Unleashing Classroom Excitement: Fantasy Football & Esports Transform K-12 Education

As a former 6th-grade teacher, I always tried to incorporate something new and engaging at the start of each year. In my mind, fall represents many new beginnings, so I had to add some new elements to keep things fresh. The leaves started to change color, school began, and two of my favorite sports-related activities kicked off. You may be surprised to learn that I incorporated fantasy football and esports into my classroom activities!

In the fall of 2016 and spring of 2017, I incorporated fantasy football and esports into my English Language Arts class to enhance student engagement. These activities served as reading comprehension tools and provided project-based learning opportunities. Fantasy sports and esports are two of the most popular hobbies in the world, and they are now being used in education to engage students and teach essential skills.

5 Essential Books Every Educator Needs on Their Summer Reading List

With the sun shining bright and days getting longer, educators can take advantage of the perfect opportunity to engage in essential professional learning. Grab a refreshing glass of lemonade, find a comfortable spot to unwind, and explore the top five must-read books that Kent ISD Educational Consultants recommend. These books will inspire, motivate, and transform your teaching practice.

Using These Resources Makes Disciplinary Literacy Easier!

Written by Wendi Vogel, Kent ISD Science Consultant and DLE Task Force Member 

Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction in the Secondary Classroom: Grades 6 to 12 focus on literacy in the content area. This brings up a lot of questions around how teachers all over the state might access resources that already utilize Disciplinary Literacy Essentials (DLE) instructional practices in an equitable manner. Then, thinking from a system’s lens, how does a district provide this opportunity for each teacher in grades 6-12?

Getting Started with Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy

Recently on the LLCN brief podcast, Mark Raffler and Sarah Shoemaker chatted with Jenelle Williams, Literacy Consultant, Oakland Schools ISD, and Dr. Darin Stockdill, University of Michigan, about the Essential Literacy Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction: Grades 6-12. Mark and Darin discussed the differences between the terms “Disciplinary Literacy” and “Content Literacy.” A topic you may have read about in a past post by Jenelle Williams.

Darin and Jenelle also shared important starting points when first familiarizing yourself with the Disciplinary Literacy Essentials. Here is a rundown of how to get started. Listen to the full podcast for much more in-depth coverage on this topic. And don’t miss our first Twitter Chat on September 29 at 8 p.m. #LLCNbrief

Join MiELA to Discover How You Can Incorporate Multiple Literacies to Enhance STEM in Your Classroom

Are you a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade teacher looking to incorporate STEM placed-based and project-based learning into your classroom? Are you looking for professional resources to help you get started in this type of teaching/learning? Keep reading to find out how to incorporate STEM project-based learning!

What is Multiple Literacies Project-Based Learning?

Dr. Annemarie Palincsar, distinguished educator and researcher at U of M, and Dr. Joe Krajick, director of Create for STEM, teamed up to create science project-based units that incorporate both language and mathematics literacy for upper elementary students. This approach, called Multiple Literacies Project-Based Learning (ML-PBL), engages students in phenomena to help them make sense of the world using writing; speaking and listening; representing and viewing; along with math skills. ML-PBL also includes English learner supports and lessons with an emphasis on equity. From figuring out why there are so many squirrels in our area but not stegosauruses, to learning about current weather and climate in regards to gardening, students will explore a vast array of phenomena. 

Top 10 Posts from 2020, You May Have Missed!

What a year! Although it may have seemed like the longest and worst year yet…I think we can all agree that some good has come out of it. Yes, you might have to dig hard to find the good, but it is there. 

In my personal life it has been great getting to spend time with my kids. We explored Michigan and spent countless hours doing puzzles. In your classroom, I am sure that there are some things that you cannot wait to return to normal, but I think we have all learned new and interesting ways to teach to students remotely. Although we are still learning and navigating this new world we live in, we can all still take time to reflect on all that we can be thankful for.

Science in your morning breakfast?

Written by: Wendi Vogel, Science Consultant, Kent ISD

Note: This blog post is written to introduce the Disciplinary Literacy Essentials (DLE’s), produced by GELN/MAISA, to educators. It could be used for individual learning, in a PLC, a staff meeting, department meeting, or professional learning opportunity as well. Eating cheerios while reading is strongly recommended.

Have you ever eaten a bowl of Cheerios and noticed when you get toward the end of the Cheerios, they “stick” together in groups, or end up near the edge and stick to the sides of the bowl? If not, take a look at the picture above, or try it yourself! When looking at this “Cheerio effect,” it makes me wonder:

• Why does it do this?
• Do other cereals do the same thing?
• Does the bowl matter?
• Does the liquid matter?
• What if I use whole milk? Skim milk? Carbonated liquid?
• Do leaves do this if they land in a pond?
• Is there some kind of force acting on the Cheerios?

Why Nell Duke Believes Science and Social Studies are Essential to Literacy

“I am arguing that this decline of attention to Science and Social Studies (seen in US Elementary Education) is also detrimental to Literacy learning. That is that Literacy actually requires, in the long term, strong understanding knowledge of the world. It requires students to know the things that authors assume they know. And so if we don’t have that in place, we don’t have all that vocabulary knowledge that goes with it, in that place, if we haven’t developed students’ ability to read and write inside science and social studies disciplines, then we are actually going to have long term pain,” Nell Duke.

In preparation for the upcoming Michigan English Language Arts Network Institute (MiELA), our team recently watched Nell Duke’s YouTube video called “Speaking Up for Science and Social Studies” Nell K. Duke, Ed.D. is a professor in literacy, language, and culture and also in the combined program in education and psychology at the University of Michigan. She has been named one of the most influential educational scholars in the United States.

The Importance of Informational Text

What were you reading before you turned your eye onto this article?  Chances are it could be categorized into informational text reading. 

With the shift to Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards also came a heightened focus on informational text reading, writing, and analysis. And, why shouldn’t it be.

Learning is a journey

Why YOU should attend SCICON 2017!

SCICON is back for another exciting year.  

On May 17th, Kent ISD will be hosting the annual SCICON GR. This one day conference will feature Wendy Johnson. Wendy is a Ph.D. Candidate in Science Education, and writing her dissertation on “Fostering Three-Dimensional Science Learning: The Role of Curiosity in Productive Classroom Discourse”, at Michigan State University.  Area teachers will be sharing classroom stories and experts from STEM and education technology will  facilitate sessions.

Reasons to Attend SCI CON this year: