CALIFORNIA READING AND LITERATURE PROJECT AT UCLA
SEPTEMBER 2011 NEWSLETTER
Remember how it felt to be a new teacher? If there is anyone new to your campus this fall, offer
a smile, a helping hand, a cup of coffee. We all get by with a little help from our friends. As you
reach out to these folks, please don’t forget to mention our professional community here at
UCLA. Next time you attend an event, why not bring them along?
To a wonderful new school year full of books, laughter, and learning.
- Shervaughnna, Carol, and Araceli
FIRE TEAM CONTRIBUTION
“Underground Poetry” Found at Laguna Stardust Art Festival
Marguerite Navarrete
I was happy to find my favorite Writing Project technique, Found Poetry thriving under another
name, Underground Poetry, at the Laguna Stardust Art Festival. Bette McIntire, a successful
artist, at the festival cuts through the gritty news on the front page of the Los Angeles Times
each day to find a poem. She draws out words that “call” to her and then strings together poems
from these chosen words. The theme appears naturally from the words she pulls together. Bette
McIntire illustrates her poetry with paint, crayons, homemade paper or stamps. Each small
treasure is framed and becomes a work of art! Bette McIntire’s work will be in a Walter Foster
art instruction book on mixed media that will come out in January.
Just imagine the possibilities for creative ideas to spring from the techniques and strategies we
have learned from the Writing Project and Literacy Projects that CRLP has offered us. Give
yourself and your students permission to expand raw strategies and techniques to create new
outcomes and creative expression.
CRLP BOOK CLUB
The next book club selection is Colin McCann's National Book Award-winning novel, Let the
Great World Spin. We'll be meeting on September 25 at 2 p.m. at Lisa Regan’s house. For more
information, go to http://ucla.in/bzxb7A. New members are welcome. Please RSPV to Araceli
B. Ureña at urena@gseis.ucla.edu or 310-206-7574 with your name, school and contact
information, and she will provide you with location details.
COMMON CORE UPDATE
The Smarter Balanced Assessment consortium — to which California belongs — has released
content specifications for the 2014-2015 assessment
http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER/ContentSpecs/ELA-LiteracyContentSpecifications.pdf
It’s a detailed document that brings transparency to the summative assessment our students will
be working towards.
1|Page
IN THE NEWS
“Boys and Reading: Is There Any Hope?” is a superb essay by the author Robert Lipsyte that
explores possibly reasons why our young male students are turned off to reading … and what we
can do to turn this around. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/books/review/boys-and-readingis-there-any-hope.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all?src=tp
Suggestions for compelling informational/nonfiction books:
The Hot Zone, Richard Preston
Isaac’s Storm, Eric Larson
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, James L. Swanson
Every Bone Tells a Story, Jill Rubalcaba and Peter Robershaw
The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin, Peter Sis (picture book for older readers)
PROFESSIONAL READING FOR TEACHERS
NCTE has published a new series of resources to help teachers support students in a time
of Core Standards: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The high school volume was written by Sarah
Brown Wessling, 2010-2011 National Teacher of the Year.
https://secure.ncte.org/store/books/series/Supporting
Engaging American Novels: Lessons from the Classroom, edited by Joseph Milner and
Carol Pope. This series of essays offers fresh ways of teaching familiar American novels
like Of Mice and Men, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Bless Me, Ultima, To Kill a
Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
https://secure.ncte.org/store/engaging-american-novels
LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE
For three years in a row, California students have won national prizes in the Letters About
Literature reading-and-writing competition: $10,000 reading promotion grants for their school
libraries. Let's keep bringing these generous prizes to California schools!
The competition sponsors (Target Stores and The Center for the Book in the Library of
Congress) have responded to teacher requests for a later deadline. Entries must be postmarked
by Friday, January 6, 2012. Visit http://lettersaboutliterature.org/home for entry forms and
teacher materials that will help your students do well.
If you have questions, please contact the California Center for the Book at 213-738-7055
or info@calbook.org. We look forward to seeing letters from your students, and we send our
best wishes for a wonderful school year.
2|Page
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Southland Council of Teachers of English is hosting a fall conference on Saturday,
October 22 in Whittier. Kelly Gallagher and Neal Shusterman will be the featured speakers. The
theme of the day is "A Novel Approach. Mark your calendars!
The 2011 NCTE annual convention will be held in Chicago, November 17-20. The theme is
“Reading the Past, Writing the Future.” It will be the National Council of Teachers of English
centennial celebration. For more information, go to www.ncte.org. Speakers will include Linda
Darling-Hammond, James Patterson, and Billy Collins.
The 2012 CATE convention will be held at the Ontario Convention Center, February 10-12.
Please consider submitting a proposal to present at www.cateweb.org. Keynote speakers will
include Billy Collins, Kelly Gallagher, author of Readicide and Sheridan Blau. The conference
theme is “Crossing Boundaries.”
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH NEWS
In collaboration with Barnes and Noble, CATE is sponsoring a summer Book Fair. It
works like this: From August 6th thru September 5th, anyone can shop at any Barnes and
Noble store in the USA or purchase from Barnes & Noble's website, and if they use the
CATE ID# 10474054, CATE will get 20% of their purchase price. You are welcome to
give the number to students, parents, and friends all over the country. This initiative will
help CATE continue to provide support to California teachers.
PUBLISHING
California English call for manuscripts
November 2011
Evergreen Ideas for Teaching
(deadline October 1, 2011)
In 1989 Madeline Hunter wrote, “To say that you have taught when students haven't learned is to
say you have sold when no one has bought. But how can you know that students have learned
without spending hours correcting tests and papers? . . . check students understanding while you
are teaching so you don't move on with unlearned material that can accumulate like a snowball
and eventually engulf the student in confusion and despair.” Sounds a lot like what formative
assessment is supposed to look like, doesn’t it? How do you assess students so that they aren’t
engulfed in despair? What other evergreen ideas have you continued to implement in your
classroom?
Manuscripts are peer reviewed. Please send submissions to California English editor, Carol Jago.
Articles should be limited to 2,000 words. Please submit manuscripts via email to
jago@gseis.ucla.edu.
3|Page
CRLP PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The California Reading and Literature Project is available to help you think through what your
Professional Development for teachers might look like. Whether your goal is improved
adolescent literacy, early reading instruction, content area reading, or working with English
learners, we have expertise you want to tap. Just send us a quick email message or call.
Shervaughnna Anderson-Demiraz, Co-Director, demiraz@gseis.ucla.edu
Carol Jago, Associate Director, jago@gseis.ucla.edu
Araceli B. Ureña, Program Coordinator, urena@gseis.ucla.edu
California Reading and Literature Project, UCLA
1320 Moore Hall, Box 951521
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1521
310-825-8979, fax: 310-206-5369
http://centerx.gseis.ucla.edu/CRLP
4|Page