NCFL Literacy Now

Liza Benson is NCFL’s new Early Childhood Training Specialist.  She will be working with the FACE program.  Welcome to NCFL, Liza! 

Whenever I move somewhere new, one of the first things I do is get a library card.

So having the opportunity to work each day where literacy is the focus feels like a gift. For the past 11 years I have been working as a school psychologist and have seen the frustration and discouragement created when children struggle with reading and writing. In that role, interventions were often more reactive than proactive.

I am truly looking forward to having the opportunity to meet, work with, and support the teachers and families in the FACE program.

During the last week of every month, Resplendence Publishing donates a percentage of sales to a nonprofit, and this month they have chosen NCFL!  And on top of that, you get 15% off any e-book purchase when you enter NCFL15 at the checkout (hence the “Read Green”).

Just click here to save money while supporting NCFL.  But shop soon!  This limited-time offer ends August 30th.
 

The school year is back in full swing. And here’s your chance to share with other Literacy Now readers what’s in store now that the classrooms are full.

Post a comment about new technology you are using, resources you’ve run across this summer, or anything you are excited or nervous about for the upcoming year.

I’m looking forward to your responses, and have a great fall!

Photo by Robert Pollack.

Word Connect
A Tetris-like game for vocabulary review. Players even get to choose their own category of words. Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for the link.

Federal grant to boost after-school programs at 17 high schools
Administrators at 17 area high schools will turn to teenagers for advice this fall in developing after-school programs.

High schools from Oceanside to Escondido and Valley Center have been awarded more than $2.8 million in federal grant money to enhance their after-school classes.

From the North County Times.

Students hit the streets
A story from Australia about making literacy fun. Thanks to Reading Rocket for the link.

The story “Companies Take Lead in Assimilation Efforts; Programs Aid Immigrant Workers” ran in the Washington Post on August 9.

NCFL knows the importance of educating immigrant families– the Toyota Family Literacy Program (TFLP) was created specifically for this population and has been extremely successful by improving parents’ English skills and helping them encourage their children’s success in school.

Read the letter to the editor from Sharon Darling published in yesterday’s Washington Post on the importance of funding and supporting efforts that teach critical education skills to more than one generation.

One more month of school
Avon Elementary is extending its school year for students who are behind in reading. From the Vail Daily.

Tickle your back-to-school funny bone
From the Today show, click the “Launch” button on the right side of the page for some back-to-school cartoons.

Never too late to learn
Marketing effort pushes diverse groups to get high school diploma. From The Sun News.

Boarding Schools Generate China’s Sport Stars
Everyone I know is caught up in Olympic fever. So today on the roundup I’m featuring a story on a different kind of school– athletic training schools in China. An interesting fact: The director of the Institute of Physical Science under the General Administration of Sports estimates that each Olympic gold medal has cost Beijing around $7 million. From NPR.

Here’s a great free resource from NCFL and the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC).

We have developed a new podcast series, Parent Involvement: Keys to Success. The podcasts provide resources and information that states, districts and schools can use to involve parents in their children’s learning.

Sixteen podcast episodes cover a variety of ideas, research, and strategies to promote parent involvement in schools. Transcripts of the episodes are also available.

And don’t forget to check out other useful tools from ARCC in the Resources Toolkit.

Thanks to Edvantia and ARCC for partnering with us, and we hope you enjoy these free podcasts!

We are so often bombarded with the news of low test scores, struggling readers and children falling behind in the classroom. I was delighted to read this refreshing article about the tremendous success with literacy and reading in Clay County, Kentucky, the fourth-poorest county in the nation.

The article inspires us all to take action and remember what is truly possible when a community rallies strategically towards a literacy goal. Check out the article from Sunday’s Lexington Herald-Leader, and then let us know about similar experiences you are leading.

Just click here to post a comment.

Photo from the Herald-Leader.

You probably recognize Larry’s blog from a few of our Literacy Voices Roundup posts. He writes a great blog full of useful links for teachers. Since it’s that time of year when folks are heading back to the classroom, I asked Larry to write a guest post for us on his favorite sites. You can check out more of his suggestions on his blog by clicking here.

Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California, has sponsored a Family Literacy Project for the past three years. The school provides home computers and Internet access to over forty immigrant families, and 80% of household members use the school’s English-learning website at least one-hour each day.

The project was awarded the 2007 International Reading Association’s Presidential Award for Reading and Technology. Students participating in the project have gained between twice and four-times the English reading improvement than immigrant students who are not in the home computer project.

Our website is used by students throughout the world, and we have blog that provides updates to new resources, including over one hundred “The Best…” lists sharing the best websites for various learning opportunities.

Here are our choices for the best websites to teach and learn English literacy:
The Best Websites To Help Beginning Readers - The number one website to help beginning readers is Starfall. Starfall has been helping people learn to read for years, and it’s still the best. Its scaffolding is great, and its stories - both fiction and nonfiction - are engaging

The Best Websites For Beginning Older Readers - the number one ranked website for beginning older readers is Reading Skills Stories from Marshall Adult Education in Minnesota. They have Reading Skills Stories 1 and Reading Skills Stories 2. There are many leveled, high-interest accessible stories with several follow-up activities for each one. They also have a great Student Lessons section, too.

The Best Websites For Intermediate Readers - The very best website for Intermediate readers is Into The Book. This is an absolutely incredible resource designed to help students learn reading strategies - visualize, predict, summarize, etc. For the past couple of years it had only been partially completed, but now all its exercises are finished. Users are led through the process of learning each reading strategy with interactive exercises.

Overcoming Technology Barriers: How to Innovate Without Extra Money or Support
5 easy, practical steps toward better digital integration in your classroom. From Edutopia.com.
 
Young writers, illustrators create dual-language books
Nika and Salome Salamadze vividly remember coming to Canada two years ago from the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

Now their memories won’t just be their own. The brother and sister, 11 and 12 respectively, have made them into a book, which they’re writing in English and Georgian and illustrating.  From The Record.com. 

Destination Beijing: Opening Ceremony
I realize that the Olympics aren’t family literacy-related, but since the opening ceremony was today I couldn’t help myself.  Enjoy this slide show from the ceremony.  From NBC.com.