Education Commons^™

Literacy Across The Disciplines: A Way To Re-Engage Secondary Students, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

In this article, the author describes the opportunities present with leveraging disciplinary literacy approaches, in terms of re-engaging teens with learning. The author also provides several cautions for literacy leaders to keep in mind.

Building A Beloved Community Of Literacy In Professional Spaces, Elizabeth Petroelje Stolle, Jennifer L. Vanderground

Michigan Reading Journal

This article shares the experiences of two literacy teacher educators who sought to create a beloved community for both themselves and the teachers with whom they work within their professional spaces. The authors emphasize the importance of fostering safe, collaborative environments that promote personal and professional growth. Drawing from the principles of the Beloved Community, popularized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the authors discuss the value of embracing a growth mindset when building such communities. Specifically, the article delves into two different professional development models as effective frameworks for cultivating beloved communities: Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and Learning Labs …

Awareness & Access Matter: Making Professional Associations Available To Support Literacy Teachers’ Ongoing Pl, Kathleen S. Howe, Suzanne M. Tiemann

Michigan Reading Journal

Literacy professional associations offer members a wide range of support and services and historically play important roles in literacy teachers’ ongoing professional learning. Despite many benefits, membership in professional associations, including literacy groups, has declined. This article explores possible factors for decreases (changes to PL, technology, & generational mix of teaching force), before adding others: two emergent themes (awareness and access) from related survey research with K-12 literacy teachers in a midwestern state. Suggestions are offered to stakeholders for ways to raise awareness and improve access to associations for literacy teachers – an important tool for ongoing literacy professional learning.

Case Study Of An Sel Coach And Instructional Specialist: Understanding A New Role, Rachelle S. Savitz, Jacy Ippolito

Michigan Reading Journal

As social and emotional learning (SEL) moves to the forefront of elementary education, new roles are emerging: SEL coaches and instructional specialists. While these new roles may mirror literacy coaches in many ways, there is still much that is unknown. Therefore, this exploratory qualitative case study documents how a district-based SEL instructional specialist/coach describes her role and the impact of her work. Analyses focus on semi-structured interviews and artifacts, such as her formal role description and weekly sample schedules. Findings illustrate three main ways of synthesizing and integrating a multitude of professional SEL responsibilities: 1) through building relationships and ongoing …

Toward A Theory Of An Integrated Theoretical Approach Of Literacy For Black Boys, Aaron M. Johnson

Michigan Reading Journal

In the education landscape the literacy of Black boys is viewed from deficit framing. Often, educators, politicians, and laypeople point to scores on standardized assessments such as the MSTEP, NAEP, ACT, SAT, and NWEA, these tests only tell a part of the story. The part of the story that those assessments do tell is the abject failure of schools’ ability to engage Black boys in school-based literacy and catapult them into proficient and advanced proficient reading levels. The part of the story that those assessments do not tell is the literate lives that Black boys lead. Furthermore, schools do a …

Using Way-In And Stay-In Scientific Picturebooks To Learn About Science And Scientists, William P. Bintz

Michigan Reading Journal

The power and potential of literature to learn science has long been recognized by both science and literacy specialists. Literature is often a child's first introduction to science and the first encounter with the concept of science and the role of scientists. The problem is that much science literature focuses mostly on the scientist or the science. This article responds to the imbalanced portrayal between science and scientist in children’s literature. It also discusses the value of scientific picturebook biography to teach science, introduces the notion of Way-In and Stay-In texts, and provides examples of both types of texts along …

Staying “Above The Fray” With Julia B. Lindsey’S Insights On Effective Reading Instruction, Troy Hicks, Emma Chappel, Kirstin Fish, Anne Hosking, Jill Johnston, Jodi Juergens, Georgianna Murray, Lindsay Picarski, Heidi Turchan, Meghan K. Block, Chad Waldron

Michigan Reading Journal

In this crowdsourced, collaborative book review, participants in an online book club share their insights on Julia B. Lindsey's 2022 Scholastic Professional text, Reading Above the Fray.

Centering Community In Disciplinary Literacy Implementation: One District’S Story, Jenelle Williams, Stacie Angel, Jennifer Wilcox, Angela Church

Michigan Reading Journal

In this article, the authors describe the various ways they have centered community while implementing disciplinary literacy in their district. They outline how the work began, the role of professional learning, and the systemic approaches that are effectively moving the work forward. This story offers an alternate approach to implementation--one that honors educators' expertise, differentiates approaches, and develops collective efficacy.

Reading Coaches For A 40 Book Challenge: Creating An Online Reading Community To Support Sixth Graders’ Independent Reading, Amy Carpenter Ford, Kayla Szymanski, Isabel Slate, Rachel Derusha

Michigan Reading Journal

English teacher candidates, or “Reading Coaches,” conducted virtual reading conferences with sixth graders using the digital platforms Zoom and Flip to support students’ independent reading as part of a 40 Book Challenge in an online and blended learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. As evidence of students’ participation and engagement, we present survey results and draw from conference records, observation notes, and a content analysis of video transcripts, triangulating across data sets to illuminate important design features. Connecting research with practice, we offer educators tangible resources of a Conference Guide, Flip design, record-keeping system, and training materials, as well as …

Why Not Sign? Classrooms As Sites Of D/Deaf And Multilingual Literacy Development, Dawnavyn James, Brianne R. Pitts

Michigan Reading Journal

While often, “bilingual” literacy instruction has overlooked the potential of incorporating ASL in classrooms (U.S.DPE, 2021), this article engages discussions of practice from a Missouri Kindergarten classroom to argue that teachers can improve student literacy outcomes by leveraging d/Deaf and hard of hearing multilingual learning (DML) strategies as a way of (re)imagining students’ multimodal literacy development. By engaging with a variety of strategies learned from DML students, readers may conceptualize DML inclusive classroom practices. Following a review of the literature and discussion, games, instructional strategies, and text recommendations for educators seeking DML inclusive literacy environments are provided.

Wakanda: Opening The High School Classroom To Afrofuturism, Carrie M. Mattern

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Afrofuturism has a solid place in high school classrooms thanks to the current work of Ryan Coogler, but also to those who have been in this work for decades including the Mother of Afrofuturism herself, Octavia Butler, adrienne maree brown, dream hampton, and a litany of Black poets and artists. This article leaps inside an Afrofuturistic unit curated for high school seniors with feedback and insight from their teachers and also the students who buckled up for a journey through time, space, and place.

To Be Young, Black, And In The Academy: A Collection Of Lessons, Yetunde Alabede, Jessica Reed, Blake Thompson

Michigan Reading Journal

Literacy, a foundational tool that unlocks opportunities, can be viewed in both narrow and confining lenses. We, doctoral students at Michigan State University, center our own experiences in order to redefine such narratives of what literacy means, can mean, and should mean for students of color throughout the African Diaspora. We explore methods to disrupt, experiences to resist, and questions to challenge the ways that students and educators engage with various concepts of literacy. Though we come from various backgrounds, this manuscript seeks to push forward a dialogue that allows for the multiple literacies that Black children have, language and …

A Spark Of Light In The Darkness: A Framework Of Habits And Routines That Grow Literacy Identities, Andy Schoenborn

Michigan Reading Journal

Using familiar and flexible classroom routines, authentic literacy habits, and encouragement, his students moved from "I hate reading and writing" to self-identifying as readers and writers in a matter of eighteen weeks.

Taking Up The Work: Snapshots Of Disciplinary Literacy Instruction, Part I, Laura Gabrion, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

This article is part of a series devoted to unpacking disciplinary literacy instructional practices for educators at all levels. Here, we explore the role of disciplinary literacy instruction at all levels, in light of recent changes to Michigan's teacher certification grade bands. This article provides suggestions for getting started with addressing disciplinary literacy in instruction, as well as practical examples of what this might look like within English Language Arts classrooms.

Nurturing The Learning Zone: Moving Toward Hope And Possibility While Coaching Through The Covid-19 Pandemic, Dana Vanderlugt, Kathy Levandoski, Erica R. Hamilton

Michigan Reading Journal

Effective instructional coaching is teacher-centered and responsive, aimed at supporting K-12 teachers’ and their students’ learning and development. Using Briceño’s (2016) challenge to shift humans from “performance zones” to “learning zones”, this article showcases the adjustments two instructional coaches made as they worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to support teachers’ learning zones. Their work included facilitating meaningful peer observations, creating space for purposeful dialogues centered on relevant research and practice, and intentionally meeting teachers where they were at. Based on their experiences and feedback, attending to teachers’ learning zones holds positive and long-term implications for instructional coaches seeking to find …

Virtual Literacy Coaching: A Response To Time, Space, And Resources, Kimberly Peters

Michigan Reading Journal

Athletes use video all the time to carefully breakdown their physical performance while also selecting areas to improve based on video footage. Why should teachers be any less engaged in their instructional performance? Applying these same principles in education has potential to create an awareness in a teacher’s literacy instructional performance. Virtual literacy coaching is a job embedded professional learning model and it was one rural educational district's answer to time, space, and resources.

The Magic Of The Morning Message: Literacy Strategies Used In Preschool Classrooms, Jill B. Claxton, Tomoko Wakabayashi, Katherine Homant, Beth Hardin, Shun Takai

Michigan Reading Journal

Monthly in-depth, dynamic, ethnographic video recordings of preschool teaching practices were gathered in state-funded preschool programs in Michigan. We identified and coded teaching practices used by lead teachers during three parts of the daily routine using the Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy - Prekindergarten (MAISA-GELN, 2016). Using a mixed methods approach, the findings indicate that morning message time may be one of the most literacy rich times of the day. Preschool teachers engaged in literacy promoting strategies more during morning message time than even during small group time or read alouds. Co-occurrences of literacy strategies were also found most …

Journeying Toward Liberation: Creating Civic Utopias Through Restorative Literacies, Rae L. Oviatt, Megan Mcelwee, Owen Farney

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

In this article, we forward three narratives from educators whose lived experiences moving from underrepresented youth to queer educators support the necessity of furthering representation for historically marginalized youth across classroom spaces. We begin with situating our argument in response to current policies that would seek to silence historically marginalized voices, histories, literacies, and thereby inhibit a more just social and civic future. Our narratives provide three varied perspectives of lived experiences as youth moving toward our current status as queer educators. Finally, we seek to call in other educators to engage advocacy and resources to support this work in …

Teaching With The Genius In Mind: Enacting Literacy As A Civil Right, Katie Glupker, Pam Gower, Angela Knight

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Because literacy is a civil right, educators are responsible for designing and implementing literacy education that is designed with the excellence of all students in mind. In order to learn about ways to ensure that literary practices are equitable for all students, the authors joined an educators’ book club to read Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy by Gholdy Muhammad. Muhammad describes the Black literary societies of the past and challenges educators of today to enhance classrooms by upholding equity and excellence through a five-layered framework: Identity, Skills, Intellect, Criticality, and Joy.

We studied Muhammad’s …

Literacy As A Civil Right In The Past, Present And Future: Disciplinary Literacies As An Act Of Advocacy, Liberation, And Community-Building, Rosalyn Shahid Ph.D, Melissa A. Brooks-Yip

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

The Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom were presented to the educational community in 2016; in this article, we look back at history and ahead to classroom instruction to present the evolution of the purpose and practices of disciplinary literacies. By examining literacy as a civil right throughout history and the creation of the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy, a path is revealed for educators to collaborate, differentiate professional learning, and implement classroom practices to engage students with content knowledge to foster real and relevant literacies for life.

Teacher Of Literature And Literacy: Rethinking Secondary English Language Arts, Jenelle Williams, Laura Gabrion

Michigan Reading Journal

This article aims to explore the complexity of instruction in secondary English Language Arts (ELA) classes, addressing the role of teacher identity, educator preparation programs, equity and access, and the role of the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom. We suggest that there is a possibility to attend to both teaching literature and literacy within middle- and high-school ELA classrooms and provide a vision for working toward this balance.

Missing Pieces And Voices: Steps For Teachers To Engage In Science Of Reading Policy And Practice, Kathleen S. Howe, Teddy D. Roop

Michigan Reading Journal

The current wave of dyslexia legislation backed by the science of reading is the latest literacy policy added to a decades-long list. Teachers, whose voices were largely excluded, are key stakeholders in any literacy policy initiative and are well-suited to inform policymakers about the complexities of teaching readers who struggle, including those diagnosed with dyslexia. This article previews the implications of legislation that narrowly focuses on “science” and disregards unique individual reader profiles. This article encourages teachers to get involved with policy that impacts their practices and provides suggestions to ensure their voices are included in this and future initiatives.

Bounding Our Liberation Together: Toward Pedagogies Of Coalitional Liberation, Rae L. Oviatt, Stephanie F. Reid

Michigan Reading Journal

This article draws on the long history of movement building, culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies, and abolitionist solidarity in presenting a way to bridge ELA standards and humanizing curriculum. The authors’ present their vision of pedagogies for coalitional liberation through five actionable and manageable tenets of practice. These tenets have been formulated to guide teachers in designing their own units or lessons. Each tenet is described in detail and accompanied by classroom examples from a critical qualitative research inquiry that foregrounds one pre-service teacher’s intentional curriculum co-design. The examples show how teachers can move with their students moving from theory …

Expanding Vocabulary With Children's Books, Sara J. Churchill, Kathleen Everts Danielson

Michigan Reading Journal

This article will briefly examine why it is important to explicitly teach vocabulary and review some of the best practices in vocabulary instruction, including three prominent strategies for teaching vocabulary: read alouds, developing word consciousness, and interactive activities. Following that is an annotated bibliography of children’s picture books that highlights selections that are useful for teaching vocabulary. Summaries of the texts and instructional suggestions are provided.

A Teacher's Guide To Vocabulary Development Across The Day, Annie P. Spear

Michigan Reading Journal

No abstract provided.

Grey Clouds And Silver Linings: Professional Learning For Secondary Educators During Covid-19, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

No abstract provided.

Virtual Coaching: Throughout And Beyond A Pandemic, Kimberly Blumke

Michigan Reading Journal

This article describes the implementation of virtual coaching to overcome barriers encountered with face to face coaching. The author gives an explanation of why virtual coaching was first explored and how it is currently being used with K-3 teachers to promote the use of the K-3 Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy. Additional information and specific documents are shared at the end of the article.

“Does Your Arm Hurt?” A Content Analysis Of Upper Limb Differences In Children's Books, Amber Meyer, Vince Genareo

Michigan Reading Journal

Approximately 1,500 children are born with upper limb differences (ULDs) each year in the United States. Recently, public media attention has brought a greater awareness of individuals with upper limb differences (ULDs), but educational research on the PreK-12 experiences, available curricular materials, and effective educational strategies are lacking for this group of people. Researchers in this study identified and performed a content analysis of 24 children’s books with characters with ULDs. Findings indicated more of these books were being published recently, that they represented a number of genres, and were largely informative about experiences of people with ULDs. Most were …

Policies, Practices, Places, And People: How Elementary Preservice Teachers Learned Literacy Teaching, Chad H. Waldron

Michigan Reading Journal

This article features cases of how elementary education preservice teachers made sense of teaching literacy. Their contexts for teaching varied in policies, curricula, and demands for their literacy teaching, shaped their learning and understanding of literacy instruction and assessment as beginning teachers. The research featured in this article pushes upon conceptualizations of "good" literacy teaching and how mentor teachers serve a critical role in preparing the next generation of elementary literacy teachers. Recommendations are made on how to best support elementary preservice teachers in literacy instruction and assessment.

Teaching Students To Comprehend Cause And Effect Text Structure, Jennifer A. Knight, Angela R. Child

Michigan Reading Journal

Teaching students text structure in expository text is important for comprehension. Text structure is complex and varies depending on the author’s focus. Cause and effect is one of the more difficult text structures for students to read and understand. This article demonstrates how to explain and teach cause and effect text structure for deep analysis and summarization of expository text.