Literacy Now

This highlight list for the morning of Monday, April 30, features events gathered from the online program grid, Guide to the Stars, and more! Visit the online program grid's event search or the interactive digital version of the program for a full list of sessions and more details. 

8:30 a.m. 

The Annual Convention kicks off with the Opening General Session with Dr. Steve Perry at 8:30 a.m. on the third floor of McCormick Place West. Perry will sign books immediately following the session. If you cannot attend the Annual Convention this year, Logical Choice will be broadcasting the Perry's speech via live internet feed from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 

9:00 a.m. 

Authors Brod Bagert (Booth #2139) and Annie Crawley (Booth #1548) will be signing books all day. At 9:00 a.m. authors Cathy Kaemmerlen (Booth #1630) and Laurie L. Knowlton (Booth #1630) are signing books and the IRA Member Booth (#2247) will offer a Member Benefits Introduction presentation. 

10:00 a.m. 

The Exhibit Hall opens at 10:00 a.m. on Monday morning. Susan Goldman Rubin (Booth #1544), Uma Krishnaswami (Booth #1255), Michael Buckley (Booth #2438), Daniel Kraus (Booth #1420), Kate Messner (Booth #1255), and Michael Shoulders (Booth #2117) begin signing books at 10:00 a.m. Visit the Guide to the Stars for more information on book signings.

If you need a pick-me-up, stop by the IRA Membership Booth (Hall F2, across from the Registration area) for a coffee break sponsored by Thinkfinity | VerizonFoundation between 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Why not read a free copy of an IRA journal or the Reading Today print magazine while you're there? Also, stay for the IRA Journals Overview & Online Navigation presentation at 10:00 a.m. 

10:30 a.m. 

Find out more about IRA's Literacy Research Panel at 10:30 a.m. in W183A or visit teacher preparation and professional development research poster sessions in W184D. Also, the Teaching Edge series features Regie Routman in W375B. 

10:30 a.m. is also the start of book signing sessions by Floyd Cooper (Booth #1740), Sherri Duskey Rinker (Booth #1740), Devin Scillian (Booth #2411), and Sara Holbrook (Booth #1542). Visit the Guide to the Stars for details.

11:00 a.m. 

Many symposiums and workshops begin at 11:00 a.m. as well as the Making Your First IRA Convention Productive and Enjoyable session for first-time convention attendees in W196C and the Membership Benefits Introduction presentation at the IRA Membership Booth (Hall F2, across from the Registration area). Nick Bruel is the Featured Published Speaker in a session at 11:00 a.m. in W184ABC. Do you still have questions about the differences between symposiums, workshops, sessions, etc.? Visit the descriptions on the Annual Convention website. 

The Exhibit Hall has a lot of book signings starting at 11:00 a.m., including Dean Woodring Blase (Booth #2148), Nicki Clausen-Grace (IRA Bookstore Booth #2247), Michelle Kelley (IRA Bookstore Booth #2247), Sally Lamping (Booth #2148), Marvin Terban (Booth #1314), Deborah Ellis (Booth #1255), Uma Krishnaswami (Booth #1332), Mary Losure (Booth #1026), Mark Overmeyer (Booth #1640), Caroline Starr Rose (Booth #1420), Neal Shusterman (Booth #2611), Marilyn Singer (Booth #1726), and Jerry Pallotta (Booth #1524). At 11:30 a.m., Debra Fraiser (Booth #2611), Jane Hansen (Booth #1314), and Gloria Whelan (Booth #2411) are signing books. Visit the Guide to the Stars for details.

11:30 a.m.

Stop by the IRA Membership Booth (Hall F2, across from the Registration area) at 11:30 a.m. for free popcorn and for the Engage and Members-Only Resources Q&A. 

Reminders 

Event times and locations are subject to change. Remember to "like" the 57th Annual Convention, Chicago 2012 on Facebook and "follow" ReadingToday and the #2012 hashtag on Twitter to see posts and updates throughout the day! 

Check Reading Today Online after 7:00 a.m. tomorrow for the Monday afternoon overview! 

Program Grid with Details about Speakers and Sessions

Program Grid Event Search Tool

Itinerary Planner Tool

Interactive Digital Version of the Program

Annual Convention Guide to the Stars Book Signing Schedule

List of Author Sessions PDF from Engage

More About the Annual Convention

Register for the International Reading Association Annual Convention

This list of highlights for the Annual Convention on Sunday, April 29, features events gathered from the online program grid, Guide to the Stars, and more! Visit the online program grid's event search or the interactive digital version of the program for a full list of sessions and more details. 

7:30 a.m.

Be sure to stop by the IRA Bookstore at the International Reading Association (IRA) 57th Annual Convention in Chicago for the Sunday Sale! It runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. across from the IRA Membership Booth and Registration.

9:00 a.m.

The following institutes are held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in various meeting rooms in McCormick Place West and the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. 

• Institute 1: Unit Projects that Work: Create Amazing Comprehensive Keepsake Books
• Institute 2: Think Along Strategies and Common Core State Standards
• Institute 3: Promoting Vocabulary Development from Pre-K to Grade 12
• Institute 4: Teaching Literacy for Cognitive Engagement
• Institute 5: Things Digital and Literacy Instruction
• Institute 6: Literacy and Language in the Early Years
• Institute 7: Writing Strategy Mini-lessons for Grades K-6
• Institute 8: Quality Literacy Instruction for Second Language Learners
• Institute 9: Raising Self-Determining Readers and Writers
• Institute 10: Convincing teachers to Apply New Common Core Literacy Standards
• Institute 11: It’s Not Magic! It’s Metacognition!
• Institute 12: Rekindling the Reading Fire-Author Panel
• Institute 13: The Reading-Spelling-Meaning Instructional Connection
• Institute 14: IRA/NCATE: A Partnership for Reading Professional
• Institute 15: Reaching New Heights: Differentiating Literacy Instruction
• Institute 16: Fostering Literacy with Research-Based Instructional Practices and Web 2.0
• Institute 17: Developing Literacy Leadership
• Institute 18: Research Making a Difference in Common Core Standards

6:00 p.m. 

In the evening, awards for councils and international affiliates are presented from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at a ceremony and reception in the Chicago Hilton & Towers International Ballroom. 

Reminder: 

Event times and locations are subject to change. Remember to "like" the 57th Annual Convention, Chicago 2012 on Facebook and "follow" ReadingToday and the #IRA2012 hashtag on Twitter to see posts and updates throughout the day! 

Check Reading Today Online after 11:00 a.m. on Sunday for the Monday morning overview! 

Program Grid with Details about Speakers and Sessions

Program Grid Event Search Tool

Itinerary Planner Tool

Interactive Digital Version of the Program

Annual Convention Guide to the Stars Book Signing Schedule

List of Author Sessions PDF from Engage

More About the Annual Convention

Register for the International Reading Association Annual Convention

Graphic novelist and illustrator of the bestselling Olympian series, George O'Connor is part of the Graphic Novels Author Panel on Wednesday, May 2, at the IRA Annual Convention. He talks to Reading Today about his relationships with Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. 

Reading Today: What got you interested in writing books for children and young adults? 

George O'Connor: Pretty much since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to do books for kids and young adults. I suppose a lot of that has to do with my being able to draw—there aren’t a lot of books for adults that are illustrated, which is unfortunate. Since I like to illustrate my own stories, it tends to point me in the direction of kids’ books. Which is awesome, because kid’s books are way cooler than adult books anyway.

RT: What do consider your best book to date and why? 

GO: Tricky question—I’d say it’s a toss-up between the latest two volumes of Olympians, Hera: The Goddess and Her Glory and Hades: Lord of the Dead. I kind of nailed exactly what I set out to do with the stories in both of them, yet both books ended up surprising me with some little unplanned touches that appeared, almost as if by divine intervention. I swear there’s some cool stuff in those books that I channeled rather than wrote. 

RT: What can attendees at IRA Chicago expect to hear from you?

GO: A lot of mythological factoids, a few lame jokes and, if you’re lucky, the true story of my long-standing tiff with Poseidon, Lord of the Sea. 

George O'Connor Will Be There…Will You?

The IRA Membership Booth is your one-stop, can’t miss destination for joining IRA, renewing, or finding out more about IRA membership and journals. Take advantage of special discount membership offers and bonus gifts. Plus, enjoy presentations on what’s new in IRA’s journals and getting the most out of your member benefits. Visit the Membership Booth in McCormick Place—West Building, Hall F2, across from the Registration area. 

Special Membership Discount for Joining or Renewing at Convention

IRA membership provides more than $600 of resources for an extremely affordable rate. If you join or renew at the Membership Booth, you can get either a Basic Membership or Online Membership for only $29! That’s only 8 ¢ a day! And it means that for $29 you can choose to receive the six issues of Reading Today in the mail as well as have access to them online. Members also have unlimited access to exclusive online content in IRA’s Members-Only Resource Area, receive a significant discount on books and convention registration, and much more. 

Exciting Rewards and Gifts for Adding Journal Subscriptions

You’ll also want to take advantage of special rewards for adding one or more of IRA’s three practical, peer-reviewed journals to your membership. The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, and Reading Research Quarterly are chock-full of the latest evidence-based teaching techniques.

Add on one or more journal subscriptions to your membership at the booth and receive $5 in “IRA Bookstore Bucks” for each journal. Redeem your “bucks” towards a purchase of books or merchandise in the IRA Bookstore at Booth #2247 in the Exhibit Hall. You can pick up free sample journals at the Membership Booth while supplies last. 

Information-packed Presentations on Membership and Journals

Join one of the free presentations in the Membership Booth for a unique opportunity to find out about the insightful content and new, user-friendly features in IRA’s journals—and about all the ways that membership can keep you inspired and your students energized.

The Membership Booth is located directly across from the Registration area and has the same hours as Registration. Be sure to put a visit to the IRA Membership Booth at the top of your agenda!Presentations and question and answer sessions are scheduled for every half hour from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The membership booth staff is here to help you learn more about IRA and answer any questions about your current membership or journal subscriptions.

IRA Bookstore Author Signings

New Books from the International Reading Association

International Reading Association Journals

Details about Annual Convention Programs, Speakers, and Sessions

Register for the International Reading Association Annual Convention

Join the International Reading Association

Otto and Uncle Tooth series, Patrick Bear series, and Benny and Penny series author and When the Wind Blew (Margaret Wise Brown) illustrator Geoffrey Hayes participates in the Graphic Novel Author Panel on Wednesday, May 2, at the IRA Annual Convention in Chicago. In this interview with Reading Today, he talks about his passion for book from an early age and how graphic novels can facilitate both verbal and visual literacy in children. 

Reading Today: What got you interested in writing books for children?

Geoffrey Hayes: I have always had a wild imagination. Had I written books for adults, they probably would have been Fantasy or Horror books. I have such fond recollections of my mother reading to my brother and me. It was a nightly ritual, continuing past the time when we were able to read on our own. The rhythm and cadence of the words gave me a love of good writing, and especially the particular magic of children's books. Since I'm also an artist, children's books seemed like a good marriage of my two loves.

RT: What do consider your best book to date and why?

GH: It's difficult to say what my best book is, having done Early Readers, Picture Books, and Graphic novels, each with their own set of challenges, but I'm going to pick my second book, The Alligator and His Uncle Tooth -- A Novel of the Sea. I love the way this one turned out. I was able to hit on the perfect voice. It contains some of my best writing and has a good mixture of adventure, whimsy and emotion. It inspired my Otto and Uncle Tooth series of Beginning Readers. Although it's been out of print for a number of years, I am currently adapting it as a Graphic Novel. 

RT: What can attendees at IRA Chicago expect to hear from you?

GH: As I kid I loved comic books and read them along with more traditional fiction. While my brother and I were both good readers, I believe reading comics assisted us in honing our skills. I enjoy speaking about how Comics/Graphic Novels can facilitate both verbal and visual literacy in children. I discuss elements unique to this medium that support this and explain why I find creating these kinds of books to be so rewarding.

Geoffrey Hayes Will Be There…Will You?