Free Emergent Literacy Facilitator Training for Early Childhood Educators – Application Deadline Extended

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is offering a free professional learning opportunity for educators interested in becoming trained facilitators of professional learning communities (PLC), focused on emergent literacy for children ages 3-6.

The Professional Learning Community (PLC): Emergent Literacy modules support preschool and kindergarten teachers in implementing evidence-based language and literacy strategies. Designed to foster collaboration, these modules guide early childhood educators through discussion, hands-on activities, and reflective practice with peer and facilitator support.

The PLC includes four modules: Print Knowledge, Phonological Awareness, Vocabulary, and Oral Language. Each module consists of three sessions (12 total sessions), with flexible scheduling options. Facilitators will receive comprehensive materials, including a participant guide, a facilitator guide, a PowerPoint presentation, and videos. While groups of six to 12 teachers are recommended, larger groups may be accommodated, if engagement is maintained.

The ideal facilitator will be an educator with a strong understanding of emergent literacy, effective communication skills, and the ability to relate well to adult learners. Experience with group facilitation will be useful for the success of the facilitator.

Facilitators will participate in a day-long training session on May 14 in Augusta (travel costs covered) and a virtual training in early June. Between May and November of 2025, they will be expected to facilitate at least two PLC modules with at least six Maine educators in their regional area. They will be compensated $500 for each module that they facilitate between May and November of 2025. If facilitators want to seek compensation for facilitating more than two modules, they will need to seek prior approval.

This professional learning opportunity is sponsored by Maine’s Preschool Development Grant (PDG), B-5, a collaboration between the Maine Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.

To apply, please complete this application. The deadline to apply has been extended to April 7, 2025.

For additional information, please contact Renee Reilly, Maine DOE PDG Manager, at Renee.A.Reilly@maine.gov.

One Week Remaining to Participate in Read to ME Challenge and Enter Author Drawing

There is one week left of the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) 10th annual Read to ME Challenge! Since 2015, this month-long public awareness campaign has supported children’s literacy growth by encouraging adults to read to and/or with children during the month of February. Participants are encouraged to capture a 15-minute session with a photo or video, posted to social media to encourage others to take part.

As a reminder, this year, the Maine DOE is offering an exciting incentive to celebrate a decade of Read to ME Challenge success. Participating schools and organizations may choose to fill out this form for a chance to be entered into a random drawing at the end of the Challenge, which concludes after Read Across America Day (recognized this year on March 3). About a dozen winners will be selected from this drawing for a visit from a Maine author before the end of the school year in June!

Please visit the Maine DOE website to learn more about the Read to ME Challenge. If you are submitting to win an author visit, you must complete your entry by Friday, March 7, 2025.

To share your photos/videos on social media, please use #ReadtoME or #ReadaloudME, or tag @MaineDepartmentofEducation1! on Facebook and @mainedepted on Instagram. You may also contact Maine DOE Communications Outreach Manager Rachel Paling at Rachel.Paling@maine.gov with photos/videos.

For questions about the Read to ME Challenge, please contact Maine DOE Director of Early Learning Lee Anne Larsen at Leeann.Larsen@maine.gov.

Commissioner Makin Kicks Off the 10th Annual Read to ME Challenge at Skillin Elementary School

The 10th annual Read to ME Challenge through the Maine Department of Education (DOE) is now underway for the month of February! On Monday, Maine DOE Commissioner Pender Makin kicked off the Challenge at Skillin Elementary School in South Portland by reading I Can Be All Three by Salima Alikhan and Noor Sofi and Happy Pig Day! by Mo Willems to first-grade students.

“When you read to children, you get so much back,” Commissioner Makin said following the read-aloud. “It’s important to remind kids how much of their imagination and their thinking can be expanded with a book.”

The Read to ME Challenge is a month-long public awareness campaign, designed to promote reading and literacy development among Maine children. Adults are encouraged to read to or with a child or children for at least 15 minutes during the month of February. They are then asked to share that experience to amplify the Challenge’s reach across Maine – and to encourage others to participate.

Participants may capture their moments reading with photos or videos posted on social media using #ReadtoME or #ReadaloudME or by tagging @MaineDepartmentofEducation1! on Facebook and @mainedepted on Instagram. The Read to ME Challenge represents a wonderful opportunity for schools, childcare programs, libraries, and other community organizations to get kids engaged with reading.

To celebrate a decade of success, the Maine DOE is offering participating schools and organizations an exciting new opportunity this year to win a visit from a Maine author! Schools and organizations that take part in the Read to ME Challenge may fill out this form for a chance to be entered into a random drawing at the end of the Challenge, which concludes after Read Across America Day (recognized by schools this year on March 3). About a dozen winners will be selected from this drawing for a visit from a Maine author before the end of the school year in June. These authors have expressed that they’re excited to share their works with readers across the state.

You may learn more about the Read to ME Challenge on the Maine DOE website. If you are submitting to win an author visit, please complete your entry by Friday, March 7, 2025.

Schools and organizations that wish to share photos of their Read to ME Challenge participation should please contact Maine DOE Communications Outreach Manager Rachel Paling at Rachel.Paling@maine.gov. With further questions about the Challenge, please contact Maine DOE Director of Early Learning Lee Anne Larsen at Leeann.Larsen@maine.gov.

To enjoy Read to ME Challenge posts shared by the Maine DOE during the month of February, consider following us on Facebook and Instagram!

Maine DOE Announces Exciting Opportunity for Participants of 10th Annual Read to ME Challenge

In February, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) will launch its 10th annual Read to ME Challenge, a month-long public awareness campaign to support children’s literacy growth. To celebrate a decade of success, the Maine DOE is offering an exciting new opportunity this year for participating schools and organizations to enter into a drawing to win a visit from a Maine author.

Since 2015, the Read to ME Challenge has encouraged adults to read to and/or with children for at least 15 minutes during the month of February. Those who participate traditionally capture the moment via a photo or video and post it to a social media platform like Facebook or Instagram, using the hashtag #ReadtoME. While anyone may participate in the Read to ME Challenge, this initiative offers a wonderful opportunity for schools, childcare programs, libraries, and other community organizations to get kids engaged with reading.

This year, participating schools and organizations may choose to fill out this form for a chance to be entered into a random drawing at the end of the Read to ME Challenge, which concludes after Read Across America Day on March 2, 2025 (recognized by schools on March 3). About a dozen winners will be selected from this drawing for a visit from a Maine author before the end of the school year in June! These authors have expressed that they are excited to share their works with readers from across the state.

You may learn more about the Read to ME Challenge on the Maine DOE website. Details regarding the kick-off session on Monday, February 3, 2025 will be made available soon. If you are submitting to win an author visit, please complete your entry by Friday, March 7, 2025.

For questions about the Read to ME Challenge, please contact Maine DOE Director of Early Learning Lee Anne Larsen at Leeann.Larsen@maine.gov.

To share photos of your Read to ME Challenge participation, please contact Maine DOE Communications Outreach Manager Rachel Paling at Rachel.Paling@maine.gov. On social media, you may also use the tags @MaineDepartmentofEducation1! on Facebook and @mainedepted on Instagram.

Maine DOE Seeks New Members for State Literacy Team

Since 2010, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) has convened a State Literacy Team with members representing the full birth-to-adult continuum, as well as geographic diversity across Maine. Current team members include staff from the Maine DOE and the Maine Office of Child and Family Services, public school educators and administrators, community-based providers and organizations (e.g., early care and education, libraries, and literacy-focused programming), and higher education institutions.

The State Literacy Team supports the Maine DOE by guiding the development and dissemination of the State Literacy Plan, Literacy for ME. Originally released in 2012 and updated in 2022, the plan provides a framework for literacy education efforts statewide. The team meets quarterly to advise on literacy initiatives connected to Literacy for ME and to promote literacy awareness throughout Maine.

The Maine DOE is seeking eight to 10 new members to join the team in March of 2025. State Literacy Team members serve voluntarily for two-year terms and participate in 90-minute virtual meetings held in March, June, September, and December. Meetings are interactive and may involve pre-reading or resource review. Team members are also encouraged to contribute to sub-teams working on resource development aligned with the strategic priorities of Literacy for ME.

In addition to attending meetings, members are expected to dedicate three to six hours between meetings to projects and awareness-building activities.

If you are interested in joining the State Literacy Team, please complete this brief application by Friday, January 24, 2025. After applications close, the Maine DOE will review submissions and extend invitations to selected applicants. The selection process will aim to ensure a team that reflects the birth-to-adult literacy continuum and geographic diversity across Maine.

If you have any questions, please contact Lee Anne Larsen, Maine DOE Director of Early Learning, at leeann.larsen@maine.gov.

Maine DOE Invites Learners, Educators, and Community Members to Participate in the 10th Annual Read to ME Challenge

For the 10th consecutive year, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) is partnering with schools and community organizations across the state to promote the Read to ME Challenge. This month-long public awareness campaign, held every February, encourages reading and literacy development among Maine children.

The Read to ME Challenge inspires adults to read to or with children for at least 15 minutes during February, fostering a love for reading and supporting literacy growth. Participants are encouraged to capture these moments in photos or videos and share them on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X with the hashtag #ReadtoME. They can also challenge their social media connections to join in as well, amplifying the initiative’s reach across Maine.

This campaign is open to everyone and provides an excellent opportunity for schools, child care programs, libraries, and community organizations to plan creative ways to participate. Past participants have included college and high school sports teams, civic organizations, library programs, recreation departments, and educational groups, many of which have hosted inspiring events to engage children in reading.

The 10th Annual Read to ME Challenge will officially launch on Monday, February 3, 2025 and will run through Read Across America Day on March 2, 2025.

To learn more about the Read to ME Challenge, please visit the Maine DOE website. Stay tuned for details about special opportunities to celebrate the 10th anniversary, as well as information about the campaign’s kick-off event.

For questions, please contact Maine DOE Director of Early Learning Lee Anne Larsen at Leeann.Larsen@maine.gov.

To share photos/videos of your Read to ME Challenge participation, please contact Maine DOE Communications Outreach Manager, Rachel Paling, at Rachel.Paling@maine.gov. You may also do so on social media, using the tags @MaineDepartmentofEducation1! on Facebook and @mainedepted on Instagram.

Integrating Literacy through Applied Science Workshop with Katie Coppens

A number of studies on literacy have concluded that students who engage with texts on specific topics, particularly social studies and science, make greater advances in reading skills and comprehension compared to those who work solely with texts focused on reading.

To support educators with literacy integration, the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) Interdisciplinary Instruction team is hosting a workshop on Integrating Literacy through Applied Science with educator and author Katie Coppens. This event is scheduled for Wednesday, January 15, 2025, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick.

Participants in this workshop will explore, discuss, and engage with:

The role of applied science in literacy.
The role of applied science in interest and in comprehension (or “meaning-making.”)
How applied science helps a student gain or transfer new knowledge.
Ways this support can be incorporated into their classrooms and future learning.

Limited in-person spots are available and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants may also join virtually through Zoom, and the workshop will be recorded and shared with educators. Contact hours are available to participants. To register for this event, please use this registration link.

The Interdisciplinary Instruction team is part of the Maine DOE Office of Teaching and Learning. If you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Interdisciplinary Instruction team members Kathy Bertini at Kathy.Bertini@maine.gov or Heather Martin at Heather.Martin@maine.gov.

Literacy Learning Grant Opportunity Open to Pre-K through Grade 3 Maine School Teams

In the summer of 2024, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) offered educators free access to professional literacy learning through Steps to Literacy modules from the AIM Institute for Learning & Research. Nearly 650 educators completed more than 20,000 hours of professional learning in the science of reading, phonological awareness, phonics, decoding, spelling, language expression, writing, emerging literacy, vocabulary, dyslexia, and English language learning.

In response to overwhelmingly positive feedback from summer participants, and as a result of the Maine DOE’s continued dedication to supporting high-quality, evidence-based literacy instruction in Maine schools, the Maine DOE is pleased to now be offering a new grant program for schoolwide implementation of this effort. This opportunity is designed for school teams who will be provided access to three AIM literacy modules and who will participate in virtual community of practice sessions for six months. That work will help to support literacy leadership and the implementation of the Steps to Literacy best practices in classrooms.

At the completion of this project, each participating school will receive $5,000 for further schoolwide capacity building and implementation of evidence-based literacy practices.

To be eligible for this grant, schools must register a minimum of three staff members, including at least one general education teacher, one special education teacher, and one literacy leader (a specialist, administrator, or lead teacher). This project will prioritize applications from pre-K through grade 3 school teams. A school administrative unit (SAU) with multiple elementary schools applying should complete a separate application for each school.

Special consideration will be given to schools serving populations of students with identified achievement gaps (i.e. those related to race, income, etc.) and with identified reading proficiency achievement gaps, including, but not limited to, special education in a reading-specific learning disability, reading achievement gaps for economically-disadvantaged students, and racial and ethnic populations.

Interested applicants from schools with fewer than three school staff members should please contact Dee Saucier at danielle.m.saucier@maine.gov to discuss options. Future opportunities will be available for educator teams in grades 4-12.

Applications are due Friday, December 20, 2024.

AIM Pathways™ is a unique, interactive digital teacher training platform, designed to deliver research and evidence-based content in the science of reading. Each Steps to Literacy module provides teachers with engaging learning opportunities organized in a “learn, practice, apply” introductory cycle and contains teaching techniques, videos, and printable resources from the comprehensive AIM Pathways courses to develop participants’ understanding and application of new techniques into classroom practice.

The modules offered as a part of this grant project include:

Module 1: Overview of the Science of Reading (nine contact hours)
Module 2: Phonological Awareness (seven contact hours)
Module 3: Decoding & Spelling (seven contact hours)

To learn more about this literacy module project, you may attend a virtual informational meeting at 3:30 p.m. on December 10, 2024 by registering here. This session will be recorded. Please use this link to complete the Project application.

For additional information, please contact Dee Saucier at danielle.m.saucier@maine.gov.

Maine Educators Discover Connections Between Literacy and Mapmaking with Author David Sobel

Educators from across the state recently met at The Steel House in Rockland — and online via Zoom — for “Integrating Literacy through Mapmaking” with David Sobel, author of Mapmaking with Children, and Jennifer Kramer, Social Studies Coach for the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union in Brattleboro, Vermont.

During this full-day workshop, participants explored the concepts of place, belonging, and geographic representation. Sobel led the group through his research, showing that across the globe and across cultures, children develop perspectives on place and sense of area at roughly-identical age-related milestones. It’s insight that has proven to be particularly illuminating, as educators work on comprehension.

“This was one of the best workshops I have ever taken!” noted Laurie Chaisson, an art teacher at Narraganset Elementary School. “I particularly appreciated David’s developmental stages of mapmaking. This was the missing piece for me!”

Workshop participants also reviewed projects on sound maps, smell maps, treasure maps, and other forms of depicting space. The group worked with and created rebus puzzles, as well as treasure maps, and then they were set loose upon the outside campus of The Steel House to hide their “treasures,” handing off their maps and key rebus to other teams to solve. The activity was both engaging and educational, and many commented on how it brought back the joy of learning.

“It wasn’t long before I became an enthusiastic participant! It was so much fun and really inspiring,” Susan Jones from RSU 40 said.

Kramer led the group through several projects she has completed with schools, both as a classroom teacher and as a curriculum coordinator. She brought forth deeper-thinking concepts while connecting them to practical, replicable classroom projects, including the creation of an “exploding map,” a type of map similar to a pop-up book. It unfolds three-dimensionally to show details and information on a place-in-history map.

“What kid wouldn’t want to make an ‘exploding map’? Bravo! This is what learning should be!” Chaisson said.

Central to the conversation were the concepts of play in learning, cross-curricular comprehension, and the alignment in the thinking process between mapmaking and literacy skills. Inherent in each is coding, vocabulary, navigation of materials (fluency), and making meaning. Just as with mastering the skill of reading, these elements in mapmaking are co-mingled and build upon each other.

“This was a really fun and useful session,” Mark Sparks, a social studies teacher at Winthrop Middle School said.

This workshop was the second in a series of four on the topic of Integrating Literacy hosted by the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) Interdisciplinary Instruction team. All four workshops are offered both in-person and online.

During workshops, participants get the opportunity to ask questions, engage with material, and share their work. In addition to the “day of” experience, recordings of the workshops are made available for later viewing on the Maine DOE’s EnGiNE platform. Contact hours are available for all who participate.

Future events in this series include:

December 12, from 8 a.m. – noon: Integrating Literacy through Background Knowledge with Josie Cameron at the University of Maine at Orono. Use this link to register.
January 15, from 8 a.m. – noon: Integrating Literacy through Applied Science with Katie Coppens at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. Use this link to register.

If you have any questions about this workshop series, please contact Kathy Bertini at Kathy.Bertini@maine.gov or Heather Martin at Heather.Martin@maine.gov.

RESCHEDULED: Integrating Literacy through Background Knowledge Workshop with Josie Cameron

The Interdisciplinary Instruction team at the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) Office of Teaching and Learning is excited to present a half-day workshop with educator and author Josie Cameron.

The Integrating Literacy through Background Knowledge workshop has been rescheduled for April 7, 8:00 a.m. to noon, at the Wells Conference Center at the University of Maine at Orono.

A 2020 study published in Reading Psychology found that preexisting knowledge is “foundational to increasing competency in reading” and that teaching from a foundation of what students already know is key to advancing their learning.

In this workshop, participants will explore, discuss, and engage with:

The role of preexisting or background knowledge in literacy development.
How background knowledge supports comprehension and meaning making.
How background knowledge facilitates the transfer of new information.
Practical strategies for incorporating background knowledge into classroom instruction.

This workshop is free to all Maine educators. In-person spots are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants can also join virtually via Zoom. This session will be recorded and shared with educators following the event, and four contact hours will be available to participants. To register for this event, please use this registration link.

If you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Kathy Bertini at Kathy.Bertini@maine.gov or Heather Martin at Heather.Martin@maine.gov.

This workshop is the third of four workshops presented by the Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Team on the topic of Integrating Literacy through Applied Learning. All events are available in-person and virtually.