Liz Light Literary Websites READ366

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/
This is the website for the Virginia Department of Education, and has all of the information about this governing body in Virginia. There is information about the Virginia Board of Education, its vision, goals, and duties. Also, this website provides access to recent news articles relating to the Virginia public education system. There is also information for students and parents to look at when viewing this website, including a little cheat sheet of how to navigate the website. For parents, there is information about enrolling in the Virginia Public Schools, as well as School Entrance Laws that are in place. This website also provides information about the Standards of Learning that are unique to the Virginia school system. The SOLs are discussed in detail on this website, with information on the increasing rigor of the program and the increasingly technology-enhanced tests. There is a link to the Standards of Learning and a comparison to the common core standards that are used by many states. There is also a comparison between Virginias and the common cores college readiness expectations. This website pretty much has all of the information about the Virginia School System from statistics to finance to special education information.

http://www.corestandards.org/
This website provides details about the common core standards that are used by all but six of the states in the U.S. On the website, you can find a map of the United States that details which states use the common core standards as well as when each state adopted those standards. Virginia is one of the states that have not accepted these standards.

The website also features PDF files of the English, Mathematics, and other standards used in the common core. It seems like there is more of a focus on Language Arts and Mathematics. In addition, there are detailed standards laid out for each grade for anyone browsing the website to see. There is information for parents about why these standards are believed to work, and what is involved. There is also information about the standards themselves, including a page that debunks common myths about the common core standards, while providing real information. On the website there is also information about how these standards were developed, and how they were implemented into the forty-four states and four territories of the United States.

http://www.vsra.org/
This is the website for the Virginia State Reading Association, a professional group of educators and other motivated individuals who seek to support the development of literacy in Virginia. Individuals may become members for a fee, and are free to join their local council, divided up by cities and counties. The website provides detailed information about the council and the events held by it- such as a yearly conference in the spring. There is information on the different committees of the council, with contact information for each of the local presidents. Also, there is information on many different scholarships, awards, and grants that are available to members of the organization. These are available to both students and practicing teachers, and are a good resource to have. Finally, this website provides a list of other literacy resources that are available for both teachers and parents to look at.

http://www.capitolchoices.org/
This website provides current lists of noteworthy or recommended books for children to be reading, or be exposed to. There are currently lists for 2012, 2013, and 2014, as well as an in-progress list of books that is started

in March each year. The already published lists are then split up into groups for ages: up to seven, seven to ten, ten to fourteen, and fourteen and up, as well as audiobooks. The discussions to choose these books happen in Arlington throughout the year, and on the website there is a place to join the group as well as to make donations. As a member of the group, one can attend workshops that give tips on how to evaluate literature for young people and the best titles of the year. There is also an option to subscribe to receive updates on the inprogress list.

http://pals.virginia.edu/
This website provides details on the PALS- or Phonological Awareness and Literacy Screening. It is an interactive website that provides assessment tools as well as a place to enter the scores online in order to help monitor students progress. There are also sample activities for different skills such as alphabet recognition or blending for each grade K-3. In addition, there is an explanation of literacy workstations and what they would look like in a classroom. An overview of PALS is also provided on this website. There is also a list of published works and research relating to PALS. Resources for both teachers and parents are provided. There are Teachers manuals available on the website for each grade covered that provide comprehensive information about each grade covered by PALS. For the parents, there is information about who is assessed by PALS as well as how to interpret scores from a PALS assessment.

http://trelease-on-reading.com/
This website centers around an author, Jim Trelease who wrote a book entitled The Read Aloud Handbook in 1982. This book is commonly used in

teaching future teachers, and to advocate the importance and benefits of reading aloud to children. There are downloads for brochures and posters that provide the highlights of Treleases work for parents. In addition, the website features book-lists that he approved for read-alouds for children, as well as excerpts from his book. The excerpts do provide a little information about reading aloud and why it is important to do with children. I think that the reviews of recent childrens books are helpful, and may help me in making choices about whether or not to select a book for my classroom. The focus of this website seems to be about Trelease and his work, including the release of the seventh and retirement edition of his book. The website also details how his work is now available on audio and video, with a link to a video that discusses How to Read a Book You Dont Want To Read.

http://www.readwritethink.org/
This website provides free materials for educators on reading and language arts instruction. In the classroom resources, there are sample lesson plans for grades K-12, separated both by grade and by objective. There are also different types of lessons including units, minilessons, and recurring lessons. Additionally, the lessons are also categorized by other themes that may be present within them. The resources for teachers also include a mobile app, printouts, and student interactive activities. Professional resources are available to all on this website in addition to the classroom resources. This includes recommended books and publications that are aimed to help teachers in teaching literacy. This website also offers web seminars in professional development. Finally, there is information for parents and afterschool caregivers on how to help students of different ages, and providing sample activities and printouts for them.

My Three Chosen Websites: http://www.readingrockets.org

This website provides information for teachers about how to teach reading, as well as how to help struggling readers. This website mentions the common core standards, so it is probably aimed at teaching to these standards. The teaching reading section even includes real writing samples from students in grade K-3. Also, there is a first year teaching program to help new teachers in teaching literacy. Another helpful tool on this website is all of the information about helping students that are struggling with reading. It includes information about why kids may struggle as well as how to target the problem, and resources for helping that child succeed. There are also lists of recommended childrens books and authors that are a good resource.

http://www.scholastic.com/
On the scholastic website, there is information for students, teachers, parents, librarians and administrators. There are lesson plans for teachers and activities for students to do on computers and SMART boards. There was a really helpful tab for teacher, a planning calendar. This included many different dates that could include potential teachable moments to use in the classroom such as different holidays or events such as national poetry month or zoo lovers day. This seems like a cool and helpful thing to have access to. There is also information about an online bookstore called Storia. The parent section also includes information on what skills to look for in children of different ages as well as printables and activities to do with them. For librarians there is information on Scholastic books and book fairs, as well as how to use technology to support literacy in schools.

http://www.reading.org
This is the website for the International Reading Association. This association is a nonprofit, global network of individuals who are committed to worldwide literacy. The website provides details about the initiatives of this group, as well as benefits of membership. Some of these benefits include professional development, discounts on IRA materials, and access to journals. There are also lesson plans and unit plans available on the website that are aimed at supporting the implementation of common core standards. The lessons promote engaging, research-based classroom practices and are available exclusively to IRA members. Also, the website provides access to three Journals that are published by the IRA: The Reading Teacher, Journal of

Adolescent and Adult Literacy, and Reading Research Quarterly. A

membership to this organization costs 24 dollars per year for students.