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 April Social Science and English Language Arts Updates. 

Please scroll to the ROUND TWO, March 2021 section of the document to find new titles from which to choose.

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

Book Review: Four Hundred Souls Edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha Blain, the book includes contributions from ninety historians, authors, journalists, and poets. Divided into short "chapters", the essays wind through history in five-year increments. The ten sections, from the arrival of the White Lion in Virginia through the origins of Black Lives Matter are neatly divided into forty year blocs of history punctuated with poetry from a contemporary writer.  The essays explore the social and political history of the United States through the experience and perspective of Black individuals often told in their own words. The book is an excellent supplement for U.S. History classrooms and as a resource in support of the newly adopted 2021 Social Science Standards. While the reading level is best suited for late middle school and above, the pages on Oregon history by Portland author Mitchell Jackson (Survival Math) provide an excellent overview and framework for an exploration into local history that connect with elementary Social Science standards (3.11, 3.18, 4.13, and 4.17).

Websites offer Lessons to Help Celebrate Women's History 

Today, March 8, is International Women's Day. This commemorative day falls during Women's History Month.

• Check out Smarter Balanced's Tools for Teachers for lesson ideas.
• ReadWorks also has many lessons to celebrate Women's History Month.
• Edutopia shared Women's History Month lesson ideas, as well.

CALL FOR REVIEWERS FOR DYSLEXIA-RELATED TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) is seeking reviewers to read and evaluate applications from potential vendors received through a Request for Information (RFI) for dyslexia-related training opportunities. Oregon’s dyslexia legislation, SB 1003, requires that the Department annually develop a list of training opportunities related to dyslexia and that the trainings on the list satisfy the following requirements:

• comply with the knowledge and practice standards of an international organization on dyslexia;
• enable the teacher to understand and recognize dyslexia; and
• enable the teacher to implement instruction that is systematic, explicit and evidence-based to meet the educational needs of students with dyslexia.

SB 1003 states that each school district must ensure that at least one K-5 teacher in each K-5 public school in Oregon receives training related to dyslexia that meets the above requirements by July 1, 2018. Trainings selected through the review process will be included on the annual list developed by the Department to be released to districts by June 15 of 2021 and to be posted through June of 2022.

Qualifications:  The Department is seeking reviewers with expertise in the areas of scientifically-based beginning reading instruction and dyslexia who serve in roles that are not limited to, but include:

• PK-12 public school district or building administrator
• PK-12 public school teacher or specialist
• PK-12 private school staff
• Charter school staff
• Education Service District employee
• Parent
• College or university faculty
• Community-based organization representative
• Educational consultant

Requirements: Reviewers will independently read, score, and provide written comments for applications submitted to the Oregon Department of Education under the Request for Information (RFI) for dyslexia-related training opportunities. Expectations for selected reviewers are:

• The application review will be conducted electronically from the reviewer’s location.
• The reviewer must have access to the internet, a phone, and a printer, and have the ability to interact within a web-based environment.
• The reviewer must be able to participate in a training session via an online meeting platform the week of April 12, 2021 prior to evaluating applications.
• The reviewer will have the weeks of April 19 and April 26, 2020 to independently review and score 2-4 applications before meeting with the panel.
• The reviewer will participate in a panel (of 3) and will read and score approximately 2-4 applications.
• The reviewer must use a scoring rubric to provide detailed, objective, constructive, and timely written reviews for each criterion for each assigned application. These written reviews are made public, though the reviewer’s identity is not revealed.
• The reviewer must be able to participate in a consensus meeting the week of May 10, 2021 via an online platform following the review to collaborate with the panel on quality feedback and final scores.
• Reviewers may be asked to evaluate minor edits to submissions the week of May 24, 2021.
• The reviews will be used to identify training opportunities to be included on the Department’s annual list of dyslexia-related training opportunities.

How to Apply: If you would like to be considered as a reviewer for dyslexia-related training opportunities please submit the Application for Reviewers, including the Certification Regarding Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Statement, to Cameron.morris@ode.state.or.us by March 28, 2021.

Conflict of Interest: If you are an individual who provides dyslexia-related training, you will not be eligible to serve as a reviewer. As a reviewer, you will have a conflict of interest if:

• You helped prepare an application, regardless of financial interest in the success of failure of that application.
• You have agreed to serve, or you have been offered a position, as an employee, advisor, or consultant on an applicant’s training.
• Your personal financial interests will be affected by the outcome of the competition, which would include any family members, employees, or associates of the vendor applying to be on the training list.

More Information:

For more information on serving as a reviewer, contact jennifer.eklund-smith@ode.state.or.us.

For more information on SB 1003 and the Department’s work on implementation of the requirements, go to:

http://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/SpecialEducation/RegPrograms_BestPractice/Pages/Dyslexia.aspx

Oregon Writing Project Opportunities

[Online] Four-Week Invitational Summer Institute

https://graduate.lclark.edu/calendars/events/#!view/event/event_id/326584

Interested in attending OWP four-week Summer Institute? We are hosting an open house from 4-5:30 p.m. on March 11th. We will write, share an overview of what you can expect from the Institute, and answer your questions. RSVP here

[Online] From Where I Stand: A One-day Workshop for Women Educators of Color

https://graduate.lclark.edu/calendars/events/#!view/event/event_id/323513

Writing the College and Scholarship Essay

https://graduate.lclark.edu/programs/oregon_writing_project/events/writing-the-college-essay/

OJMCHE Opportunities for Students and Educators 2021 Jakob and Sala Kryszek Art and Writing Competition - The competition is open to middle and high school students. This year’s prompt asks students to reflect on Holocaust history and create a piece of writing or work of visual art that considers the role that laws played in the discrimination against and persecution and genocide of Jewish people, and the importance of civic responsibility and engagement.The two Grand Prize winners, one for art and the other for writing, will win a trip to Washington D.C. to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for them, a guardian, and their teacher! The submission deadline is March 19, 2021. You can find the prompt, guidelines, and other important information on our website by clicking here.  Virtual Memorial Tour- Teachers can now visit the Oregon Holocaust Memorial with their students from anywhere! The virtual tour can be engaged with as a class or explored independently. A free teacher’s guide that includes student materials is also available. Click here to access the tour.  Discrimination and Resistance Digital Experience - Designed to mirror the physical exhibition, the digital experiences provides students the opportunity to interact with the exhibition’s content in an engaging format. The digital experience is accompanied by a teacher’s guide. Click here to learn more.  Virtual Classroom Visits - OJMCHE Educators are available to facilitate a virtual workshops with students. Click here to learn more.

Promising Practices Registration

Digital Reading Strategies Registration

Oregon Open Learning Upcoming Events

The Oregon Open Learning Hub is a digital resource repository and collaboration space for educators, administrators, and other educational partners to curate, create, and remix open educational resources (OER). The Hub is a portal to over 50,000 openly licensed resources available on OER Commons, searchable by grade level, subject, and standard. 

Check out this featured resource for an example of the content included on the Hub!

Looking to diversify your classroom library and/or reading materials?

In ODE's ongoing effort to position equity at the center of the work we do with and for Oregon's students, we are continuously looking for ways we can examine current practice and amplify voices that are underrepresented and/or missing. Here are some resources that may help:

• Check out #DisruptTexts for ideas. According to the DisruptTexts website, "#Disrupt Texts is a crowdsourced, grass roots effort by teachers for teachers to challenge the traditional canon in order to create a more inclusive, representative, and equitable language arts curriculum that our students deserve. It is part of our mission to aid and develop teachers committed to anti-racist/anti-bias teaching pedagogy and practices."
• Another source for diversifying classroom reading materials is the Arizona Department of Education's Diverse Text Guidance.
• English Elixir shared a blog post that provides supplements and/or replacements to traditional Canonical works. 

Professional Organizations for ELA - National and State

There are several ELA-related professional organizations at a state and national level.  Check them out!  They provide tools, resources, and supports for educators around the state.

NCTE -- National Council of Teachers of English

CEL -- Conference on English Leadership

OCTE -- Oregon Council of Teachers of English

ILA -- International Literacy Association

OSLA -- Oregon State Literacy Association

OLA -- Oregon Library Association

OASL -- Oregon Association of School Libraries

ODE Resources (in every issue)

Ready Schools , Safe Learners

Comprehensive Distance Learning Instructional Resources

Designing Learning for 2020-21: English Language Arts & Literacy

CDL 2020-2021 Essential Instructional Content for English Language Arts/Literacy K-12 Overview

Oregon Open Learning Hub

ELA Performance Standards and Grade Level Documents

ELA Assessment

State Adopted Instructional Materials