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INFO: UVU Love of Reading ~ Scholarships and Literacy Champion Awards - Deadline Extended to April 30th
by Naomi Watkins 11 Apr '25

11 Apr '25

See the information below. [cid:image001.png@01DBAACC.6F86D800] Subscribe to the Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://lists.uen.org/mailman/admin/secondaryela> From: For The Love of Reading Conference <uvuengagedreading+uvu.edu(a)icontactmail6.com> Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2025 11:32 AM To: Naomi Watkins <Naomi.Watkins(a)schools.utah.gov> Subject: UVU Love of Reading ~ Scholarships and Literacy Champion Awards - Deadline Extended to April 30th [Image removed by sender.] Utah Valley University is pleased to present the For the Love of Reading Scholarship Award. The recipients will be recognized at the For the Love of Reading Conference at The Provo Marriott on September 29-30, 2025. Recipients of the scholarship will receive: * Full conference registration * Complementary 1-night stay at the Provo Marriott for September 29, 2025 Teachers, librarians, or literacy specialists who would like to be considered for a scholarship should submit the application form using the button below. Applications must be received by Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Scholarship recipients will be notified by June 1, 2025. Previous scholarship awardees are not eligible. [Image removed by sender.]<https://click-1887041.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=45726571&msgid=231923&ac…> Utah Valley University is pleased to present the For the Love of Reading Literacy Champion Award. This award is given to distinguished literary professionals in the community that go above and beyond to instill a love of reading for children. The recipients of this prestigious award will be recognized at the For the Love of Reading Conference at The Provo Marriott on September 29th, 2025. The Literacy Champion—Teacher Award recognizes the herculean tasks that teachers undertake to foster a love of reading in and improve the literacy skills of their students. The recipient of this award consistently develops a love of reading in their students through a combination of pedagogical skill, interpersonal relationships, knowledge about age- and interest-appropriate literature, and a love for their students. These teachers inspire their students to achieve greater levels of learning and engagement when reading all types of texts. Furthermore, these teachers help other teachers improve their own practice of creating classroom environments that foster a love of reading. The Literacy Champion—Librarian Award recognizes the vital role that librarians play in the literate and intellectual lives of the community they serve, including students, teachers, and schools. Recipients of this award are innovative in how they reach out to their communities, consistent in their efforts to spread a love of reading and learning to those they serve, regardless of level or venue (school or public library) and committed to literacy and their communities. The Literacy Champion—Legacy Award recognizes those who have made and are still making significant contributions to the literacy of students. These efforts may include, but are not limited to, working directly with students, helping and leading teachers to become more effective and passionate literacy teachers, and/or advocating with the community on behalf of schools, teachers, and students over many years. Recipients of this award are both an inspiration and a resource for all parties interested in students’ literacy and love of reading. The decision to award this recognition will be based on the quality of nominated individuals and so may not be awarded annually. Recipients of each award will receive: * Full conference registration * Invitation to the Author Dinner on the evening of September 29th Click below to nominate an outstanding Literacy Champion! Nominations must be received by Wednesday, April 30, 2025. [Image removed by sender.]<https://click-1887041.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=45726571&msgid=231923&ac…> Early Bird registration is now open! Scholarship Applications Due by April 30th Literacy Champion Nominations Due by April 30th 2025 For the Love of Reading Conference September 29th and 30th [Image removed by sender.] Manage Your Subscription <https://app.icontact.com/icp/mmail-mprofile.php?r=45726571&l=23887&s=NO45&m…> This message was sent to Naomi.Watkins(a)schools.utah.gov from uvuengagedreading(a)uvu.edu For The Love of Reading Conference Utah Valley University 800 W University Pkwy MS 126 Orem, UT 84058, US - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [Image removed by sender. iContact - Engage, wow, and grow your audience]<https://www.icontact.com/pricing?utm_medium=poweredby&utm_source=footerlink…>

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INFO/ACTION: April 2025 USBE Secondary ELA Newsletter
by Naomi Watkins 02 Apr '25

02 Apr '25

Hello, Secondary ELA Educators, Leaders, and Designees: Please read and share the April 2025 USBE Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SXmv7dRsjsIrIt0IV-pSI_NX3yRRWoJ0/view?usp=…>. Thank you! [cid:image001.png@01DBA3EE.0392AE10] Subscribe to the Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://lists.uen.org/mailman/admin/secondaryela>

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INFO/ACTON: Two Secondary ELA PL Opportunities
by Naomi Watkins 02 Apr '25

02 Apr '25

Two days left to register! SUPPORTING WRITING INSTRUCTION (see attachment #1) Join for a half-day professional learning event designed for secondary (grades 6-12) school and district administrators, instructional leaders, and coaches. Learn how to champion and support evidence-based writing practices in your school or district. Event Details: Date: May 12, 2025 Times: 8:00 - 12:30 pm Location: Brigham Young University, Provo, UT Cost: Free! Agenda: * 8:00: Registration * 8:30: Welcome & Keynote Address * 9:45 - 11:00 - Session #1: What is Evidence-Based Writing Instruction? * 11:00 - 11:15 - Break * 11:15 - 12:30 - Session #2: How to Support Implementation of Evidence-Based Writing Instruction REGISTER NOW<https://forms.gle/jeymmdBi4o1djsgWA> - closes April 4 Note that this opportunity is not open to classroom educators unless they are also department heads or serve in another school/district leadership capacity. *** Transforming Instruction for Multilingual Learners in Secondary ELA: An Asynchronous Book Study (see attachment #2) Select one of five books to enhance your secondary ELA instruction, focusing on evidence-based practices to improve outcomes for MLLs. Learn alongside your PLC, department, or a chosen colleague in an asynchronous book study! Earn 0.5 USBE credit | Free digital book copy Book Options * CONTENT-AREA CONVERSATIONS: How to Plan Discussion-Based Lessons for Diverse Language Learners<https://www.ascd.org/books/content-area-conversations?variant=108035> by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Carol Rothenberg * GROWING LANGUAGE & LITERACY: Strategies for Secondary Multilingual Learners<https://www.heinemann.com/products/e17081.aspx> by Andrea Hongisfeld * KIDS COME IN ALL LANGUAGES: Visible Learning for Multilingual Learners<https://www.corwin.com/books/kids-come-in-all-languages-263256> by Oscar Corrigan, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, John Hattie * UNLOCKING MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS' POTENTIAL: Strategies for Making Content Accessible<https://www.corwin.com/books/unlocking-mls-potential-284441> by Diane Staehr Fenner, Sydney Snyder, Meghan Gregoire-Smith * WRITING ACROSS CULTURE & LANGUAGE: Inclusive Strategies for Working with ELL Writers in the ELA Classroom<https://publicationsncte.org/content/books/9780814100615> by Christina Ortmeier-Hooper REGISTER<https://forms.gle/5VvPRgWaYu1xqu6u8> [cid:image001.png@01DBA3E3.75609850] Subscribe to the Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://lists.uen.org/mailman/admin/secondaryela>

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INFO/ACTION: Playful Poetry | April 2025 Secondary ELA Webinar
by Naomi Watkins 28 Mar '25

28 Mar '25

April is National Poetry Month! Join us for April's USBE Secondary ELA Webinar. Thursday, April 24 from 4:00 - 5:00pm Playful Poetry Webinar Description: Discover how to make poetry engaging and accessible all year long. In this interactive webinar, explore creative strategies like ekphrastic responses, Venn diagram structures, and a recitation contest. Through playful reading and writing activities, you'll gain practical tools to inspire students and bring poetry to life in your classroom. Presenter: Jason Stephenson taught high school English and creative writing for thirteen years in a suburb of Oklahoma City. Jason began attending Red Dirt Poetry open mics in 2017, and now serves as Red Dirt's Co-Director of Education, overseeing the monthly Red Dirt Writes workshops. His work has been published in Canary Collective, Oklahoma Humanities, and Oklahoma English Journal. REGISTER<https://schools-utah-gov.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYvfu2hpjkjG9JW-qbbw9NKc…> All monthly Secondary ELA webinars are recorded, and this recording is shared. [cid:image001.png@01DB9FCE.9D0D5E60] Subscribe to the Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://lists.uen.org/mailman/admin/secondaryela>

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REMINDER: Register Now for March's Secondary ELA Webinar
by Naomi Watkins 11 Mar '25

11 Mar '25

March Secondary ELA Webinar Thursday, March 13 from 4:00 - 5:00pm Morphology Matters: Unlocking Meaning with Katie Wilburn<https://literacy.virginia.edu/people/katie-wilburn>, University of Virginia Wondering how teaching morphology can help your students understand complex texts? Heard the term and want to know how to easily incorporate word study routines into your classroom? Come join our discussion! We'll dive into some of the latest research around morphology and learn how to embed simple practices into everyday instruction. REGISTER NOW<https://schools-utah-gov.zoom.us/meeting/register/hUaSAmmCSUKeyFmVefMOow> Note: Webinars are recorded, and this recording is shared afterwards. Interested in earning 0.5 USBE credit? LEARN MORE<https://forms.gle/x7KfrvfZ3AoZeE16A> [cid:image001.png@01DB8459.5247E200] Subscribe to the Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://lists.uen.org/mailman/admin/secondaryela>

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INFO: March 2025 Secondary ELA Newsletter
by Naomi Watkins 07 Mar '25

07 Mar '25

Hello, Secondary ELA Educators, Leaders, and Designees: Please read and share the March 2025 Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JZ3X66-GqY6GxwsYBp2j3HITZnW8DWcM/view?usp=…>. [cid:image001.png@01DB8F51.5B1D2040] Subscribe to the Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://lists.uen.org/mailman/admin/secondaryela>

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INFO/ACTION: Register Now for March's Secondary ELA Webinar
by Naomi Watkins 21 Feb '25

21 Feb '25

March Secondary ELA Webinar Thursday, March 13 from 4:00 - 5:00pm Morphology Matters: Unlocking Meaning with Katie Wilburn<https://literacy.virginia.edu/people/katie-wilburn>, University of Virginia Wondering how teaching morphology can help your students understand complex texts? Heard the term and want to know how to easily incorporate word study routines into your classroom? Come join our discussion! We'll dive into some of the latest research around morphology and learn how to embed simple practices into everyday instruction. REGISTER NOW<https://schools-utah-gov.zoom.us/meeting/register/hUaSAmmCSUKeyFmVefMOow> Note: Webinars are recorded, and this recording is shared afterwards. Interested in earning 0.5 USBE credit? LEARN MORE<https://forms.gle/x7KfrvfZ3AoZeE16A> [cid:image001.png@01DB8459.5247E200] Subscribe to the Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://lists.uen.org/mailman/admin/secondaryela>

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INFO/ACTION: Writing Professional Learning Opportunities
by Naomi Watkins 12 Feb '25

12 Feb '25

Please note that there are three opportunities related to writing instruction below. Utah Teaching Writing Symposium Join an inquiry-based professional learning facilitated by Central Utah Writing Project Teacher Fellows in partnership with USBE. Choose your writing-instruction focus, engage in collaborative learning and action research, and receive personalized coaching to implement your plan in your classroom. This symposium is designed for Utah English Language Arts educators in grades 6-12. The purpose is to support your implementation of effective and evidence-based writing instruction through professional learning that is centered on teacher agency, inquiry, coaching, and reflection. You will select a strand of focus for your learning at the symposium. Symposium Details: Dates: May 12 - 13, 2025 Times: 8:00 - 3:30 pm Location: Brigham Young University, Provo, UT Cost: Free! The cost for a substitute for the two days will be paid for by USBE. If you live 75+ miles from BYU, your travel and lodging will be provided. Participant Expectations: In addition to your attendance at the two days of the symposium, you will be expected to develop and implement a student-facing instructional plan and participate in a coaching cycle based on your symposium strand of focus, inquiry, and learning. You will work in collaboration with a writing fellow coach to develop this plan in virtual one-on-one consultations. The dates of these consultations will be scheduled directly with your assigned coach. * Pre-implementation meeting with coach (between June to mid August) * During-implementation meeting with coach (mid Aug - mid Oct) * Post-implementation meeting with coach (mid Oct - mid Nov) In December 2025 (date TBD), you will virtually meet with all the participants in your strand to collectively celebrate and share your learnings and next steps. Participation in the two-day symposium + full coaching cycle (May - December) = 1.5 USBE credits APPLICATIONS DUE BY 9:00 AM MST ON FEBRUARY 18, 2025 (#1 attachment) APPLY NOW<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4dF1o0MK1o_ws_3f7rcZvTTcR3XVrTiB…> Contact: Naomi Watkins Contact Email: naomi.watkinds(a)schools.utah.gov<mailto:naomi.watkinds@schools.utah.gov> Supporting Writing Instruction for Admin and Coaches Join for a half-day professional learning event designed for secondary (grades 6-12) school and district administrators, instructional leaders, and coaches. Learn how to champion and support evidence-based writing practices in your school or district. Event Details: Date: May 12, 2025 Times: 8:00 - 12:30 pm Location: Brigham Young University, Provo, UT Cost: Free! Agenda: * 8:00: Registration * 8:30: Welcome & Keynote Address * 9:45 - 11:00 - Session #1: What is Evidence-Based Writing Instruction? * 11:00 - 11:15 - Break * 11:15 - 12:30 - Session #2: How to Support Implementation of Evidence-Based Writing Instruction * Note: This half-day professional learning event will be held in tandem with the Utah Teaching Writing Symposium<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4dF1o0MK1o_ws_3f7rcZvTTcR3XVrTiB…> for Secondary ELA educators. (#2 attachment) REGISTRATION CLOSES MARCH 31, 2025 REGISTER NOW<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScidRiyNsC9ByeZG7u4I_ydxeewSJtJ_t2…> Contact: Naomi Watkins Contact Email: naomi.watkinds(a)schools.utah.gov<mailto:naomi.watkinds@schools.utah.gov> Writing Benchmark Field Testing We are still in need of more students to participate in the writing benchmarks. If each student completes two writing benchmarks, we are still about 4,000 short of the required number of essays for 7th and 8th grades and 2,000 short in grades 3-6 and significantly more than this if students only take one writing benchmark. We will not be able to provide writing benchmarks in future years if we do not get at least 5000 student responses per essay to train the scoring engine. At this point, we do not need LEAs, schools, or teachers to sign up, just please encourage teachers to use the writing benchmarks. The writing benchmark field test window will be from February 18th through June 6th. Students will be able to take two writing benchmarks - one argumentative and one informational. The prompt that they get will be randomized. Teachers will administer the writing benchmarks through the RISE portal just like they would administer any other benchmark. However, there will not be a score report, and teachers will not be able to see students' essays. Instead, all the essay responses will be used to train the scoring engine to allow for automatic scoring starting the 2025-26 school year. Teachers can have students access the RISE writing training test available on February 18th at https://utahrise.org/training-tests.html before having students take the benchmark. This is a great opportunity to walk students through the new writing prompts and discuss what they are expected to include in their writing. You can also access the RISE writing rubrics at https://utahrise.org/resources#folder=RISE_Writing_Rubrics. There are informative and argumentative rubrics for each grade level and a 3-8 conventions rubric. These on demand writing rubrics are a great resource as you teach students how to write. We will also be posting annotated writing samples for grades 5 and 8 that align with the new rubrics on the RISE portal within the next month. They can also be used by other grades to consider the new rubric expectations. Although considered on demand writing, the writing benchmarks in grades 3-8 and summative writing assessment in 5th and 8th grades do not have to be administered in one setting, and we recommend no more than a 45-minute writing session to counter test fatigue. Contact: Megan Lopez at megan.lopez(a)schools.utah.gov<mailto:megan.lopez@schools.utah.gov> or Dallas Brooks at dallas.brooks(a)schools.utah.gov<mailto:dallas.brooks@schools.utah.gov> [cid:image001.png@01DB7D71.9F669C00] Subscribe to the Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://lists.uen.org/mailman/admin/secondaryela>

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Recording: Crafting Effective Writing Assessment Webinar
by Naomi Watkins 11 Feb '25

11 Feb '25

For those who were unable to attend yesterday's Secondary ELA Webinar, "Crafting Effective Writing Assessment" with Megan McOmber and Amber Jensen, you can now access the recording and slides<https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DMHDloECaJ4fSxbPyiwd9NXe9Hid4Pa-?us…>. Mark your calendars for our next Secondary ELA Webinar that will occur on Thursday, March 13 from 4:00 - 5:00pm on morphology and word study. Registration details will be sent out soon. I've also attached details about the Teaching Writing Symposium that we're holding in May in collaboration with Central Utah Writing Project. Applications are due by February 18 at 9am. We hope you will join us! [cid:image001.png@01DB7C6C.934F6DD0] Subscribe to the Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://lists.uen.org/mailman/admin/secondaryela>

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THIS MONDAY! Secondary ELA Webinar: Sustainable Writing Assessment
by Naomi Watkins 06 Feb '25

06 Feb '25

Secondary ELA Webinar: Sustainable Writing Assessment Monday, February 10, 4:00 - 5:00 pm Rubrics? Single Point Grading? Portfolios? Self-Assessment? Peer Assessment? Mastery Grading? Ungrading? (Gasp!) Writing assessment includes a dizzying array of options and leaves lots of questions about what works. Whether your purpose is to measure student growth and/or to respond to student writing in meaningful ways, let's discuss how to make these choices without trading your nights and weekends. Join CUWP director and BYU English professor Dr. Amber Jensen and CUWP fellow and middle-school English teacher Megan McOmber in an interactive session focused on sustainable approaches to writing assessment! REGISTER<https://schools-utah-gov.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpf-msqTsuHtPx-lUCm_OVG…> Note: Webinars are recorded, and this recording is shared afterwards. [cid:image001.png@01DB7875.7FFAA100] Subscribe to the Secondary ELA Newsletter<https://lists.uen.org/mailman/admin/secondaryela>

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