Kentucky Teacher

By Amy Wallot
amy.wallot@education.ky.gov

The March 2 birthday of author Dr. Seuss gave teachers across the nation an opportunity to include a little craziness into their classrooms. With his birthday landing on a Saturday this year, activities took place last week, but also are planned for this week.

At Berea Community Elementary School (Berea Independent), the halls were lined with billboards of students work related to Dr. Seuss. On the day I visited, students in Leigh Wilson’s kindergarten class were participating in Dr. Seuss related activities in small groups. Third-grade students in Nicole Isaacs’ class were getting their hands messy with green oobleck from the book Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

Dr. Seuss is fun for all ages and his stories can be incorporated into most subjects. Planning a lesson around one of his stories gives teachers an easy opportunity to add a creative lesson to the day and this photographer a fun assignment to shoot.

Brinkley Osborne solves mathematics problems with white and red manipulatives during Leigh Wilson’s kindergarten class at Berea Community Elementary School (Berea Independent).
Photo by Amy Wallot, Feb. 28, 2013

Kindergarten student Alexis Bustomante proudly wears her paper hat similar to the famous one worn in The Cat in the Hat.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Feb. 28, 2013

Summer Damrell points out a wacky item in Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss to her kindergarten teacher Leigh Wilson.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Feb. 28, 2013

Corey Judd listens to his kindergarten teacher Leigh Wilson read Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Feb. 28, 2013

Third-grade teacher Nicole Isaacs reads Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss to her class.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Feb. 28, 2013

Third-grade students Clayton Martinez and Joseph Workman play with oobleck during Nicole Isaacs’ class. After playing, they completed a worksheet about their observations of the substance.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Feb. 28, 2013

As 3rd-grade teacher Nicole Isaacs hands out oobleck to her class, she reminds them to not eat the oobleck.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Feb. 28, 2013

By Susan Riddell
susan.riddell@education.ky.gov

Library media specialist Terri Kirk talks with a group of stidents about their favorite books at Reidland High School (McCracken County).
Photo by Amy Wallot, Dec. 11, 2012

Terri Kirk, library media specialist at Reidland High School (McCracken County), feels that most readers simply don’t honor the phrase, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” anymore.

“I know we shouldn’t (judge), but we do,” she said. “The books that are available to students need to be pretty. They need to be up to date.”

Kirk suggests schools repurchase library books – even the classics – to keep more timely versions available for students. Modernized covers will better catch the eyes of students who otherwise might not give a John Keats or Louisa May Alcott read a try, Kirk said.

In fact, there are several ways both library media specialists and teachers can motivate reluctant readers, according to Kirk and Cindy Parker, literacy coordinator for Kentucky Department of Education’s Office of Next Generation Learners.

A love of reading naturally fosters literacy’s role as the key component to academic success, Parker said. Additionally, two different but very important purposes for reading are to gather information and share experiences vicariously.

“Students who don’t read as much as their peers lack background knowledge and an understanding of the world around them,” she said. “This relates to a key reading strategy – making inferences or coming to a logical conclusion by connecting background knowledge with what is seen, heard or read.” Read the full story

By Matthew Tungate
matthew.tungate@education.ky.gov

University of Louisville MAT student Jason Cooper and Jeffersontown Elementary School (Jefferson County) teacher Fife Wicks participate in an activity about subject-verb agreement during the Grammar for Teachers professional development at Westport Middle School (Jefferson County).

When Lynette Ward was in high school, one of her teachers asked the class if it wanted to do a second unit on debate or one on grammar. The class picked debate, of course, said Ward, now a 6th-grade language arts teacher at Bullitt Lick Middle School (Bullitt County).

Ward said she never received a good education in grammar, which presented a problem since it is littered throughout the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for English/Language Arts.

“I was nervous because I felt like I didn’t have the instruction,” she said. “So I’m going to be learning a lot with my students. But it’s important, because I want to sound intelligent and I want them to sound intelligent.”

Patti Slagle, a retired English teacher from Jefferson County, said Ward is not alone.

“A lot of teachers did not have direct instruction when they were students, and they certainly did not have direct instruction when they were in college,” she said. “So there are some teachers who are concerned about teaching this content because they don’t feel they have a strong command of grammar for instructional purposes.” Read the full story

By Susan Riddell
susan.riddell@education.ky.gov

Third-grade student Ally Collins reads to her sister, 2nd-grade student Breanna Collins, during the Literacy Cafe at Crossroads Elementary School (Campbell County). Photo by Amy Wallot, May 15, 2012

With one hand behind his back, Crossroads Elementary School (Campbell County) 3rd-grader Jason McDonald served 2nd-grader Henry King a glass of lemonade.

King, who browsed over the menu in front of him, soon made his main selection, placing an order for “Dr. Seuss.”

Playing the part of a waiter, McDonald headed over to a table filled with stacks of books. He sifted through them until he came upon If I Ran a Zoo by Dr. Seuss. He grabbed the book and returned to King’s table.

McDonald opened it and began reading to King, pointing at each word as he told the story.

McDonald and King were two of the many students at the school who recently participated in a literacy café. While younger students nibbled on vanilla wafers and sipped lemonade (or hot chocolate during the fall), students in grades 3-5 read them books ranging from Dr. Seuss selections to Arthur and Berenstain Bears books. Read the full story

The University of Kentucky’s  College of Education Department will offer a professional learning opportunity this summer that includes a week-long “compressed” graduate level course designed specifically for K-8 reading and language arts teachers.

It course will  focus on improving professional practice in reading instruction, intervention and assessment. It will concentrate on developing skills to effectively use assessment to drive all phases of instruction.

The course will be taught by D. Ray Reutzel, Utah State University, who is recognized nationally for his work in literacy.

Teachers who are not currently enrolled in the UK Graduate School should contact Parker Fawson at parker.fawson@uky.edu, for assistance with post-bach admission. Arrangement for parking on the UK Campus should also be directed to Fawson.

Language arts teacher Erin Yates, center, shows 8th-grade students Deja Rozier and Olivia Lenberger the websites Tween Tribune and Teen Ink for their summer reading pleasure at Fredrick Law Olmstead Academy South (Jefferson County).

Traditionally, students are sent home at the end of the school year with a summer reading list chocked full of fictional literature.

That’s something that needs to change, according to Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) literacy consultants MK Hardaway and Synthia Shelby and teachers like Erin Yates.

Both Hardaway and Shelby agree that students deserve more freedom in book selection and that other avenues for different forms of text should be embraced.

“As adults, we enjoy choosing the books we read on a daily basis,” Hardaway said. “However, when we send home booklists for the summer, it seems much more structured for students. Why? Why don’t we give them a little more freedom by providing them with books that may interest them? We should provide websites that encourage not only reading, but also questioning, analyzing, critiquing, comparing, contrasting and synthesizing ideas.” Read the full story

Kentucky’s 4^th and 8^th graders made gains – and in some areas outperformed the nation – in reading and mathematics, according to results from the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Overall, the data indicate that:

• Both 4^th- and 8^th-grade mathematics scale scores in Kentucky improved from 2009 to 2011.
• In reading, both 4^th- and 8^th-grade scale scores in Kentucky are higher than the national average in 2011.
• Kentucky’s 8^th graders made gains in reading and mathematics when compared to the state’s performance in 2009; however, Kentucky’s 2011 4^th-grade reading scale score dropped one point when compared to 2009.
• Kentucky’s results have remained steady over the past few years, with minor gains and losses. Since 2000, Kentucky’s 4^th graders have gained 20 points on the NAEP mathematics assessment, and 8^th graders have gained 12 points. Since 1998, Kentucky’s 4^th graders have gained 7 points on the NAEP reading assessment, and 8^th graders have gained 7 points. Read the full story

Letters About Literature (LAL), a national reading and writing promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, invites young readers in grades 4-12 to enter this year’s LAL letter-writing competition. The contest challenges young readers to write a personal letters of reflection to authors that have changed their view of the world.

LAL awards prizes on both the state and national levels in three competition levels: Level 1 for children in grades 4-6; Level 2 for children in grades 7-8; and Level 3 for children in grades 9-12. Six national winners will each receive cash awards and earn the opportunity to nominate a school or community library to receive a $10,000 LAL Reading Promotion grant. Twelve national honor winners will receive cash awards and also will nominate a school or community library for a $1,000 LAL Reading Promotion grant.

Teachers, librarians and parents can download free teaching materials on LAL’s reader response and reflective writing program, including lesson plans, assessment checklists and student writing samples by visiting the LAL website. Submissions must be postmarked by Jan. 6, 2012. State winners will be notified in April 2012 and national winners by May 2012.

For more details, contact Catherine Gourley at (570) 262-7320.

In an effort to increase youth readership, First Lady Jane Beshear announced her Top 10 Fall Reads as a part of the First Lady’s Reading Recommendations Initiative. 

Beshear introduced the Reading Recommendations program in the summer of 2009 and issues reading lists four times per year.

 2011 Fall Reading List

1. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, by Charles M. Schulz (ages 4-8)
2. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Conan Doyle (ages 13 and up)
3. The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, by Linda Williams (ages 4-8)
4. Coraline, by Neil Gaiman (ages 9-12)
5. Go Away Big Green Monster, by Ed Emberley (ages birth – preschool)
6. The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin (ages 9-12)
7. Who Came Down That Road?, by George Ella Lyon (ages 4-8)
8. The Witches, by Roald Dahl (ages 9-12)
9. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (ages 13 and up)
10. The Heckedy Peg, by Audrey and Don Wood (ages 4-8)