April 2012
Madison Area Reading Council
Madison Area Reading Council is an affiliate of Wisconsin State Reading Association and the International Reading
2011-2012 MARC Board Co-Presidents Robin Umber rumber8112@charter.net
Janet Farnan jbfarnan@charter.net
Vice-President Lorinda Cain-Bowles lorinda1@charter.net
Past President Nancy Walsh-Boeder Nwalshboeder @frontier.com
Membership Secretary & Treasurer Amy Dean amyf2693@hotmail.com
Newsletter, Website, and Corresponding Secretary
A Message From Our President :
MARC Sponsored Events
Dear MARC Member, This tumultuous year for education reminds us that we all help to bring about positive changes in teaching. Educators have an enviable reputation for supporting each other and sharing their ideas to help as we differentiate education for all students.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 RtI Roadshow Fitzgerald’s of Middleton 5:30 Dinner/ 6:15 Meeting
Other Literacy Events – Not Sponsored by MARC April 29-May2, 2012 IRA Convention Communicate Chicago, IL
We sincerely thank Dr. Karen Blake Ruffner for her helpful presentation, Translating Data into Action, at our January meeting. Our final meeting for the year will again be at Fitzgerald’s on Wednesday, April 25th with dinner at 5:30, meeting beginning at 6:15, followed by the WSRA RtI Roadshow. The presentation will address the key critical issues regarding the implementation of RtI literacy. Topics will include the role of the reading specialist, literacy research, the federal and state law regarding this topic, and literacy assessment. Attendees will have a better understanding about what is possible, the mindset shift required for successful implementation and resources to continue their learning on this topic. The Hidden Valley Reading Council will also be joining us for this presentation. Both councils will be giving away door prizes, including a couple of memberships to WSRA! We hope that you will join us in this combined council meeting for a topic that is pertinent to most educators. Although budgets for staff development are being reduced in many districts, MARC continues to be an enthusiastic source for networking, professional information and resources. We look forward to your continued involvement and encourage you to invite friends and colleagues to join you this month or next year at MARC meetings. Perhaps Dr. Seuss in this quote from The Lorax, says it best: UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
Nicole Andresen
Marc.reading.council @gmail.com
Madison Area Reading Council 2011-2012
See you on April 25th for the WSRA RtI Roadshow at Fitzgerald’s! Janet Farnan Co-President
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Check out our Website at https://sites.google.com/site/madisonareareadingcouncil/ For the latest events, news, and happenings in literacy and to get updates on deadlines, events, and to find links to our newsletters.: Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MadisonAreaReadingCouncil Follow us on Twitter @MARCcouncil
9 PBL On-line Resources That Put Students At The Center… Voice, Input, Contribution
WSRA Wired Wednesdays
From the 21st Century Educational Technology and Learning Blog by Michael Gorman
In this post I am going to introduce you to some resources that can clearly put students at the center of their own education. Project Based Learning is built on a strong foundation of student voice, choice, and input. There are various online platforms that use multiple devices to allow for student opinion, reflection, and feedback. Please enjoy this sample of sites covering a variety of techniques that will put students at the center. Socrative – This is an amazing online tool that promises to engage the class using any device. Socrative is a smart student response system that empowers teachers to engage their classrooms through a series of educational exercises and games via smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Spark discussion with open ended questions, look for student understanding, provide formative assessment, and even integrate a few games and Wordle. This is a tool that is definitely worth a closer look. Remind101 – Now you can manage your class and ongoing PBL projects.Remind101 is a safe/free way for teachers to text message students and stay in touch with parents. First, it is private; teachers never see students’ phone numbers. Students never see theirs. Second, it is easy to use because students and parents sign up by sending a text message or email. They never visit the site! Third, it is easy to use. Teachers can manage up to 10 classes. They can instantly send a message to a class of students or their parents. Students and parents will receive it by text message or email. Fourth, teachers can schedule important PBL benchmarks, assessments, and presentations for later broadcasts. Last, teachers will always have a history of what and to whom they send messages. Survey Monkey – What a great tool to survey the class to gauge interest, understanding, and provide their input. This could be valuable in assessing end of project by getting data from students and all other stakeholders in the project. Poll Everywhere – On the surface, Poll Everywhere is a simple application that works well for live audiences using mobile devices like phones, tablets, and of course computers. Students participate by visiting a fast mobile-friendly web page, sending text messages, or using Twitter. Instructions are displayed on-screen. The poll that is embedded within the presentation or web page will update in real time. Wonderful to survey for understanding, incorporate for discussion in a PBL lesson, and get feedback to promote student voice and choice. Google Forms – Let’s not forget the power of Google Docs for assisting students in collaboration. Part of the Google Doc feature is Google Forms. Yes, another polling tool that will allow for data collection. It will even export to a spreadsheet file. Soapbox – Investigate this tool that is a controlled digital space, designed to improve student engagement by breaking down the barriers students face when deciding whether or not to participate in class. It clearly gives teachers a concrete assessment of student comprehension, in real time. You might especially enjoy the barometer, a great way to get a quick temperature reading on a PBL Unit. VoiceThread – With VoiceThread, group conversations are collected and shared in one place from anywhere in the world. A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate slides and leave comments in 5 ways - using voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). You can share a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too. Users can doodle while commenting, use multiple identities, and pick which comments are shown through moderation. VoiceThreads can even be embedded to show and receive comments on other websites and exported to MP3 players or DVDs to play as archival movies. VoiceThread inspires collaboration and expression using 5 innovative ways to comment. Collect the voices of an entire group on a single slide by computer microphone, telephone, text, audio file (MP3/WAV), and webcam. Simple voice and video commenting takes place right in your web browser with no software to install. Kidblog - Imagine a blog hosting service that was built for classroom teachers and their students. Contemplate a service that was designed specifically for teachers who want to provide each student with his or her own unique blog. Think about a blog site that allows teachers to monitor and control all publishing activity within the classroom blogging community and does not require student email accounts. The activity of blogging to an authentic audience will empower students while putting them at the center of learning. Check out my complete write up of Kidblog. Classchatter - Another blog site devoted to education with security features that are useful to the classroom. This site is definitely worth a visit with some added features that just might pump up the Project Based Learning in your classroom.
An Evening with Megan Schliesman and the CCBC Great New Books K-12
U.S. Celebrates World Book Night on April 23 by Jen Donovan (IRA Website—reading.org) Calling all literacy advocates and book lovers! World Book Night is quickly approaching. On April 23 the U.S. will celebrate its very first World Book Night by sending thousands of copies of paperback books out
April 11 from 7PM-8PM Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https:// www3.gotomeeting.com/ register/336700590
communities across the nation. Thirty books have been chosen, featuring modern American classics such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Singsby Maya Angelou, as well as NY Times best sellers like Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. Also included in this literature line-up are a number of books for young adults.The Hunger Games and Because of Winn-Dixie are some examples of the featured award-winning titles in young adult fiction. World Book Night will rely on volunteers to distribute 20 copies of their favorite book on the list to members of their own community. The goal of the event is to encourage the love of reading and allow volunteers and participants to share their passion for a great book. The original World Book Night was first held in the UK; it was such a success that the idea has spread around the world. In the US, the first World Book Night is supported by major publishing houses, libraries, authors, and communities. The 2012 US World Book Night currently has tens of thousands of volunteers signed up to distribute, but there is also a waiting list for those who wish to be a part of the event. More information is available on the World Book Night website. http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/
April is National Poetry Month Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events. (poets.org) Check out these resources: Poets.org—http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41 Scholastic—http://teacher.scholastic.com/poetry/ Read, Write, Think—http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/ calendar-activities/april-national-poetry-month-20478.html
Great New Books for K-12: Cooperative Children's Book Center librarian Megan Schliesman will highlight some of the best books of the 2011 publishing year featured in CCBC Choices 2012, the most recent edition of the CCBC's annual best-of-the -year list. The first half hour will focus on books for grades K-5, and the second half hour will focus on books for grades 612. To print out an entire listing of the books included in CCBC Choices, and to find out how to obtain a copy of the booklet, go to: http:// www.education.wisc.edu/ ccbc/books/choices.asp
Madison Area Reading Council
JOIN WSRA
Presents
WSRA - RtI Roadshow This presentation will address the key critical issues regarding the implementation of RtI literacy. Topics will include the role of the reading specialist, literacy research, the federal and state law regarding this topic, and literacy assessment. Attendees will have a better understanding about what is possible, the mindset shift required for successful implementation and resources to continue their learning on this topic. Wednesday, April 25, 2012 5:30 – 6:15 6:15 – 6:30 6:30 – 8:00
Dinner MARC Meeting Presentation
Fitzgerald’s of Middleton 3112 Parmenter St Middleton, WI
Please help us update our records by filling out all information completely! Madison Area Reading Council membership runs for 1 year beginning September 1st. MARC receives recognition if you become a WSRA or IRA member this year. Please indicate your memberships below, including your membership numbers.
Name:_______________________________ Address _____________________________________ Email address ________________________ Phone (day)_____________ (evening)_______________ School District _______________ School Name __________________ Position Held______________
JOIN IRA
Are you a member of Wisconsin State Reading Association? _________ Membership #____________ International Reading Association? _________ Membership #_____________________ MARC Membership:
___ New
___ Renewal
$15.00 (free for pre-service university students)
MARC Members ____ meeting only Dinner:
Non-MARC Members ____ meeting $10.00
(no charge)
Dinner:
(Choose one)
(Choose one)
____ Chicken Breast w/ Baked Potato & Salad Bar $16.00 ____French Dip Sandwich w/ fries & Salad Bar $19.75 ____Soup & Salad Bar – all you can eat $13.00
____ Chicken Breast w/ Baked Potato & Salad Bar $16.00 ____French Dip Sandwich w/ fries & Salad Bar $19.75 ____Soup & Salad Bar – all you can eat $13.00
All dinner prices include: beverage, tax and tip.
All dinner prices include: beverage, tax and tip.
____Total - Dinner
____Total - Dinner
Return the bottom portion with a check for your membership fee and/or your dinner cost. Please make your check payable to the Madison Area Reading Council. RSVP must be received by April 20, 2011 . . . . no exceptions please!
Mail to: Amy Dean
775 Derby Dr
Sun Prairie, WI 53590