Secondary Literacy: Middle_HS

Secondary Literacy (Middle and High School)

The Arizona Department of Education is focused on the importance of teaching children to read. It is important to continue this focus in the secondary classroom, including middle school and high school.  In short, literacy instruction remains every bit as important in the older grades as it is in grades K-3. The resources provided here are meant to assist secondary (6th-12th) ELA educators and parents in providing the best instruction for all Arizona students. (Lauren Spenceley, Secondary English Language Arts Specialist)

Expand the blue bars below to find resources, professional learning, guidance documents, and more!

The Arizona English Language Arts Standards define the knowledge, understanding, and skills that need to be effectively taught and learned for all students to be ready to succeed in credit-bearing, college-entry courses, in the workplace, and/or in military service. The standards present a vision of what it means to be a literate person in the twenty-first century.

Grade-specific K-12 standards in Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening, and Language translate the broad aims of The Arizona English Language Arts Anchor Standards into age- and attainment-appropriate terms. These standards allow for an integrated approach to literacy to help guide instruction. 

You can access the Grade 6-12 ELA Standards, as well as the Vertical Articulation of Standards, Glossary, and other guidance materials on the Standards: English Language Arts webpage.

FAQ about approved novel/text lists and the standards

Coming soon!

ADE Adolescent Literacy Guidance Document - sign up to be notified of its release!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This resource section is under construction, but a great place to start is:

Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Practice Guides - The Institute of Education Sciences has provided a set of recommendations for evidence-based best practices to address challenges in classrooms and schools that serve the secondary grades.

Great new resource from The Reading League - The Reading League Compass - Adolescent Literacy

What is Disciplinary Literacy?

Disciplinary literacy refers to the specifics of reading, writing, and communicating in a discipline.

  • Disciplinary Literacy - Skill specialized to history, science, literature, math, and other subject areas.
  • Intermediate Literacy - Generic comprehension strategies, common word meanings, and basic fluency.
  • Basic Literacy - Decoding and knowledge of high-frequencyy words.

More resources here!

Achieve the Core-Text Complexity Toolkit

All About Adolescent Literacy - AdLit.org is a national multimedia project offering information and resources to the parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers. 

AdLit Classroom Strategies - Before, During, and After Reading

CEEDAR - Disciplinary Literacy Course Enhancement Module

EdWeek - Spotlight on Adolescent Reading 

General Education Leadership Network (GELN) - Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom

IES Practice Guides - The Institute of Education Sciences has provided a set of recommendations for evidence-based best practices to address challenges in classrooms and schools that serve the secondary grades.

Keys to Literacy Adolescent Literacy Resources - Joan Sedita of Keys to Literacy provides resources focused on adolescent literacy. Adolescent literacy encompasses the skills that must be taught to all students so they can meet increasingly challenging reading and writing demands as they move through the upper grades, as well as what needs to be done for those students who fall behind and may need intervention instruction in foundational literacy skills.

Meadows Center, Partner Reading Teachers' Guide - The purpose of this guide is to provide teachers with a feasible partner reading procedure that can be used in middle school classrooms.

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Students’ Right to Read – A Plethora of resources for engaging students in literature. 

ReadWriteThink – Powered by NCTE. ReadWriteThink is a teaching and learning community for English Language Arts teachers from K-12th grade with resources providing free access to the highest quality standards-based practices, lesson plans, videos, activities, and apps.

WestEd Publications, Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms 

WestEd Reading Apprenticeship - What if instead of teaching around the text, lecturing, or summarizing for students, teachers engaged students in actually grappling with the text - reading and talking about what it means and how they figured it out? WestEd has provided resources and materials to teach reading in a metacognitive way. 

Resources for Texts Related to Holocaust and Genocide Education - In 2024, HB 2779 amended ARS 15-701.02 to read: the state board of education shall include a requirement that students be taught about the Holocaust and other genocides for at least three school days, or the equivalent, on at least two separate occasions during any of grades seven through twelve. Although this instruction is required as part of the 2018 History and Social Science Standards, this legislation further stresses the importance of these topics and events. This webpage provides resources, training, and support for educators in meeting this requirement. It also houses the work of the Task Force on the Holocaust and Other Genocides - a Toolkit for teachers and students. Especially helpful to ELA teachers - book recommendations by grade level.

Writing Contests 

JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest - The Profile in Courage Essay Contest opens for submissions in the Fall of each year.

National Novel Writing Month Young Writers’ Program – National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) takes place in November. The Young Writers’ Program supports under-18 writers and K-12 educators as they participate in the November event, and take part in smaller writing challenges year-round.

Grammar Resources 

Heinemann Publishing, The Grammar Planbook 

Writing

Keys to Literacy, Keys to Content Writing Resources

Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Guide, Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

AdLit.org, "Organizations that Promote Adolescent Literacy" - From lesson plans and classroom tools to free books and opportunities to publish students’ work, nonprofit organizations have a lot to offer parents, teachers, and struggling readers themselves. Learn about some nonprofits with a commitment to helping young people become better readers and writers.

AdLit.org, "Parent Engagement in Transitions to Middle and High School" - Using the 3A framework (Attendance, Achievement, and Attainment) for dropout prevention developed by the America’s Promise Alliance and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this article highlights specific knowledge that parents need to support students’ success, as well as ways that schools can engage parents as partners.

AdLit.org, "Engaging Parents to Support Academic Achievement" - Academic achievement is a strong predictor of high school graduation and is critical to long-term success in college, work, and life. A sixth grader who fails Math or English has unsatisfactory behavior, or poor attendance, has a 75% likelihood of dropping out. Freshmen in Chicago public schools who earn a B average or better have an 80% chance of finishing high school with at least a 3.0 GPA.

IES, "Literacy Tips for Parents of Adolescents" - Based on common instructional elements, these are activities that parents can initiate at home to help ensure successful literacy outcomes for their adolescent students.

Meadows Center, "How Can I Help My Middle Schooler Read Multisyllabic Words? Five Helpful Steps" - This resource describes a simple strategy you and your child can use to help decode long words.

Scholastic, “17 Ways to Keep Your Middle Schooler Turning Pages” - As your kids get older, they may put reading on the back burner. Learn the best ways to keep them turning the pages with these helpful tips. 

ADE Assessment - Educator resources for the new Arizona state assessments. [Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment - AASA (3rd-8th), ACT Aspire (9th), ACT (11th)]

Including:

  • Performance Level Descriptors and Item Specifications (AASA)
  • Arizona State Standards Alignment Guide (ACT and ACT Aspire)

High School Graduation - Information and Requirements

Postsecondary Resources - Resources and Events

Office of English Language Acquisition Services (OELAS) Guidance - High School Credit for Integrated and Targeted ELD | OELAS Homepage

    PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

    Request Secondary ELA Professional Learning for your School/District - Schedule a 30-minute virtual meeting!

    Support and resources for Secondary ELA Educators in AZ and beyond

    Ongoing Professional Learning Opportunities for Secondary ELA Educators SY2024-2025

    Monthly Webinars

    • Secondary Striving Readers: Diagnose and Intervene
    • Assessing Secondary Writing
    • Thinking Reading - Jan/Feb
    • Literacy Intervention in the Middle Grades - Mar - May

    Other Opportunities

    • On-Demand Knowledge Blocks
    • Guidance Documents
    • ADE- Funded Professional Learning Courses

     

     

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    AIM Pathways to Proficient Reading: Secondary - Opportunities for ADE-funded Cohorts for SY24-25!

    We have the opportunity to provide virtual cohorts of the AIM Pathways to Proficient Reading: Secondary professional learning course to Arizona educators (valued at over $800 at no cost to you or your district). This course includes over 55 hours of literacy learning for secondary educators. 

    At this time, we do not have seats available for the cohort beginning in September 2024. However, we foresee having more seats available in the future.  If you and/or your district/charter are interested in future availability for this training, please fill out this interest form: AIM Pathways to Proficient Reading: Secondary Interest Form for Future Opportunities.

    Secondary ELA Webinars on APLD

    Earn PD credit and collaborate with other secondary ELA teachers! A variety of topics, including: reading comprehension, writing, secondary MTSS, collaboration with Social Studies, and more! - Use search term "secondary ELA."

    Register - use search term "secondary ELA" to narrow down your search

    All ELA Professional Learning Opportunities

    Register - use search term "k12-AS-ELA" to narrow down your search

    APLD Support:
    For questions regarding registration, certificates, accessing courses, etc., please refer to our APLD FAQs

    To stay on top of the latest Arizona ELA news, join our listserv!

    Upcoming Book Study

    March 20, 2025: Literacy Intervention in the Middle Grades

     

    General Information for our book studies:

    Virtual book chats take place via Microsoft Teams.

    Register in the APLD system to receive credit - each session is offered individually.

    All participants who register in APLD, read their chapter(s), and attend the book study will be given 2-hours of PD credit for each session they attend.

    Register

    Use search term "secondary ELA book study" to narrow down your search.

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    Archived Book Studies:

    You will find an abundance of resources for secondary writing and AZ's writing standards at this Padlet!

    Current Writing Sessions for SY2024-2025

    Assessing Secondary Writing - Register for the upcoming session! Search "secondary ela"
    Resources Padlet

    Archived Writing Sessions 

    • Arizona's 6-12th Grade Writing Standards: Model, Practice, Reflect, Assess - Resources Padlet
    • Types of Writing Standards Grades 6-12: Argument Writing | Padlet
    • Types of Writing Standards Grades 6-12: Informative/Explanatory Writing | Padlet
    • Types of Writing Standards Grades 6-12: Narrative Writing | Padlet
    • Empowering Students through Grammar Instruction | Recording | Slide Deck 
    • Writing for College, Career, and Beyond | Recording | Slide Deck

    Reading Apprenticeship in Arizona

    Reading Apprenticeship from WestEd - Disciplinary Literacy in grades 6-12 and beyond

    Reading Apprenticeship is an evidence-based professional learning experience focused on disciplinary literacy in grades 6-12. Educators are engaged in a process to discover the tools and perspective to “apprentice” their students in any subject area. This assets-based approach helps teachers develop students’ comprehension skills while also building subject-area knowledge, reader identity, collaboration, and persistence. 

    • We currently do not have any free opportunities for taking part in Reading Apprenticeship, but please view the materials to learn more and reach out if you would like more information. Keep an eye out for future opportunities!

    Resources:

    Webinars

    WebinarsDescription and Information
    Special Presentation - "Secondary ELA Webinar: Restoring Humanity to Striving Adolescent Readers" Recording - use this Passcode: V^2e5*h0 | Padlet of Resources
    Special Presentation - "A Face Like Mine: Connecting Classic Literature to Modern YA Books"On 2/11/21,  a panel of high school librarians discussed ways to incorporate modern YA books in teaching classic literature in the classroom. Click here to view the presentation
    Building Background in the Virtual Secondary ELA ClassroomBuilding schema and background knowledge is one of the best ways to raise reading comprehension for our students. In this webinar, we explored some easy and fun ways to do this in the virtual/distance learning secondary ELA classroom. A better understanding of how building background and surfacing schema will help your students become better readers. Visit the Padlet with resources and a slide deck.
    Summer Series - Spotlight on Media Literacy and SourcingIn collaboration with our ADE Social Studies team - Join trainers from ADE, and master teachers from around the state in a webinar to teach and engage with media literacy at all grade levels. Recorded presentation
    "What is Media Literacy and How Do I Teach It?"This webinar will examine what media literacy means, how we teach students to be responsible consumers and producers of media, and examine some methods and lessons you can use in your classroom. Recorded presentation
    Integrating Secondary Social Studies and ELAIn collaboration with our ADE Social Studies team - How do you integrate Social Studies and English Language Arts in a secondary setting? What are the benefits of collaboration between English and Social Studies educators? This webinar demonstrated best practices to integrate Social Studies and ELA efficiently and easily. This webinar also used texts with multiple perspectives to address new ways to create cross-curricular projects and lessons. Slide Deck

    Secondary ELA Office Hours

    Secondary ELA Quarterly Office Hours is a virtual opportunity to collaborate, share, and learn about secondary reading and literacy information from the AZ Department of Education with secondary ELA literacy educators and leaders from around the state. 

    Secondary ELA Quarterly Office Hours

      Past Meetings:

      Adolescent Literacy Hub

      **The views and opinions expressed in any third-party resource do not necessarily reflect those of the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and do not imply an endorsement by ADE.