South Suburban Reading Council Member of the Illinois Reading Council An Affiliate of the International Reading Association

Dear Members, Welcome back to another school year with the South Suburban Reading Council! I hope that your summer was adventure filled and has left you feeling renewed and energized. I am always amazed at how fast August comes. I feel like it was just a few weeks ago that I said goodbye to my class. This week, most of us are back in the trenches getting our classrooms ready, stalking school supply sales, and “pinning” all sorts of new ideas. The beginning of every year is filled with excitement, welcoming of new students, catching up with colleagues, and sharing new ideas. I am honored and excited to serve as your President for the 2014-2015 school year. I am grateful to be a part of a board that is filled with incredibly talented, passionate, and dedicated individuals who work so well together in order to make the SSRC a professional resource for educators in our area. Together we have a lot of great things happening and we look forward to seeing you at our different meetings for this up coming school year.

Officers President Jaime Herron [email protected]

President-Elect Susan Whited [email protected]

Vice-President Alison Lincoln

As you may have seen on our website or our Facebook page, we have many professional development opportunities planned for this upcoming school year. At our first dinner meeting on October 23rd, we will hear from Alice McGinty, who will discuss using biographies to address CCSS for Science. You can check out our other upcoming speakers by visiting the SSRC website. Additionally, I am eager to share that the board has created some new award and grant opportunities for our members.

[email protected]

SSRC has also taken on a new international partnership with a school in Jamaica. We will collect pencils at every event to donate to Grange Hill Primary School, which is in need of supplies. For less than the price of a cup of coffee, one dozen pencils can help 12 students in their quest for a quality education. The SSRC, partnered with The Pencil Project, is working to give education a chance, one pencil at a time. If you bring a pack of pencils to any of our SSRC dinner meetings this year, you will receive two additional raffle tickets for a chance to win various prizes. For more information about the pencil project please check out their website at http://www.thepencilproject.com/.

Secretary Suzanne Kerfin-Knuelk [email protected]

Thank you for all you do to promote literacy in your classrooms, schools, and community. I wish you a successful and peaceful start to the school year. – Jaim e H erro n, SSR C P res ident

Treasurer Elizabeth Scott [email protected]

Past President Lisa Opiola [email protected]

SOUTH SUBURBAN READING COUNCIL SOUTH SUBURBAN READING COUNCIL

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Studies and Research: Finding Your Balance by Dana Murphy Balanced literacy is an approach to teaching reading and writing which balances whole group readalouds, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading. Balanced literacy has recently come under attack in the press. Teachers’ blogs and Twitter have been on fire with passionate teachers coming to the defense of the balanced literacy approach. First, New York City Schools Chancellor, Carmen Farina, announced her plans to reinstate the balanced literacy approach in the New York City schools. It seems this approach has faded from many classrooms since the adoption of the Common Core State Standards. Alexander Nazaryan then wrote an op-ed piece for the the New York Times titled, “The Fallacy of Balanced Literacy.” In his piece, Alexander argues that this approach does not work for students, especially minority students. The author tried the balanced literacy approach during his first year of teaching, and he referred to his classroom as a “frustrating abyss.” If you read the piece, you will know by the 265 comments that not everyone agrees with Alexander’s opinion. Among the many proponents of balanced literacy is Lucy Calkins, the Founding Director of the Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project. She also wrote a piece for the New York Times, calling balanced literacy a “robust approach to instruction.” Whether you use a balanced literacy approach in your classroom or not, you probably have an opinion on read-alouds and independent reading. Do they work for your students, and how do you know? The only way to judge any approach to teaching is to see how it affects your students. By looking at student work and assessment data, we can see whether or not our teaching is effective. I also advocate for some good, old-fashioned “kid watching.” Are the students engaged? Do they love reading? This is how you will know if your approach to teaching reading is working. Watch the kids. Nazyaran, Alexander. “The Fallacy of Balanced Literacy.” The New York Times 6 July 2014 www.nytimes.com Web. 8 August 2014. Calkins, Lucy. “Balanced Literacy is One Effective Approach.” The New York Times 2 July 2014 www.nytimes.com Web. 8 August 2014.

SAVE THE DATE! • October 2-4, 47th Annual IRC Conference, Springfield

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October 23, Alice McGinty, Using Biographies to Address the CCSS in Science January 15, Nancy Updegraff, Grant Writing and Resources March 4, Carrie Cahill & Cathy Horvath, No More Summer Reading Loss April, 2015, Ellin Keene, Details TBA 2

SOUTH SUBURBAN READING COUNCIL

AUGUST 2014

Membership Drive This year, the SSRC is trying a new way to boost our general membership. We will be offering a $500.00 literacy scholarship to the district that has the highest membership percentage between now and March 31st. As an added bonus, any administrator who is registered will be counted as two percentage points for your district. If you are thinking about joining SSRC, or need to renew your membership, you can do so online at http://www.illinoisreadingcouncil.org/memberform.html.There are numerous benefits to being a member. In addition to sharing ideas and networking with other professionals, you also can take advantage of a discounted dinner price, and receive Illinois Reading Council journals with articles regarding best practice and current literacy trends.

The Pencil Project

Books for Shelter  

by Linda Robinson

This year, the SSRC will be partnering with The Pencil Project where together we can give education a chance, one pencil at a time. We will collect pencils to donate to a needy school in Jamaica. One dozen pencils can help 12 students in their quest for a good education. If you bring a pack of pencils to any of our SSRC meetings this year, you will receive two additional raffle tickets for a chance to win lots of different prizes. For more Information: http://www.thepencilproject.com/

Have you recently read a great book and you’d like to donate a copy? We are looking for both children’s and adult books. The books should be new or gently used. They will be provided to children and/or organizations in need of books. Please consider bringing them to one of our dinners, or you can contact me at [email protected] and I’ll set up a time to pick them up. Thank you for your donation!

Legislation: Illinois House Bill 3700 Recognizes Dyslexia by Bernadette Wachel This past July, Governor Pat Quinn signed Illinois House Bill 3700 into law. Using the International Dyslexia Association’s definition of dyslexia, the new law recognizes dyslexia as a learning disability and entitles identified students to special education services. Furthermore, it provides for the establishment of a one-year reading advisory instructional group. The advisory group will be responsible for the creation of professional development training for educators regarding appropriate screening instruments and intervention strategies for dyslexia and other reading disabilities. The legislation took effect on July 12, 2014, the day that it was signed. 3

SOUTH SUBURBAN READING COUNCIL

AUGUST 2014

Family Literacy by Pam Bartusiewicz and Meg Carlson Once again SSRC has partnered with Gigi’s Playhouse to spread the love of literacy. Gigi’s Playhouse is a Down Syndrome Center in which educational and recreational programs are free of charge to all families. Visit http://gigisplayhouse.org/oakforest/ to learn more about Gigi’s Playhouse! Gigi’s Playhouse is located at 5400 W. 159th Street in Oak Forest, Illinois, however it will be moving sometime in October. We will notify volunteers of their new south suburban address. Volunteers are needed to read with the children and families on the following dates and times. Sunday, September 7, 2014 Grandparents’ Day & Family Fun Dinner 4:30 – 5:00 p.m. Read and listen to kids read stories about grandparents and families. 5:15 – 5:45 p.m. Create industrial strength, un-poppable bubbles! Thursday, November 13, 2014 Family Reading Night & Pajama Bedtime Story time 6:00 – 7:00 pm Kids will come dressed ready for bed with their favorite stuffed animal or doll. Milk and cookies will be served.

Thank You to Our Volunteers!!

As a thank you, anyone who volunteers at one of our events will receive a certificate for 5 free raffle tickets to be used at the next SSRC dinner meeting you attend. Additionally, you and your principal will also receive a letter declaring your volunteerism.

Family Reading Nights Are you hosting a Family Reading night and in desperate need of a few more volunteers? SSRC will come to your rescue! We will be happy to find reading professionals to volunteer for your event. Please note that volunteers will not create programs or bring materials to your event. We will be happy to read stories, lend an extra hand with crafts, activities, etc. We will be happy to work alongside your teachers and staff. Please have all materials ready and available for us. Please contact Pam Bartusiewicz at [email protected] or call 708-957-1148 to volunteer your time at Gigi’s Playhouse or to sign up for volunteers at Family Reading Nights!

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SOUTH SUBURBAN READING COUNCIL

AUGUST 2014

Alice McGinty Usi ng Biog ra phies to A ddress the Commo n Core Sta ndards in Sci ence

Thursday, October 23, 2014 @ 5:30 p.m. Ga elic Park, 6119 147 t h Street, Oa k Forest, IL Alice McGinty is an award-winning author of over 40 books for children. Alice was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has lived in Illinois for the last twenty years. She loves to hike, play the guitar, dance and read. She is a reading teacher and coach, runs a writing camp for girls in grades six through nine, is a children’s book reviewer for the Champaign-Urbana News Gazette and the co-regional advisor for the Illinois Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. In 2013, she celebrated the release of two new picture books, Ghandi: A March to the Sea and Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons. In her presentation, she will discuss how to use biographies to address the Common Core State Standards in science. Don’t forget to bring a pack of pencils to donate to The Pencil Project and receive two chances to win prizes at the meeting!

Meal Includes: Chicken Vesuvio, Oven-browned Potatoes, Vegetable Medley, Cream of Potato Soup, Rolls and a Caramel Sundae. A vegetarian option is also available.

Reservations are due by October 15, 2014, by CHECK or Chase QuickPay. Online registration form available at https://sites.google.com/site/readingssrc/events Checks must be RECEIVED by the due date. Late reservations will not be honored! Please PRINT clearly and make checks payable to SSRC. Mail payment to: Kelli Malone 1185 Patriot Drive New Lenox, IL 60451 Name: _____________________________________

Email Address: __________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________________ City: ____________________________

State: _______

School: _________________________________________ _______ Member ($25.00)

Zip Code: ______________ District: ________________________

______ Yes, I would like to receive 1 CPDU for attending.

_______ Non-member ($30.00) _______ Pre-service Teacher ($12.00)

______ Vegetarian Meal Option

McGinty dinner meeting @ Gaelic Park 5