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Welcome to the BLaST book study for __Building Background Knowldge for Academic Achievement__ by Robert Marzano. This group was organized as a means to stay current in the field of literacy instruction through a network of colleagues dedicated to continual professional development in order to better understand literacy instruction. This community will share findings in the research, discuss key issues in the field and serve as a support network for those trying to implement effective literacy instruction.

Members of this community will consist of elementary teachers, secondary teachers, special education teachers, literacy tutors, literacy coaches, and content specialists. The success of this community will depend upon the dedication of its members. Members should not feel obligated to devote large amounts of time to this endeavor, but rather will come to rely on the support offered by this community. The book study group will be worth 14 Act 48 hours and will consist of 7 weeks of content, designed to be completed in an 8 week time frame. We will be taking the week of April 5th-11th off. The readings and discussions should require no more than two hours a week, but members may devote more time to the community through the "Side-bar Discussions" page or the "Additional Resources" page. All members of the community will have editing rights to this website and may add materials at any time.

The management of the BLaST Literacy Community will be a shared endeavor. Members will sign up, in partners, to facilitator the discussion for a particular reading. As facilitators, you will be asked to post no more than ONE discucssion point per group base upon the reading. You will not respond to the question posed by your group, but will monitor and provide feedback to the responses made by the other members throughout the week. It is anticipated that these selections will be organized into weekly segments and that facilitators will post discussion points by 8:00 am, Monday of the week in which they will be facilitating. Members will be given until the following Monday to respond to the discussion points, before the next facilitator posts his/her points. **//In order to receive full Act 48 credit, members will be responsible for responding to all discussion points by the end of the 8 week session, May 3, 2010. Any member unable to fulfill their requirements during any of the weeks, should contact the group moderator at//** **//abreon@iu17.org//** Membership to this site is strictly voluntary. Participants will be notified when a new reading choice begins and can elect to be a part of that discussion or wait for another depending upon their interest. 


 * Please click on the "Getting Started" tab on the left navigation bar to receive additional directions.**