FOCUS Newsletter Spring 2026
Georgia Association of Literacy Advocates (GALA)
In this ISSUE of the GALA FOCUS NEWSLETTER:
1. GALA UPDATES & ANNOUNCEMENTS
- $500 Mini-Grants ~ Call for Applications
- Start or Join a Local Literacy Council in Georgia!
- Stories That Shape Us: A Book Review Resource from CL/R SIG
- Share Your Literacy Highlights with GALA!
2. STUDENT BOOK TALKS!
- Chooch Helped ~ Reviewed by Yoana from the University of North Georgia
- Endlessly Ever After ~ Reviewed by Jessie from the University of North Georgia
3. K-12 BOOK REVIEWS!
- Recognizing and Celebrating the Woman Who Invented Rock and Roll (2023), Reviewed by William P. Bintz & Shabnam Moini Chaghervand
- Buffalo Fluffalo (2024), Reviewed by Savannah Bryant
- Green: The Story of Plant Life on Our Planet (2024), Reviewed by Maci Walls
- The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons (2019), Reviewed by William P. Bintz
- The Year We Learned to Fly (2022), Reviewed by Mandy Wilson
4. FEATURE ARTICLES
- Community Impact Spotlight by Denise Carleton
- Rethinking the Think-Aloud Strategy by Angela Jones
- Cultivating Truth Seekers: Using Picturebook Read-Alouds to Teach Critical Media Literacy in K–5 Classrooms by Robert A. Griffin, Jennifer K. Allen, & Bethany L. Scullin
Supporting Students as Readers of Complex Texts by Matthew Sroka
Recognizing and Celebrating the Life and Times of Ruth Wakefield: A Teaching Tip by William Bintz
Beyond Exposure: 5 Practical Shifts That Change Literacy Outcomes for Multilingual Learners by Françoise Raoult
The Georgia Association of Literacy Advocates (GALA) is excited to announce the opening of applications for two $500 Mini-Grants to be awarded for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year!
This is a unique opportunity to turn your innovative ideas and projects into reality, enhancing literacy education across our state. Whether you're looking to implement new teaching strategies, acquire innovative teaching tools, or start a local literacy program, these grants are here to help make it happen.
Apply now and let us help bring your literacy project to life!
Applications are due April 17, 2026. Winners will be announced in mid-May 2026.
Recognizing and Celebrating the Woman Who Invented Rock and Roll (2023)
Reviewed by William P. Bintz, Ph.D. & Shabnam Moini Chaghervand, Ph.D.
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
Here, we provide a book review of a new picturebook biography based on the life and times of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a woman who should be famous but isn’t, and share an instructional strategy that teachers can use with this and other picturebook biographies to support student reading and learning in the classroom.
Introduction
Who invented rock and roll? The answer depends on who is asked. Different people identify different musical artists as the inventor of rock and roll. Among others, artists include Chubby Checker, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Alan Freed, and Elvis Presley. One name, however, that rarely, if ever, gets mentioned is Sister Rosetta Tharpe. That has changed with the recent publication of Little Rossetta and the Talking Guitar: The Musical Story of Sister Rossetta Tharpe, the Woman Who Invented Rock and Roll.
Buffalo Fluffalo (2024)
Reviewed by Savannah Bryant
Student
University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA
Buffalo Fluffalo is a wonderful class read. It is about a grumpy buffalo who wants everyone to know that he is tough and big. However, everyone around him just wants to be kind and be friends with him. One day, a big storm comes and washes away Buffalo Fluffalo's fluff. He is no longer big and tough. Now that he is small and petite, he must face all the animals he tried to scare away.
One of the reasons I enjoyed this book was the way it teaches readers that it is okay to be yourself. The book shows readers how Buffalo Fluffalo learned that he does not have to be big and scary; he can be kind and friendly. This book teaches students to love themselves and fosters a sense of belonging. Another reason I enjoyed this book is its fun play on the word "buffalo." Kalb takes different words and changes their endings to "alo" to rhyme with buffalo. For example, Kalb writes, "I heave and huffalo!" Many of my students found the wordplay very funny. This book was a very entertaining and cute story to read in a classroom setting.
Green: The Story of Plant Life on Our Planet (2024)
Reviewed by Maci Walls
Student
University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA
Green: The Story of Plant Life on Our Planet (2024) by Nicola Davies begins with the observation of a tree that appears still but is actually doing very important work. Through this example, readers learn about scientific topics such as photosynthesis, how plants support ecosystems, and how plants help regulate Earth’s climate. The book also introduces readers to the history of plant life and explains how plants have evolved over millions of years.
One reason I enjoyed this book is the beautiful illustrations. The illustrations make the text engaging and provide strong visual support for the scientific ideas presented in the story. Another reason I like this book is that it explains complex scientific concepts in a way that elementary students can understand. When students see how the author presents these ideas clearly and in an engaging way, they can begin practicing similar techniques in their own informational writing.
The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons (2019)
Reviewed by William P. Bintz, Ph.D.
Professor
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
Over the years, I've read many fiction and nonfiction picturebooks to my students, my daughters, and now my granddaughter. I learned many literacy lessons from reading picture books. One important, but unexpected lesson came from reading informational biographies of famous inventors around the world. Simply stated, the lesson I learned was that I often learned less about the actual invention and more about the inventor.
For example, most children around the world are introduced to crayons at a very young age, and they use them to draw imaginative and colorful pictures. Many parents, grandparents, and caregivers treat these pictures as art forms, proudly displaying them on shelves and walls around the house. As a child, I drew pictures with crayons. Now, as a grandfather, I enjoy playing with my granddaughter as she draws pictures (sometimes on the walls!).
The Year We Learned to Fly (2022)
Reviewed by Mandy Wilson
Student
University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA
The Year We Learned to Fly (Woodson, 2022) is a picturebook about two siblings who are bored, fighting with one another, feeling lonely and left out, and experiencing significant changes in their lives. Their grandmother encourages them to use their imagination to "fly" away from their problems. This helps them to overcome their feelings in that moment and respond to difficult situations differently.
I enjoyed this book's use of powerful word choice. Figurative language deepens meaning by modeling mood and imagery through the use of metaphors. Intentional word choice shifts from overused, boring words to more precise language. Woodson uses the idea of "flying" to represent the characters' use of imagination to escape their current emotions. This emphasizes children still using their imagination, which is powerful for students of all ages.
Encouraging Family Literacy through Community Collaboration
Denise Carleton, Founder, Teacher Reuse Exchange
Every week at the Teacher Reuse Exchange, something remarkable happens, though it rarely makes headlines. A teacher walks through our doors, unsure of what they’ll find. Maybe they’re a first-year educator building a classroom from scratch. Maybe they’re a veteran teacher trying to stretch a shrinking budget. Maybe they’re a volunteer from a local nonprofit searching for books to support families in need.
They leave with armfuls of resources, a renewed sense of possibility, and the knowledge that their community is standing behind them.
The idea for the Teacher Reuse Exchange was a 20-year dream that took shape when I served as a PTA Environmental Education Committee Chair. An end-of-school-year Teacher Trash to Treasure event sparked the vision that there should be a way to connect teachers with valuable, reusable materials and resources that were no longer needed. After becoming paralyzed in 2014, I thought this dream might be out of reach. Yet the vision of creating a way for educators to share resources and reduce waste never left my heart.
Rethinking the Think-Aloud Strategy: Helping Students Build a Coherent Mental Model of the Text
Dr. Angela Jones, Literacy Coach, Metropolitan RESA
Over the years, I have worked with elementary and middle school students who match a reading profile that is familiar to many practitioners. These students demonstrate accurate and automatic decoding skills, adequate reading rate and prosody, and sufficient vocabulary and background knowledge for their grade level (Spear-Swerling, n.d.). I expected these students to read a passage with a robust understanding of the text. However, many of these students struggled to answer questions that demonstrated their understanding of the coherent mental model of the text.
The reading comprehension struggles of students who match this profile are not new to reading research. Inference, integration, and comprehension monitoring are key skills associated with later reading comprehension (Oakhill & Cain, 2012). Reading comprehension requires students to integrate propositions (idea units) within and between sentences. This helps students understand multiple layers of meaning within the text. Students must strategically apply cognitive processes and language comprehension skills to construct the mental model of the text (Hennessy, 2021).
Cultivating Truth Seekers: Using Picturebook Read-Alouds to Teach Critical Media Literacy in K–5 Classrooms
Robert A. Griffin, Ed.D., Associate Professor, University of West Georgia
Jennifer K. Allen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of West Georgia
Bethany L. Scullin, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of West Georgia
A few years ago, a colleague texted me (Jennifer) a lighthearted video of a beaver eating lettuce. In her caption, she claimed that watching the video would reduce stress by 17%. As illustrated in the image, that oddly specific number gave it just enough credibility to make me pause. Of course, I fact-checked the statistic and learned it was completely made up.
However, it made me think that if adults can momentarily fall for a fictitious statistic like this, imagine what happens with our students who are just learning the difference between fact and opinion while trying to navigate YouTube, TikTok, Instagram reels, gaming ads, news clips, etc. How do we help young learners navigate this increasingly complex, media-saturated world? We do not necessarily need a new curriculum or a separate “media literacy unit” to give our students tools and resources they need in order to be truth seekers. Our instruction can begin as soon as we facilitate our next read-aloud.
Supporting Students as Readers of Complex Texts
Dr. Matthew J. Sroka, Assistant Professor, Mercer University
I recently asked a group of college educators to read a short passage and respond to a handful of multiple-choice comprehension questions. This is a portion of that passage:
Afghanistan posted a solid 272-8 with their skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (80) smashing a promising knock and Azmatullah Omarzai (62) following suit, but fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah (4-39) and birthday boy Hardik Pandya (2-43) restricted them below 300, allowing for a comfortable chase (Babar, 2023).
The passage is a part of a recap of a cricket match. Predictably, many struggled with the comprehension questions because of their unfamiliarity with this sport. Nothing was wrong with the text. Nothing was wrong with the readers. The challenge lived in the distance between what the text assumed and what the readers brought to it. And in that distance is exactly where teachers can position themselves to support the interaction between reader and text.
Middle school, high school, and college students often struggle with reading not because they “can’t read,” but because they are not prepared to engage with the texts we assign. Too often, we assign complex readings and assume students know what to do with them. Supporting readers requires more than assigning texts; it requires helping students develop strategies, clarifying their purpose for reading, and building the background knowledge needed to make meaning.
Recognizing and Celebrating the Life and Times of Ruth Wakefield: A Teaching Tip
Dr. William Bintz, Professor, Kent State University
My 8-year-old granddaughter and I enjoy chocolate chip cookies. We often enjoy a couple of cookies with a glass of cool milk as an after-school treat. Many others enjoy these cookies, too. Recent data indicate that:
Americans consume 7 billion chocolate chip cookies annually—and not just top seller Chips Ahoy! and its numerous packaged cookie competitors. Chocolate chip cookies also represent nearly half of all homemade cookies baked in the U.S. (Rotundi, 2025).
Several popular companies manufacture and sell chocolate chip cookies. Among others, these include Keebler, Famous Amos, Nestle Toll House, and Mrs. Fields.
Interestingly enough, this background information was not enough to answer a question posed to me by my granddaughter. She asked, “Grandpa, who invented the chocolate chip cookie?” I replied, “I don’t know.” She stated, “Just Google it, Grandpa.” So, I did. Now, I introduce Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie. She is an important historical figure who should be more famous but isn’t. That is, until now.
Beyond Exposure: 5 Practical Shifts That Change Literacy Outcomes for Multilingual Learners
Françoise Raoult, EAL Literacy Coach, Founder of Inclusive EAL
Exposure is necessary for language development — but it is not sufficient.
One of the most persistent beliefs in literacy education is that if multilingual learners are surrounded by English, they will acquire what they need.
Research in second language acquisition tells a more complex story. While comprehensible input matters (Krashen, 1982), decades of work in interaction and output research (Long, 1996; Swain, 1995) show that learners need structured opportunities to process, use, and refine language, not just hear it.
In mainstream classrooms, multilingual learners are often expected to engage with grade-level texts and produce academic writing with limited explicit support for the language demands embedded in those tasks.
The question is not whether they are capable.
The question is whether we have made the language accessible.
FOCUS: A Newsletter of the Georgia Association of Literacy Advocates (GALA)
Dr. Bethany L. Scullin, FOCUS Newsletter Editor
FOCUS Editorial Reviewers
Dr. Jennifer K. Allen
Dr. Robert A. Griffin
