Literacy Now

The What’s Hot in Literacy Survey has appeared annually in IRA publications for nearly two decades. Within that span of time, the results of the survey have been cited in numerous publications, translated into languages other than English, and replicated in other countries including Denmark, Romania, and the United Kingdom. The results of the survey have also been used to guide professional development within schools and to situate the timeliness of current research. In this brief overview, we share how the 2015 survey was created, in what manner this year’s respondents were selected, and how the results were interpreted.

Constructing the Survey

Each year, 25 literacy leaders complete the survey. The literacy leaders who responded to the 2014 survey played a key role in constructing this year’s survey. This is because they reviewed the items listed on the 2014 survey and made suggestions for revisions. From their suggestions, the 2015 survey was formed. This process resulted in a 30-item survey. The following five topics were new to the survey this year: genre knowledge, STEM literacy, summer reading, writing (argumentative & based on sources), and writing (creative).

Selecting the Literacy Leaders

The key criterion for respondents is that they have a national or international perspective on literacy. Many of those interviewed have served (or are serving) on boards of prominent literacy organizations or as editors of major journals. Together, the 25 leaders create a diverse group representing various ethnicities, ages, and job categories such as classroom teachers, administrators, reading specialists, and college professors, although college professors constitute the majority of those responding.

The number of literacy leaders interviewed from a region is determined by the percentage of IRA members in that given area. The areas as defined by IRA are: East, South, Great Lakes, Plains, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, West, Canada and Outside North America.

Conducting the Survey

The literacy leaders were interviewed by phone or in person during the spring and summer months. Each respondent was read a standard 178-word paragraph explaining that a rating of “hot” and “not hot” was not a measure of their personal interest in a topic, but instead would refer to the amount of attention the item was currently receiving. Next, each of the 30 items from the survey were read aloud to the respondent and they were asked to give a rating of “hot” or “not hot.” Then each respondent was asked if each item “should be hot” or “should not be hot.” The direct oral contact is used for a number of reasons. Many times, respondents will make informal comments which can be helpful in the written narrative. Also, we want respondents to give a relatively spontaneous answer.

Tallying and Interpreting the Results

The final step was analyzing the results. This involved tallying the collected ratings. Items receiving 100 percent consensus among the literacy leaders were reported as “extremely hot” or “extremely cold.” Items receiving 75 percent consensus were reported as “very hot” or “very cold,” while those receiving 50 percent consensus were reported as “hot” or “cold.”

The full 2015 What’s Hot in Literacy Survey results were published in the September/October 2014 issue of Reading Today. Members: Click here to login and access the issue. Nonmembers: Join IRA now!

Judith Hayn is a teacher’s teacher. Having spent 15 years in the classroom, she is now stationed at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where she prepares graduate students to go into schools and spread the love of literature. As a member (and past chair) of the International Reading Association Special Interest Group-Network on Adolescent Literature, she focuses on teen lit and prepares practical applications of YA books with her students. In turn, those applications and ideas are run as “Putting Books to Work” features on Reading Today Online.

How did you begin your career, and what led you to your current position?

I began my teaching career in Omaha, NE, in an urban junior high where I taught what was called Unified Studies, both English and Social Studies in a block time period. Then I taught that subject in Topeka, KS, finally moving on to high school English to finish my 15-year public school career.  I came to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006 to help the English Education program maintain its NCTE accreditation since I am a long-time program reviewer, lead reviewer, and auditor.  

What’s the mission of the Special Interest Group-Network on Adolescent Literature (SIGNAL)?

Our current mission is increasing membership, however our organization is committed to helping middle and high school teachers incorporate young adult literature into their classrooms.  We focus on practical implications of including YAL in curriculum and offer strategies for doing so. We also encourage classroom-based research teachers can adapt for their own use. Our website offers information about membership and our SIGNAL Journal.  Please visit the site to join and examine the calls for manuscripts. We celebrate, research, and promote YAL!

What are you reading (personal, professional, or even children's/YA)?

Right now I am reading two books for the continuing research I am doing with my colleague, Dr. Karina Clemmons (who is also the secretary of SIGNAL), and our graduate students.  We give pre-service teachers a survey on a social justice issue and they read a young adult book centered on that theme.  A post-survey lets us look at changes in attitudes that may have occurred through this encounter with text.  This fall, the book is In the Name of God by Paula Jolin, the spring selection is Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis.

How has YA literature changed since you started teaching?

When I took my first young adult literature class in the ‘80s at the University of Kansas, I was awe-struck by the genre's power.  Now I am more than astounded at the burgeoning proliferation of YAL.  Since Harry Potter first wielded his wand and Bella emerged out of the twilight, the race has been on.  Who can write the highest quality book and get it made into a well-crafted movie seems to be the goal.  YA bookshelves are filled in big box and neighborhood bookstores.  E-readers entice teens to enter texts with a swipe of the finger.  This growth is phenomenal and creates a whole new niche for literacy.

How long have you been a member of IRA? How has membership influenced your career?

I have been an IRA member for many years, but I let my membership lapse, primarily because the emphasis on YAL was somewhat limited. I returned to the fold when I came to Little Rock and was asked to chair SIGNAL.  I also began submitting as many program proposals as I could handle that featured some aspect of YAL. These have been accepted, and interest at the conference is high; our sessions are well-attended, and I even have those who tell me they come every year to see what I am doing now with YAL.

What do you consider to be your proudest career moment?

 My proudest career moments occur when I hear from graduates who tell me what they are doing and where. When they can tell me they are implementing YAL despite the barriers, which are myriad, I just smile inside. The joy of a long teaching career is knowing what I say and do does indeed have an impact that only I can truly know.

What lessons do you share with teachers you train that seem to resonate year after year?

I think students remember me as the one who taught them that the important things they teach do not come out of textbooks or assignments, but rather, out of commitment, care, and dedication for students.  If teachers keep that at the center of teaching, students will accomplish all of those standards others impose on them in the most relevant way possible.

Do you want to suggest an IRA member for the Member of the Month feature interview? E-mail readingtoday@/.

April Hall is the editor of Reading Today Online. She can be reached at ahall@/.

photo credit: GlobalPartnership for Education via photopin cc

I once noticed a fellow teacher’s Facebook post about how students are excited to have a certain teacher for whatever reason. The post ended with “What a compliment.”

My reply to the thread was, “Is this the compliment that matters most?”

We shape the future—that is about as tried and true as clichés can be, but it’s very true. As we all prepare to start school again, from Mass Customized Learning to Units of Study to Teacher Evaluation Frameworks, there is one thing that never changes above all else. Are the students ready to come back and are they excited to have YOU as their teacher?

Research on reading motivation is abundant and currently there is a push for the engaged classroom, experiential learning, and technology. We can spend hours discussing motivation strategies, allocating district funds towards specially designed programs, reading research, or training teachers to fix specific instructional needs. But, come tomorrow, what makes someone motivated about learning?

Teaching may now be about evidence-based strategies or programs, but one thing never changed—the art of teacher, what you bring to the table.

You see there is a Venus/Mercury, Yin/Yang relationship. We seem to have drifted into a patriarchal or structural system to (bring on the next cliché), “Do what is best for all students.” But if you desire to have students eager to come to school, doing what is best for students requires compassion, the art of the teacher, the matriarchal approach. Let me posit this, how many students do you see know how to read but don’t choose to read? It’s likely those students had the structure (Reading Recovery, Reading Workshop, Reading Street, etc.) and have met reading standards. But have they been nurtured? For instance, does a student spend time with a book or with writing, like it was a doll or a toy car?

Think back and ask, “Who motivated me?” “What motivated me?” “Why was I motivated?” In my formative years, aside from family, I can think of three teachers. Did you ever have that teacher you wanted to have or that teacher who you wanted to recognize you? Do you remember the power of that harmony—the balance between trust, respect, guidance, and encouragement to embrace challenges? Do you remember the love?

Over the summer, I heard a story about a young man who participated in an experiential learning program for some “at-risk” identification. In short, the young man was motivated to learn math. This was evident in that he chose not to go swimming in favor of math tutoring.

What kid chooses math over swimming in the middle of summer?

There is no doubt the young man was motivated to learn math and there is no question that he wanted to be a better mathematician. But why, as the student was heading into grade 7, did things click? Maybe it was the program, but my wager is on the teacher. Somewhere in this experience, trust and respect anchored this relationship. In this was love.

As we start this new school year, some of us are very excited to teach and reveal the world, but some others of us are scared, perhaps as a first-year teacher or a wounded teacher. On that first day, what is the goal? How will students be motivated to learn? The answer is in and with you. How excited is that one student or classroom of students to be in your learning community?

As an esteemed colleague would say, “You are the silver bullet,” not the research, staff development or new programs. If you want students to be motivated and excited to learn, start with you. If you want them to read, teach them how, but journey with them through the “why.” Teach them the mechanics and conventions of writing, but explore with them the majesty of emotions and message. Invite your students to take interest in you. Lead them to believe and trust in you and encourage them to do the inevitable.

At the onset of summer, a teacher whom I consider to be an inspiration said these simple words, “Remember, I chose to be a teacher.” You are the most influential guardian between having to go to school and wanting to go to school. It’s your turn. Remember the art of teaching, remember the love, remember how to inspire students to read or write. Invite them into a love of learning, be it literacy, math, and/or science. Leave the structure, the research, and strategies for you and your colleagues. Work tirelessly for the love of every student. Recant the adage, “The students know who the best teachers are.” In turn, they will give you the greatest compliment in the world—their affection.

Best of luck to all of you. Light fires in the eyes of all students.

Justin Stygles is a sixth grade language arts teacher and IRA Advisory Committee of Teachers (ACT) committee member based in Norway, Maine. He also serves as the state’s Maine Reading Association coordinator. Visit his blog at www.mrstygleclass.blogspot.com.

photo credit: sleepyneko via photopin cc

A few years ago while on vacation in Scotland, I had a serendipitous meeting with a fellow educator. We were all waiting with our families at the train station, he was heading further north to Perthshire and we were heading back to London. We struck up a conversation about what else—teaching—and compared notes about the similarities and differences between our teaching cultures. As our respective trains arrived, we exchanged contact information with hopes of continuing a dialogue. Our future conversations evolved into something we never expected. Our students developed wonderful friendships via old fashioned pen and paper letters. Thus began the Pen Pal Project.

With the new school year comes the anticipation of all the new lessons that goes with it. We always like to start off with something new, exciting, and a little bit different but still meet all the requirements of the Common Core. The Pen Pal Project my Scotland friend and I collaborated on will help you cover many facets of literacy and you’ll have a piece of work or two for your students’ portfolios. As an extra bonus, if you start now, your students will have the continuity of writing to their pen pals over the entire year. The letters are a beautiful way to develop both friendships and literacy that can last a lifetime.

The Art of Letter Writing

If you have not already touched on the mechanics and format of writing a friendly letter, now is the perfect time. I used a poster-sized sheet of lined notebook paper and tacked it on the wall. With my students’ help, we wrote a letter to our principal asking about her recent holiday. That served as our model example for their future letter writing.

The key ingredients to a friendly letter are:

• Heading: September 1, 2014. I like to stress writing out the month. It’s more formal, but a good habit to get into as your students progress through school and enter the business world.
• Salutation: Dear (pen pal’s name):
• Body: I suggest starting by asking about the person to whom you are writing. Then go into talking about yourself. Keep in mind how we generally greet people—we ask how they are doing. A written letter works the same way.
• Closing: “Your new pen pal” is one suggestion. Ask your students to brainstorm other suggestions they might use.
• Signature: Aahhhh! An especially perfect time to use cursive. However, if your students do not yet know how to form the cursive letters, legibly printed letters are perfectly fine.

As your students engage in the art of writing letters, it is a wonderful opportunity for them to learn and practice penmanship. Occasionally, I overhear conversations between adults commiserating about how their adult children do not know how to sign their names in cursive. Or, worse yet, they don’t know how to read cursive. Yes, so much communication today is done via technology, but there are still important situations where “going old school” with handwritten correspondence is necessary or desired.

Getting Started

My friend in Scotland and I exchanged student lists. Since I was the primary in the exchange, I assigned my students to his students. We didn’t have an equal number, so we doubled-up one or two students.

Finally, the day arrived when my students had the names of their new friends-to-be. Immediately, they started their first letters. There are not many occasions when students look forward to writing. It’s always a daunting task to fill a blank page with witty prose and retellings of exciting events, but not so with the Pen Pal Project! Using what they learned in our mini-lesson on writing friendly letters, my students were happy to actually put pencil to paper. They had a purpose with meaning.

As an adult I’ve mastered being able to write a letter in one draft. But I can remember a time when I would write and rewrite a letter to my grandma. Either I hadn’t organized my thoughts so they jumped all over the page, or my pencil erasers had caused too many unsightly smudges. Not that letters need to be perfect, but they should at least make the reader feel like some thought and care was put into the act of writing. As a child, this helps instill pride in one’s work.

Once all my students had written their letters and they were presentable, I gave each student a letter-sized envelope to address to their pen pal. Then I gathered all the letters into one large envelope to mail to their teacher.

The Art of Patience

The letters were in the mail and the waiting began. Each day, starting nearly from the day I mailed the letters, my students asked if they had mail. It took about a month before I could finally wave the big envelope from Scotland! The cost of the paper: nominal. The cost of the envelopes: $2.99. The cost of postage: $4.87. The cost of my students’ expressions when they opened their individual letters: PRICELESS! They were each engaged in reading like never before. And they wanted to write letters back to their new friends that day. Who was I to say “No” to writing?! And so the process began and continued throughout the school year and into the summer.

These days, we all have email addresses and we hear little pings to tell us “you’ve got mail.” That’s all fine and dandy, but there is something more authentic, grounded, almost comforting about receiving a letter in the mail box from the postman. To sit in a comfy chair, carefully unseal the envelope, and read a note from a friend—it’s the next best thing to having that friend in the room with you. And when that friend is thousands of miles away, well, that letter is priceless, too.

I asked my friend if he knows other schools in Scotland that would be interested in a Pen Pal Project of their own. Here are a couple of schools he passed along to me:

• Oakbank – a large school in Perth, Scotland. Emails can be sent to the deputy Headteacher JHManson@pkc.gov.uk 
• Also St. Pious in Dundee, Scotland. Emails can be sent to Michelle at mickey_w79@hotmail.com.

Happy Writing!

Kathleen A. Hunter, MS is a literacy tutor and aspiring children's book author. You can visit her online at www.KathleenHunterWrites.com.

Putting Books to Work:  Where Things Come Back
By Judith A. Hayn, Karina R. Clemmons, Heather A. Olvey, & J. D. Wilson

Where Things Come Back (Atheneum, 2011)
By John Corey Whaley
Grades 7—12

John Corey Whaley’s debut novel Where Things Come Back is the winner of the 2012 William C. Morris, and Michael L. Printz awards.  Cullen Witter is a typical teenage boy living in the small town of Lily, AR. This unique setting has a profound impact on the characters, almost acting as a personality itself.  Cullen has a close-knit circle of friends and family, and when his brother Gabriel goes missing at the same time as the first sighting of the believed-to-be-extinct Lazarus woodpecker, Cullen begins to freshly examine his life, the town, and all the people in it.  In alternating chapters, the reader is introduced to both Benton Sage and Cabot Searcy, whose fanatical searches for truth using The Book of Enoch as a guide lead them both down very dark paths.  The reader may struggle to see parallels between the different characters in the two stories other than the characters are all searching desperately for meaning, however, the plots eventually come to focus on the question of ultimate import to Cullen: Will Gabriel Witter come back, as everyone else who attempts to leave the small town of Lily inevitably does?

Cross-Curricular Connections:  English language arts, Social Studies, Science

Ideas for Classroom Use:

Creating a Timeline of the Novel’s Events

Discuss with the class the difficulty of understanding the novel’s events in linear order as the chapters in the book flip back and forth between different people’s stories.  As a class, ask students to contribute several important events in the story and add it to a timeline that is displayed. Assign students to groups of three or four, making sure each group has access to a computer or tablet. Assign each group to collaboratively fill an empty timeline with relevant events in the story using collaborative technology such as Dropbox.com or Google Docs. Students should integrate events from multiple characters, referring to the book if necessary. Each group should share their digital documents with the class for a class analysis and discussion of the novel’s events.

Creating Titles of Possible Books Based on Students’ Own Lives

Cullen creates fictitious book titles to indicate snapshots of his mental state at certain times in the novel. Whaley’s question in the Reading Group Guide in the back of his novel asks participants to create some of their own examples of book titles. As an extension, this activity allows students to connect their own lives with the book. Instruct students to flip through the novel and make a list of the possible book titles Cullen creates, along with the events that inspired them.  List the titles found on a master list as a class, and then assign students to individually make a list of several important events in their own lives.  Then have students write creative book titles corresponding to the life events. Give students the option to share their events and corresponding titles anonymously in small groups or anonymously by turning in their papers.

Brown Bag Exam

As an assessment activity, use Denise Ousley’s instructions for a brown bag exam based on Where Things Come Back.  In preparation, collect the following items and put each item separately into its own bag.  Close the bag, and give one bag to students, instructing them to wait until everyone has a brown bag before opening.  Once students open their bags and see their items, explain to students that they will be expected to list all the possible connections between the item and Where Things Come Back.  They should attempt to find correlations for plot, character, setting, theme, symbols, or events, however, every item will not fit into every category.  Once students have worked alone and answered question 1, allow them to work in triads, and add the group’s additions for 2.  Instruct students to individually find at least two passages in the book that connect the brown bag items to the text, and write the quotes and page numbers down for 3.  After answering 4, students can then share one idea about their item with the class as a whole.

                                                            Brown Bag Exam
Brown Bag item:___________________________

• Initial ideas connection item to novel (a bulleted list is fine)
• Additional comments from small group discussion:
• Passages:
• Idea/Connection/Comment to share with the class:

Items to place in brown bags:

• Lily—This represents the small town in which this book is set.  It is an actual town in Arkansas that is located halfway between Little Rock and Memphis.  Lily plays an important part in the book as most of its inhabitants want or try to leave, but they inevitably come back.  It can also be a symbol of all of the Arkansas cities and town names the author uses as character names in the book.
• The Bible—Benton Sage begins his journey doing missionary work in Ethiopia.  He is a Christian and fails to live up to his father’s perfectionist expectations.  Benton wants to bring the word of God to the people he meets in Ethiopia, and is unhappy with the result of simply feeding and caring for them.
• Book of Enoch (can be made by covering a small notebook with the title)—A book in the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible that tells the story of Gabriel being sent by God to punish the Nephilim (children of the fallen angels) for giving humans too much knowledge.  After Cabot Searcy finds a quote from this book in Benton Sage’s journal, he becomes obsessed with finding the truth by using this book as a guide.
• woodpecker—The Lazarus woodpecker was believed to have been extinct for over 60 years.  The believed sightings bring excitement to the small town of Lily, AR.
• picture of a gas station— Cullen works in a gas station.  He interacts with many of the characters in the book there.
• picture of a zombie – Cullen’s imagination tends to drift toward creating zombie stories in his mind when confronting stressful events in the book.  Cullen has a list of titles of possible books he might write someday, and many of titles include zombies.
• angel – This is representative of Gabriel’s character, since both the angel Gabriel and Gabriel Witter play such a prominent role in the book.  There is also much discussion of the Grigori and Nephilim, who are the fallen angels and their children.
• copy of The Catcher in the Rye – Gabriel’s favorite book.  Cullen read it to his brother when he was 10, and Gabriel read it for the 11th time a week before he disappeared.

Examining Where Things Come Back through Different Lenses of Literary Criticism

Break the class into groups of three or four students and give them the following chart:

Additional Resources and Activities:

Whaley’s Playlist

Whaley has created a playlist of songs that inspired him as he wrote this novel.  Play a selection from his list each discussion day in class to get students to consider possible connections.  Provide students with the playlist and have them create their own playlist that includes a caption for each choice.

Where Things Come Back Study Guide

BookRags has created a Summary and Study Guide that is available for purchase.  It offers a summary and analysis of each chapter followed by an analysis of characters and objects and places, as well as themes that are found in the novel

Additional Texts Dealing with Problems and Coming of Age:

Anderson, M. T. (2012).  Feed. Candlewick.
Booth, Coe (2013).  Bronxwood.  Push.
de la Peña, Matt (2010).  We Were Here.  Ember.
Lockhart, E. (2014).  We Were Liars.  Delacorte Press.
Page, Robin Epstein (2010).  God Is in the Pancakes.  Dial.
Rowell, Rainbow (2013).  Eleanor & Park.  St. Martin’s Griffin.
Sáenz, Benjamin Alire (2012).  Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.  Simon & Schuster.

Judith A. Hayn, professor of Secondary Education, her colleague Karina Clemmons, associate professor of Secondary Education, and students in the Masters in Secondary English Education program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock prepared these classroom suggestions.