Literacy Now

Two active, longtime International Reading Association members were recently presented with prestigious awards from the Literacy Research Association for their work in literacy.

Nell K. Duke , literacy professor at the University of Michigan and author of  Inside Information: Developing Powerful Readers and Writers of Informational Text Through Project-Based Instruction co-published by IRA and Scholastic, won The P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award.

Established in 2012, the award is presented to an author whose work has demonstrated positive and impactful literacy practices and policies within a district and/or classroom setting. Presented by Taffy Raphael of the University of Illinois at Chicago at the LRA conference, it includes a monetary prize as well as a plaque. Duke was recognized for her work in the Reading Research Quarterly for the article 3.6 Minutes per Day: The Scarcity of Informational Texts in First Grade.

“It was a tremendous surprise and honor to receive the LRA P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award. The reason I do and disseminate research is to try to impact literacy education, particularly for children of poverty, so I especially appreciate receiving an award that focuses on scholarly impact,” Duke said.  “The award is particularly special to me because I have such admiration for P. David Pearson, who is a giant in the field and has been a wonderful mentor and friend to me throughout my career.”

Her work looks to increase informational texts in the early grades and involved observing first-grade classrooms over the course of 79 school days. On each visit, data were collected about the types of texts in the classroom, showing a lack of informational texts and an average of only 3.6 minutes per day spent with informational texts during classroom activities. The article also provides assumptions about genres of texts and strategies for addressing the scarcity of informational texts.

 “Since [the article’s] publication, a host of IRA members and others have been working to get more attention to informational text in early education, and there are signs that work is paying off. Now we need to make sure that the attention is the right kind of attention—that we are using the best possible practices with informational text for young children.”

Susan Neuman, editor of IRA’s Reading Research Quarterly, was awarded the Oscar S. Causy Award.

The Oscar S. Causy Award is the most prestigious honor awarded by the LRA and is presented for outstanding contributions to reading research. Named after the founder of the National Reading Conference, the award was first presented in 1967 and continues to shine a light on those promoting reading research. Laurie Henry of the University of Kentucky presented the award to Neuman for her lifetime of work in literacy research and advocacy.

To me, the Oscar Causey is the highest honor you can receive in reading research and literacy since it reflects a body of work, rather than an individual article,” Neuman said after receiving the award. “It is given to honor the lifetime achievements in research, and I felt deeply honored to receive it.  

“There are a number of research articles that I’m especially proud of, all of which have appeared in Reading Research Quarterly, our flagship journal.”

The LRA is dedicated to promoting research to enrich understanding and knowledge of literacy practices in our multicultural world. The organization awards many honors each year, and all awards are presented by chairs or committee members.

Morgan Ratner is a communications intern for International Reading Association.

Every student is different, any teacher worth his/her salt knows this. But how are they different and how should teachers adjust their strategies to include students performing at the top of the class while not leaving everyone else behind?

#IRAChat on Thursday will address those questions with Jennifer Marten and Russell Cox. Marten, the Gifted and Talented Coordinator for the Plymouth Joint School District in Plymouth, WI, develops building- and district-level professional learning and maintains her blog, Teach From the Heart. She boils her thoughts on the changing face of education into plain speak and addresses everything from federal mandates to the deep history she has in her home district where she is now seeing the children of former students in the classroom. She is working toward a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction Leadership at Marian university in Fond du Lac, WI.

Russell Cox has taught students in all grades during his 16-year tenure and is currently the sole teacher of gifted students in several buildings spread across a rural area in Missouri. He is heavily active in social media where he taps Twitter and his professional learning network for advice and inspiration.

In addition to be literacy-focused himself, Cox is also married to a library media specialist in his home district.

Marten and Cox are ready to take questions addressing the unique needs gifted students have in the realm of literacy: how to keep them as part of a larger class without being bored, how to let them soar without getting lost, and how to foster a lifelong love of reading that many of these type of students seem to be born with, but still call for encouragement.

The chat will be 8 p.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 11. Don’t miss a tweet by following #IRAChat and check in on IRA’s twitter account.

April Hall is the editor of Reading Today Online.

New teaching styles and ideas are constantly implemented in the classroom and it can be a challenge to find what works and how to fit it all in. Thursday’s #IRAchat will answer questions focused on literacy's role in Project-Based Learning (PBL) with experts Myla Lee, a PBL specialist with Technology Integration for Novi Community Schools in Michigan, and Suzie Boss, author of Bringing Innovation to School and Reinventing Project-Based Learning, both from the Buck Institute for Education (BIE).

“In PBL, students take on the role of inquirer. Instead of relying on the teacher to inform them what's important to understand, they ask questions to determine their own ‘need to know,’” Boss said. “As a result, students see how literacy skills help them to make meaning of social studies, science, math, art, and other content areas.”

Literacy in PBL empowers students to collaborate with one another, plan, and critique projects while receiving feedback the BIE experts said. Lee refers to the BIE’s essential elements, including in-depth inquiry and revision, for skills that are necessary in PBL instruction.

PBL also allows students to make their own educated answers to solve open-ended questions, give and receive feedback, and work together to meet real-world challenges.

“PBL creates a framework for phenomenal, purposeful learning to take place. It is where the application of all content learning, especially literacy, becomes a reality for students,” says Lee, adding that PBL often incorporates technology. “A PBL environment creates meaningful work that elevates the rigor and relevancy for students and teachers.

“As they reflect, refine their practice, and implement within their instruction, teachers will discover their project-based learning journey has just begun.”

To join the conversation, follow and post with the #IRAchat hashtag on Twitter.

Morgan Ratner is a communications intern for the International Reading Association.

The National Science Teachers of America (NSTA) and the International Reading Association are teaming up to promote the importance of literacy in science education. The NSTA Area Conference on Science Education is Oct. 16-18 at the Greater Richmond Conference Center in Richmond, VA. Science and literacy are important partners, experts say, and teachers need more training to address the connection. On the final day of the conference, an entire series of sessions will focus on how literacy is vital to deep science learning.

NSTA and IRA will convene a panel to kick off the day’s sessions. As the day goes on, the series of sesions will also feature a panel of eight award-winning authors affiliated with the NSTA and American Association for the Advancement of Science to meet with families and discuss literacy through a scientific perspective.

Juliana Texley, President of the NSTA, says the motivation of science will encourage students to improve their reading skills, while great literature extends the ways in which students can apply their understanding of science.

“Children approach science from many backgrounds, perspectives and learning styles. Great literature challenges the imagination, extends and deepens concepts,” Texley said. “The whole child benefits when great literature is used to put active learning in context. We must not only learn science but communicate it!”

Saturday morning, IRA Exective Director Marcie Craig Post and Bill Badders, retiring president for the NSTA, plan to talk about literacy in the context of science. The pair is expected to provide concrete examples of the connection between the two areas.

“We know literacy is the foundation of all learning,” Post says, “and that all teachers are educators of literacy, in every content area.

“IRA supports teachers in every classroom, to deepen cross-curricular learning, and to make all students career and college ready.”

Other area NSTA conferences are ongoing through the Fall. Registration for the full Richmond conference and for single days is still open.

Morgan Ratner is a communications intern for the International Reading Association.

Gail Boushey and Joan Moser are known all over the world as “The 2 Sisters.” Real-life sisters and educators, the woman have more than 60 years of experience combined in K-6 and special education, as well as a reading resource specialist and a literacy coach. As a professional development training duo, they collaborated to find a replicable, reliable way to teach children how to be independent lifelong learners.

The authors of books including The Daily 5: Fostering Literacy Independence in the Elementary Grades and The CAFE Book: Engaging All Students in Daily Literacy Assessment & Instruction, they’ve also written a number of online articles and created professional development DVDs. The Sisters will join International Reading Association at 8 p.m. ET Oct. 9 for the next #IRAchat. Follow along on Twitter to talk with the ladies about the need and value of student choice.

Nine years ago I attended my first Daily 5/CAFE workshop in Cheney, WA. That day changed my life forever. I sat in the crowded audience and hung on every word “The Sisters” spoke. They were witty, charming, wise and warm but most of all they had lived, breathed, and experienced the struggles I was currently having on my own teaching journey. I felt like they were talking to me about my classroom and my teaching as they described their early teaching/learning journey.  Several times throughout the conference I had to contain myself from wanting to stand up and shout, Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!

The Daily 5 created by The Sisters is a framework to structure time for students to develop lifelong habits of reading, writing and working independently. The CAFE system helps students with mastering Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding vocabulary.

I attended the workshop on Saturday. On Sunday, I spent the day “redoing” my classroom so when my first graders came in Monday I was prepared to begin implementing the foundational lessons which create and sustain independent, motivated, strategic, and voracious readers. I felt a wave of relief because for the first time in my teaching I had a clear vision of where I was headed with my students and with the support of the Sisters, I knew how I could get there.

After attending their conference I began to consider students’ strengths, the role choice and motivation played in students’ progress, explicit teaching of reading strategies, creating a sense of urgency, one-on-one conferring, classroom libraries, and the gradual release of responsibility. I bought books and more books by some of the educators/researchers The Sisters followed and became a member of the International Reading Association.

The more informed I became, the greater my inspiration grew to do my own Classroom Action Research Project which centered on the impact of using a Student Centered Literacy Framework like the Daily 5/CAFE on students’ literacy growth as well as their love of reading and writing. Through my wide reading, active membership in the IRA, and my research project I came to believe in the process and saw the positive effects the Daily 5/CAFE had for my students, but I also experienced the impact it had on my teaching, learning, and understanding of how all the complex pieces of guiding students fit together to make successful, independent readers and writers. I was also informed, inspired, and empowered to share with colleagues and administrators what was happening in my classroom.

After implementing the Daily 5/CAFÉ here is what it sounded like in my classroom, First Graders stating a reading goal:

“I’m working on accuracy, that means I need to be able to read the words. I’m working on chunking letters and sounds together.”

“I’m working on comprehension, I’m reading a chapter book without pictures, so I’m going to be making a picture in my mind because that will help me better understand the story.”

“I’m reading about mammals. I will jot down my thinking about how lions and elephants are the same and how they are different.”

However, the most inspiring comments to hear from the class at the end of Readers or Writers Workshop is a low groan. “Ohhh! Do we have to stop reading?” or “Do we have to stop writing?” Those words from my students let me know I truly succeeded in reaching them.