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The Oklahoma Literacy Resource Office
Oklahoma
Dept. of Libraries
200 NE 18th St
Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma
73105-3298
(405) 522-3205
(405) 525-7804—FAX
Archived Oklahoma Literacy News
Taking a Step Forward
21st Century Teaching Strategies for Learner-Centered Instruction
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| Literacy leaders from across the state celebrate the completion of a two day training in effective practices in learner-centered language instruction. |
T’was four weeks before Christmas and 27 committed and enthusiastic literacy tutors and coordinators could be found working and laughing together as they explored effective practices in learner-centered language instruction. Jayme Adelson-Goldstein, of Lighthearted Learning, facilitated the two-day workshop, guiding participants through a variety of tasks to support planning for, and implementing, learner-centered instruction teaching in both tutoring and classroom settings. Throughout each of the six-hour sessions teams of participants explored needs assessment tools; discussed and tried out effective presentation, practice and application tasks, and analyzed a ready-made curriculum (Step Forward) in order to find relevant topics and lessons for their learners. Contact Rebecca Barker for more information and materials from the sessions.
Stillwater Literacy Council's
Edible Book Festival
More than 65 people attended the Edible Book Festival, Saturday, March 31, at the Stillwater Public Library.
There were 18 entries in 5 categories. Winners in each category were:
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| Children—Maulida Zaizafuna—"Care Bears, The Day Nobody Shared" |
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| Teens—Zhafira Mardhiuah—"Alice in Wonderland" |
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| Adults—Penny Lee—"Oh, the Places You’ll Go" |
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| Professionals—Jayni Palmer—"Ree’s World" |
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| SLC Board Members Choice—Vandana Jaiwa—"Nursery Rhymes" |
Tutors, students and their friends and families, friends from the Stillwater Newspress, and members of the community attended the event. Other supporters included I-Hop, New China Buffet, Chipotle, Red Rock Bakery, Elite Repeat, Dupree Sports who provided gift cards and other prizes.
The Stillwater Literacy Council wishes to thank all who supported the event and a special thanks to the Stillwater Newspress for the excellent news coverage.
Emergent Literacy Initiative
More than fifty library and literacy programs from throughout the state took advantage of ODL’s early literacy initiative to enhance existing local initiatives or develop new programs. Participating programs agreed to attend three emergent literacy workshops and implement new strategies learned.
Thanks to LSTA funds granted by the Institute of Library and Museum Services, sites received books for the library, support materials, and books to give to local children.
Betsy Diamant-Cohen kicked off the workshop series with a “how to use” the Mother Goose on the Loose model to promote the development of early literacy skills. Participants left with ideas, books, and resources to implement the program locally.
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| Mother Goose on the Loose—Piedmont Public Library's Rhonda Turley shows her handmade flannel board prop, and Oklahoma librarians use bells to demonstrate the use of rhythm in early literacy programs. |
The second workshop, Family Literacy Projects on a Budget, was presented by Wendy Blackwell, Deborah Mason, and Tisha Thorne with the National Children’s Museum. More than 70 participants learned how to enhance books and story times with free and low cost craft ideas.
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| Family Literacy Projects on a Budget—[clockwise from top left] Presenters, Deborah Mason and Tisha Thorne, from the National Children's Museum, modeling easy-to-make costumes for Oklahoma librarians • Tulsa City-County Library System's Heather Stark puts the finishing touch on her paper-bag pirate vest • Beverly Theige, Pioneer Library System, shows off her creative pop-up book • Jennifer Greenstreet, Director of the Ada Public Library, creates a book using scrapbook paper and a rubber band. |
The third workshop, Criss-Cross Applesauce, was presented on March 7 by Saroj Ghoting. This session shared the keys to successful story times targeting newborns to five-year-olds and their parents and caregivers.
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| ODL director Susan McVey poses with Saroj Ghoting, presenter of Criss-Cross Applesauce. • Librarians use “peepers” to turn their hands into story time puppets. |
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| Pop up books are fun for children and librarians, alike. |
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| Participants celebrate the end of the early literacy
workshop series by showing off their CDs of songs and music by Oklahoma performer Spaghetti Eddie. |
Celebrating Our Journey, Volume 7
The Oklahoma Literacy Resource Office unveiled the newest edition of Celebrating Our Journey at the 2011 state literacy conference.
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| Lester Allen (Duncan Adult Learning Center) signs his
story "I Am Wiser Now" for a young fan |
The publication features a collection of 171 stories written by Oklahoma learners and adult basic education students. Forty-nine of the authors were on hand to autograph their story at a special book signing reception at the conference. The inspiring stories capture the successes, struggles, and thoughts of the authors as they shared their stories of celebrations and traditions, struggles and victories, travel and adventures, wisdom and learning.
The 336 page book was possible thanks to Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
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for Carol and Amy Krueger with the Krueger Charitable Foundation |
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| 2011 Grand Prize winning photograph |
Oklahoma City’s Even Start program took home a new digital camera after winning the 2011 literacy photo contest sponsored by the Oklahoma Literacy Coalition. The winning photo captured the love of learning by featuring an Even Start family using a smart board to improve literacy skills. The award was presented during Oklahoma’s joint literacy and adult education conference, where photo entries were on display.
Director Vicki Land accepted the camera on behalf of the program and reported that it was used right after the conference when a fireman visited the Even Start class.
2011 Joint Literacy Conference a Success
The first joint literacy and adult education conference, held in 2010, was such a success that the partner organizations decided to make it an annual event. In 2011, increased attendance and positive feedback suggested that Oklahoma’s conference continues to be a beneficial resource for adult education teachers, volunteer tutors, corrections staff, literacy administrators and trainers, and adult learners.
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| Stephanie
Curtis reads a Governor’s proclamation naming September as Literacy Month in Oklahoma. |
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| Jayme Adleson-Goldstein, author of Oxford Picture Dictionary, shares how to use picture dictionaries in a multi-level classroom. |
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| Conference attendees line up to have their copies of Celebrating Our Journey signed. |
Executive Director of the State Department of Education’s Lifelong Learning Section Stephanie Curtis read a proclamation from Governor Mary Fallin proclaiming September as Literacy Month in Oklahoma, and Department of Libraries director, Susan McVey welcomed attendees. Back by popular demand was keynote speaker Mark McLeod, who energized the audience with his positive message of building relationships. Participants selected from more than 60 workshops presented by local, state, and national experts, with adult learners attending sessions designed to meet their needs. Once again, a conference highlight was the unveiling of Celebrating Our Journey, a collection of stories written by adult learners from throughout the state. Forty-nine of the 171 authors were on hand to autograph their story during a special book signing reception hosted by the Oklahoma Literacy Coalition.
Conference sponsors including the State Department of Education, Oklahoma Department of Libraries, and Oklahoma Literacy Coalition have already set September 27–28 as the dates of the 2012 conference.
