1. Family Literacy Hewlett Elementary October 4, 2011 Hewlett Elementary October 4, 2011

2. The Conditions of Learning

3. Charting a New Mission Today’s information age requires that young people develop literacy skills that are significantly higher than those that have ever been required of them. It is urgent for schools to chart a new mission. The world has changed, however; whereas twenty years ago 95% of jobs were low-skilled, today those jobs constitute only 10% of our entire economy (Darling-Hammond et. al., 2008). During the four years between 1997-2002, the amount of new information produced in the world was equal to the amount produced over the entire previous history of the world (Darling- Hammond et. al., 2008). The amount of technical information is being produced at such a high rate that it is predicted soon to double every seventy-two hours (Jukes and McCain, 2002).

4. What’s New in Literacy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4BK_2VULCU Intergenerational Struggle Over Literacy Norms New Technology and New Ethos Multi-modal Texts Everywhere Blogs, Digital Storytelling, Wikis, Voice Thread http://www.pbs.org/programs/digital-media/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/

5. Common Core Standards Six Shifts in ELA/Literacy Balancing Informational and Literary Text Building Knowledge in the Disciplines Staircase of Complexity Text-Based Answers Writing From Sources Academic Vocabulary

6. What the Research Says “We have forty years of research showing that packaged reading reforms simply do not seem reliable to improve student achievement” (Allington). The single biggest influence on student academic growth is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. ✓ Long stretches of time to read high-interest books of their own choosing. ✓ Match between reader and text level. ✓ Explicit instruction in skills and strategies. ✓ Opportunities to talk in response to texts.

7. Essential Comprehension Skills Monitoring for Meaning Inferring Asking questions (and searching for answers) Making connections Envisioning Predicting Determining importance Synthesizing

8. Supporting Reading at Home Let’s teach our children that learning to read is a lifelong process and something that all of us can be engaged in alongside each other. Make reading and writing a habit. Read-aloud to your child (any and every age). Encourage your children to story tell stories they have read. Ask your child, “What do you think about...?” “What makes you think that?” Take regular trips to the library or book store. Give books as gifts just because... Make everyday activities literacy activities.

9. Authors Families Love Eric Carle Mem Fox Mo Willems Kevin Henkes Judith Viorst Patricia Polacco Cynthia Rylant Roald Dahl Jan Brett Robert Munsch Tomie DePaola Gail Gibbons Jon Scieszka Shel Silverstein

10. Magazines Ordering magazine subscriptions are a great way to increase the volume of non-fiction and informational text children are reading. Some recommendations: Sports Illustrated for Kids www.sikids.comwww.sikids.com National Geographic Kids www.nationalgeographic.com/magazines www.nationalgeographic.com/magazines Scholastic Magazines www.scholastic.com/newswww.scholastic.com/news

11. Books for Parents How to Talk So Kids Can Learn at Home and In School: What Every Parent and Teacher Needs to Know, by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlich Raising Lifelong Learners: A Parent’s Guide, by Lucy Calkins, with Lydia Bellino 7 Keys to Comprehension: How to Help your Kids Read it and Get it!, by Susan Zimmerman and Chryse Hutchins The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease Read to me: Raising Kids Who Love to Read, by Bernice E. Cullinan Games for Learning, by Peggy Kaye Even Hockey Players Read, by David Booth The Knowledge Deficit, by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.