Connecticut’s 2020 Letters About Literature Contest Winners Named

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Letters About Literature Book ImageThe Neag School of Education, UConn’s Department of English, and the Connecticut Writing Project (CWP) at UConn are proud to announce Connecticut’s winners of the 27th annual Letters About Literature competition, a nationwide contest formerly sponsored by the Library of Congress for students in grades 4 through 12.

This fall, the Neag School, the Department of English, and the CWP served as the contest’s Connecticut sponsors for the 2019-20 academic year; Neag School Professor Doug Kaufman, CWP Director Jason Courtmanche, and Department of English Ph.D. candidate Sophia Buckner served as the contest’s representatives for the state of Connecticut.

There were 416 submissions from Connecticut students, and 53 semi-finalists. Each semi-finalist will receive a certificate of recognition. Nine state finalists from the contest’s three categories (Grades 4-6, Grades 7-8, and Grades 9-12) have been selected, and each will receive a cash prize. Read more about the contest, and click the student finalists’ names below to read their winning essays.

Congratulations to the finalists for the state of Connecticut, listed along with their school and teacher’s name, and the work of literature that is the focus of their essay:

Level I (Grades 4-6)

  • First Place: Nathan Ben-Ari, King Philip Middle School, Lucinda Kulvinskas, Peak by Roland Smith
  • Honorable Mention: Molly Grove, King Philip Middle School, Lucinda Kulvinskas, Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
  • Honorable Mention: Julia Lane, Macdonough Elementary School, John Ferrero, Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Level II (Grades 7-8)

  • First Place: Caroline Holmberg, Franklin Elementary, Pamela Flaherty, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
  • Honorable Mention: Akosua Hansen, Mansfield Middle School, Melissa Szych, Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams

Level III (Grades 9-12)

  • First Place: Scarlett Sladek, Staples High School, Danielle Spies, Nevermoor: The Tales of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
  • Honorable Mention: Krish Shah, Notre Dame High School of West Haven, Lucy Abbott, A Song of Ice and Fire by George Martin
  • Honorable Mention: Eliza Lang, Staples High School, Barbara Robbins, Wonder by R.J. Palacio
  • Honorable Mention: Sasha Maskoff, Staples High School, Danielle Spies, The Giver by Lois Lowry

Alumni, students and friends from the Neag School of Education and the University of Connecticut judged the 416 Letters About Literature contest submittals this past fall. The judges selected the semi-finalists at each of the three competition levels (grades 4-5, 7-8, and 9-12). Thank you to the first-round contest judges:

Kelly Andrews-Babcock
Mary Jane Bezares
Katie Case
Kayla Cole
Jane Cook
Lisbeth Dizney
Maura Doxsee
Kaitlyn Ferrara
Victoria Fielding
Sydney Fogarty
Kim Gentile
Marita Gereg
Lindsey Gervais
Denise Grant
Emily Griffin
Stephanie Fischer
Olivia Grossman
Tommy Jacobsen
Emily Lam
Lindsay Larsen
Shawn Lucas
Melissa Oberlander
Ashlyn O’Boyle
Katelyn Owens
Alison Pellici
Olivia Pietrowicz
Nicole Preston
Jackie Robinson
Cynthia Romero
Debra Sargent
Gabrielle Sheridan
Emily Sherwill
Jonathan Simmons
Sara Smith
Denise Stemmler
Patricia Weingart
John Wetmore

Students in the Neag School and Department of English judged the 53 Letters About Literature contest semi-finalists this past month. The judges selected the best Letters About Literature submitted by Connecticut students at each of the three competition levels (grades 4-5, 7-8, and 9-12).

Thank you to the contest judges, who are current students in the Neag School of Education Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s program with a second major or concentration in English or UConn students majoring in English:

Britney M. Augeri
Caroline P. Crouse
Brenda M. Gutierrez
Elise Jacqueline Halle
Lauren N. Jellen
Alex Milton Klein
Johnny Liang
Grace A. Mandy
Ashlyn E. O’Boyle
Olivia Rose Pappas
Katrina Rose Ptyza
Ailia Rohbar
Kate Rose Romanchick
Gigi Frances Shugrue
Rebecca A. Socha
Sydney Spizzoucco
Sammy Vanvalkenburg
Vanessa Vazquez

How to Create a Classroom Teaching Matrix for Remote Instruction

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Editor’s Note: This original version of this brief was published by the National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Access the original brief in PDF format.

Parent overseeing child while looking at laptop,
(Photo courtesy of the Center on PBIS.)

When transitioning education online, it can be helpful to remember that the practices used in a physical classroom can work just as well in the virtual classroom.

“In this very difficult time, educators are keenly aware of the importance of maintaining connections and creating safe and kind learning environments for students,” says co-author Brandi Simonsen, professor of special education at the Neag School and co-director of the National Technical Assistance Center on PBIS. “We believe educators can apply the skills they already use in their classrooms to this unique context.”

The first step in setting up any classroom is to define expected behaviors, which can be done most effectively through a behavior teaching matrix. This brief will describe how to create a classroom teaching matrix for remote instruction.

Why Develop Remote Instruction Teaching Matrices?

It is important to define, teach, and practice the behavior we want to see, especially virtually. Simply because today’s students may spend more time online doesn’t mean they won’t struggle with remote instruction. Students may not be familiar with the software used and may have learned misrules about how to interact with others online (e.g., gaming, social media). It is important to stress that online interactions are just like real-life interactions, with the same positive and negative social consequences for behavior.

Steps for Developing a Remote Instruction Teaching Matrix

1. Keep the same schoolwide behavior expectations. Students will benefit from the consistent language of the school’s PBIS expectations or values across physical and online settings. Applying them online will help them see that the same systems apply regardless of location (even at home in front of a screen).

Simply because today’s students may spend more time online doesn’t mean they won’t struggle with remote instruction.

2. Use online activities as your settings. Instead of defining expectations by locations around the school, use the most common virtual activities or routines. See example matrices and consider the following:

    • Possible activities. Common activities for the matrix could include teacher-led instruction, independent work, one-on-one work, and small group activities — all carried out online.
    • App or subject-specific activities. If your expectations for behavior vary based on educational software application or the way content areas are covered, consider using these to organize the matrix.
    • Modified physical routines. For entering the online classroom, just as you teach students to put away their jackets and book bags, what is the routine you’d like them to follow? Consider offering a few minutes of planned unstructured time using the chat feature to settle them. Try greeting your students positively when they log in, just as you would when they walk through the classroom door. Greet them by name, share a positive comment, and direct them to the first activity. The entry activity could be shared on the screen as they log in.

3. Consider online-specific behaviors that need to be taught. There are behaviors unique to remote instruction that are especially important to teach and practice. Here are some areas to consider when creating the matrix:

    • Use of video. Consider whether to require students to have video on at all times or only for specific activities.
    • Use of audio. Do you want students to respond by voice or stay muted? If you want students to mute and unmute themselves, make sure to teach and practice it.
    • Use of chat. Set expectations for the use of chat during each type of activity. Can they use private chat with each other?
    • Teach technology explicitly as a lesson. Create an initial lesson solely on how to use the technology in the way you want, before you start into academic content.

    4. Teach directly. Avoid the temptation to simply post or share the matrix and assume it is understood. Explicit teaching and practice will be needed to use new skills with fluency. In teaching, consider how you will make instruction as active as possible. For example, have students co-create examples of following the expectations across activities.

    Although setting up remote instruction can be daunting, it is comforting to know that the same practices used in physical classrooms can be used to create safe, predictable, and positive online learning environments.

    Additional Tips for Remote Instruction

    • Focus on evidence-based teaching practices. Adapt your effective classroom practices to keep using them online. For example:
      • Provide visual precorrections right on the screen.
      • Create and communicate routines for each learning activity and the overall period of online instruction
      • Use polling software or other tools to increase opportunities to respond.
      • Provide behavior-specific praise both verbally and in the chat feature (see if your software will let you add stickers or emojis to your praise).
      • Respond to unwanted behavior effectively. Putting students on hold or sending them out of the room may be an option with your software. However, if you exclude a student, just as in real life, they may not return when you want them back. Consider the following alternatives to exclusionary discipline:
        • Correct behavior privately via a private chat message to the student.
        • Use the “praise around” strategy to acknowledge publicly those who are on track. Then, be ready to praise the student once they show expected behavior.
        • Try group contingencies like the Student/Teacher Game, which is easily implemented online.
      • Attend to equity in access. Some students may not have access to devices or high-speed internet connections. Some students may need accommodations or other supports to effectively participate in an online environment (e.g., students with accommodations for reading may struggle with the chatbox). Similarly, some students may be less likely to be able to join from a distraction-free space (or be embarrassed by their video background). Consider district resources that might help increase access for some students.
      • Differentiate support. As you would in your typical classroom, have a plan to differentiate academic and behavior support for students with diverse needs, abilities, and technology experience in a way that respects their privacy.
      • Communicate with families. Although distance education allows for more sharing of data measuring their child’s progress, it may be harder to notice changes in engagement, motivation, and emotions without face-to-face interactions. Caregivers can help provide information about each student’s quality of life that may not be visible in online interactions. It is also important to develop ways to provide feedback and acknowledge student progress outside of the software applications and student information system, so families are informed and supported.
      • Model kindness. Students may need an extra dose of kindness. It is important to recognize that students’ lives may be considerably disrupted, in addition to the confusion of having to follow school expectations at home. Holding consistent and high expectations is important, but it is key to keep the following in mind:
        • Predict and expect some unwanted behavior (e.g., making funny faces on video) as students adjust to remote learning.
        • Remember that some students are exposed to higher risks and maladaptive coping skills at home than others.
        • Be kind to self. You are learning new skills as well! Consider yourself a new teacher – after all, you might be a new online teacher.

      Although setting up remote instruction can be daunting, it is comforting to know that the same practices used in physical classrooms can be used to create safe, predictable, and positive online learning environments.

      Access the original brief in PDF format. Brandi Simonsen is a professor of special education at the Neag School and co-director of the National Technical Assistance Center on PBIS. Heather George at the University of South Florida, Tim Lewis at the University of Missouri, and Kent McIntosh of the University of Oregon are also co-directors of the Center on PBIS.