Registration is now open for the International Reading Association (IRA) 57th Annual Convention, to be held in Chicago from April 29 to May 2, 2012.
Attendees can register online through the Convention website at www.iraconvention.org, fax a registration form to 415-239-4399, call 888-294-9167 or 415-979-2278 (on weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST), or download registration form from above website and mail with full payment to: IRA Registration, c/o Convention Management Resources, 33 New Montgomery, Suite 1100, San Francisco, CA 94105.
Housing registration for the convention is open as well. Attendees are encouraged to visit www.iraconvention.org to book now to make sure they can stay at the hotel of their choice. The convention will be held at McCormick Place and nearby venues in Chicago.
Celebrating Teaching
The theme of this year's IRA Convention is "Celebrate Teaching." Literacy professionals can engage their passion while connecting with 10,000 colleagues from around the globe and more than 500 specially selected programs to ramp up their professional repertoire and energize their classrooms.
Teaching Edge
Back by popular demand, the Teaching Edge Series will offer incisive and valuable teaching strategies from a variety of well-known reading professionals. The lineup of outstanding presenters currently includes Regie Routman, Gay Su Fountas, Irene Pinnell, Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey, Kelly Gallagher, Al Tatum, Ernest Morrell, Lori Oczkus, and Gail Boushey and Joan Moser (“The 2 Sisters”).
Institutes
For those interested in full day courses, IRA will be offering 18 separate institutes on Sunday, April 29 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Topics will include: Common Core, vocabulary, cognitive engagement, digital literacy, early literacy, language learners, content area literacy, metacognition, IRA/NCATE partnership, differentiated literacy instruction, literacy leadership, and reading research. Registration for the Institutes is available with or without annual convention registration for an additional fee.
General Sessions and Invited Speakers
At IRA Chicago, attendees will also get to hear from outstanding speakers, including Dr. Steve Perry, founder of the acclaimed Capitol Preparatory Magnet School and author of Man Up, and Ron Clark, Disney’s American Teacher of the Year, and author of The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck—101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers. Invited speakers include Ellin Keene, Mary Bigler, Peter Afflerbach, Valerie Ellery, Dick Allington, Patrick Smith, Beverly Tyner, Debbie Diller, and Janet Allen. They will offer insights and guidance on such compelling topics as enhancing understanding through discourse, teaching with pizazz, formative assessment, creating strategic readers, summers and the achievement gap, literacy work stations, and the Common Core.
Authors
Once again the convention will offer ample opportunities to hear and meet well known authors of children’s and young adult book titles, both in the luncheon series and in publisher sponsored panels. Book signings will be conducted in the exhibit hall at various times throughout the convention. Consult the convention web site for additional details.
Planning Tools
Attendees can start planning their convention experience using the convenient tools provided on the convention website. These include a program grid for each day, an itinerary planner, and an event search feature. There is also a special sign in resource for convention speakers.
For more information or to register, visit www.iraconvention.org.
2012 Convention Program/Schedule
Convention Housing and Travel
Convention Itinerary Planner
2012 Convention Features Teaching Edge Speaker Series