Literacy Now

Teachers and parents alike know the struggle of trying to get kids to read and enjoy the classics. Convincing adolescent readers to put the cell phone down and pick up any book, much less Shakespeare, is challenging enough. The issue lies not so much in the content of these works, but in the prospect of deciphering Elizabethan English to find the current issues in the old Shakespeare. 

Celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death this month with a special Wednesday #ILAchat at 8 p.m. ET on April 13.

Join Sharon Draper, an accomplished educator and New York Times best-selling author whose many achievements include the National Teacher of the Year Award, the Coretta Scott King Literary Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime literary achievement.

She will bring her expertise on using the Bard in the classroom to the Twitter chat with experience and tips.

Authors Brett Wright and Courtney Carbone will also be on hand to answer questions on how to make Shakespeare less intimidating and more entertaining. Their popular series OMG Shakespeare (Penguin Random House) makes the Bard’s works more accessible to teenagers by using modern jargon without sacrificing the core storytelling. Between the two, they have published four books in the series, including Macbeth #killingit, A Midsummer Night #nofilter, srsly Hamlet, and YOLO Juliet. All of these retellings are told in text and social media format, attracting wary readers by using teens’ own language.

Follow #ILAchat and @ILAToday at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 13 to join the conversation about updating timeless literary works to make the language more relatable to younger readers.  

Anyone who tweets using the hashtag will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of an OMG Shakespeare release.

Nicole Lund is ILA’s communication intern.

Last year, the International Literacy Association (ILA) started a conversation about literacy leadership, beginning with the impact collective action makes on eliminating illiteracy around the world. To propel the movement forward, experts in the field were brought together on April 14, 2015, to share ideas and inspiration.

This April 14, ILA will convene its second annual Leaders for Literacy Day gathering in New York City. This year’s program Literacy Leadership: A Critical Driver to Advancing Literacy for All will focus on how leaders must steer conversation and action in the #AgeofLiteracy.

We'll hear from leaders in the field through keynote and spotlight addresses and then a dynamic panel to allow discussion among experts. These leaders will address collaborative approaches to develop and advance literacy worldwide, offering multidisciplinary approaches from their varied backgrounds in the education, nonprofit, private, and public sectors. Afterward, discussions will be more informal as panelists and attendees come together for networking and continued engagement. All of the action will be live-tweeted and then covered in depth on Literacy Daily.

This year’s literacy leaders include Lily Valtchanova, Research Liaison Officer at UNESCO; Rebecca McDonald, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Library for All; Steven Duggan, Director of Worldwide Education Strategy at Microsoft; Leslie Engle Young, Director of Impact at Pencils of Promise; Jody Spiro, Director of Education Leadership at the Wallace Foundation; Christie Vilsack, Senior Advisor for International Education at USAID; Marcie Craig Post, Executive Director of ILA. The panel will be moderated by Liz Willen, Editor in Chief at The Hechinger Report.

Celebrate Leaders for Literacy Day and join the conversation April 14 starting at 10 a.m. ET by following @ILAToday and #AgeofLiteracy on Twitter. Engage in our virtual dialogue by writing about the topic on your personal or your organization’s blog or by posting about the event and theme to your social media channels using #AgeofLiteracy. And, if you are in New York, please RSVP today and join us at the Institute of International Education.

Nicole Lund is ILA’s communications intern.

You’ll find tons of options while perusing the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits offerings, and carving out a schedule can be tough. Enter the conference iPlanner, an online directory of conference events that allows you to not only look through the schedule in a curated manner, but also create your personalized schedule with everything from General Session to Literacy Night at the Ballpark. You can even add your own items, such as a coffee date with a colleague.
 
The iPlanner includes four sections: Speaker Sign In, Itinerary Planner, Program Grid, and Event Search. These can be accessed from the upper right corner on the first page after signing in.

Check out these instructions to help you customize your conference experience!

Log in

The iPlanner homepage has information about the iPlanner and a place to log in and enter your password, if you’ve already created a profile. Although everyone is free to browse conference offerings on the Program Grid or use the Event Search, creating a login and password allows you to save your itinerary. It will also allow you to sync this itinerary with the ILA 2016 app, scheduled for release in June.

If you have never used the iPlanner, simply click the “Create Profile now!” link toward the bottom of the page. The login and password for the iPlanner are different from your member login/password and any other logins and passwords you may have set up with ILA, so new iPlanner users should create a profile. Once you create a profile and login, searching for sessions and adding them to your itinerary is easy.

Browse the program grid

One way to find sessions you’re interested in is to use the Program Grid. Click on an underlined day at the top of the grid page to display that day’s events. Session times run along the top of the grid.

The grid is divided into 11 categories including Standards and Assessments, Children’s and Young Adult Literature, International Literacy Instruction, Content Area Literacy, and Engaging Classroom Instruction. If you are interested in one of these topics, review the sessions listed in that row.

Click on the underlined link to open a window with more information about that session, including date, times, presenters, capacity, Clock Hours, and more. This window also has options to print this information or add it to your itinerary. Click “Add to Itinerary” and then “OK” to confirm.

Search for specifics

If you are interested in a specific topic or are looking for a session from a certain presenter, use the Event Search.

You can search by keyword in the Text Search field, speaker last name, date, category, event type (luncheon, symposium, Teaching Edge, etc.), and location. New this year, search for a conference track, including 21st Century Skills, Literacy Leadership, Literacy Research, and Title I.

When your search results are displayed, click on the underlined link for a window with more session information and a link to add it to your itinerary. Or, simply add sessions to your itinerary using the “Add” checkbox on the right side of the search results webpage.

Add your own events

There’s more to do than just the events inside the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center and Sheraton Boston. Whether you’re scheduling tours, lunch, or meetings with colleagues, the iPlanner allows you to add your own events to your itinerary. From the “My Day Planner” page, click the “Add Personal Activity” button at the top of your itinerary. Personal activities that you created show in orange on your day planner.

Review your itinerary

To see items you’ve added to your itinerary, click on “Itinerary Planner” in the top right menu list. On the “Itinerary Planner” page, “My Itinerary” is in the left margin in yellow.

On your online itinerary, reviewing your conference plans and clicking on session links for more details is easy. You can add one, two, or even three simultaneous sessions to your itinerary in case one is full or cancelled. Sessions can be removed from your itinerary at any time by clicking on the “Remove” link next to the session title.

Click on “View Day Planner” link at the top right of the “My Itinerary” page to see a colored chart of how sessions overlap.

Keep your itinerary at your fingertips

The “My Itinerary” and “My Day Planner” pages give you the option of e-mailing your itinerary to the address you provided in your profile or producing a printer-friendly version of your schedule. Click “Download” and choose an option.

The ILA 2016 app will be available in early June, at which time you can sync your iPlanner itinerary with it. Please note: If you created your iPlanner login prior to Dec. 1, 2013, the importing feature is not available. In that case, we recommend that you create a new iPlanner account.

Adding sessions is not registering or reserving seats!

Please be aware of the room capacity for the selected sessions (capacity is listed in the session details) you wish to attend. The Itinerary Planner is simply a planning tool and is not used to register for sessions. Entry into each session at the conference is on a first-come, first-served basis. Also, placing items in your itinerary does not constitute a paid registration.

The ILA 2016 Conference 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. Register today for the conference to take advantage of special Early Bird pricing before it ends April 18.

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.

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 Discovering & Nurturing Skills of All Learners.

Institute 08: Accelerating and Extending Literacy for Diverse Students: DISCOVER the Strengths of All Learners

Explore the needs and strengths of struggling readers who are culturally and linguistically diverse students in this Preconference Institute. Learn about DISCOVER, a performance assessment based on Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and participate in hands-on breakout sessions on differentiation, digital literacy, and building strong home–school partnerships.

This Preconference Institute will use a variety of delivery methods: a series of keynote addresses, interactive breakout sessions, and a panel discussion. Participants will explore topics of interest to their work and learn more about the use of culturally responsive teaching to differentiate, accelerate, and extend the literacy of culturally and linguistically diverse students; examine the role of motivation in differentiating literacy instruction and the importance of building a strong home–school interface with meaningful parent involvement with diverse learners; and examine the role of digital technology in building content knowledge and in developing and nurturing talent and potential in diverse learners. 

Institute 10: Learning Differences: The What, When, and How of Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, and Executive Functioning Disorders

Delve into dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and difficulties with executive functioning through a learning disability simulation and expert-hosted roundtable discussions in this Preconference Institute. Discover research-based interventions for students who struggle with learning disabilities, and get strategies to help students manage their learning differences.

Presenters from the Dyslexia Training Institute will begin with the Dyslexia for a Day simulation. Additional simulations will relate to reading/decoding, writing, and processing speed. Each simulation will last 5–10 minutes, and there will be a debriefing process with participant reactions as well as practical information about dyslexia. 

Presenters will share information about the neural signature of dyslexia and signs and symptoms of dyslexia in addition to discussing and investigating dyslexia screening tools. Further, appropriate research-based intervention for students with dyslexia will be presented through multimedia presentations, instructional videos, and opportunities to practice new strategies. 

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.