Literacy Now

by Jane Arochas

After Hurricane Sandy devastated New Jersey towns in late October, the Reading Council of Southern New Jersey (RCSNJ) teamed up with Usborne Books and More to assist in rebuilding shore schools throughout the state. Mary Beth Spitz, Educational Consultant for Usborne, contacted RCSNJ with an idea that spiraled into contributions and donations from all over the world to help rebuild and reequip the shore’s schools. The ensuing project, entitled “Restore Our Shore Schools through LITERACY,” has produced over $75,000 to date in free book donations from fundraising events.

Publisher and Children’s Book Author Step In

Author Michelle
Nelson-Schmidt

Former “Jersey girl” and successful children’s author Michelle Nelson-Schmidt felt compelled to give back to the community. Local schools hosted Schmidt for a week of author visit/book signings throughout New Jersey free of charge. Her book entitled Jonathan James and the Whatif Monster has a message for everyone with worries and doubts. Schmidt was the perfect spokesperson to inspire schools throughout the state. Her positive message taught young and old that anyone can “follow their dreams and persevere.”

Author Michelle Nelson-Schmidt speaks to students

Community Night

The collaboration of RCSNJ and Usborne Books generated book sales which were matched with 100% free books to distribute to area shore towns affected by Hurricane Sandy. A related week of literacy events culminated on February 1, 2013 with a “Community Night” at Rowan University. The session was a gathering of shore school representatives who will be recipients of the Free Books Grant matched 100% by Usborne Books & More. It was an evening to thank local businesses, schools, and volunteers who made this outreach such a huge success.

RCSNJ was instrumental in networking with the local schools and businesses. Our websites, www.rcsnj.webs.com and www.facebook.com/rcsnj enabled communication of events, applications, and donations for distributions to the shore schools. Through the social media of Facebook and other websites, RCSNJ played an integral part in an outpouring of support which occurred from the project. Applications were submitted through RCSNJ and the council anticipates assisting several schools damaged by Sandy.

Numerous organizations contacted RCSNJ to donate books. A retired teacher in North Jersey gathered “1,000 books for Sandy.” An American military school in Germany inquired as to how to send books to shore schools. From Cub Scouts and Lion Cubs in Pennsylvania to schools in Texas and Indiana, there has been an enormous response to help those in need.

Mrs. Spoerl and Alicia Harrison donated 1,000 books 

The Task Continues

Our task is not over yet. We now have to distribute the many thousands of books to area shore schools who have applied for assistance. We look forward to assisting libraries and schools with Usborne Books & More. Providing books to the schools affected by Hurricane Sandy will ensure that future minds have the resources they need to better themselves.

Michelle Nelson-Schmidt, Jane Arochas, and Mary Beth Spitz

Jane Arochas is the president of RCSNJ (Reading Council of Southern New Jersey), jarochas@aol.com or rcsnjinfo@gmail.com.

This article is an addendum to an article from the December 2012/January 2013 issue of Reading Today. IRA members can read the interactive digital version of the magazine here. Nonmembers: join today!

by Mary Lynam

The International Reading Association will be hosting its first Twitter chat on Thursday, July 18 at 8:00 p.m. EST.  The hour-long chat will pose a unique opportunity for educators at all levels of experience to discuss the topic “Digital Writing in the Classroom” with fellow educators. Teachers will be able to talk about why digital tools benefit student writing, trade strategies and pointers for using them, and share what did or did not work for their class, among other subjects. You will find the conversation by searching the official #IRAchat hashtag.

Julie D. Ramsay, sixth grade teacher and author of ‘Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing?’ Collaborating in Class and Online, will be on hand to participate. “Through chats, connections are made and conversations and collaborations continue long after the official chat has ended,” she says. “I love the flexibility and impromptu nature of discovering what everyone else will share and the questions they will ask.”

You can learn more about Ramsay’s background in classroom technology by checking out Plugged In, her monthly column on the Engage blog. Other Engage writers, such as App a Day columnist Lindsey Fuller, will also partake in the chat.

Want to join the conversation? Please share your thoughts using the #IRAchat hashtag. Or, feel free to just kick back and follow.

Mary Lynam is the strategic communications intern at the International Reading Association.

IRA has released a letter of support for the position taken by the Learning First Alliance on the need for an extended transition to full implementation of the Common Core State Standards before CCSS-based assessments begin. The text of the letter is set out below. A PDF version is also available.

IRA SUPPORTS
COMMON CORE STATEMENT  
ISSUED BY LEARNING FIRST ALLIANCE

June 19, 2013--The International Reading Association (IRA) supports the Learning First Alliance’s recent statement about the Common Core State Standards. The Learning First Alliance is a partnership of national educational organizations. Its members include the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The Learning First Alliance document in its entirety can be accessed at /learningfirst. Key points include the following:

• The Common Core State Standards have the potential to transform teaching and learning and provide all children with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in the global community.
• Teachers, administrators, parents and communities need to work together to align the standards with curriculum, instruction and assessment. This work will take time.
• Rushing to make high-stakes decisions such as student advancement or graduation, teacher evaluation, school performance designation, or state funding awards based on assessments of the Common Core standards before the standards have been fully and properlyimplemented is unwise. Delaying high-stakes consequences will ensure that educators have adequate time to adjust their instruction, that students will have time to focus their attention on new learning goals, and that parents and communities can provide the necessary supports for their children.
• States and districts should continue to hold educators and schools to a high standard as determined by the components of their accountability systems, which are not solely based on standardized tests, but include other evidence of student learning, peer evaluations, school climate data and more.
• There is a growing consensus that we are moving too quickly to implement new standards, new assessments, and new high-stakes decisions related to those assessments. It is fair to say that time is of the essence in school reform, and yet, moving too quickly runs the risk of undermining the Common Core – and losing the opportunity to improve educational outcomes for all students. Educators must take the necessary time to ensure success in this endeavor.

The International Reading Association is the leading professional organization for literacy development in the world. IRA members have strong expertise in all areas of the English Language Arts Standards (ELA Standards), and Association leaders strongly believe that this expertise should be leveraged to inform and support educators in understanding and implementing the Common Core State Standards. In 2012, IRA issued a document entitled “Literacy Implementation Guidance for the ELA Common Core State Standards” to support state and local leaders, teachers, university faculty, publishers, and planners and facilitators of teacher professional learning opportunities as they implement the Common Core. The text focuses on specific language in the Standards, including key terms, major shifts in instructional focus, and critical points on which the Standards are simply silent. In each instance, the Committee provides bulleted recommendations that address the identified challenge by offering practical strategies for moving forward.

This document, which was endorsed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), addresses specific literacy issues that have proven to be challenging in the implementation of the English Language Arts Standards.  These include: The use of challenging text, foundational skills, reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, disciplinary literacy, and diverse learners. The Literacy Guidance document is based upon a consensus of thinking from literacy leaders in the field and widely known and adjudicated research. As noted in the document:

The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts represent qualitatively different outcomes and their accomplishment will require significant shifts in educational practice involving teachers across the curriculum. Changes this significant are not likely to occur successfully without equally significant investments in the knowledge and skills of educators along with necessary material supports. There are many things that teachers must do to try to help students reach the expectations detailed in the CCSS—this guidance is provided to help with such implementation. States and schools will need to support such efforts with appropriate and timely professional development for teachers. (IRA, 2012, p.4)

(To obtain a copy of IRA’s “Literacy Implementation Guidance for the ELA Common Core State Standards,” please see: /ccssguidelines.)

Maureen McLaughlin, IRA President
Brenda Overturf, IRA CCSS Committee Co-Chair
Timothy Shanahan, IRA CCSS Committee Co-Chair

by Maureen McLaughlin

The following are not questions to be answered, but rather ideas to prompt thinking as readers create their literacy histories. Please note the list is not definitive, and that the prompts primarily address reading and writing. If your students are writing their Histories, they may reflect on the entire list or you may provide selected prompts. Please also note that many students enjoy using technology to create electronic memory books to represent their Literacy Histories. 

1. What are your earliest memories of reading and writing?

2. Before you were able to read, did you pretend to read books? Can you remember the first time you read a book? What was it?

3. Can you recall your early writing attempts (scribbling, labeling drawings, etc.)? How would you describe those experiences?

4. Do you read and/or write with your siblings or friends? Please detail a few examples.

5. Is a newspaper delivered to your home? Do you read it? Do you regularly read one through your computer/i-Pad/phone? If you have access to a newspaper, which sections do you read? Why do you choose to read those?

6. Do you subscribe to magazines (hard copy or electronic)? Do your parents/siblings have magazine subscriptions (hard copy or electronic)?

7. Do you belong to a library and/or book club? Do you maintain a personal library (hard copy or electronic)? Do you read for pleasure (hard copy or electronic)? Please provide examples.

8. Do you receive or send mail (hard copy or electronic) e.g., messages, birthday cards, thank-you notes?

9. Can you detail your first memories of reading and/or writing instruction? Materials used? Methods of teaching? Content?

10. What memories do you have of reading for pleasure in elementary school? Middle school? High school? College?

11. What are your memories of reading in disciplinary subjects, such as science, social studies, language, and mathematics in elementary school? Middle? High school? College?

12. Can you remember writing for pleasure in elementary school? Middle school? High school? College? Please provide an example.

13. What are your memories of writing in disciplinary subjects?

14. Who were your best teachers? What made them so great?

15. Can you recall the first book you chose to read? Why did you read it?

16. Can you recall your first writing assignment? Can you recall the first time you wrote creatively? Please provide examples.

17. Do you remember the purposes for your reading and writing in elementary, middle, and high school? Do you recall any particular type of instruction you received? Can you describe any instructional materials that were used? Please include the role of technology.

18. Can you recall the first book you loved (couldn’t put down)? Please provide an example.

19. Do you feel that you’ve ever read a book that has made a difference in your life? Please recount the details

20. Have you shared books with friends? Please provide example titles and explain why you read them.

21. Did you read a certain type of book (i.e., mysteries, biographies) at a particular age? Why do you think you made such choices? Do you still read those genres now?

22. How do you think technology has affected your reading and writing?

23. When did you first visit a bookstore? What was it like?

24. What is your all-time favorite book? Why is it your favorite?

25. Have you ever seen a book you’ve read turned into a film? Explain which you preferred and why.

26. How do you think your reading and writing abilities have contributed to your life?

27. Are you a reader now? What are you currently reading? Why are you reading it?

28. Are you a writer now? What are you currently writing? Why are you writing it?

Maureen McLaughlin is the president of the International Reading Association and the chair of the reading department and a professor at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, mmclaughlin@esu.edu. She is the author of Guided Comprehension in Grades 3–8 (with Mary Beth Allen), Guided Comprehension in the Primary Grades (2nd ed.), and Guided Comprehension for English Learners, as well as a series of professional development books on the Common Core with Brenda J. Overturf.

This piece was published online as an addendum to her "President's Message" column in the June/July 2013 issue of Reading Today. IRA members can read the interactive digital version of the magazine here. Nonmembers: join today!

The International Reading Association congratulates the following 2013 award winners, who were honored at our 58th Annual Convention in San Antonio.

IRA Arbuthnot Award

Nancy Roser, University of Texas at Austin

IRA Award for Technology and Reading

Grand Winner: Stephanie Thompson, Ontario, Canada

East Regional Winner: Lauren Bakian, New York

Southeast Regional Winner: Monica Prather, Florida

West Regional Winner: Peter Count, Australia

IRA Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award

Cheryl Dozier, University at Albany – State University of New York

IRA/Weekly Reader Eleanor M. Johnson

Doris Coffey, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

IRA William S. Gray Citation of Merit

Timothy Shanahan, University of Illinois at Chicago

IRA Regie Routman Teacher Recognition Grant

Maurna Rome, Ogilvie, MN

IRA Maryann Manning Outstanding Volunteer Service Award

Paul Haupt, Ysleta Independent School District

Barbara Klebanow, Rockland Reading Council

IRA Paul A. Witty Short Story Award

Katy Duffield, “Winds of Hope,” published in Cricket Magazine

IRA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award

Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Under the Mesquite, Lee and Low Books

IRA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award – Primary Fiction

Deborah Jo Larson, One Frozen Lake, Minnesota Historical Society

IRA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award – Primary Nonfiction

Linda McReynolds and Ryan O’Rourke, Eight Days Gone, Charlesbridge

IRA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award – Intermediate Fiction

Susan Verrico, Privateer’s Apprentice, Peachtree

IRA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award – Intermediate Nonfiction

James Doyle, A Young Scientist’s Guide to Defying Disasters with Skill and Daring, Gibbs Smith

IRA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award – Young Adult Fiction

Amy McNamara, Lovely, Dark and Deep, Simon and Schuster

IRA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award – Young Adult Nonfiction

Cynthia Levinson, We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March, Peachtree

Learn more about these and other award and grant opportunities on the IRA awards webpage.