Wyoming State Reading Council
Volume Two 2016
WSRC Newsletter
WSRC President’s Message
Dear Wyoming State Reading Council members,
As the school year winds down, I hope each of you will take time to reflect on what went well, and
areas to improve in literacy. There are many areas in Wyoming that need our council to help promote literacy in their communities. Every council is doing great things in their communities to encourage reading and
writing. Please take the time to share your ideas with others around our state by sending information onto to
Valli Dobbin for the WireTap. This newsletter is a great way to share ideas and gives other professionals ideas
to use in their own communities.
Save the date now! Our next meeting will be held in Cody at the Public Library on June 4 th, 2016.
Every Wyoming State Reading Council member is encouraged to attend. I am hoping many people are able to
attend the meeting. We will be discussing creating a stronger partnership with the Wyoming Library Association in order to make a greater impact in literacy around our rural state. The tentative agenda is attached.
You will also be able to find the agenda on the Wyoming State Reading Council website with exciting snapshots of showcased literacy opportunities. If you would like to add any other items, please contact me. Our
council does offer reimbursement for traveling.
Finally, I want to highlight three very special committees that are always in need of volunteers. First,
many schools are anticipating the release of the official state Young Author results. Tina Kreji, graciously, organized the state judging in Worland this year. Receiving boxes and boxes of creative stories is a joy to open
and a very large task. Thank you to all who helped to organize and judge this year! Judging always occurs in
April, so, please keep this in mind for 2017; I know Tina would be overjoyed to have your help. Next, Pam
Jackson has once again found a school in need of help in purchasing reading materials for their children. The
money collected from the quilt raffle will be sent to a small school in Appalachia. If your council would like a
chance to sell raffle tickets for a chance to win the quilt displaying images of the popular story Frog and Toad,
please contact Pam Jackson. The winner’s name will be drawn out of a hat at the summer leadership
meeting. Lastly, the Wyoming Library Association would like individuals who love to read and would be willing to be a part of the Soaring Eagles book award committee, to please volunteer to help select the next ten
nominated books. If you are interested, send me an e-mail.
Thank you to all of our leaders and members who have helped to promote literacy-rich opportunities
for students and adults in Wyoming!
Sincerely,
Teresa Decker
Wyoming State Reading Council President
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See Page 3 for the meeting agenda
“ I Shall Participate, I Shall Contribute,
and in so doing, I will be the
gainer. “
Walter Annenberg
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Vol 2 Issue 2
AGENDA— Summer Leadership
9:00A.M. – 3:00P.M. with a break for lunch provided by WSRC with a
special Showcase of summer reading opportunities
Call meeting to order
Approve minutes from previous meeting
Treasurer’s Report
Membership Report: State members ______
Student members _____
IRA members _______
State Coordinator Report
Committee Reports: (If you are unable to attend the meeting, please send me a brief report.)
Student Choice Book Awards: Soaring Eagle
Buckaroo
Indian Paintbrush
Celebrate Literacy
International Project
Student Membership
Wiretap
Young Author’s
Website
Scholarship and Challenge Grant
New Business
Nominations for State Officer: Vice President
Wyoming Library Association partnership
Leadership Opportunities/How to get more membership and involvement
Any changes or additions to the budget for 2016-2017
Plan for traveling to local councils
Additional New Business
Vouchers/checks for travel and Meeting adjourned at _____________________________ .
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Review Strategies: Helping Students Gain Ownership of Their Knowledge
Victoria Gillis, Ph.D.
This time of year teachers and students begin a spring ritual known as review. Teachers
search for review materials for high stakes tests, make up questions, and spend hours drilling students on what they should know for the big test. The sad part is that students will not learn to help
themselves become more independent learners if teachers always ask the questions. Two strategies
are very helpful for students’ reviewing: List- Group-Label and Word Sorts. Actually, both strategies
are versions of the same procedures—they are procedures that students can learn to do on their
own. Best of all, they take little teacher preparation time.
List-Group-Label Process
List-Group-Label describes the process involved in both List-Group-Label and Word Sorts.
First, generate a list of terms and/or phrases in the unit under study that students should know. You
can use the vocabulary list at the end of the textbook chapter, generate a list of your own, or better
yet brainstorm with your students to generate a target list of terms and phrases. Generating the list
with students helps them tap into their prior knowledge, but does require class time.
After you generate a list, students group the terms/phrases into conceptually related groups
[this is the sorting process].
Once students have grouped the terms or phrases, they decide on a label for each group. The
process of grouping the terms and/or phrases and then labeling them helps students think about and
make connections among the concepts represented by the targeted terms.
Create a Culture of Learning in Your Classroom: Teach Students to be Independent
Using a gradual release model and a cognitive apprenticeship approach can help students
learn to use List-Group-Label independently. Begin by thinking aloud as you generate the list of
terms and as you sort terms into conceptually related groups.
Continued on page 5
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Make your thinking public so that students can understand the thinking process involved in sorting
the terms into conceptually related groups. Gradually draw students into the process, releasing responsibility to them this way:
•
Teacher does—students watch
•
Teacher does—students help
•
Students do—teacher helps
•
Students do — teacher watches
Using List-Group-Label and Word Sorts
When using review strategies, structuring class so that students interact with each other in
small groups helps students discuss what they are learning. Using small groups also helps English
Language Learners practice their conversational as well as academic English. Having students work
in small groups also provides students with an opportunity to teach each other, to explain ideas to
each other, and to gain ownership of their own knowledge. Another option in using these strategies is
having students write each phrase or word on a sticky note or index card. Sticky notes enable students to move the terms around as they try different sorting schemes. Index cards allow students to
write information on the opposite side of the card to remind themselves of relevant facts. You can also teach students how to create graphic organizers [tree diagrams] by using two and three phased
sorts. This process is described below.
Creating a Tree Diagram
You can use List-Group-Label or Word Sorts to teach students to create their own graphic organizer when you are studying concepts that are hierarchically organized. Concepts like branches of
government, kinds of triangles, kinds of plants, types of elements, parts of speech can all be organized
in a hierarchy.
Continued on page 6
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First, ask students to group or sort terms/phrases into two or three large groups, depending
on the number of super- ordinate concepts. Once students have completed their sort, have them replace each pile of sticky notes or index cards with a label that describes all the terms and phrases included in each group. Next, have students sort each of the groups of terms and phrases again. You
may choose to tell students how many groups they should sort into in the beginning, when they are
learning the process as well as reviewing the terms. Later, when they have gone through the procedure several times, you can provide less scaffolding. Once they have sorted a second time, have them
replace each of the resulting groups with a label. If necessary, have students do a third sort. The number of times you have students sort depends on the number of levels the terms and phrases may be
sorted into. Usually, two to three sorts are enough to produce a graphic organizer that students can
then use to study. Here is an example of a tree diagram constructed by students:
This example illustrates how students can begin with a list of words [Branches of government,
courts, executive, house, judicial, legislative, president, senate] and in three sorting phases, produce a
diagram that illustrates how the information is structured and related. Graphic organizers help represent ideas with fewer words, so they are good strategies to use for English Language Learners as well
as struggling learners.
Continued on page 7
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Word Sorts in Math? YES!
In mathematics, words are not just English! Math includes symbols and numbers, too. In words
sorts and List-Group-Label exercises, symbols, expressions, and numbers are often part of the list of
terms and expressions students need to learn. A List-Group-Label exercise in math might include the
following list: circle, arc, diameter, radius, degree, 360, 90, 180, pi (both the word and the symbol!).
Word sorts and List-Group-Label exercises help students make connections between terms and symbols that represent them.
Victoria Gillis is a Wyoming Excellence Chair in Literacy Education at the University of
Wyoming.
[email protected]
The Wyoming State Reading Council would like to thank Dr. Gillis for her
contribution to this newsletter.
So often you find that the students you’re trying to INSPIRE are the ones that end
up inspiring you
Sean Junkins
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Young Authors State Writing Contest
Let me salute all of our local councils, their members, the student writers, and their teachers! The Young
Authors books have been pouring into my classroom here in Worland for the last week. I returned Monday, after a week of spring break, to discover a hill of boxes and envelopes filled with wonderful student
books to process and prepare for the state judging, which is quickly approaching. In fact, it is going to be
happening in less than two weeks on Saturday, April 16th, at South Side Elementary in Worland. The day
will begin at 9AM and includes lunch and lots of chocolate. We will wrap up by 4PM. PTSB Credit will be
available, and the first ten members to RSVP will have any travel expenses reimbursed.
As I’ve gotten more of a grasp of what the job of State YA Co-Chair entails, I have spent a great deal of time
reflecting on my years of teaching (24) and the impact that the Wyoming Reading Council has had on my
classroom practices. I attended my first local council meeting the first month of my first year of teaching,
and little did I know that it would be the most ongoing and in depth professional development experience
of my life. Through conferences, author visits, research journals and conversations with council colleagues, the Wyoming Reading Council has improved my classroom skills in numerous areas of literacy for
twenty-four years. Participating in our projects that support literacy, I have found lessons to take back to
my classroom over and over again.
And so…yes, I know, don’t start a sentence with and. (I’m doing it on purpose!) AND SO, I invite you all to
come learn with me what our amazing student writers have to teach us at this year’s state level Young Authors contest judging event. You’ll be amazed!
Submitted by Tina Krejci, Young Authors Co-Chair
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Soaring Eagle Book Committee
The Soaring Eagle Committee is seeking two more participants. Please contact Richard or Leanne Woodfill for more
information: [email protected]
International Project Chair Pam Jackson would like to announce the beneficiary of the 2016 Frog and Toad Quilt Raffle
proceeds. The school receiving the funds will be Jenkins Middle/High School in Appalachia. Eighty per cent of the students
qualify for free/reduced lunch and the area suffers from a reduction in coal industry revenue. The students rely heavily on
the school library for their reading material.
PLEASE consider a generous donation through the purchase of raffle tickets. Contact Pam Jackson, Cody, for your
tickets: [email protected]
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Young Authors Speech
Vol.2, Issue 2
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Written by Charlie Sweeney, Instructional Facilitator
Presented at the Young Author celebration in Worland
Message: “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword”
In other words: Words can and do have more of an influence, good and bad, than does
physical violence or the use of weapons.
The Pen—a writing utensil; the typewriter, computer word processor—books, newspapers,
magazines, essays, articles, poems, speeches, stage plays, screen plays, billboards, novels,
cereal boxes, etc., etc., etc. Verbal and Visual
The Sword—weapons, bombs, war, guns, knives, fists, chemicals, rockets, cannons, rifles,
etc., etc., etc.
We’re here tonight to celebrate THE PEN or WORDS!
This is especially true today due to cell phones, electronic tablets, lap tops, computers, television, social media, texting, blogs, satellites, etc., etc. Millions of people can be influenced
by our words all at the same time.
Physical wounds can heal; words can ruin people’s reputations and character—and, at times,
the damage cannot be reversed. Words can inspire revolutions and bring down unjust governments. We can hurt people by force, but weapons often do not change people’s minds,
beliefs, and ideas.
Edward Bulwer Eytton first coined this proverb in 1839.
Examples in the real world:
The first example of this expression is credited to the Greek playwright Euripides. He supposedly said, “The tongue is mightier than the blade.”
United States President and Statesman Thomas Jefferson, in 1792 ended a letter to Thomas Paine with “Go on then in doing with your pen what in other times was done with a
sword.” Which of us do not remember Jefferson’s infamous words in the Declaration of Independence in 1776: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable Rights; that
among these, are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
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French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, known to history for his military conquests, left us
with this quote: “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.” An interesting sentiment from a man who spent the majority of life living by the
sword, or the bayonet.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States during the American Civil War, emblazoned these words on the minds of humanity: First, in his 1858 “A House Divided
Speech,” he said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government
cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will
become all one thing or another.” In his 1863 Gettysburg Address, he said, “Four score and
seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” He went on to say
“this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that the government of
the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Shortly before
he was assassinated and shortly after he was elected president for a second time, President
Lincoln said the following: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in
the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to
bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his
widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace
among ourselves and with all nations.” Might we have seen a different world, a different
society today, AND what violence might have been avoided, had Lincoln had the chance to
bring these words to fruition? Despite his words of peace and goodwill, Lincoln was assassinated by a person using a weapon, by violence.
The people of India wanted their freedom and their independence from Britain. Mahatma
Gandhi used words to inspire his fellow countrymen to non-violence. Instead of using
weapons, they refused to cooperate with unjust laws. Some attribute the words “an eye
for an eye makes the whole world blind” to Mr. Gandhi. Again, he believed his words
were more powerful than violence. The British left India in 1947 due to the words and nonviolent actions of Gandhi. He believed that if we tackle injustice by committing injustice,
oppression by oppression, violence by violence, we ourselves undermine the values for
which our society stands. He made these statements to the world, for all time:
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“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” Despite his words of peace and healing, Gandhi lost his life due to the use
of a weapon, by violence.
A later exhibitor of Mr. Gandhi’s philosophy can be seen in the Civil-Rights Activist, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He said that “non-violence is a sword that heals.” The African-American Civil Rights Movement is a shining example of how non-violent protests due
to the spoken and written word won this struggle. He said, “I have a dream that one day . . .
little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and
white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream that my four little children will one day
live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of
their character. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created
equal. When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every
hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of
God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will
be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: ‘Free at last! Free at
last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’ I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of
the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream." Despite his words of
peace and unity, King lost his life at the hands of an assassin, by violence. In this year of
2016, I too, in spite of all the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, still have a dream!
In President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address on January 20, 1961, he established the
direction for a new generation of the earth’s inhabitants when he said: “And so, my fellow
Americans: ask NOT what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” President Kennedy, before he was assassinated in
November 1963 by an assassin’s bullet, quoted Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw when
he said: “Some men see things as they are and ask, ‘why?’ I dream of things that never
were and ask, ‘why not?’” Robert F. Kennedy used this expression often in his
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1968 presidential campaign; Edward Kennedy then used it to eulogize Robert, his brother,
after he too was assassinated—by a person using a weapon, by violence.
Social Activist and Statesman Nelson Mandela, imprisoned for most of his life for fighting
apartheid or legal segregation in South Africa, was released only to be elected South Africa’s
first black president. He said, “Education is the most powerful weapon . . . you can use to
change the world.”
Unfortunately, when words do not prevent conflict or the use of violence, they indeed mark
the end of conflict through the writing of a treaty or surrender.
My challenge to you today: Use your words to inspire people, to move people toward
greatness, to encourage people to fulfill their dreams. Write words that cause people to
laugh—words that bring about peace and harmony, rather than conflict. For a long, happy,
successful, and fulfilling life---- choose the pen.
The Wyoming State Reading Council would like to thank Mr. Sweeney for allowing us to publish his speech in this newsletter.