February 2024
In this issue:
Some of you may be receiving this newsletter for the first time. Data regarding teachers of ELA in grades 6-12 was recently made available, so the distribution list for this newsletter has been updated. This monthly newsletter provides information about English language arts resources, professional development, and more. Past issues are available on the ELA resources page as well as the newsletter archive page. Read on for current information!
Sincerely,
Jason Stephenson
Performance Level Descriptors (PLD) are statements of knowledge and skills a test taker must have to be classified at a particular performance level, such as: advanced, proficient, basic or below basic. The current English Language Arts PLDs are posted on the Assessment Materials webpage.
The proficient 7th grade ELA PLD is provided below as an example.
 The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) and Cognia will convene a committee of educators to participate in PLD review meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to review the draft PLD for the 2024 state ELA assessments and to provide recommendations/feedback for OSDE.
The virtual meeting dates are scheduled for February 29, 2024, from 3:30-5:00 p.m. for grades 3-8. Additionally, grades 6-8 will meet on March 8, 2024, and grades 3-5 will meet on March 9, 2024, from approximately 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Your input is valued, and we hope you will apply to participate in this step in the review of the ELA PLDs. If you are interested in applying to attend this meeting, please complete the application in this form. Spots are limited. Applications close on February 14, 2024.
Selected committee members not on contract will receive an honorarium totaling $300 for attending both meetings and submitting the requested documentation, including all required notes and feedback regarding the draft PLDs. Committee members on contract will receive substitute reimbursement for meeting part 2 (one day) but can be reimbursed $150 plus the substitute reimbursement to districts if the member attends both meetings and submits the requested documentation, including all required notes and feedback regarding the draft PLDs. Details on how to submit your information for either of these options will be emailed to all committee members.
Students and teachers around the globe will celebrate World Read Aloud Day on Wednesday, February 7.
Read alouds are common in elementary classrooms, but they can play a role in middle school and high school classrooms as well.
In my summer 2022 workshop, "Using Picture Books to Build Secondary ELA Classroom Culture," I shared how picture books can be used to teach skills and terms, inspire writing, introduce units, activate prior knowledge, build background (or world) knowledge, and create shared experiences. Check out the slideshow for examples and more information.
You can also choose different types of texts for read alouds besides picture books. I found that my secondary students still enjoyed story time when I incorporated read alouds into my lessons. LitWorld has a number of resources on read alouds if you need additional pointers. If you celebrate World Read Aloud Day with your students, I would love to hear how it goes. Send me an email!
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Click the flyer for a larger version.
Novels about the Holocaust and The Diary of Anne Frank play are commonly included in English language arts curriculum. Senate Bill 1671 from 2022 instituted ongoing professional development about how to teach the Holocaust. Four free summer conferences are being offered around the state this June in Enid, Tulsa, Norman, and Lawton. State Holocaust experts will present experience-based, classroom-ready lessons. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Registration is open.
Want to present? The call for proposals is now open and closes on March 1. Presenters must be available June 10 in Enid; June 14 in Tulsa; June 17 in Norman and June 19 in Lawton. Mileage for travel will be paid by by the Oklahoma Holocaust Legislation Coalition.
Questions: Contact Nancy Pettus, SB 1671 Professional Development Consultant, at nancy3988@gmail.com.
 The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum is sponsoring the 23rd annual student essay contest. This year's contest invites students to watch a video before writing their response about why the story of the Oklahoma City bombing is important today.
Cash prizes of $1,000, $500, $150, and $100 are offered to the first place winners of various grade bands.
Check out the website for more details.
Entries due March 4, 2024.
To celebrate National Poetry Month and Oklahoma, the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry conducts an annual Oklahoma Poem Contest with cash prizes for the winners. Poems must honor or celebrate Oklahoma in some way. Age divisions include K-4th grade, 5th-8th grade, 9th-12th grade, and Adult.
Prizes are given out each year at Wonder City Wordfest in Locust Grove, OK. Wordfest is an annual festival at the museum that celebrates the power of poetry in every person’s life. Wordfest will be held on April 13, 2024. Winners do not need to be present, but if they are, they will be asked to read their poem.
The deadline for submissions is 5:00 p.m. on March 28, 2024.
See the contest website for guidelines, evaluation criteria, and past winning poems to study as mentor texts.
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 Research Idea: Students who are interested in learning more about significant Oklahomans can explore the virtual exhibits from the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Students could then convert their research into a poem.
The Oklahoma Literacy Association (OKLA) will host its annual conference on Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Weatherford.
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The luncheon speaker will be Jennifer Latham, Oklahoma author of Dreamland Burning.
The afternoon session will be led by Gregory II from Poetry and Chill.
Breakfast and lunch are provided as part of registration.
Visit the OKLA website to register.
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The Book Love Foundation seeks teachers who demonstrate a passion for promoting a hunger for books. These teachers recognize the wide array of readers, and they challenge each student to build an independent reading life of increasing depth and joy.
Teachers who apply for a Book Love Foundation grant must demonstrate that they are already committed to the support of readers through current classroom practices such as maintaining access to a range of books, conferring regularly and purposefully to understand and support students' changing needs, and sharing their own contagious passion for reading inside and outside of their classroom.
This year the Book Love Foundation will be awarding three types of grants:
- Classroom Library grants
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Book Clubs grants in honor of Dr. Teri Lesesne
- Pre-service Teachers grants
For requirements, please see this webpage for the applications, which will be accepted through April 1, 2024.
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As a way to celebrate National Poetry Month in April, the Academy of American Poets annually presents Dear Poet, a multimedia education project that invites young people in grades five through twelve to write letters in response to poems written and read by award-winning poets. Teachers can write letters as well. The Academy selects five letters for each of the nine participating poets, for a total of forty-five selected letters. The letters will be published in a shareable PDF booklet by May 2024.
The submission period for Dear Poet 2024 is now open and closes on April 22, 2024. Check out the Dear Poet website for YouTube videos of all the poets reading their poems as well as helpful links to an FAQ, lesson plans, an essay about this project, and letters from the 2023 Dear Poet project.
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 This year's poets include (L-R):
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Row 1, Leila Chatti, Chen Chen, Marilyn Chin
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Row 2, Nicole Cecilia Delgado, Nikky Finney, John James
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Row 3, Mara Pastor, Ed Roberson, Patricia Smith
Writing Prompt
 Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash
 Photo by Brian Hackworth from Pexels
In honor of the Oklahoma Poem Contest, examine the above two photographs from Oklahoma. Then choose a prompt and write for 5 minutes--in prose or poetry.
- How are these photos similar? How are they different?
- Pick one of the photos and explain what story it tells about Oklahoma.
- Which photo do you like better? Why?
Reading Quote
 Image Source
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