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Community Bulletin Board



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Poetry Out loud State Finals

The National Recitation Contest, Poetry Out Loud, takes place at Ohio Dominican University on March 13. High school students who have won district-level competitions will be competing for a chance to win this state-level contest.  The winner will compete in Washington D.C. for the national title and cash prizes for the school library. Last year's national winner was from Ohio -- Upper Arlington High School! The local contact for this event is Chiquita Mullins from the Ohio Arts Council.


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Latest 3-5 Bookshelf focuses on inferencing

The newest addition to ORC’s 3-5 bookshelf features a text set specially selected for teaching inferencing. Vist the Drawing Inferences bookshelf and find engaging books in a variety of genres, formats, and reading levels along with plenty of suggestions for using them to develop students' inferencing skills.

ORC Contact: Sheila Cantlebary


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New! National common core standards available for feedback

The first official public draft of the Common Core State Standards was released by the NGA Center and CSSO on March 10. Common Core English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science standards and Common Core Mathematics Standards are now available for comment here. ORC continues to keep educators updated on the latest developments in Ohio's academic standards revision process through our specially developed website, Revising Ohio Standards.

ORC Contact: Dave Majesky


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Register now for OCTELA conference

This year's OCTELA (Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts) conference is being held on March 26 and 27 at the Doubletree Hotel in Worthington, OH. The theme this year is The New Literacies: Challenges and Solutions for the 21st Century. Keynote speakers are Cinda Chima, Sharon Flake, Steven Layne, and Kevin Cordi. Over 60 breakout sessions covering a myriad of topics for levels from kindergarten through college are planned. Detailed information regarding Keynote Speakers, registration, directions, etc. can be found at www.octela.org.


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New Literacies in Practice course opens for enrollment

What does reading and writing look like in the 21st century classroom? New communication forms will be explored in a non-threatening manner, in a computer lab with all of the most up-to-date tools with technical support provided. Dr. William Kist is the intructor. Click here for an informational flyer on this course offered at Kent State University, July 19-23 and August 9. 


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K-2 bookshelf explores characters that write

What better way to help students learn about the power of writing than through reading great books that show characters writing for real purposes? Visit ORC's new K-2 bookshelf, Writing for Many Purposes: Characters That Write. The stories, letters, notes, messages, lists, diaries, and observation journals created by the characters can provide models and help students learn about real purposes for writing.


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ReadWriteThink launches redesigned website

ReadWriteThink.org has a new look! Visit its completely redesigned website for ELA educators. ReadWriteThink.org is a partnership between the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English and the Verizon Foundation.


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Literacy Specialist Endorsement Program to be offered online

The Literacy Specialist Endorsement Program, offered by a consortium of eight Ohio universities, is an advanced program in reading education. The one-year program consists of 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours) that include both online coursework and a school-based internship Click here for a brochure describing the program and admission process.


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ALA announces 2010 Caldecott, Newbery, Printz, and King awards

On January 18, the American Library Association announced this year's literary award winners. When You Reach Me, written by Rebecca Stead, is the 2010 Newbery Medal winner and The Lion & the Mouse,” illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney, is the 2010 Caldecott Medal winner. Click here for a complete list of the awardees. 


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Discover ORC resources for the OAA

How can ORC help schools succeed on the OAA (OAT)? Check out our specially developed collections and webcasts. You'll find outstanding lessons, teaching strategies, sample assessment items, and much more.

Mathematics 
ORC's OAT Mathematics Mini-collections are arranged by the mathematics benchmarks most frequently tested on the 7th- and 8th-grade Ohio Achievement Test. To help teachers prepare students, ORC-recommended resources related to each benchmark have been selected and compiled into mini-collections that include lessons, units, content resources, rich mathematical problems, and OAT released items from 2005 - 2008.

Science
Resources related to the science benchmarks for grades 3-5 and 6-8 were selected and compiled into OAT Science Mini-collections . Organized by benchmarks, these collections focus on standards-based topics and provide suggestions for how to integrate them into classroom instruction.

Reading
Useful for professional learning, Fostering Student Success on the OAT-Reading, Grades 5-7 is  an informative webcast series. Companion materials focus on instructional strategies to help students succeed with the reading and writing of informational text in the classroom and on the Ohio Achievement Test-Reading.


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Check out ORC on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and mobile site

Facebook
Become a fan now at Facebook/ORC to receive instant notifications of ORC’s latest events, share information, and make professional connections.

ORC Contact: John Croyle

Twitter
Follow ORC on Twitter to keep up with ORC specialists and news. We created a Twitter page for each content area -- mathematics, science, and English language arts -- and a page for Early Childhood. Become a follower of the pages you're interested in or a follower of all the ORC pages. Use the following links to go to the Twitter pages:

ORC Mathematics Twitter Page
ORC Science Twitter Page
ORC English Language Arts Twitter Page
Early Childhood Twitter Page 

YouTube
The Ohio Resource Center recently launched its own ORC YouTube Channel. This debut includes ORC produced professional development videos providing classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, and other education leaders with engaging and stimulating conversation about supporting student success in the classroom, as well as with the OGT and OAT; improving instructional practice; and modeling professional discussion.

Mobile Website

ORC now offers on-the-go access with our new mobile website. You’ll find the most current information and staff-selected resources along with a link to our regular site. Save this URL (http://m.ohiorc.org) to your favorites and start enjoying the convenience of our mobile website today.

ORC Contact: John Croyle


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Coping with teaching stress

Are you stressed? Find great ideas for becoming and staying stress-free in Britney Wilkins' article 101 Ways to Cope with Teaching Stress on SmartTeaching.org.


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Writing galleries now open for browsing

As part of the National Day of Writing celebration, The National Gallery of Writing was opened for viewing on October 20. Enjoy browsing pieces in these content area galleries and don't miss this opportunity to join the celebration by publishing your own writing.

National Science Teacher’s Association Gallery 
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Gallery
National Council for the Social Studies Gallery
Gallery of NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English)
Writing Teachers of Ohio Gallery

Hosted by NCTE, the virtual gallery accepts writing of all types in any format (text, audio, video, etc.). Guidelines for submitting an entry as an individual or creating a gallery for a specific group can be found at the National Gallery of Writing. Galleries will be open until June 2010. Click here to search or browse all galleries. 


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Sign up to receive free early childhood newsletter

The REConnection newsletter for the Resources for Early Childhood (REC) website is a monthly online publication. It's not too late to sign up to receive the newsletter! Each of the monthly REConnections will feature:

  • A new theme-based mini-collection of REC resources and EC Bookshelf books
  • Links to features of the REC that you may not have utilized yet
  • Favorite resources of REC users just like you, and
  • Information about upcoming early childhood events around Ohio

Don’t miss it!

New to REC?
To sign up now, go to Join REC at http://rec.ohiorc.org/register! Complete the registration form, check the box next to REConnections, and click “Create My Account.” It’s that easy!

Already a member of REC?
If you are a member REC or ORC, go to the REC homepage (http://rec.ohiorc.org) to log in.  Click on the “Manage My Account” link to update your preferences. Then, simply type in your password and check the box next to REConnections.  Be sure to click “Update My Account” at the bottom of the page.   

ORC Contact: Nancy Brannon


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