MRA 2019 Conference Is Here!

The MRA 2018 Conference has an exciting agenda!!

New this year is a pre-conference session.

Click here to learn more about the conference!

http://massreading.org/conference/ 

Online Registration available 12/1/17     

 Each year the Massachusetts Reading Association hosts a conference that features nationally known literacy leaders and local educators with literacy expertise. Sessions at the MRA conference explore an annual theme as well as other literacy topics that advance attendees’ knowledge and practice in the field. The MRA conference is a valuable opportunity to learn, become rejuvenated with new ideas, network, and find educational materials for use with students. Educators, administrators, students, researchers and others involved in the field of education are welcome to attend the conference and to become members of the Massachusetts Reading Association.

Primer Calendar: Call for Submissions

We would love to have your ideas for the Primer Calendar!!! Read below to see how you can contribute!! We invite you to consider submitting an article for publication in our 2018 Primer Calendar- Literacy Strong: Reaching All Readers. Topics may include, but are not limited to cultural literacy, visual literacy, critical literacy, disciplinary literacy and other facets of reading and language arts. Deadline for Submissions is September 1, 2017. Please submit articles to: Jo Ann Thompson. Sample Primer Calendar Page with article. Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Manuscripts are limited to 650-750 words including reference and other materials (tables, charts, etc.) Manuscripts must be double-spaced in 12-point font and should be saved as Microsoft Word Documents Manuscripts must be prepared according to the style specified by the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). Each manuscript must include a cover sheet containing (a) the manuscript title, (b) the author’s name, affiliation, position, preferred mailing address, email address, telephone number(s), and fax number. No identifying information should appear elsewhere in the manuscript

Please let us know if you have questions. Sincerely, Jo Ann Thompson Primer Calendar Editor

Authentic Writing across the Disciplines in Secondary School

To access slides for this presentation, click here:

Authentic Writing Across the Disciplines

LITERACY IN EVERY CLASSROOM

The focus of the February 2017 issue of Educational Leadership is “Literacy in Every Classroom”. The journal has several excellent articles aligned to our work at Keys to Literacy. Only members of ASCD can access the full edition, but there are a few articles that are available free to the public. I have listed them below and added notes connecting the instructional practices suggested by the authors with our Keys to Literacy teacher training routines.

Link to latest blog post from Literacy Lines, the Keys to Literacy Blog

Teaching Basic Argument Writing Components

Teaching Basic Argument Writing Components

The latest post in Literacy Lines, the Keys to Literacy blog.

MRA Conference Adolescent Literacy Track

If you work with adolescents, you may want to follow the Adolescent Literacy Track at the MRA Conference. Here are our recommendations for sessions that should be of interest to literacy educators who work with adolescents.

Presenter (s)	Title of Session	Time	Day of Session
Thursday
Patricia Kelley, Lisa Rizoli, & Andrew Tomaski	Using the Workshop Model for Literacy Acquisition in All Content Area Classrooms (5-8)	10:00 AM -11:00 AM	Thursday, April 6, 2017
Mary Ann Cappiello, Erika Dawes, Shannon DeLello, Gary Harrison, Samantha Loh, & Kellie Tingle	Transitioning to Text Sets (K-8)	10:00 AM -11:00 AM	Thursday, April 6, 2017
Donalyn Miller	Conferring with Readers: Finding the Focus (all)	11:30 AM-12:30 PM	Thursday, April 6, 2017
Katherine K. Frankel, Jennifer Rabold, & Susan Fields	Authentic Writing Across Disciplines in Secondary School (6-12)	11:30 AM-12:30 PM	Thursday, April 6, 2017
Amanda Grundel	Literacy in Motion: Strategies for Getting Secondary Students Up and Moving While Reading (6-12)	11:30 AM-12:30 PM	Thursday, April 6, 2017
Jeff Anderson	Revision Decisions: Talking Through Sentences, Grammar, & Beyond (5-10)	1:00 PM- 2:30 PM	Thursday, April 6, 2017
Joan Sedita	Reading and Writing from Sources (K-12)	1:30 PM -2:30 PM	Thursday, April 6, 2017
Friday
Mass Association for College & University Reading Educators (MACURE)	Research Roundtable	10:00 AM-11:00 AM	Friday, April 7, 2017
Raymond Pape	Close Reading and the New Literacies (9-12)	10:00 AM-11:00 AM	Friday, April 7, 2017
Jenn Manak, Amanda Charchafliah, Tania DeSousa, Alison Kennedy, Janine Meagher, & Meg Spada	Action Research in Literacy Education: For the Love of Literacy Teaching and Learning (all)	11:30 AM-12:30 PM	Friday, April 7, 2017
Vicki Jacobs	Teaching for Inquiry: What’s Literacy Got to Do With it? (5-12)	11:30 AM-12:30 PM	Friday, April 7, 2017
Bindy Fleischman	Exploring the USBBY 2017 Outstanding International Books List (preK-12)	1:00 PM- 2:30 PM	Friday, April 7, 2017

Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

The newest blog post from Literacy Lines, the Keys to Literacy blog:
Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

Submit an Article to the MRA Primer!!

Please consider submitting a manuscript to the next issue of the MRA Primer. The topic is Disciplinary Literacy, and we encourage you to submit articles relevant to adolescents!

Manuscript Submission Guidelines 

Deadline: March 1, 2017

The Primer welcomes original contributions on all facets of reading, language arts, and literacy education. Guidelines are as follows:

• Manuscripts are limited to no more than 6,000 words including references and other material (tables, charts, etc.) 
• Manuscripts should be double-spaced in 12 point font and should be saved as Microsoft Word documents 
• Manuscripts should be prepared according to the style specified by the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) style manual 

Each manuscript should include a cover sheet containing (a) the manuscript title, (b) the author’s name, affiliation, position, preferred mailing address, email address, telephone number(s), and fax number. No identifying information should appear elsewhere in the manuscript.

Submit a manuscript to Jo Ann Thompson: jothompson25@comcast.net by March 1, 2017.

Adolescent Literacy Resources from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Adolescent Literacy (link to the full issue here)

DESE writes the following in their latest issue of Teachers' Top 3:  Readers have asked for resources related to literacy and adolescent literacy in particular. Here are a few suggestions that might be helpful: On ESE's humanities web page, you'll find links to the National Endowment for the Arts' Big Read and Poetry Out Loud; the National Writing Project and its local counterparts in Boston, Buzzards Bay, and Western Massachusetts; and the Massachusetts Reading Association. The National Council of Teachers of English has a web page devoted to high school. ASCD's "Educational Leadership" publication frequently focuses on literacy, and one edition included this article on "Supporting Older Students' Reading." AdLit.org offers multimedia resources. If you're looking for a book to keep on hand, one staff member recommends "Strategies That Work," by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis. Have a favorite adolescent literacy resource or suggestion? Please share it on Twitter with the hashtag #top3fromESE!

Secondary Reading Interest Group of the ILA

Get the latest information and resources from the Secondary Reading Interest Group of the International Literacy Association via our newsletter here.

Mass Reading Association Conference

See the updated brochure at http://massreading.org/conference/.

Request for Participants to Participate in Secondary Literacy Research

Hello,

My name is Rachelle Savitz, and I am currently working on my doctorate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, under the direction of Dr. Richard Allington.  My national dissertation study focuses on teachers’ perspectives of the RTI implementation and confidence of the implementation at their schools.  My target audience is anyone that is currently working at the secondary level (grades 6 – 12) with either Tier 1 (General Education classroom) or Tier 2 and Tier 3 literacy intervention.  This survey will take around 10 minutes to complete.  The findings from this survey will allow for discussion to take place from teachers’ points of view regarding their own confidence, and confidence in their school’s implementation of RTI.  

Survey Link: https://utk.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8J5BG4mkVA1FwCV 

If you would like to provide additional information, please feel free to contact me at rsavitz@vols.utk.edu or 352-215-2454.

Kind regards,

Rachelle Savitz
Graduate Assistant
Literacy Studies
University of Tennessee

Top Ten Books to Give to Adolescent Boys Who Say They “Hate Reading”

Top Ten Books to Give to Adolescent Boys Who Say They “Hate Reading”

By Oona Marie Abrams

Three years ago, I welcomed the ritual of ten minutes of daily independent reading into my 12th grade classroom. Of course, I was nervous at the beginning. After reading Penny Kittle’s Book Love, I wondered how on earth it would be possible for me to read enough titles to make good recommendations to my students, particularly the young men. So I got down to work reading books that were out of my comfort zone, and now when guys who come into my classes saying they hate to read, I almost always recommend one of the following. Note that after each description I put a recommended read-next book. This is because I predict they will devour the first one, and I like to challenge them while they’re open to new titles. That challenge might be to read a longer or more complex text. Or it might be to continue reading or extend upon their studies on the topic of the book they’ve just finished. That depends on the reader.

See her suggestions at The Nerdy Book Club

Boxers and Saints Global Online Discussion Group

CREATE AN ADOLESCENT LITERACY BOOK GROUP IN YOUR SCHOOL OR COMMUNITY using Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel, Boxers and Saints http://www.primarysource.org/for-teachers/webinars/global-read-china-boxers--saints

Sign up for a global online discussion with the author, the current National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, on January 10 from 7:00-8:15. 

More info on Primary Source's website www.primarysource.org 

Keys to Literacy

Joan Sedita of Keys to Literacy would like to share her blog with us!
You can find her website at: keystoliteracy.com/blog

Here are her latest blog posts:

Note-taking Technology
Using PLC time to support Literacy Instruction
Textbooks and What Really Matters

Formative Adolescent Literacy Assessment

Click on the link for a copy of the presentation slides:
Formative Adolescent Literacy Assessment Presentation

Adolescent Literacy Meet and Greet at MRA Conference

Do you teach adolescent readers?

Would you like to see more content about middle and high school literacy at future MRA conferences?

If so, please join us for the

Adolescent Literacy

Meet-and-Greet

Thursday, April 7th

4:00-5:00 p.m.

Wollaston Room

Contact Kate Frankel

617-353-4624, kfrankel@bu.edu

or Jennifer Rabold

508-360-5575, raboldj@gmail.com

for more information