NYNPA niE-News
To Keep Pace with Tomorrow's Education and Information Needs

Volume 7, Number 6                                                                                                               Thursday, June 4, 2015   

In This Issue
Cartoons for the Classroom - CCSS Informational Text Tool
Contest Deadline is Friday, May 8
Free Resources for May including Mother's Day, Memorial Day
Summer Reading and Writing
Quick Links
 
  CIVICS EDUCATION CORNER
A free civics lesson plan from PBS's POV, Documentaries with a point of view
POV logo
The Price of a Free Press: Is Journalism Worth Dying For?

 In this lesson, students will investigate the risks that journalists take to report on organized crime and corrupt government leaders. They will first discuss the role and value of a free press and some of the principles that define the work of reporters. Student groups will then role-play the work of a newspaper editorial board that must decide whether or not to publish a controversial story that could put the paper and its staff at risk.    


FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN EDUCATION
- TIP OF THE MONTH - 
There are many strategies families might employ to encourage summertime reading.PTA logo
   8 Tips to Stop Literacy Loss Over the Summer
 
Combine activities with books

Summer leaves lots of time for kids to enjoy fun activities, such as going to the beach or seeing a movie. Why not also encourage them to read a book about the activity? If you're going to a baseball game, suggest that your child read a book about a favorite player. In the car or over a hot dog, you'll have lots of time to talk about the book and the game.

 

Lead by example

Read the newspaper at breakfast, pick up a magazine at the pediatrician's office, or stuff a paperback into your beach bag. If kids see the adults around them reading, they will understand that reading can be a fun and important part of their summer days.

 

Talk it up

Talking with your kids about what you have read also lets them know that reading is an important part of your life. Tell them about what you've read and why you enjoyed it.

 

Help kids find time to read

Summer camp, baseball games, and videos are all fun things kids like to do during the summer. However, by the end of the day, children may be too tired to pick up a book. Remember to leave some time in their schedules for reading, such as before bedtime or over breakfast.

 

Relax the rules for summer

During the school year, children have required reading for classes. Summer is a time when children can read what, when, and how they please. Don't set daily time or page requirements. Instead, make sure they pick up books for fun and help find ways for them to choose to read on his or her own.

 

Have plenty of reading material around

Storybooks aren't the only thing that kids can read for fun. Be sure to have newspapers, magazines, and informational material on hand that might spark their interest.

 

Use books to break the boredom

Without the regular school regimen, adults and kids need more activities to fill the hours. Books that teach kids how to make or do something are a great way to get kids reading and keep them occupied.

 

Read aloud with kids

Take your children to see a local storyteller-or be one yourself. The summer months leave extra time for enthusiastic read-alouds with children, no matter their age. Don't forget to improvise different voices or wear a silly hat to make the story that much more interesting!  

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For more information about Family Engagement in Education go to New York State Family Engagement Coalition  

  

Click on the logo below for information about how to join. 

NYS Family Engagement Coalition 

Baseball Across New York State
FREE 10 part series created in partnership with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The features were written by Hall of Fame staff members and the student worksheets were created by Mary Miller, Education Services Director at the New York News Publishers Association Newspaper In Education Program. The project was made possible through the continued support of the New York Newspapers Foundation. 

baseballs
The series would be an excellent way to finish up the school year and introduce a topic that will peak students and general readers through the summer months. The series and student worksheets are available to NYNPA member newspapers as free downloads from the NYNPA website at http://www.nynpa.com/nie/niebaseball.html This series was originally created in 2011. 
Share this U.S.News Education Article with teachers, students and parents: Enhance Summer SAT, ACT Prep With Reading You Enjoy
Setting aside time to read magazines, books and newspapers each day can help boost standardized test performance.

girl readingSummer reading can be a dreaded assignment that students ignore until the first days of school creep close. The reality, however, is that reading consistently starting at the beginning of the summer can help students vastly improve their test scores come ACT and SAT exam time. Reading leads to improved information retention, sharper comprehension and a larger vocabulary from which to draw. 

 

Learning how to more efficiently comprehend material requires effort and repetition, and there is no better opportunity to practice this skill than when you have the most free time: summer. Select an hour that you feel is conducive to focusing and get reading.  

 

Whether you choose to open a novel before bed or to tackle a short story during lunch, the key is to begin a consistent reading habit. Do your best to devote the same hour each day.

 

Establishing this habit is crucial to building and maintaining your routine once fall classes begin. The key is to find source material that you enjoy.

 

If you can identify forms and genres of literature that fascinate you, reading will feel less like work and more like recreation. To stave off boredom, you can also move from text to text at your will. Here is a list of recommended reading materials to try your hand at this summer:

 

Newspapers: Reading the newspaper each morning, whether online or in print, is a wonderful way to build your vocabulary and stay current on world events. Peruse articles from diverse sections of the newspaper to explore various types of writing.

The article above the fold will be written differently than the editorials located further inside the newspaper, but they each have their own stylistic importance. Learning to successfully navigate several types of reading material will help you excel on the test. More 


"From Seneca Falls to the Polling Booth" Winners Announced 

Cash awards for students and school to be sent out this week.       

Four young readers from will be honored with an award presented by the New York News Publishers Association Newspaper In Education Program.

 

The regional winners in alphabetical order are:

  • Amaal Bahnas, Grade 5, Margaretville Central School, Margaretville
  • Aidan Macaulay, Grade 6, Lowville Academy and Central School, Lowville
  • Jenna Mapley, Grade 7, Dana L. West Jr-Sr High School, Port Byron
  • Alexis Smith, Grade 8, Lyons Middle School, Lyons

This year's regional awards not only honor the students, but also provide grants for four participating school libraries. Each library will receive a $200 donation that will be used to support literacy for all students.

 

The voting poster contest which was for students in grades 5 through 8 was the culmination of New York statewide serial story read , "From Seneca Falls to the Polling Booth" written by Mike Peterson and illustrated by Christopher Baldwin.  The students were asked to give at least three voting facts and illustrate the importance of voting.

 

"From Seneca Falls to the Polling Booth" is an eight-part history of the women's suffrage movement, beginning with the landmark convention in Seneca Falls and leading to the ratification of the 19th Amendment and the first national elections in which women were permitted to vote.

 

The project was a result of a partnership between the New York News Publishers Association, New York Newspapers Foundation, and New York State United Teachers. A total of 52 students submitted entries and all students that entered will be recognized with a participation certificate. Congratulations to all! 

Free Teaching Resources for June  
Here is a list of NIE and other resources that teachers can use to enhance their students' education. Anne Frank

Friday, June 12 is Anne Frank's Birthday - here's a link to a Read, Write, Think lesson plan that ties the Diary of Anne Frank with eye witness reports.  Consider using quotes from current newspapers as another form of eye witness reporting.

Flag Day Image Sunday, June 14th is Flag Day - The National Constitution Center has created a lesson highlighting the birthday of the American flag. Using a short video,(which is posted to YouTube) "The History of the U.S. Flag", hosted by Terry Ruggles and produced by Drexel University and the Philadelphia Flag Day Association, this lesson encourages students to take a closer look at the American flag and its meaning.

Another resource for Flag Day can be found at the National Endowment for the Humanities EDCITEment! called Stars and Stripes Forever: Flag Facts for Flag Day.

If you'd like to show students historic images of Flag Day go Library of Congress,
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: and run a search for Flag Day - linked here is a copy of the New York Tribune for June 13th 1909.

Juneteenth logo Read, Write, Think also offers a lesson plan for Juneteenth - a celebration of the day in 1865 that word of Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves, made its way to the state of Texas. The celebration name is a combination of "June" and "Nineteenth"-the day that the celebration takes place.
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Current word lists and puzzles from MyVocabulary.com:
All MyVocabulary.com content is printable for NIE programs without a charge. Please honor trademarks and copyright, giving MyVocabulary.com attribution.

Summer Reading & Writing    

Free and easy ways to keep literacy skills sharp   

Summertime is fun time for readers of all ages! Browse through the Summer Reading at New York State Libraries site at  http://www.summerreadingnys.org/ for summer reading-related materials. "Every Hero Has a Story" this summer at your local library. To join in the fun of Summer Reading today, just find your local library website using this link, and register! 

 

Also encourage young people under the age of 13 to sign up to join Young Voices of New York  - a website designed to introduce young people to news reporting! Young Voices of New York continuously accepts applications for contributors at www.yvnewyork.com/about/  YVNY Logo

"NYNPA niE-News" is an electronic newsletter of the New York News Publishers Association, NIE Program. It is sent to provide you with news of your colleagues, money-saving and money-generating ideas, and educational trends, all in one place - in a format you can quickly scroll through. Feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think would benefit from it. If you have an item you'd like to share - a success story, a warning so others don't make the same mistake, or a something you'd like advice on, simply hit the "reply" button on your e-mail service. Remember, you can always send news by emailing Mary Miller at [email protected]
For more NYNPA NIE news and materials be sure to visit our website at www.nynpa.com.

Sincerely,

Mary Miller
Education Services Director 
New York News Publishers Association