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PresidentNatalie McAvoy

Vice PresidentBarbara Townsend

SecretaryNancy Haak

TreasurerLinda Frankenberg

Legislative LiaisonLinda Frankenberg

MembershipNancy Haak

NewsletterBarbara Townsend

SOUTHERN LAKES READING COUNCIL

N e w s l e t t e rAnchors away! Sailing along together teaching others to read!

NOTES FROM NATALIE

It is hard to believe it is November! Fall is well on its way! Soon we will see flurries and the white stuff!

Kathy Champeau presented at our October meeting. It was enlightening and engaging! She asked those present to read text sets, we asked questions of each other, and then generated meaningful responses. By giving meaningful responses, it made it personally meaningful! She spoke about how children should write about their reading. Another powerful thing Kathy said was that we should have mind engagement as well as choice in our classroom. She shared key tools. They include: read alouds, partner talk, scripted conversations (where the teacher scribes what is said) using Text Sets and writing in response to the texts because it makes for better comprehension. She suggested having the students use Quick Writes. Her overall message was engagement is necessary.

Our upcoming presentation will be Saturday, November 15 with Doug Buehl. He will talk about Teaching Complex Texts in Academic Disciplines. The breakfast and brief meeting will begin at 8:30, with the presentation following.

If you haven't been to the WSRA Conference, you don't know what you are missing! It is held February 5, 6, and 7 in Milwaukee. This year is different. WSRA recognizes that expertise matters and Thursday, February 5, they are having an "institute day”. It is held all day where you can learn about a single topic by taking part in sessions. Featured speakers will be present and it will include collaborating with colleagues. There are 10 options to choose from. You may choose an institute that correlates with your school improvement goal or your

SLO, or your PDP or a personal area of interest. They will have two keynote speakers who are literacy leaders and two rounds

of breakout sessions. If you are not a member of WSRA, please consider joining. When you do, you can take advantage of the webinars, become more knowledgeable

through the Update Newsletter, and become a better teacher of reading and writing.

Hope to see you at our next SLRC meeting! Natalie McAvoy, SLRC President

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SOUTHERN LAKES PAGE 2

Teaching Complex Texts in Academic Disciplines

with Doug Buehl Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014

8:30 am light breakfast and brief business meeting, 9:00 am program

Remaining Southern Lakes Reading Council Programs 2014–15Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015Retrospective Miscue Analysis: Helping Older Students Who Struggle with Reading with Dr. Catherine Compton-Lilly

This presentation will focus on a unique interactive approach that is highly effective in helping struggling readers beyond 3rd grade. Participants will learn important strategies for helping readers in one-to-one situations that value the strengths students bring while helping them to take on new reading strategies. Learn about important insights that will be helpful to all teachers. 5:00 pm light meal and brief business meeting, 5:30 pm program

Saturday, April 25, 2015Getting Them To Want To: Promoting Joyous Effort in Classroom Literacy Programs with Dr. Mike Ford

As more research reveals the importance of affective dimensions in reading performance and achievement, this presentation (sponsored by WSRA) looks at issues and ideas for developing and implementing a framework to promote joyous effort from learners in classroom literacy programs. 8:30 am light breakfast and brief business meeting, 9:00 am program

Please RSVP SouthernLakesReadingCouncil@gmail.com four days before a scheduled meeting to ensure your spot!

All meetings held at West Side Elementary School, 222 Sunset Drive, Elkhorn, WI 53121

CCSS require our students to read increasingly more difficult texts across the different academic disciplines with some degree of independence and proficiency. These texts may include novels, biographies, newspaper articles, Internet sources, essays, primary documents and more. This workshop looks at instructional conditions for effectively mentoring students as readers of complex text.

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SOUTHERN LAKES PAGE 3

Surfin’ the WebMaster Teacher Project Check out the lesson plans available due to the joint venture partnering NEA and BetterLesson. Enlisting the help of Master Teachers (K-12) across the United States, they offer lesson plans in ELA and math--all linked to common core. http://cc.betterlesson.com/mtp

ReadWriteThink Offering classroom resources, PD, videos, and Parent/After School Resources, IRA and NCTE have teamed for several years to help teachers in their planning.http://www.readwritethink.org

Chromebooks Kathy Schrock has long been a fantastic resource in many areas--now she has included Chromebooks as a part of her “Guide to Everything”! If you have a one, visit her site. You will find connections to some great iPad offerings, as well. http://www.schrockguide.net/chromebooks.html

Support for Writing Providing support in writing is a necessity for both students and teachers. Review the different ways to comment on writing as well as support ways to respond to students’ writings as seen in this brief from Carnegie Mellon. http://www.stenhouse.com/rdCMRespond.htm?r=n326

Readers Theater Fluency practice can be fun and engaging when using Readers Theater. Find an article from The Reading Teacher as well as free scripts available for download at this site: http://www.thebestclass.org/rtscripts.html

Getting Smart About Homework Author Rick Wormeli offers a three-part series on homework via MiddleWeb. This link directs you to part 1, with links to parts 2 and 3 at the end of the article. Also included are several other helpful homework resources.http://www.middleweb.com/16590/smart-homework-can-talk/ 10 Steps to Closer Student Reading So much has been said about “close reads” and this article by Nancy Boyles will help every teacher organize to implement it with success!http://www.middleweb.com/17198/10-steps-to-close-reading/

Parents and CCSS Parents can help support CCSS with this information from LD Online. http://www.ldonline.org/article/

November &

Literacy: Time

for Celebration! November is filled with literacy

celebrations (see page 7) and it is time to join in the fun! Take it as another opportunity to extend our Literacy Day pledges from IRA, continuing the commitment to engage students in an extra 60 seconds of literacy activities for 60 days. Or see it as a chance to practice some needed speaking and listening to aid our students’ comprehension. Hope you find this link to Kathy A, Mills’ article, “Floating on a Sea of Talk: Reading Comprehension Through speaking and Listening” from The Reading Teacher, 63(4) to be a worthy read!

http://www.gearyschools.org/pages/uploaded_files/14.pdf

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SLRC PAGE 4 Parent Questions:

What’s in store for my kids? Many parents want to know what their children are learning in the classroom these days. Let’s face it--things have changed since those parents were in school! To help parents in your school understand what a typical day might be like, direct them to www.GreatSchools.org . GreatSchools is a non-profit organization providing information and resources to parents, allowing them to encourage and support learning at home. The result is well-informed parents, interested and involved in their child’s education--a part of the team, guiding children to great futures!

As part of their “Back to School” series, GreatSchools offers links specific to various grade levels from pre-school through high school. Included on these pages is information related not only to academic expectations, but physical and social skills, as well.

•What to Expect in Preschool: Literacy http://www.greatschools.org/back-to-school/1132-what-to-expect-at-preschool-literacy.gs?page=all

•Kindergarten: Ready or Not? http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/150-kindergarten-ready-or-not.gs?s_cid=eml_weekly_20140810

•What to Expect in First Grade http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/274-preparing-for-first-grade.gs?s_cid=eml_weekly_20140810

•What to Expect in Second Grade http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/275-preparing-for-second-grade.gs?s_cid=eml_weekly_20140810

•What to Expect in Third Grade http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/276-preparing-for-third-grade.gs?s_cid=eml_weekly_20140810

•What to Expect in Fourth Grade http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/282-preparing-for-fourth-grade.gs?s_cid=eml_weekly_20140810

•What to Expect in Fifth Grade http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/536-preparing-for-fifth-grade.gs?s_cid=eml_weekly_20140810

•What to Expect in Sixth Grade http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/537-preparing-for-sixth-grade.gs?s_cid=eml_weekly_20140810

•Getting Ready for Middle School and High School Reading http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/slideshows/3618-middle-high-school-reading-slides.gs?s_cid=eml_weekly_20140810

Fostering a strong bond between parents and schools is an extremely positive move in today’s society. Providing them with the resources and opportunities to become involved will allow us to be even more effective in the work we do with their children--our students!

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SLRC PAGE 5

In Need of a Lesson Planning Play-date? NASCO will be offering FREE workshops this year for teachers to work together planning

lessons aligned with Common Core State Standards! They will be providing the related materials

and demonstrate possible application. Workshops will be held at UW Whitewater’s University

Center in room 0069. Register online http://www.uww.edu/ce/camps/workshops-training/nasco

• “Informational Text” Thursday, November 20, 4:30-7:30pm

• “Vocabulary & Emotional Expression” Saturday, March 7, 8:30-11am

• “Music & Story” Saturday, April 25, 8:30-11am

Workshops are free--don’t miss this great opportunity!

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SOUTHERN LAKES PAGE 6

SOUTHERN LAKES READING COUNCIL --We are dedicated to improving reading instruction and promoting literacy.

--We enjoy networking with others who are also dedicated to excellence in literacy from Walworth, Western Racine, & Western Kenosha counties.

--We benefit from hearing top-notch speakers at our meetings who present on best practices in the field of education.

--We believe it is important to stay current and informed.

--We publish newsletters with information on professional development opportunities, and current trends or practices in reading and writing.

--AND, if you’re a first year teacher or undergrad student, we’ll waive meeting fees!

Come join us! You’ll be glad you did!

SOUTHERN LAKES READING COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP FORM 2014-15

Name: ________________________________________________

Street Address: _________________________________________

City: _______________________ State:_________ Zip:_________

E-mail: ________________________________________________

School & District: ________________________________________

Position: _______________________________________________

Home Phone: _________________ Work Phone: _______________

IMPORTANT INFORMATION Please check if you are a member of:

_____WSRA Member # __________ Exp. Date __________

_____IRA Member # ____________Exp. Date ___________

$35 Registration Fee (membership, programs, food). Single meeting: $10 Single meal: $5______ New Member ______ SLRC Renewal

Please send registration form and check to: Nancy Haak, N4097 County Hwy. NN, Elkhorn, WI 53121

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SOUTHERN LAKES PAGE 7

WisconsinLiteracyDates to

Celebrate!

November - December• American Indian Heritage Month• November 1 National Family Literacy

Day; National Author’s Day• November 5 National Young Reader's

Day• November 16-22 American Education

Week• November 17-21 International

Education Week• November 17-23 National

Children's Book Week• November 20 - December 31

Jewish Book Month