Achievement Network (ANet). 2018-19. "Teaching Comes First" White Paper and "Assessment Strategy Webinar"

EdReports.org. 2019. "4 Ways to Know if You're Using Quality Foundational Skills Materials"

Student Achievement Partners. 2019. "Supporting Excellent and Equitable Foundational Skills Instruction with the Foundational Skills Observation Tool (2019 November Webinar)"

UnboundEd. 2019. "The Complexion of Teaching & Learning Episode 1: From Roots to Reconstruction (Podcast docu-series)" 

Iowa educators are reaching out to learn more about Standards Institute. UnboundEd hosts a week-long, immersive, educative experience that follows a cohesive, intentional scope and sequence, and the learning is cumulative. The Institute has three learning pathways to choose from: ELA, Math, and Leadership.

Each pathway has two levels. Level I is for new attendees and Level II is for returning attendees. Completing Level I is a prerequisite to attend Level II, which builds on previous learning outcomes.

Standards Institute recommends teachers, coaches, and content specialists choose the ELA or math content pathways. After selecting the ELA or math pathway, you will need to select the grade band. 

ANet will partner with the Iowa Department of Education to offer optional and free debriefing sessions for districts attending in February 2020. These will occur at the end of the day, providing an opportunity to network with colleagues and create a plan for next steps. Registration for the Winter 2020 Standards Institute is open now: http://www.standardsinstitutes.org/attend-institute.

Iowa attendees interested in participating in the ANet post-conference sessions, please contact Diana De los Santos. The location for the debriefs will be available on the Standards Institute website prior to the beginning of the event.

Iowa Public Television, soon to be Iowa PBS, is looking for input from elementary teachers from around the state: "We are interested in developing a series of short, web-based videos that highlight historical and scientific places and stories here in Iowa, a virtual field trip of sorts for elementary students, ideally for grades 2nd-5th. We request input regarding the need and usage of this content. Please take a couple of minutes to complete this short eight-question survey and provide feedback on this proposed project. We appreciate your valuable time and support." 

Jill Sundblad, Leadership and Learning Consultant at Prairie Lakes AEA, completed the Standards Professional Learning Opportunity Modules in ELA/Literacy. After sharing her learning experience with the Statewide Literacy Leadership Team in April 2019, Jill has since utilized resources from the course during her work with Iowa teachers. 

She shared new learning of how the Shifts build upon one another. An example of an article Jill finds valuable from the modules is entitled "Knowledge Matters Campaign: Restoring Wonder and Excitement to the Classroom," emphasizing the importance of building content knowledge with students and creating text sets to prepare students to access complex text. She used the article as a springboard for a discussion with elementary teachers when they were selecting texts.

Access an informational document for free professional learning around the English language arts/literacy standards. Educators can choose to complete the modules as a course for one license renewal credit.

What are you doing to align instructional practice and implement the Iowa Academic Standards?

Are you utilizing tools to design instruction, assess learning, or create professional development that supports all students meeting Iowa Core expectations in literacy?

Share your work and celebrations via the Spotlight Literacy Google Form. A literacy spotlight will be chosen each month!

Let's build bridges together and improve instructional practice.