June Newsletter

Council officers to meet in Little Rock

Local reading council officers will be meeting at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Little Rock July 16-17 to plan activities for the upcoming year.

Organized by Tanna Clark and Linda Eilers, IRA State Coordinator and ARA President, participants will attend job-alike sessions, meet with ARA board, and learn from other councils. Celebrate Literacy awards will also be presented.

Council presidents who attend the workshop receive free conference registration.

If there is no local council near you, and you are willing to take on a rewarding leadership role, please call 866-930-7323 to discuss the possibility of starting a council.

DOUG BUEHL -Featured Author at ARA Conference

Doug is a teacher, author, and national literacy consultant. His 33 years as a teacher in the Madison Metropolitan School District, Madison, Wisconsin, include experiences as a social studies teacher, reading teacher and reading specialist at Madison East High School, and as district Adolescent Literacy Support Teacher. He is the author of the national bestseller Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning, published by the International Reading Association, 2009, and co-author of Reading and the High School Student: Strategies to Enhance Literacy, 2007; and Strategies to Enhance Literacy and Learning in Middle School Content Area Classrooms, 2007, both published by Allyn& Bacon. He currently teaches an adolescent literacy course at Edgewood College in Madison.

Helping Struggling Readers - Suggestions from ReadingRockets.org

Are you assisting with a summer reading program? Tutoring a child who is having difficulty reading? These sites may be helpful.

Click here to find information on:

FAQs - Find answers to real questions from real parents about reading and learning disabilities
Q&A with experts - A new monthly feature covering topics such as assessment, cognition and learning, and educational technology
Why They Struggle - Learn why some kids struggle with reading
Target the Problem! - Pinpoint the problem a struggling reader is having and discover ways to help
Assessment Process - Find out how to get your child evaluated
Self-Esteem and Reading Difficulties - What else suffers when kids struggle in school and what they can do to help themselves
Struggling Readers - Find more Reading Rockets resources, including inside the classroom video, webcasts, articles, and related research

CALL FOR PROPOSALS - "Reading on the River"

ARA Conference 2010 ReadingRiverLogo

Paula Findley, 2010 Conference Chair, is accepting proposals for the 2010 conference, "Reading on the River."

This year, there will be an added benefit to presenting - presenters* will receive 1/2 off the cost of registration!

We want to hear what you are doing to improve literacy instruction in Arkansas.

Please visit www.arareading.org for conference information or click here to complete an online proposal form.

* one per presentation if submitted by deadline

IRA Call for Proposals for 2011

The call for proposals for IRA's 56th Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida, is now open for Exhibitor Sessions, Institutes, Research Poster Sessions, Sessions/Spanish Sessions, Symposia, and Workshops. The deadline is July 18, 2010.

Apologies to . . .

Tricia Finch, Pinnacle Special Interest Reading Council, was inadvertently omitted from the list of Diamond Award winners last month. Sorry,Tricia!

Arkansas Diamond Primary and Charlie May Simon

Reading Lists

Diamond Primary 10-11 Reading List

Bishop, Nic.   FROGS.

Cronin, Doreen.   THUMP, QUACK, MOO: A WHACKY ADVENTURE

George, Jean Craighead.   THE WOLVES ARE BACK.

Henson, Heather.   THAT BOOK WOMAN.

Hesse, Karen.   SPUDS

Hopkinson, Deborah.   ABE LINCOLN CROSSES A CREEK: A TALL THIN TALE.

Jenkins, Steve, and Robin Page.   HOW MANY WAYS CAN YOU CATCH A FLY?

Larson, Kirby, and Mary Nethery.   TWO BOBBIES: A TRUE STORY OF HURRICANE KATRINA, FRIENDSHIP, AND SURVIVAL

Pedersen, Janet.   HOUDINI: THE AMAZING CATERPILLAR.

Sayre, April Pulley.   TROUT ARE MADE OF TREES

Stevens, Janet, and Susan Stevens Crummel.   HELP ME, MR. MUTT!: EXPERT ANSWERS FOR DOGS WITH PEOPLE PROBLEMS

Urbanovic, Jackie. DUCK SOUP

Charlie May Simon 10-11 Reading List

Appelt, Kathi.   THE UNDERNEATH

Clements, Andrew.   LOST AND FOUND

Creech, Sharon.   HATE THAT CAT

DuPrau, Jeanne.   THE DIAMOND OF DARKHOLD: THE FOURTH BOOK OF EMBER

Giff, Patricia Reilly.   ELEVEN.

Henkes, Kevin.   BIRD LAKE MOON

Korman, Gordon.   SWINDLE

Law, Ingrid.   SAVVY

Lowry, Lois.   THE WILLOUGHBYS

O'Brien, Tony, and Mike Sullivan.   AFGHAN DREAMS: YOUNG VOICES OF AFGHANISTAN

Park, Linda Sue.   KEEPING SCORE

Schwabach, Karen. THE HOPE CHEST

Woodruff, Elvira. FEARLESS

Coordinator's Corner

Summertime and the reading is easy! I'm working on my summer reading list. This list includes the books on the Charlie May Simon and Arkansas Diamond reading lists. See above for these titles.   Some of our conference authors have found their way to my stack, such as Fat Boy Chronicles by Lang Buchanan (Diane Lang and Michael Buchanan). I just finished Leaving Gee's Bend by Irene Latham, a touching story set in 1932 that was inspired by the rich quilting heritage of Gee's Bend, Alabama.   I read a lot of books that I can share with my students at school. However, a few professional books have made my summer list: Working with Parents: Building Relationships for Student Success by Ruby Payne; Creating Lifelong Readers Through Independent Reading by Barbara Moss and Terrell Young; Igniting a Passion for Reading by Steven Layne; Bringing Literacy Home edited by KaiLonnie Dunsmore and Douglas Fisher.

Are you passionate about reading?  Then, you are in good company with the Arkansas Reading Association.  Remember to keep your membership current so you will not miss out on literacy news.

Happy Summer Reading!

Tanna Clark, IRA State Coordinator
tanna@arareading.org

PS - Please forward this email (below) to anyone else who may be interested.

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