Literacy

To access more comprehensive resources for curriculum adoption, review, or revision, visit our Wayne County Literacy Learning Network(opens in new window) site.

Standards

The Michigan Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (“the standards”) represent the next generation of K–12 standards designed to prepare all students for success in college, career, and life by the time they graduate from high school. This page is designed to support districts in implementing the Michigan K-12 Standards for ELA(PDF, opens in new window) and more fully understanding the assessments that will be used to determine if the standards are being met.

Textbook Adoption

• Publishers' Criteria for Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy, Grades 3-12(PDF, opens in new window)
• Tri-State Quality Review Rubric for Lessons and Units(PDF, opens in new window)

Curriculum Development & Support

• Literacy Implementation Guide from the International Reading Association(PDF, opens in new window)
• Michigan Merit Course Requirements for High School(PDF, opens in new window)
• Michigan’s Action Plan for Literacy Excellence(opens in new window)

A sample set of curricular resources are available at Wayne RESA's Atlas Rubicon(opens in new window).

Read the Michigan Dyslexia Handbook: A Guide to Accelerating Learner Outcomes in Literacy(PDF, opens in new window)

Expert research suggests that the 10 instructional practices(opens in new window) outlined by MAISA GELN can have a positive impact on literacy development. The use of these practices in every Michigan classroom every day can make a measurable, positive difference in the state’s literacy achievement.

Reading Comprehension

Close and Critical Reading

• Kurland's Critical Reading(opens in new window)
  • Shows you how to recognize what a text says, what a text does, and what a text means by analyzing choices of content, language, and structure. It shows you what to look for, and how to think about what you find.
• Teaching Critical Reading with Questioning Strategies(opens in new window)
  • This article presents three strategies students can use to develop questions about the texts they are reading in order to deepen engagement, critical thinking and analytical responses.

Nonfiction Resources

• NewsELA(opens in new window)
  • NewsELA automatically gives each student the version of an article that's just right for his or her reading ability. It adjusts the Lexile range of current news articles.
• Smithsonian Tween Tribune(opens in new window)

Vocabulary

• 100 Words Every High School Student Should Know(opens in new window)
  • Learn words with Flashcards and other activities.
• The Princeton Review - Vocab Minute(opens in new window)
  • Podcasts of songs that help students remember challenging vocabulary.

Educational Resources

• Annenberg Foundation(opens in new window) Provides free educational resources for teachers. Annenberg Learner is a division of the Annenberg Foundation that funds and distributes educational video programs along with coordinated web and print materials to improve teaching methods and subject-matter expertise of K-12 teachers.
• The Arab World and Arab American(opens in new window) The Arab world spans 21 countries and many ethnic groups; this link provides a bibliography that includes picture books, folktales, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that represent the diversity of the Arab world.
• Asian-Pacific American Primary Resources for Teachers(opens in new window) Browse ready-to-use lesson plans, student activities, collection guides, and research aids using primary sources in the classroom.
• Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)(opens in new window) A book examination center and research library with expertise in multicultural literature, alternative press publishing, and intellectual freedom.
• Culturally Responsive Teaching(opens in new window) A pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning.
• Sharon G. Flake on Diversity and Young Adult Literature(opens in new window)
• GLSEN Inclusive Curriculum Resources(opens in new window) Resources for inclusive LGBTQ+ curriculum alignment.
• Holocaust Memorial Museum for Educators(opens in new window) Guidelines and methodology for presenting Holocaust history in a responsible and thought-provoking way.
• International Digital Children's Library(opens in new window) A digital library of outstanding children's books from around the world.
• Social Justice Books: Arab and Arab American(opens in new window) Synopses of books at all reading levels.
• Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance)(opens in new window) Resources for educators to find support for diversity, equal opportunity, and respect in schools.
• Zinn Education Project(opens in new window) Free, downloadable lessons organized by theme, time period, and reading level.

Award Winning Books

• American Library Association Best Book Lists(opens in new window)
  • Lists highlighting publications that emulate the "best of" particular genres or population groups.
• Coretta Scott King Book Awards(opens in new window)
  • Recognizing outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults.
• Pura Belpré Award(opens in new window)
  • Celebrating Latino/Latina writers and illustrators whose work portrays and affirms the Latino cultural experience.

Selecting the Right Book

• Tools for Selecting Diverse Texts(opens in new window)
• We Need Diverse Books(opens in new window)

In October 2016, The Michigan Legislature passed a critical law that will have tremendous implications upon current kindergarten students. Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, third-graders could be retained if they demonstrate reading proficiency levels that are more than one level behind.

This early literacy bill requires districts and schools to assess the reading skills of all K-3 students at least three times per year in an effort to identify struggling students. Students experiencing deficiencies would be required to have an individual reading plan created in partnership with their teacher, the principal, and their parents. Parents will be provided with a “read at home” plan that would extend learning and strengthen reading skills, in addition to the interventions provided by the teacher and/or school’s literacy team.

Wayne RESA recognizes the impact that this law could have on local districts and their communities. In an effort to provide guidance to local districts and schools around the new early literacy law, Wayne County RESA has created a Third Grade Reading Workgroup consisting of curriculum directors, literacy specialists, and educational leaders from local districts throughout Wayne County. The purpose of this workgroup is to collaborate and identify possible resources needed to comply with the legislative requirements.

The workgroup is in the process of creating templates and forms that districts can utilize in order to communicate and document intervention activities. Sample parent toolkits are being developed to provide clarity around the law and guidance for “Good Cause Exemptions”. Parent resources will also provide strategies and activities to bridge and strengthen home-to-school learning connections.

Wayne RESA is delighted to collaborate with literacy leaders throughout the county to provide this resource.

Resources

• Third Grade Reading Legislation Guidance(PDF, opens in new window)
• Enrolled House Bill Number 4822(PDF, opens in new window)
• House Bill Number 4822: Legislation Unpacked(PDF, opens in new window)

K-5 Resources

• Implementing Writer’s Workshop in Grades 4-6(opens in new window)
  • This site provides techniques for managing the components of writer’s workshop, including mini-lessons, time for writing, conferring and sharing.

6-12 Resources

• Writing Next(PDF, opens in new window)
  • This report offers teachers research-based strategies for teaching writing to 21st century adolescents.
• Write in the Middle(opens in new window)
  • This resource provides practical instructional advice to middle school level writing teachers.
• ReadWriteThink(opens in new window)
  • Sponsored by NCTE, this site includes hundreds of research-based classroom lessons along with professional development resources.
• Grammar and the SAT(opens in new window)
  • This Khan Academy resource addresses grammar areas assessed on the SAT.