The International Reading Association (IRA) 57th Annual Convention has hundreds of informative sessions on today’s hottest issues. Here is a sampling of sessions that present important literacy topics. 

STRUGGLING READERS

On Monday, April 30, Thomas Gunning from Central Connecticut State University presents Mystery Passages and Manipulatives: Active Learning Techniques that Build Essential Comprehension Skills from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. At 4:45 p.m. that day, Christopher Paul Curtis and Randon Singer present Struggling Readers and the Common Core State Standards: How Can I get Them College and Career Ready?

TEACHING ELEMENTARY LEARNERS

Join presenters Timothy Rasinski from Kent State University, Alicia McCartney from Gwinnett County Schools, Brod Bagert, and David Harrison from Drury University for Using Poetry for Word Study, Fluency, and Comprehension Instruction on Monday, April 30, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. The Differentiated Difference: The Tale of Two Schools from 3:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. that day features Beverly Tyner, Brian Alaback and Jodie Broussard from Brentwood Elementary, and MaKeysa Rhymer and Denny Wilson from Oakcrest Elementary. 

TEACHING EARLY LITERACY AND BEGINNING READERS

Don’t miss Better Books for Guided Reading: Exploring the Ways Text Selection Relates to Comprehension, Word Recognition, and Student Independence with Jan Miller Burkins (Jan Miller Burkins Consulting & Literacyhead.com) on Monday, April 30, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. On Tuesday, May 1, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Author/Literacy Consultant Miriam Trehearne and Christine Gordon, Professor Emeritus University of Calgary, present Writing, the Cornerstone of an Effective Early Literacy Program in Preschool-Kindergarten: Thousands of young learners learn to read through writing and love it! 

TEACHING ADOLESCENT LEARNERS

At 11:00 a.m. on Monday, April 30, attend Reading, Writing, & Thinking through a Historian Lens: Integrating Disciplinary Literacy into Social Studies Instruction with Doug Buehl from Edgewood College and Jeremy Buehl from Madison Metropolitan School District. At 3:00 p.m. that day, catch Valerie Ellery and Jennifer Rosenboom’s Sustaining Strategic Readers: Techniques for Supporting Content Literacy, Grades 6-12. Maureen McLaughlin of East Stroudsburg University of PA presents The Common Core Standards: Teaching Middle School and High School Students to Comprehend Informational Text on Wednesday, May 2, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

These are just a few of the hundreds of sessions at the IRA 57th Annual Convention in Chicago from April 29 through May 2, 2012. Dates and times are subject to change. Visit the Annual Convention itinerary planner/program grid online tool for updated information. For information on registration and housing, visit www.iraconvention.org.

This article was printed in the February/March 2012 issue of Reading Today. Click here for more information about viewing the digital versions of Reading Today issues.