Secondary Literacy: Middle_HS

Diverse Texts in ELA

Educators have a unique opportunity to provide a diverse selection of texts in their classrooms. There is a world of diverse texts available that provide multiple viewpoints of the world and allow for wider representation. Each of the books in the chart provided here feature protagonists and characters that are a part of underrepresented groups. There are also non-fiction texts that represent diverse voices and perspectives. Additionally, there are resources to help educators diversify their curriculum. 

Guidance Document: Diverse Texts in the Secondary ELA Classroom Guidance

Related PD Opportunities:

Secondary Reading Fundamentals - Diverse Texts in the Secondary ELA Classroom - Earn 3 PD credits and learn about how to shake up your curriculum through this asynchronous ondemand course. Learn more and sign up!

"Diverse Texts - Creating a More Inclusive Curriculum" Webinar - Thank you to everyone who joined me in Spring and Summer 2021 as we talked about diverse texts and how to implement them in our classrooms. Check out the Padlet for ideas and resources! Please also check out the recording of the "Diverse Texts: Creating a More Inclusive Curriculum" session at the 2021 Virtual Teachers' Institute and Leading Change Conference.

(Other Archived PD related to Diverse Texts listed below in Professional Learning section)

Other Resources:

ADE's Equity Framework - The Arizona Department of Education is committed to ensuring that all Arizona students are provided the opportunity to succeed and reach their full academic potential. The department is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in its policies, procedures, practices, and programs. ADE Equity Framework

ADE Social Studies Resources - Our Social Studies team has provided resources for teaching history from a variety of perspectives.

Read Across America - Celebrate all year long! Create and celebrate a nation of diverse readers. This site has a ton of great diverse book recommendations for all ages NEA Read Across America

Reading | Literature Resources

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

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

GELN - Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom

IES Practice Guide - Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices

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 who may need intervention instruction in foundational literacy skills.

NCTE Bookstore, Adventurous Thinking: Fostering Students’ Rights to Read and Write in Secondary ELA 

NCTE Students’ Right to Read – 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 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. 

Writing | Grammar Resources

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. 

Pulitzer Center - Local Letters for Global Change: A Pulitzer Center Writing Contest, deadline is November 13, 2021

Grammar Resources 

Heinemann Publishing, The Grammar Planbook 

NCTE Bookstore, Grammar to Get Things Done: A Practical Guide for Teachers Anchored in Real-World Usage 

Stenhouse Publishers, Revision Decisions: Talking Through Sentences and Beyond 

Stenhouse Publishers, Everyday Editing: Inviting Students to Develop Skill and Craft in Writer’s Workshop 

Writing

Keys to Literacy, Keys to Content Writing Resources

Parent Resources

Read WriteThink Parent/AfterSchool Resources for Secondary Grades 

• Grades 5 and 6 
• Grades 7 and 8  
• Grades 9 and 10  
• Grades 11 and 12  

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. 

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Current Opportunities

ADE OPPORTUNITIES

Secondary ELA Quarterly 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. Our first meeting was March 24th - check out the slide deck! The next meeting date will be posted here soon, along with registration.

Secondary ELA Webinars on ADE EMS

Earn PD credit and collaborate with other secondary ELA teachers! A variety of topics including: reading comprehension, diverse texts, building background, collaboration with Social Studies, virtual teaching, and more!

 All Secondary ELA PD

ELA and Social Studies Collaboration

These professional learning webinars are offered in collaboration with our ADE Social Studies team:

• The Story of Knowledge: Diversifying and Contextualizing Knowledge, Part 1, July 12, 2022 from 9-11 - Registration and information
• The Story of Knowledge: Diversifying and Contextualizing Knowledge, Part 2, July 13, 2022 from 9-11 - Registration and information
• Check out the Social Studies Summer Seminar Series!

ALL ELA Professional Learning Opportunities

Current PD from the whole ELA Team:

• K-12 Literacy Office Hours once a month - come join us to hear the latest ELA news!
• Arizona Reading Fundamentals OnDemand Academy - This academy offers schools a variety of free knowledge blocks on demand. Each knowledge block includes several different sessions. Each session includes three recorded presentations and pre- and post- activities. Districts and schools are encouraged to utilize these resources as a part of a comprehensive professional learning plan that is data-driven, sustained, intensive, collaborative, job-embedded and instructionally focused.

All ELA PD

EMS Support:
For questions regarding registration, certificates, accessing courses, etc. please refer to our: EMS Participant Guide

Sign up for ELA Listserv:

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

Summer of Writing Professional Learning Series

Summer of Writing logo_edited.jpg

The summer series, starting June 2nd, is all free and all virtual. Offerings include:

• 5-week book study on The Writing Revolution (starts June 2nd - get your book soon!)
• a variety of webinars on Secondary ELA writing topics, including: exploring the three types of writing standards, grammar instruction, and college and career writing
• the opportunity for teachers to participate in the CAWP (Central Arizona Writing Project) Summer Institute through ASU (limited slots available - sign up here!)

Please share this flyer with your colleagues!

Register

Secondary ELA Book Study

summer 2022

The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades 

by Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler

This powerful book explores: Why you need a writing revolution in your classroom and how to lead it! The Writing Revolution (TWR) provides a clear method of instruction that you can use no matter what subject or grade level you teach. The model can turn weak writers into strong communicators by focusing on specific techniques that match their needs and by providing them with targeted feedback. It also helps: Boost reading comprehension, Improve organizational and study skills, Enhance speaking abilities, and Develop analytical capabilities. The Writing Revolution is as much a method of teaching content as it is a method of teaching writing. There's no separate writing block and no separate writing curriculum. Instead, teachers of all subjects adapt the TWR strategies and activities to their current curriculum and weave them into their content instruction. But perhaps what's most revolutionary about the TWR method is that it takes the mystery out of learning to write well. It breaks the writing process down into manageable chunks and then has students practice the chunks they need, repeatedly, while also learning content.

To order: https://www.thewritingrevolution.org/buy-the-book/

Book Study Details:

• Virtual book chats will take place over 5 Thursdays starting 6/2 through 6/30
• 2:00-3:00 MST
• All participants must register in the ADE EMS system to receive credit - each session is offered individually.
• All participants who register in EMS, read their chapter(s), and attend the book study will be given 2-hours PD credit. (For a total of 10 hours of PD!)
• Please share this flyer with your colleagues!

Register!

Archived Book Studies:

• April-May 2022 Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms, 2nd Edition - Visit the Padlet!
• Early Spring 2022 Fundamentals of Literacy Instruction and Assessment, Grades 6-12 - Visit the Padlet!
• Fall 2021 Effective Instruction for Middle School Students with Reading Difficulties - Visit the Padlet!
• Spring 2021 Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms, 2nd Edition

Reading Apprenticeship

Reading Apprenticeship from WestEd - Arizona SEED Grant

Reading Apprenticeship is an evidence-based professional learning experience focused on disciplinary literacy. Educators are engaged in a process to discover the tools and perspective to “apprentice” their students in any subject area, including secondary ELA and other subjects. This assets-based approach helps teachers develop students’ comprehension skills while also building subject-area knowledge, reader-identity, collaboration, and persistence. As part of a federal SEED grant, WestEd will be offering the opportunity for Arizona teachers to participate in a summer Reading Apprenticeship essentials course with little to no cost.

Informational Webinars: At this time, there are no more informational webinars scheduled. However, if we do offer more, they will be posted here. You can access the slides from the webinar here.

Contact Information to register for the course: Access this flyer for more information on Reading Apprenticeship and to contact Dr. Daryl Michel for more questions about setting up the course for yourself, your school, or your district.

Book Study: I will be offering another free book study on the Reading Apprenticeship core text later this Spring, starting April 7th. Registration information will be available soon.
 

Recordings/Archived

Webinars

• Special Presentation - "Diverse Texts in the Classroom" - In this webinar on 6/30/2021, a panel of secondary ELA educators presented strategies and resources that they use in their own classrooms and schools to share and celebrate diverse texts and voices. We also discussed how to use these strategies and ADE’s Diverse Texts guidance to make inclusive curriculum choices in your own classroom. Recording and Slide Deck
• 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 diverse YA books in with teaching classic literature in the classroom, including books on mental health, LGBTQ representation, the importance of #OwnVoices, and the significance of book covers showing “a face like mine.” Click here to view the presentation
• Building Background in the Virtual Secondary ELA Classroom - Building 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 slide deck.
• Summer Series - Spotlight on Media Literacy and Sourcing - In collaboration with our ADE Social Studies team - Join trainers from ADE, and master teachers from around the state to 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 do 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 ELA - In 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 diverse texts to address new ways to create cross-curricular projects and lessons. Slide Deck

ARCHIVED/RECORDED WEBINARS from other organizations

EdWeb webinar archive, “Reading Tools to the Rescue: Solutions for Learning on Couches and in Classrooms” 

EdWeb/Learning Ally Webinar archive, "Integrating Assistive Technology into Virtual Instruction for Struggling Readers”  

Education Week Webinar archive, “Cross-Curricular Instructional Principles to Prepare More ELA Students for AP and College” 

Education Week Webinar archive, “How to Build Writing Proficiency and Foster Differentiation in the 21st Century Classroom” 

Education Week Webinar archive, All Literacy and English/Language Arts Webinars 

NCTE Reads Archived book study, “In the Pursuit of Justice: Students’ Rights to Read and Write in Elementary School” 
 

Professional Organizations - Current Events