Backed by Research, Fueled by Results: Comprehension Lessons That Work
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. ET
The right strategy at the right time can make all the difference in comprehension instruction. Join Lori D. Oczkus, best-selling author and literacy consultant, as she shares short, sharp mini-lessons designed to dramatically improve comprehension skills using any text and at any grade level. Each evidence-based lesson is powered by the “Fab Four” reciprocal teaching approach of predict, question, clarify, and summarize. Lori will share successful implementation models from schools around the globe and participants will leave loaded with ready-to-use resources, coaching tips, and ideas that can be implemented immediately.
Who should register: Classroom teachers, literacy/instructional coaches, reading/literacy specialists, literacy supervisors/coordinators, and instructional leads
Registration: $29.00 members | $35.00 nonmembers
Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details
New Voices in Children’s and YA Lit: Meet the 2023 ILA Award-Winning Authors
Thursday, August 10, 2023
5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. ET
ILA’s Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards shine a spotlight on emerging authors who display unusual promise with their first or second publication. At this webinar, emceed by book awards chair Sonja Ezell, age-level subcommittee leads Miriam Martinez, Margaret Osgood Opatz, and Thu Anh Nguyen will sit down with some of this year’s winners for a robust discussion about their books’ contemporary relevance and universal themes, the importance of authentic and engaging texts, and the power that high-quality, diverse children’s literature holds to open our minds to the past, present, and future.
Who should register: Classroom teachers, literacy/instructional coaches, librarians, reading/literacy specialists, literacy supervisors/coordinators, and instructional leads
Registration: FREE FOR EVERYONE
Thank you for your interest in the Texas Association for Literacy Education's 2024 Annual Conference which will take place at Baylor University in Waco. TX on March 1-2, 2024.
Vol. 10 No. 1 (2023): The Texas Journal of Literacy Education
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction Reading Faculty at Texas A&M University-Commerce took on the editorial duties for the Texas Journal for Literacy Education (TJLE) in the Spring of 2022, after the leadership from the Texas Woman’s University team in the years prior. The A&M Commerce editorial team consists of bright leadership that will continue to not only provide literacy research and content that is relevant at the state level, but the team hopes to continue to push the journal to more of a national presence. The team that was formed comes from a wide array of backgrounds, and will certainly look to fill the journal with diverse perspectives, and make efforts to encourage a balance of scholarly research and practitioner based articles. We also will seek to encourage more of a variety of authors to submit their work–such young scholars, graduate students, teachers, and other literacy educators dedicated to providing quality instruction and practices. We are excited to receive manuscripts for the next few years, and look forward to learning about and sharing state and national level expertise in literacy education.
We value original research and insights from all voices and encourage you to submit your work. TJLE is committed to providing a forum for a variety of voices and viewpoints
We value original research and insights from all voices and encourage you to submit your work. TJLE is committed to providing a forum for a variety of voices and viewpoints.
We look forward to your submissions!
Sincerely,
This is a good article about what has passed: https://www.tasb.org/members/advocate-district/2023-lege-recap/
Here is the link to the agenda with the info on the Day at the Capitol: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SELy3nPk-Jj1BdR7MODUyy-qPxBxUWxulo04Vw0wXpk/edit?usp=drive_link
We would also like to encourage members to start thinking about who they can nominate for our Leadership in Literacy Awards! Nominations will go out in October. Here are the requirements:
- A PK-12 Educator - this is someone who is working in the classroom to advocate for literacy for students, helping students to thrive in their literacy lives, and building his/her capacity as a literacy leader.
- Non-Classroom Literacy Leader - this is someone who is NOT in a PK-12 classroom, that means it could be a student, bus driver, non-profit organization, professor, principal, or librarian who is working to advocate for literacy for students, helping students to thrive in their literacy lives and is building his/her capacity as a literacy leader.
Here is more information on our 2022 - 2023 Winners:
2022 PK-12 Classroom Literacy Leader - Katherine Rogge:
Katherine Rogge - Madden Elementary, Fort Bend ISD
Lab Classroom Leader
Supports EB students through literacy access
Developed and led district PD for first-year teachers with a focus on literacy
New member of the Advocacy Committee
- Follow her on Twitter: @miss_rogge
2022 Non-Classroom Literacy Leader - Joan Lange:
Librarian, Joan Lange - Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston, TX
Publishes bi-monthly in the Association of Independent School Libraries (AISL)
Co-Sponsor for school Literary Magazine
Hosts author writing workshop “History as Story”
Hosts Poetry Slam to showcase student writing
Initial action step: TALE Community Involvement Blog/social media posts
Outcome from TALE conference brainstorming session
Example: Local library literacy scavenger hunt, highlight that local library and their work, highlight what community organizations or families/caregivers can do and how they can get involved
Kelly will lead first post, other committee members will add once per month
Kelly to send out final details to committee after tonight’s board meeting and approval from board
Question: to update website, who do I contact?
Likely next action step: Event/initiative in Waco area to promote TALE conference/engage teachers, service center, etc with community literacy activity (as an outcome of a blog/social media post or used in tandem with)
Newsletter: Pearl is working on it. Send her information to contribute (ideas, pics, flyers that are ILA related to share)
Social Media: Sorry that social media has been so quiet. We still haven't found a new Social Media Coordinator. I am willing to help/support whoever would like to take over. Please share the next steps. Note: Jill Culmo will be the Social Media Coordinator starting July 1.
TALE Journal: New issue was published on May 2, 2023: Please check it out: https://www.talejournal.com/index.php/TJLE/issue/view/8
The issue also contains a call for future topics that will be themed issues. Thank you to the Texas A&M University-Commerce editing team!
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| | Author- Pam Koutrakos | |
Author- Pam Koutrakos
Hello,
As chair of TALE, I have had the awesome opportunity to share our mission of enhancing the lives of Texas citizens. We have had a fantastic annual conference, bookstudies, and webinars! Our membership has grown and will continue!
My goals were to grow and engage our membership. I wanted to expand our reach to impact more people in the state. We worked diligently to make TALE a brand that you associate with promoting literacy education that will enhance the lives of all Texas citizens personally, socially, and economically. We are doing this by reaching out to educators both in the k-12 space and in higher education as well as librarians and others who share our love for literacy! We will continue to grow our committee work so that when you join, you can also get right to work!
My charge to all TALE membership still is to get involved, participate in our upcoming events, and share our vision with your networks!
It has truly been my pleasure to serve for the love of literacy!
Dr. Pearl
TALE has come a long way since Dr. Jack Cassidy began this organization. We never could have predicted the many challenges we've had to face, especially in the last few years. Like many other literacy organizations, TALE had to navigate and overcome the challenges the pandemic caused. Educators at every level, from early childhood to higher education, had to navigate unknown territory. TALE made a quick shift to accommodate the needs we heard from members by providing resources and online professional development. As we came out of the pandemic, we began to witness literacy educators who were exhausted, feeling under appreciated, and watching many colleagues leave the profession. We witnessed the attacks made against books that represented the diverse voices across the state. This legislative year had an extensive list of bills related to book banning. Then, the term "Science of Teaching Reading" began to be used in many educational conversations and publications. The debate between what STR means has brought about a lot of questions and opinions on the topic. Again, TALE worked tirelessly to support, educate, and advocate all these challenges.
For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, our strategic goals include:
Connecting researchers and practitioners
Learning and growing within committees
Local councils collaborating with communities across the state
We know that literacy is complex. So, the purpose of these goals is to place the focus on growing and learning together. It's our love of literacy that brings us all together.
TALE Chair - 2023 - 2024
Dr. Liza LaRue
TALE Newsletter Editor - Dr. Pearl Garden
Dr. Pearl
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