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AdLit Beat: All About Adolescent Literacy
 
January 2022

Dear Readers,
I recently came across a Mr. Rogers quote about teaching that made me pause and appreciate your dedication to connecting with students and families in the face of mounting uncertainties.

"The best teacher in the world is someone who loves what he or she does, and just loves it in front of you."  ~Mr. Rogers

Thank you for sharing your curiosity about words and joy of reading with your students. You inspire us at AdLit.org to find new ways that we can support the important literacy moments you create and the families you serve. This year we have many new resources to share with you, your colleagues, and families. Make sure to check out our TwitterFacebook, and YouTube channels to see things as soon as they come out.

Speak soon,

Carrie Simkin, PhD
Director, AdLit

 In the Classroom: Morphology Matters

Morphological awareness 
Teaching students to identify and manipulate the meaning units or "morphemes" in words benefits older students' reading and writing skills (Reed, 2008; Bowers, Kirby, & Deacon, 2010). Students who are more aware of the morphological structure of words, are often stronger spellers and decoders, more advanced vocabulary knowledge, and greater understanding while reading. 
Key Instructional Ideas...
  1. Teach Different Morpheme Patterns (e.g., Greek & Latin Roots, Suffixes, Prefixes, etc.) 
  2. Teach Morphemes Within the Context of a Sentence
    1. Discuss how inflections and derivations change the meaning of words (e.g., present to past tense, etc.)
  3. Give Students Multiple Opportunities to Develop Automaticity

For the Love of Reading

And the Winners Are....
We are pleased to highlight many of the recently announced middle grades and young adult 2022 book award winners.

Use AdLit's Book Finder to learn more about our selected authors and books.  

  

Newberry & Pura Belpré Author Awards

The Last Cuentista
By Donna Barba Higuera

Higuera's middle-grades dystopian novel, weaves together Mexican folklore and science fiction through the eyes of aspiring storyteller Petra Peña who awakens on a new planet hundreds of years after Earth’s destruction, the only person alive who holds the stories of the past, and any hope for the future. Listen to the author discuss her award winning story. 

Newberry Honor Book

Red, White and Whole
By Rajani LaRocca 

A heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia. Listen to a selection of the Red, White, and Whole audiobook! 
 

Printz Award

Firekeeper's Daughter 
By Angeline Boulley

Biracial eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in either in her hometown or on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. But when Daunis’s best friend, Lily, is murdered, she agrees to go undercover in her community and help the FBI while secretly pursuing her own investigation. Watch the Book Trailer!  

Printz Honor Books

Concrete Rose 
by Angie Thomas 

In the prequel to The Hate U Give, Thomas explores Black boyhood and manhood. Seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter is taking care of his family the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. But when when Maverick becomes a father, everything changes.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club
by Malinda Lo

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day. 

Starfish
by Lisa Fipps

Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this novel-in-verse. It's a sweet story of self-acceptance and friendship. 
 

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People
by Kekla Magoon

In this comprehensive, inspiring, and all-too-relevant history of the Black Panther Party, Kekla Magoon introduces readers to the Panthers’ community activism, grounded in the concept of self-defense, which taught Black Americans how to protect and support themselves in a country that treated them like second-class citizens. 
Listen to our recent interview with Kekla Magoon! 
 

New Partnership: The Grateful

American Foundation

The Grateful American Foundation (GAF) is dedicated to restoring enthusiasm in American history for kids, and adults. It honors outstanding authors of YA works of history, biography and historical fiction every year with their Grateful American Book Prize. The partnership between the Grateful American Foundation and AdLit.org will support author interviews, the development of instructional resources, and the relaunch of AdLit’s “Unlocking the Past” project. 

“Educators know history is critical to students learning how to become better citizens and understanding how the country’s political and cultural systems work.” ~David Bruce Smith, Founder

News & Events

Recent Articles From the Field…

1. Designing Classroom Practices for Teaching Online Inquiry:                       
     Experiences from the Field
 

2. Improving Literacy Instruction in Co-taught Middle School
    Classrooms to Support Reading Comprehension

 

Upcoming Literacy Events…

Plain Talk About Literacy & Learning: 2022 Conference
February 9-11, 2022
New Orleans
GW Chapter of VSLA 2022 Conference: For the Love of Reading
February 12, 2022
Online
Learning & The Brain: Illiteracy
March 12, 2022
Online Seminar
2022 ASCD Annual Conference: Recharge & Reconnect
March 18–21, 2022
In-Person in Chicago, Illinois

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Drop Us a Line


We want to hear from you. Have you created resources you would like to share with other educators on AdLit? Is there content you would like to see featured on our site or in our monthly newsletter? Please send us your ideas. We are eager to hear from you!
 
A special thanks to the National Education Association for their support of AdLit.org. Their generous grant affirms the NEA's commitment to literacy, equity, and achievement for all of our students.
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