Seeking Book Reviewers

With the adoption of SB664, Holocaust and Genocide Education should now be incorporated into K-12 classrooms. Although this is clearly difficult subject matter to discuss in any classroom, K-5 teachers often find it particularly challenging to introduce the themes of Holocaust and other genocides studies to young children. 

The Oregon Department of Education, in partnership with the Oregon Jewish Museum and the Multnomah County Library, is creating a curated list of book titles for use in elementary classrooms. You are invited to participate in this project by selecting one of the book titles from the curated list and submitting a brief review for publication in the February Social Science and English Language Arts Updates. 

Please contact Amit Kobrowski or Tina Roberts if you have any questions.

National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Program

Arts Midwest is now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Program, and we'd appreciate your help publicizing this exciting opportunity to your network.

What?  The NEA Big Read is a community engagement opportunity with grants of up $20,000 for community-wide reading programs (virtual and/or in-person).  Organizations can choose one of six available books.  They can also tie in thematically-related books of their choice to expand the program's potential and reach a wider audience.

Who? Eligible organizations include school districts, arts organizations, humanities councils, community service organizations, institutions of higher education, libraries, literary centers, theater companies, museums, tribal governments, and more!

Why? Past grantees have a proven track record of successfully engaging their audiences through the power of literature and stirring up a passion for reading that persists year after year.  They've also developed meaningful and lasting partnerships with other organizations in their community. Studies have shown that reading for pleasure has positive impacts on one’s health and this program can also provide entertainment and connection to community members in a time of isolation.

When? The deadline to apply is January 27, 2021. 

Where? Learn more about the NEA Big Read via the attached grant guidelines and at this link: https://www.artsmidwest.org/programs/neabigread/about

If you have any questions, please contact Arts Midwest at neabigread@artsmidwest.org or 612-238-8010.

Using Children’s and YA Literature to Teach the Holocaust

January 18, 2021 from 10 - 11:30am.

Free

2 PDUs available

With an abundance of literature to choose from, teaching about the Holocaust, and its lessons can be overwhelming. In this workshop, Dr. Sarah Minslow will share a variety of books that are appropriate for teaching about this history in elementary school and suggestions for how to engage in meaningful conversations with students. After her presentation, educators will have the opportunity to discuss how they might bring this learning into their classroom during small group breakout rooms. The session will conclude with time for questions and answers in the full group. The session will assist teachers in addressing SB664 (Oregon’s Holocaust and Genocide K-12 education mandate). Click here to RSVP for the event.

Curiosity and Questions: Navigating Critical Conversations

December 16, 4-5:30 PM

Free, Virtual Professional Development

In this session, you will be provided with tangible tools and strategies for how to enter and facilitate complex and controversial conversations without them leading to heated debates filled with anger and resentment. 2 PDUs are available for K-12 educators. Space is limited.

To find out more or register, click here. 

New Smarter Annotated Response Tool (SmART) Now Available

Working in conjunction with educators, Smarter Balanced has created a new, dynamic tool that helps educators understand how student writing is scored on Smarter Balanced Assessments. It's called the Smarter Annotated Response Tool (SmART), and educators can use it to discover how various student responses are scored, across grade levels and writing modes, in order to more deeply understand the ways in which rubrics are utilized to score students' responses. SmART annotations illustrate the various ways that student responses demonstrate the traits on the rubrics, across various score points.

From Striving to Thriving: Equitable Strategies for Literacy, PreK-12

Save the date for the Oregon State Literacy Association's virtual conference featuring Cornelius Minor, author of We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be.

February 10, 2021! Registration is now open! 

For questions, contact professionaldevelopment@oregonread.org.