Editors' Notes
Welcome to the 2017 issue of The Language and Literacy Spectrum! You have no doubt already noticed a different look for the Spectrum, and it is more than a surface-level change. We have adopted a new platform for the Spectrum in order to automate many of the procedures involved in on-line publication of professional work. This platform will make it easier for authors, reviewers and readers to access the content of the journal. It will also automate for editors the work of managing the publication process. We are grateful to NYSRA staff and our Buffalo State Digital Common colleagues, along with the expert support from bepress (https://www.bepress.com) for assisting us with the technical details of converting to the online platform. We also want to thank our esteemed colleagues who graciously served as reviewers for this issue. Looking to the future, we plan to upload older issues of the Spectrum into this platform in order to preserve the work of previous authors and editors. We will also issue a new Call for Manuscripts in January, 2018. The theme for this current issue of the Spectrum is Leadership, and readers will note that our authors share stories of leadership across the literacy spectrum, from emergent literacy to secondary classrooms. You will read about children, teachers, and administrators who demonstrate leadership through multiple literacy practices. NYSRA members can be very proud of their colleagues whose work is showcased here through a variety of unique action research projects. As you read this fine collection of articles, be sure to note the research that is referenced by each of the authors. The reference lists contain the names of prominent scholars in our field; some of these will be very familiar while others indicate the work of the most current and rising scholars that influence literacy instruction today. Happy reading! Keli Garas-York and Laura Klenk, Co-editorsArticles
The Use of Responses to Reading as a Vehicle to Opinion Writing in the Primary Grades
Zoi A. Philippakos
Partnering for Professional Development
Jennifer Davis-Duerr
Preparing Today to Empower Future Learners: Pre-service teachers’ experiences selecting & evaluating children’s literature for quality and use in PreK-6th grade integrated literacy/science instruction
Carolyn Stone and Deborah Conrad
Constructing a Sense of Story: One Block at a Time
Joanne Robertson-Eletto, Smita Guha, and Marina Marinelli
Engaging Students in the Research Process: Comparing Approaches Used with Diverse Learners in Two Urban High School Classrooms
Salika A. Lawrence, Tiffany Jefferson, and Nancy Osborn
Measuring Our Impact: What Did Our Attendees Think of Our Conference?
Louisa Kramer-Vida and Karen Meier