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Empowering Families to Beat the “Summer Slide”: A Teacher’s Action Plan
Why Summer Reading and the “Summer Slide” Matter As educators, we spend nine months of the year pouring our hearts into building our students’ reading stamina, phonics skills, and love of literature (both fiction and informational). Then, June arrives. While we all welcome a well-deserved break, the looming shadow of the summer slide is real.…
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Thank a School Librarian: Celebrating 40 Years of Impact
Each year, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) sponsors the celebration of April as School Library Month! It is a month-long celebration of school libraries and librarians and all they do for their communities. April 2025 will be the 40th year of celebrating April as School Library Month nationally. The first celebration occurred on April…
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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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Join MiELA to Discover How You Can Incorporate Multiple Literacies to Enhance STEM in Your Classroom
Are you a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade teacher looking to incorporate STEM placed-based and project-based learning into your classroom? Are you looking for professional resources to help you get started in this type of teaching/learning? Keep reading to find out how to incorporate STEM project-based learning! What is Multiple Literacies Project-Based Learning? Dr. Annemarie…
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Dr. Kilpatrick Back by Popular Demand!
On January 22, 2020, David Kilpatrick, Ph.D. will REPEAT his September 2018’s SOLD OUT workshop, “Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties.” Those who have previously attended this workshop can continue their learning in his new workshop”Equipped for Reading Success.” Dr. Kilpatrick is an associate professor of psychology for the State University of New…
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Dr. David Kilpatrick Presents on Overcoming Reading Difficulties
“Individuals with reading problems commonly display difficulties in both phonic decoding and instant word retrieval. Phonic decoding and orthographic mapping are so central to the development of proficient reading that research on both of these word-level reading process should drive our assessments, instructional practices, and intervention efforts.” (1) On September 19th, Dr. Kilpatrick will be…
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The Importance of Informational Text
What were you reading before you turned your eye onto this article? Chances are it could be categorized into informational text reading. With the shift to Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards also came a heightened focus on informational text reading, writing, and analysis. And, why shouldn’t it be. Learning is a…
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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…