Literacy Now

The Exhibit Hall at ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits is always a highlight of the weekend. Educators eagerly await for the doors to open, and the aisles are bustling while people make their way through all of the exhibitors, gathering swag and attending exhibitor sessions. This year ILA will add to the buzz of activities in the hall with ILA Central, the one-stop shop for all things ILA. Here there will be a slate of events in the expanded Age of Literacy Learning Lounge and the new Social Suite. Of course, in the ILA Central Bookstore, there will also be the newest must-have ILA swag to take home and ILA books to help you further improve your practice.

ILA Central

The Friday Sale will take place outside of the Exhibit Hall in the main lobby 7:30 AM–5:00 PM on July 8. For the rest of the conference, the regular member’s discount of 20% will apply to all books for all attendees. Remember to use your Bookstore Bucks, found in the Events, Signings & Savings guide for extra savings. Or take advantage of our Order Express and have your larger ILA book purchases shipped directly to you: No extra bags to carry or baggage fees at the airport for the pounds of books you’ll want to take home.

Last year the new ILA t-shirts flew out of ILA Central in record time. This year we’ll have a fresh batch in addition to new ways to show your ILA pride with a range of souvenirs from clothing to accessories.

Need to renew your membership or add a journal to your existing one? Ready to sign up to be an  ILA member for the first time? Membership staff will be on hand to help with special offers and gifts. You could also take this chance to update any membership information, like e-mail and home addresses that may have changed.

Stop by the Choices area in ILA Central for a takeaway list of this year’s winning children’s and young adult books. You will also find a list of conference events with connections to the Choices lists.

The Age of Literacy Learning Lounge

Introduced at last year’s conference, the Age of Literacy Learning Lounge (ALLL) was such a hit that we’ve expanded its programming. Here you’ll find everything from informal education sessions to meetups.

Highlights will include Twitter 101: Teacher to Teacher, literature lovers meetups (for every age level), a chance to hear from some of our “30 Under 30” literacy leaders, and sneak peeks at hot new children’s books publishing this fall and winter.

Look for the full schedule of events in the Events, Signings & Savings guide or in the Extras section of the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits app.

The ILA Social Suite

On your way from ILA Central to ALLL, stop by ILA’s Social Suite to connect your #ILA16 online and offline experiences.

This interactive space will offer staff social media tips, handy takeaways, a free photo booth, and the chance to print out your favorite #ILA16 Instagram photos—just be sure to use that hashtag! And stop by our Q&A Wall for some “Pen and Paper” tweeting as you share brief answers to our daily question (we aren’t counting the characters).

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 on July 8, the weekend is sure to be a memorable one. Learn more about what’s coming up at this summer’s conference at ilaconference.org.

April Hall is editor of Literacy Daily. A journalist for 20 years, she has specialized in education, writing and editing for newspapers, websites, and magazines.

Putting Books to Work sessions at ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits give a unique opportunity to hear about authors’ inspirations for school-friendly titles. Based on the popular Literacy Daily series by the same name, these sessions focus on providing practical classroom strategies for one spotlight book per author. During these sessions, attendees will be able to interact with the authors and moderators to share ways they’ve used the books in their classroom, as well as the challenges they encountered.

The following are overviews given by the moderators as to what to expect from each of the sessions, broken down by age level. And don’t forget to note the time of the “Lit Lovers Meetups” facilitated by session moderators at the Age of Literacy Learning Lounge in the Exhibit Hall where book lovers will get the chance to chat and share favorite titles.

Deborah Wooten, Putting Books to Work: Primary
(Saturday, July 9, 11:00 AM–12:00 PM)

“Teacher, Teacher, What Do You See, Two New Picture Books Looking At Me!”

Meet Laura Vaccaro Seeger and her current book I Used to Be Afraid and Michael Sampson with his latest book Listen to Our World. Each picture book has complementary interactive literacy and art activities.

I Used To Be Afraid is a reflective concept picture book that helps students face their fears and discover ways to perceive them in a positive perspective problem-solving approach. Seeger’s bold illustrations capture students’ attention along with the ingenious way she incorporates her die cuts that foreshadow the book's spirit of overcoming fears.

Sampson’s Listen to Our World, illustrated by Melissa Sweet and co-authored with Bill Martin Jr. before his passing in 2004, will have students journeying around the globe and singing the sounds of 11 animals from six continents. This award-winning author will showcase his new book about habitats along with the thrill of onomatopoeia that highlight the language of the animals. Students can easily develop literacy skills while nurturing their understandings and curiosities about geography, social studies, and science.

The engaging activities presented in this session will deepen and enlighten both of these wonderful books. And Laura Vaccaro Seeger and Michael Sampson will be giving away a limited number of free autographed copies to attendees.

The Primary Lit Lovers Meetup will be Saturday 2:00 PM–3:00 PM at the Age of Literacy Learning Lounge.

Sandra K. Athans, Putting Books to Work: Mid-Level
(Sunday, July 10, 8:00 AM–9:00 AM)

What does a silver sea and a super-sized squid have in common? Beyond a little alliteration, both are sure to lure you to the session where Grace Lin and Candace Fleming will share ideas about how these topics—central components in their new books—can be used in your classroom to captivate students and kick up your instruction!

Lin lovers will delight in When the Sea Turned Silver—a masterpiece companion to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sky. This extraordinarily written new fantasy adventure includes some familiar faces yet also introduces cherishable new characters who entice readers along on another spectacular quest.

Fleming fanatics will flock to Giant Squid, a beautifully written and illustrated up-close account of this rare and elusive creature that will captivate readers in its unveiling of this lesser-known sea creature. Fleming will also spotlight Presenting Buffalo Bill, her new biography of this legendary Wild West wonder.

Both award-winning authors will share ways in which these new books can be used in your classroom.

The Mid-Level Lit Lovers Meetup will be Sunday 1:00 PM–2:00 PM at the Age of Literacy Learning Lounge.

Mary Cotillo and Erin O’Leary (The Crazy Reading Ladies), Putting Books to Work: Young Adult
(Monday, July 11, 8:00 AM–9:00 AM)

There’s a lot about growing up that we wish we could forget, and as teachers, we often have to live our mistakes again with our students. How we wish our kids would just listen to us when we see them headed down the wrong path and know that freight train of consequence is coming right for them! Jack Gantos’ autobiographical novel The Trouble in Me forces readers to reflect on the choices we make and how our “friends” have the power to change our lives. Told in the straight-forward, no-nonsense style that has made him a YA favorite (remember Joey Pigza?), Gantos tells the ugly truth of being a follower.

Salt to the Sea is the newest must-read from Between Shades of Grey author Ruta Sepetys. In her latest work, Sepetys opens our eyes once again to one of the greatest yet long-forgotten tragedies of World War II. History is beautifully, skillfully wrapped into a story so engaging and accessible that students won’t even realize how much they’ve learned until it’s too late. Told in four voices of relatable teenagers, this page-turning gem of a book provides an extraordinary opportunity for cross-curricular collaboration as well as serving as an adolescent-friendly gateway to alternate narration.

Come to the YA author panel and leave with age-appropriate, high-interest, contemporary titles that will easily support lessons aligned with skills and standards. And the kids won’t hate them. Win/win!

The Young Adult Lit Lovers Meetup will be Sunday 2:00 PM–3:00 PM at the Age of Literacy Learning Lounge.

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 on July 8, the weekend is sure to be a memorable one. Learn more about what’s coming up at this summer’s conference at ilaconference.org.

Did you know that F. Scott Fitzgerald, considered one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, had terrible grammar? His first drafts were full of spelling and punctuation errors, giving his editor quite the headache when pulling out the masterful content beneath the mistakes.

If only he had Grammar Girl, aka Mignon Fogarty, around to help. Luckily for us, we do. Although she probably won’t help you write the next Great Gatsby, she can guide you through the murky waters of tricky comma rules and obscure apostrophe standards. Grammar Girl knows that mastering grammar can sometimes feel like learning a second version of English—especially when zealous grammar experts pounce at the first sign of error—so she is committed to being a friendly and educational voice in the English learning world.

Join our #ILAchat on at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 12, to hear from the grammar hero herself as we discuss how to make grammar less scary and more fun for casual writers and published authors alike. Topics to be discussed include the changing rules of grammar on social media, teaching styles as opposed to rules, and the always charged Oxford comma debate.

Fogarty is the founder and managing director of Quick and Dirty Tips, an online resource for all things punctuation, style, and business related. With a range of experience in both writing and editing, Fogarty strives “to be a friendly guide in the writing world.” Her award-winning Grammar Girl podcast has thousands of subscribers, and her equally popular blog was recently recognized as one of Writer’s Digest’s 101 Best Websites for Writers.

Follow #ILAchat and @ILAToday at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 12, to join the conversation about the sometimes scary but never boring world of grammar.

Nicole Lund is ILA’s communications intern.

General Session speakers will spark some of the most engaging and dynamic conversations at ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits. This year, five distinguished speakers who embody the definition of “literacy leader” are united by their love of words and drive to share the power of literacy.

Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Author Honor winner Kwame Alexander will speak at the Opening General Session Saturday, July 9. Alexander is not only an award-winning author, but also a poet, literacy advocate, and founder of Book-in-a-Day and LEAP for Ghana, two organizations devoted to empowering youth through literacy. Alexander will be discussing the power of language in both marginalizing and empowering children, emphasizing the importance of instilling confidence through literature.

“Every child has the potential to really excel at reading and writing,” Alexander said in a recent interview in Literacy Today. “Do we give them that opportunity?”

Author, speaker, literacy advocate, and current college student Adora Svitak has seized every opportunity that has presented itself in her young life. After publishing two books before age 11, Svitak delivered a now-famous TED Talk titled “What Adults Can Learn From Kids” in 2010 when she was 12. Its success is seen in the numbers: The video has since garnered over 4 million views and has been translated into more than 40 languages. Now 19 and a student at the University of California, Berkeley, Svitak continues to write and advocate for global literacy, with a special focus on embracing technology and empowering youth and will share her vision at Opening General Session.

“Living in a digital-driven world means that people are losing out on more by not being able to read and write; it also means that more people who are literate but aren’t using their abilities to their full potential need to be able to think critically about the content they’re consuming and, occasionally, mindfully disconnect,” Svitak said in Literacy Today in March.

Closing General Session Monday, July 11, will have the theme of social responsibility with three speakers who advocate for literacy in very different ways.

New York Times best-selling author and award-winner Laurie Halse Anderson will speak about how researching and writing her Seeds of America trilogy changed the way she sees the United States and increased her sense of responsibility to her readers. Well-known and widely applauded for addressing difficult topics in her novels, Anderson spent the past 25 years researching the often dark and painful history of America for her work. Crediting literature for enriching her knowledge of history and cultures, Anderson’s presentation at the Closing General Session is sure to be engaging for her longtime readers and literacy advocates alike.

Microsoft’s Director of Worldwide Education Strategy Steven Duggan, another dynamic TED presenter, will address the ever-growing significance of the relationship between technology and education around the world and particularly in developing countries where quality education is scarce. A former school teacher who has worked in education for more than 30 years, Duggan is a member of the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE). He will expound on his work in bringing technology to the classroom, a hot topic for teachers and advocates who want to stay on the cutting edge.

Struck by the vital importance of enabling youth through literacy, reading support specialist and nonprofit founder Ana Dodson is a member of ILA’s inaugural 30 Under 30 class of literacy leaders. Dodson urges others to “believe in your ability to change the world by adding positive energy into it,” as she works around the world to not only impact literacy herself, but also inspire others to take up the cause and lead in their own ways.

Born in Peru and adopted by American parents as an infant, Dodson founded Peruvian Hearts when she was 11 to provide food, clothes, medical care, and financial support for higher education to impoverished girls. Now in its 13th year, Peruvian Hearts combines enhanced educational opportunities with mentorship and service to equip young women with the skills to break the cycle of poverty.

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 on July 8, the weekend is sure to be a memorable one. Learn more about what’s coming up at this summer’s conference. Register today.

Nicole Lund is ILA’s communications intern.

When you attend the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits in July, you’ll find that the fun is not limited to the Exhibit Hall and the conference rooms. Plan time to explore the sights, sounds, and tastes of Boston, and remember to schedule in the special extracurriculars ILA has planned.

On Friday, July 8 at 7:10 p.m., watch the Boston Red Sox take on the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park for our Literacy Night at the Ballpark event! This night out is the perfect way to relax and get excited for the weekend ahead. Remember last year’s game at St. Louis’s Busch Stadium? If you do, then you know we had to do it again. There’s no doubt Boston is one of the biggest baseball towns in the United States, so join your fellow attendees and baseball lovers for the game and special pregame ceremony, in which educators and ILA will be honored. Ticket proceeds will benefit ILA literacy initiatives, so you’ll be supporting our cause while sitting back and enjoying America’s favorite pastime and maybe even some hot dogs and Cracker Jacks. Tickets are going fast, so get them now!

After a jam-packed, session-filled Saturday learning and networking, get an energy boost with ILA’s first-ever Steps to Advance Literacy 5k Sunday, July 10. We decided that a 5k would be the perfect way to take our mission from the conference to Boston’s city streets. Register now and take Sunday morning to run, jog, or walk the city—all in the name of literacy! The 5k begins at 7:30 a.m.

ILA is proud to partner with Reach Out and Read, a nonprofit that incorporates books into pediatric care, for this event. ILA is focused on leaving behind a lasting legacy in each conference host city, so each year we strive to do something to benefit the entire community. “If we are able to make a visible impact on the whole community and get more people talking about literacy, then we will have achieved our goal in creating this 5k,” said Stephen Sye, Associate Executive Director of ILA. With the help of exhibitor donations postconference, we will be distributing books to Reach Out and Read.

The ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits will be held 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 on July 8, the weekend is sure to be a memorable one. Learn more about what’s coming up at this summer’s conference. Register today for the conference.