Literacy Organization Websites
International Reading Association
Resources Available: IRA is the largest reading association available for literacy teachers and professionals in the literacy community. The website provides a number of blogs and posts from experts, which are currently about Common Core as the large-scale transition begins across the country. I think the most useful resources on the website come from Read Write Think, which provides lesson plans and ideas for unit planning and IRA Bridges, which has Common Core specific units. The site has reading lists for teachers and students. Finally, the site has a massive compilation of resources by topic, which includes Common Core, assessment, ELL, and emergent literacy.
ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the NCTE)
Resources Available: Alan Picks is an ongoing selection of young adult books picked by two professors. This is a great list for teachers to use for students who may have exhausted their reading options in a school library. The ALAN award is given annually for writers who have made contributions to YA literature. This list is also an excellent starting point for students who are struggling to find a genre or author they enjoy.
Blogs
Kylene Beers
Resources Available: I had the opportunity to hear Kylene speak at the Reading and Writing Project mini-institute earlier this year. Kylene focuses specifically on helping students who are struggling readers. Her website is in the form of a blog and is a research-based commentary on teaching reading. She includes posts ranging from which books matter most to teachers and students to an open letter to teachers. This website includes reading resources and some extra motivation for teachers after a long week at school.
The Non-Fiction Detectives
Resources Available: This website is compiled by two librarians who are aggregating the best non-fictional books they come across for students. This website will be particularly helpful in the midst of the Common Core transition. This website is designed as a blog where there are constantly new review of the books. You can also search for a text in question if you are interested in reading the review. This website also includes some blog posts about different types of non-fiction texts that would be helpful to use in the introduction to new material portion of a lesson.
Review
Voice of Youth Advocates
Resources Available: VOYA is an organization for students, teachers, and librarians. The organization specifically advocates for providing fair and open information to young adult readers. The website includes author interviews, which would be engaging in both a classroom setting and to motivate students to continue reading. The website also includes myriad types of booklists for students. These could be posted in a classroom or used to make book selections for literature circles and book clubs. There are also columns that provide context on what is interesting to students outside the realm of literature, which would be useful for a teacher to use with the aim of connecting with students on a cultural basis.
Literacy Content Area Websites
National Council of Teachers in English
Resources Available: This website provides literacy resources for kindergarten through college instructors. The website includes lesson plans, topics of interest (which are closely linked to Common Core), information and assessment of the Common Core standards, and a number of online professional development options for teachers. This website boasts resources of every kind for English instructors.
Scholastic Balanced Literacy
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/balanced-literacy
Resources Available: Scholastic provides a number of resources that for creating and maintaining balanced literacy programs in schools. The website includes resources and tools for teachers, strategies for teaching, student activities, and a number of books that align with the resources and strategies. This website is helpful for teachers aiming to expand their balanced literacy programs or to include new strategies for a differentiated classroom.
Middle School Writer 