Thank you for your interest in learning about the work of the Literacy Essentials and MAISA's partnership with Michigan Learning Channel. This work helps to bring the Literacy Essentials to life through the literacy broadcast series, Read, Write, ROAR!

Read more about the Literacy Essentials here!

If you have any questions about this content, please contact Annie Spear, MAISA Project Director, Michigan Learning Channel (aspear@gomaisa.org).

We are grateful to Jill Lansky, Youth Outreach Coordinator, who invited Annie to be a speaker at the 47th annual Mary Calletto Rife Youth Literature Seminar to talk about the Michigan Learning Channel's Read, Write, ROAR! series. Annie was honored to speak about the MLC/MAISA projects in the company of local Michigan authors, Kelly Baptist and Emmy Kastner and award-winning author and illustrator Vashti Harrison as well as the inspiring leaders of Kalamazoo's Fatherhood Network! Link to Annie's presentation is here. Within it, check out how to watch Vashti Harrison through PBS Books!

Manistee ISD Literacy Coaches Shannon Fuller and Val Puffer attended the Family Literacy Night at Kaleva Norman Dickson Schools in Brethren on October 28th. They provided resources and information to 60 students and their families about Michigan Learning Channel's flagship, award-winning broadcast series, Read, Write, ROAR! Shannon Fuller (below) knows the work of Read, Write, ROAR! intimately because she served as a literacy coach and a second grade teacher on the K to 3 series.

Michigan Learning Channel is creating ways to engage educators with media making experiences that they can offer to their students by having events like the Digital Media Making Playground Event that happened on 11/16/24 at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle.

If you couldn't make it to the event, you can still LEARN, DO, EXPLORE by checking out one of the media kits!

What's available? Check it out:

• Podcast kits (made for 2 people)
  
• Video-making kits with iPads
  
• Mobile kits (device not included)
  
• 360 camera kits
  

Ready to borrow and get started? Contact Matt Hamilton, MLC Program Director: mhamilton@detroitpbs.org.

The Literacy Essentials are now represented in Read, Write, ROAR! Upper Elementary (Grades 4-5). As part of this partnership with Detroit PBS, MAISA has been involved in the teacher onboarding training, planning, scripting, editing, and review process of these new resources. New episodes are premiering most Mondays throughout the school year at noon, with replays on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Ways to watch:

• Check your local listings here, Watch it Live!, revisit Episodes Online and, check out YouTube MLC Channel, too.

Connect on social media:

• MLC: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram
  
• Literacy Essentials (MAISA): @MAISA_ISDs & #MichiganLiteracy
  

Supporting children to be critical consumers about what they read is an important skill to support comprehension, but also to support civic responsibility. We are fortunate enough to have retired MI Educator and Content Creator, Kara Clayton, who made episodes focused on "media literacy" with her character "Media Literacy Maddie" for the Grades 4-5 series.

Below is a short 4 minute video packed with information for students to Learn how to tell the difference between facts and opinions! Using a real-life example about voting ballots in Michigan, we’ll show you how to fact-check claims using reliable sources. Become a fact-finding detective and make sure you can spot the truth in everything you read!

🔽🔽🔽

The newly-released Lesson Plan Guides for the Grades K to 3 Read, Write, ROAR! series were designed during the filming phase (2021-2022) and utilized by the coaches and teachers from the K to 3 series to scope and guide the work. MAISA contracted support to get the Lesson Plan Guides aligned across the grade levels and reviewed/revised across for full alignment and accuracy. Our Lesson Plan Guides linked to Read, Write, ROAR! episodes can help save the day! This one page document, holds links for 16 (!) different Lesson Plan Guide documents!

Reminder: Lesson Plan Guide Companion Document

The booklist for Prekindergarten to Grade 3 is available for you! The list is organized by age/grade level and marking period. Since the Read Aloud episodes are not available in YouTube Playlists, the Lesson Plan Guides can help you to make a "text set" for your classroom use or to send home for families to use!

Question: What is your key takeaway from today’s learning session?

1. One of the key takeaways that stands out in this lesson for me is the emphasis on phonological awareness. Furthermore, the ease and pace of which this skill can be practiced and developed in the classroom.
   
2. Mystery Words and Word Ladders are engaging activities that encourage students to play with sounds, helping them develop skills like segmenting, blending, and manipulating sounds in words.
   
3. Utilizing wonderful resources that align to Literacy Essentials. I especially enjoyed the alignment document as well as the word ladder.
   
4. Better understanding of the Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy. Introduction to Michigan Learning Channel and ideas to put into use in my classroom to build literacy skills.
   

Please reach out to Annie Spear, MAISA, Project Director, Michigan Learning Channel: aspear@gomaisa.org.

Past issues of our newsletter...keeping you in the know!

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