Preconference Institutes are a popular ramp-up to the ILA 2016 Conference. This year, we’ll spotlight each of the 15 all-day presentations designed to take a close look into the hottest topics in literacy (other installments will be linked at the bottom of this post). This week, we look at Empowering Students’ Literacy Learning.
Institute 02: Transforming Literacy Instruction With Digital Texts and Tools
Teacher educators and researchers: Get the chance to connect and discuss meaningful methods to engage all learners in this Preconference Institute! This interactive session not only combines research-based strategies for integrating literacy and technology in K–12 classrooms with instructional practices and Web 2.0 tools that promote multiliteracies but also provides theoretical foundations, strategy demonstration, and opportunities for hands-on practice.
This Preconference Institute will use a combination of whole-group, grade-level strands, and small-group breakout sessions. The role multiliteracies play in promoting engagement and inquiry-based reading and writing will encourage sharing and discussion among attendees and presenters. Attendees are invited to bring their own laptops and digital devices.
Institute 04: Cutting-Edge Word Study Practices and Activities to Teach All Students Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling
Learn new, research-based word study activities and routines through breakout sessions focused on topics like teaching students to reflect and share their thinking, transforming spelling instruction to teach reading and writing, word study in intervention, word study with English learners, academic vocabulary instruction, word study pre-K–12, and involving parents and families.
Participants will be engaged with nationally recognized literacy researchers and professionals in digital, online, interactive, and hands-on word study activities and explore a variety of topics related to word study and developmentally appropriate literacy instruction. Multimedia presentations will include online games and activities in contrast with dictionary and etymological resources.
The keynotes provide foundational information on word study and the research in orthography and literacy development. Breakout sessions further unpack the theoretical concepts presented in the keynote addresses and provide solid background for educators who wish to examine word study in more depth and implement word study in their classrooms.
Throughout the institute, presenters will discuss a variety of topics guaranteed to pique the interest in word study and familiarize the participants with the developmental approach to phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Student engagement activities and resources will provide opportunity to scaffold and deepen participants’ understanding of word study. Time will be set aside at the end of each session and at the end of the institute to engage the participants in a discussion where they will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with one another.
Institute 09: Intentional Literacy: Transforming Reading, Writing, and Teaching With Conscious Choices
As literacy demands become increasingly complex, students need skills to help them sort through the myriad of messages they receive in the modern world. Intentional literacy and voice (the choices readers and writers make as they seek and construct meaning) are central to these skills. In this Preconference Institute, educators will engage with presenters who are committed to changing the way students read, write, and think through three objectives.
A multimedia presentation that includes art and music and group discussions will introduce the concept of intentional literacy and the elements of voice and be used to help participants teach students to identify the elements of voice (diction, detail, imagery, figurative language, syntax, and tone) in grade-appropriate, complex text. Participants will also be able to help students understand the intentionality of crafted writing and how the elements of voice work together.
Then the group will break down according to grade level interest, specifically grades 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12. Participants will learn from experienced teachers how to critically discuss and respond to activities designed to teach deep reading of complex text, the intentional choices authors make as they build meaning, and the ways authors use the elements of voice in their own work. During this part of the institute, attendees will learn to teach intentional literacy and the elements of voice with grade-appropriate text, activities that include focused discussion of craft in difficult text and the modeling of expert writing that helps young writers improve their own practice.
Finally, participants will develop a plan to systematically implement classroom instruction in the elements of voice, the intentional choices authors make as they develop meaning, and techniques to empower students to be more purposeful and creative in their own writing. Presenters will help small groups of participants develop a plan to implement intentional reading, writing, and teaching in their own schools.
Institute 12: Igniting a Sense of Wonder: Fueling Curiosity, Empowering Learning
Children have a remarkable capacity for wonder—they see the extraordinary in the ordinary and small marvels all around them. When teachers make children’s questions and observations a natural part of every curricular area, they create a world of wonder in the classroom, and learning erupts with literate vigor.
This Preconference Institute will include audience participation through group discussion of content broken down into three objectives. First, to provide techniques to help students from kindergarten onward become reflective learners, researchers, and “generators of wonder” through a number of skills including reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Second, to concentrate on authenticity, focusing on written and oral experiences driven by curiosity. Finally, to consider the impact of author perspective and purpose on “wonder” through the eyes of published children’s authors.
Preconference Institutes are an additional cost to conference registration and run simultaneously Friday, July 8. Find out more about the sessions here before they’re sold out.
The ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits will be July 9–11 in Boston, MA, with more than 6,000 attendees eager to cultivate new teaching practices. With over 300 sessions, including several new additions to the schedule, and the popular Preconference Institutes, the weekend is sure to be a memorable one. Register today for the conference to take advantage of special Early Bird pricing.