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5 Essential Books Every Educator Needs on Their Summer Reading List
With the sun shining bright and days getting longer, educators can take advantage of the perfect opportunity to engage in essential professional learning. Grab a refreshing glass of lemonade, find a comfortable spot to unwind, and explore the top five must-read books that Kent ISD Educational Consultants recommend. These books will inspire, motivate, and transform…
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How to Build a Diverse Classroom Library
Written by: Sommer Jabbar, Kent ISD Project Coordinator of Equity and Student Success Building a diverse classroom library may feel like an overwhelming task, however, there are so many resources and tips available to help! Below you will find some guidelines for building a diverse classroom library and the importance of doing so!
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Improving Literacy: Essentials Documents In Action
Written by Lisa Brown, MDE Improving literacy is part of Michigan’s strategic plan to become a top 10 in 10 State. While it will take a multi-faceted approach, beginning with quality tier one, instruction is key. The Early Literacy Task Force (ELTF), a subgroup of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA), General Education…
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Connecting MTSS and Third Grade Reading Law
Written by: Mark Raffler, Kent ISD The Kent ISD Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) team has been working for the past six years to develop the understanding and capacity of local districts to balance the behavior and academic demands put forward by the State of Michigan. The latest legislation put into place, focused on academic…
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Focusing on Read Alouds: K-3 Literacy Essentials
Written by: Christi Gilbert, Literacy Coach/Kent ISD Essential #2 states: “Read Alouds of age-appropriate books and other materials, print or digital” Why read alouds? There is a STRONG research consensus that supports literacy development through read alouds. Children learn about reading and writing from read alouds. They also increase their vocabulary hearing new words during a…
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Strategies to Encourage Summer Reading
Summer. The word alone conjures images of the pool, beach, sand, sun, relaxing with a good book… Unfortunately, summer break often means a vacation from reading for many students. Summer Reading Loss Research The importance of summer reading is well documented in educational research. Studies confirm that summer reading loss perpetuates the achievement gap between…
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Opportunity for Curriculum Networking and Resources
There are nearly 15,000 English Learners in Kent County schools. Nationally, 1 in 4 students is an English Learner. How are you supporting English Learners (EL) at your school in Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts? EL Coaching Network (ELCN) Last year participants from 20 districts came together to learn, discuss, and devise action…
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How to Read (and Enjoy) More Books
Several years ago, I got pretty into Goodreads, mostly because I like measuring stuff and Goodreads made it fun to set goals for and keep track of how many books I read. It was also a big thing on Twitter — people would share how many books they were reading, and they would set reading goals for…
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3 Unique Reading Strategies You’ll Want to Try!
Learning to read can be difficult for anyone. Michigan’s proficiency on the NAEP is just over 30 percent for third-grade readers. Michigan Association of School Administrators (MASA) Region Three superintendents are tackling this problem through the Reading Now Network, which is beginning to develop resources for the classroom. This morning I watched a TedX talk that…
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Helping Students Become Active Thinkers, Part 2
Last week, Tim Hargis wrote about four areas of focus to help students become active thinkers and independent writers. He described purpose and craft in detail. In part 2, he will go over the final two focus areas: genre and text structure and content. To learn more about this subject, register for The Writing Diner…