEUs depending on the type and length of placement. Here is a link to the Cooperating Teacher & LSP Approved Credit Bearing Activities: https://goo.gl/4MPBJ7.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Karmen McCaslin at
1-380-997-7514 or kmccasli@columbus.k12.oh.us.
FREE CORWIN WEBINAR SERIES
Corwin's free Monday Afternoon Webinar Series has begun. 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.
-The next ELA-related Webinar is Teacher Clarity: Making Learning Visible for Students presented by Douglas Fisher and John Almarode on Tuesday, November 13, 2018 - 6:30pm
This free webinar was highlighted above in the "Teacher Clarity" section.
PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS WEBINARS
Here are some low-cost upcoming Webinars, some taught by CCS teachers.
-Google Classroom for Beginners
Date: Tuesday, November 13th (3:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST) ➢ This relaxed and fun webinar, facilitated by Columbus teacher Alan D'Aurora, will have you up and running with a Google Classroom in just two hours. To register for this webinar, you must complete and submit the registration form (https://jefffantine.typeform.com/to/YpcCiJ) and submit payment (PayPal.Me/JFantine). Upon registration and payment, you will receive a link to participate in the webinar that will be conducted through Adobe Connect. Cost: $45.00
-Standards-In-Practice: Teaching with the College and Career Readiness Standards
Date: Wednesday, November 28th (3:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST) ➢ Standards-In-Practice (SIP) is a teacher-focused professional development solution that supports the understanding and implementation of the College and Career Readiness Standards in adult education programs. To register for this webinar, you must complete and submit the registration form (https://jefffantine.typeform.com/to/OcRbJh) and submit payment (PayPal.Me/JFantine). Upon registration and payment, you will receive a link to participate in the webinar that will be conducted through Adobe Connect. Cost: $45.00
THURBER PRIZE
The Thurber Prize will be awarded during a red carpet event on December 5, 2018 from 6-8:30pm at The Columbus Athenaeum. The three finalists (Jenny Allen-Would Everybody Please Stop?: Reflections on Life and Other Bad Ideas, John Hodgman-Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches, and Patricia Lockwood-Priestdaddy) will read from their nominated books, emceed by the hilarious John Kenney, 2014 Thurber Prize winner. At the close of the event, one author will be presented with the 2018 Thurber Prize for American Humor.
Click Here for Thurber Prize Tickets.
TEACHINGBOOKS BLOG NOVEMBER GIVEAWAYS
Check out the November Giveaways from the TeachingBooks Blog.
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.
ASCD EMPOWER19 CONFERENCE-MARCH 16-18, 2019
Join ASCD in CHICAGO to explore new perspectives in education. Educators from around the world will embark on this transformational journey at ASCD Empower19: the Conference for Every Educator. Get the pieces you need and SYNTHESIZE the learning in your classrooms, districts, and communities. Come equipped to learn, share knowledge, and gain tools to lead students into the future. General Session speakers/presentations are Remarks by Ashton Kutcher, Teaching Through Adversity: Facing Challenges and Making a Difference/Ron Clark, and Presidential Leadership Lessons: A Conversation with Doris Kearns Goodwin. Register by February 1 and save $100 off the regular rate.
LOOKING FOR PREVIOUS ISSUES OF THE NEWSLETTER?
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