Literacy Now

by Jonathan Hartley

The stars will be shining bright in San Antonio with top tier keynoters and a bevy of professional development offerings in more than 500 sessions. It’s a lineup of learning and networking opportunities that combine to create a uniquely immersive experience. The only thing left to do is get there, and with the right funding strategy and thrifty travel techniques, it can be done with a minimal impact on your wallet. 

IRA’s 58th Annual Convention is a time for you to hone your craft and learn from some of the top figures in the field of education. You’ll gain insights that will not only improve your classroom, but can be shared with your peers to improve whole school performance. Communicating that value to administrators can help you secure funding for the trip to San Antonio, and we’ve made that mission simpler by providing a customizable letter for you to use.

Customized Funding Request

The “letter to administrator” is available in a convenient, customizable Word document on the Annual Convention website at www.iraconvention.org under Register/Additional Registration Information or at /reginfo. It provides information on clock hours, a breakdown of costs, and an explanation of the value of this investment for the whole staff. To optimize your funding request, IRA Senior Leadership Development Associate Rayann Mitchell recommends that you “identify session topics that align with school/district priorities and have a plan for how you will implement or share them with colleagues.” Demonstrating the lasting value to your administrators is the vital first step towards funding an unparalleled professional learning opportunity.

Cutting Onsite Costs

The co-headquarter hotels, Grand Hyatt San Antonio and Marriott Rivercenter, are within walking distance of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. In addition to these conveniently located lodging options, you can choose from official convention hotels, most of which will feature complimentary shuttle buses to the convention center, significantly reducing your transportation expenses.

And why go it alone? Convince a coworker or colleague to take advantage of this tremendous learning opportunity by attending with you and split the cost of a double room. It’s a win-win!

Reduced Air Fares

Educators will be coming to Convention from across the country and around the world. In order to make air travel simpler, we’ve partnered with American Airlines and United Airlines to offer discounted airfare.

You’ll find a promotion code and detailed information on how to take advantage of this offer on the Housing and Travel page of the Annual Convention website at www.iraconvention.org or at /housingtravel. If you’re adventurous and would prefer the do-it yourself route, be sure to shop around with a service like Fare Compare (www.farecompare.com) which can help you pinpoint the best day to fly and identify the airline offering the best deal. A well-informed educator makes for a lethal bargain hunter!

Coupon Book

Once you touch down in San Antonio, there will be more discounts waiting for the smart shopper. At registration, every attendee gets the IRA Coupon Booklet. This compact publication (that conveniently fits in your badge holder) is packed with significant savings for onsite purchases and promotions on the exhibit hall floor. You can take your smart shopping beyond the walls of the convention center when the flavors and nightlife of San Antonio beckon.

Hospitality Discounts

The San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau has arranged for “Show Us Your Badge” discounts at participating restaurants. By flashing your official IRA convention ID badge, you’ll be entitled to offers and deals exclusive to IRA Annual Convention attendees. It’s like having a key to the city. Resolving to attend Convention is a choice that will have impact well beyond your weekend in San Antonio. By making the right travel, lodging, and shopping choices, you can make sure that it’s an opportunity that fits well within your budget. We can’t wait to see you in San Antonio.

Jonathan Hartley is the social media strategist at the International Reading Association.

This article appeared in the February/March 2013 issue of Reading Today.

The IRA 58th Annual Convention runs from April 19 to 22, 2013, in San Antonio, Texas. Visit www.iraconvention.org and the iPlanner Program Grid and Event Search for details.

Institute 10: The Common Core Literacy Block: What Will It Look Like in My Classroom? (The ABCs of Teaching & Learning in the Common Core Era)

Reading Today Online asked all of the Institute Chairpersons for IRA San Antonio to respond to three questions designed to give our readers and all of the prospective attendees a better understanding of the insights and benefits they will gain from attending these day-long programs. Below are responses from Institute 10 Chairs Jan Miller Burkins and Kim Yaris, whose blog has about 1,000 readers daily.

What is the professional urgency that this institute is designed to address?

For the last year, we have blogged six days a week about the Common Core State Standards and teaching in the Common Core era on burkinsandyaris.com. Educators who read our writing and who work in the schools where we consult indicate three pressing needs, and these are confirmed by our co-facilitators, who have extensive experience working with students and teachers. We entitled these three urgent needs The ABCs of Teaching & Learning in the Common Core Era:

A = Alignment
The mood in schools is sober,  and teachers are fatigued. We attribute much of this to the anxiety teachers are experiencing as they work to reconcile the standards they must teach and their urge to teach from their hearts. While aligning instruction to the Common Core State Standards is on every teacher’s mind, we consider alignment with their core beliefs about teaching to be even more important.

B = Balance
Educators continually grapple with how to distribute their time and energy. Much of our work, and the work of our co-facilitators, is about finding the balance between competing needs. The “work” of balance is not a matter of shifting back and forth, but a matter of managing tension. Here are a few of the teacher tensions and student tensions educators are wrestling with daily as they dig into the Common Core:

• Reading to understand ourselves vs. reading to understand information
• Reading because we like it vs. reading because we are required to
• Engaging students in texts vs. exposing students to challenging texts
• Meeting individual student needs vs. giving every student the same opportunities
• Scaffolding students vs. letting the text support them
• Setting students up for success vs. doing the work for students
• Reading texts closely vs. loving a text to death
• Teaching towards learning vs. teaching towards assessment

C = Connectedness
This institute is filled with connections between content, presenters, lessons, and instructional strategies. Some connections the facilitators will share and others participants will discover for themselves as we facilitate work through open-ended protocols. As facilitators, we will connect with you, help you connect with your colleagues, and engage you in connecting your own deep thinking to the practicalities of implementation.

In conclusion, the most pressing urgency we see in education is that of rediscovering joy in the classroom. Through supporting participants in aligning to their truest purposes for teaching, finding balance, and connecting with others, we plan to give participants a taste of joy. From guidance on teaching with rigor, not rigor-mortis, to singing songs with Barry Lane. This institute will be wholly practical, but also damn fun!

What types of literacy professionals is the institute designed for?

This institute is designed for classroom teachers and all those who support them, including literacy coaches, administrators, and consultants.

How will attendance at this institute help those literacy professionals “make a difference” in their work?

This institute will give participants practical strategies and language for reconnecting with their core beliefs as a vehicle, rather than as a barrier, to teaching students to be independent and proficient readers. Participants will leave with a sense of the ways the Common Core can support their largest ideals for students, as each facilitator in this institute will offer practical strategies and lessons for teaching from the heart while integrating the Common Core into instruction.

All of the facilitators on this panel will help educators think about both sides of each source of tension, working to arrive at a relatively balanced perspective. Through conversations, lessons, and practical strategies, all of the facilitators in this session will work to help participants find their own balance within the Common Core.

Registration Information: This preconference institute will be held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 19 before the 58th International Reading Association Annual Convention begins on Saturday, April 20. Register online for this or another institute and/or to register for the annual convention. Call 888-294-9167 or 415-979-2278 to find out how to register by phone, fax, or mail. To learn more about convention events in San Antonio, visit the annual convention website and the online itinerary planner (iPlanner), or read more Reading Today annual convention articles.

The International Reading Association is pleased to announce that its 59th Annual Conference will take place on May 9-12, 2014 in New Orleans.

The conference will run for three days, preceded by a day of pre-conference offerings:

• The Institutes (day-long, topically-themed programs) will take place on Friday, May 9, 2014
• The Conference will run from Saturday, May 10, 2014 through Monday, May 12, 2014

While we try to avoid schedule conflicts with major holidays, these dates run through Mother’s Day weekend. They were chosen to secure optimal lodging opportunities at the best rates for all IRA attendees, since the city’s convention bureau has a slew of competing events lined up for the first half of May.

Our past experience has been that attendance at the IRA Conference makes a very special Mother’s Day celebration for literacy professionals who are themselves working mothers. While not convenient for everyone, it remains a special treat for many.

We are already hard at work designing a stellar program for 2014, and we look forward to seeing you in this resurgent city whose post-Katrina recovery has been nothing short of inspirational.

Mark your calendar now for IRA New Orleans 2014!

IRA 2013 runs from April 19 to 22 in San Antonio, Texas. Visit www.iraconvention.org and the iPlanner Program Grid and Event Search for details.

Institute 1: Next Steps in the Implementation of Common Standards

Reading Today Online asked all of the institute chairpersons for IRA San Antonio to respond to three questions designed to give our readers and all of the prospective attendees a better understanding of the insights and benefits they will gain from attending these day-long programs. Below are responses from Linda Gambrell and Susan Neuman, institute chairs and editors of IRA's Reading Reseach Quarterly journal.

What is the professional urgency that this institute is designed to address?

This institute will focus on key issues related to the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Leading researchers will address topics that include close reading, text complexity, at-risk populations, academic literacy, reading motivation, and the importance of collaboration and discussion in literacy teaching and learning.

What types of literacy professionals is the Institute designed for?

This institute is designed for a broad range of educators—classroom teachers, reading teachers, literacy coaches, curriculum specialists, and administrators—who are interested in furthering their understanding of the role of the CCSS in improving literacy instruction for all students.

How will attendance at this Institute help those literacy professionals "make a difference" in their work?

The Common Core Standards are indeed compelling and complex. This institute is designed for educators who want to further their understanding of how  implementation of the CCSS, using evidenced-based instructional practices, has the potential to increase student reading proficiency and achievement.

Registration Information: This preconference institute will be held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 19 before the 58th International Reading Association Annual Convention begins on Saturday, April 20. Register online for this or another institute and/or to register for the annual convention. Call 888-294-9167 or 415-979-2278 to find out how to register by phone, fax, or mail. To learn more about convention events in San Antonio, visit the annual convention website and the online itinerary planner (iPlanner), or read more Reading Today annual convention articles.

Institute 6: CCSS Reading/Literacy, Writing, & Speaking and Listening Standards and the PARCC Performance Assessments for Teaching and Learning

Tony Petrosky


Stephanie
McConachie

Reading Today Online asked all of the Institute Chairpersons for IRA San Antonio to respond to three questions designed to give our readers and all of the prospective attendees a better understanding of the insights and benefits they will gain from attending these day-long programs. Below are responses from Institute 6 Chair Stephanie McConachie from the University of Pittsburgh.

1. What is the professional urgency that this institute is designed to address?

The CCSS and the new PARCC assessments are game-changers for ELA. Together, they demand more reading and writing from students in all of their classes. They also ask that more of that reading be informational in structure. And, to raise the bar even further, the success of the changes will demand intense, mediated teaching for most students.

2. What types of literacy professionals is the institute designed for?

These changes need thoughtful and ongoing learning conversations with teachers and other educational leaders. Our one-day institute provides district and school role groups with appropriate examples and conversations to meet these new challenges.

3. How will attendance at this institute help those literacy professionals “make a difference” in their work?

The institute will set up a dialogue with participants about the demand and design of the PARCC assessments by examining a prototype assessment set. After this, participants will break into separate sessions (English language learning, elementary, middle school, and high school) to engage in and study model CCSS performance and instructional tasks. They’ll step back to consider how the routines and text-based questions enabled learners to connect text to task and talk. Then, they will have time and resources (texts, templates, and exemplars) to develop a set of related, instructional tasks that engage students with complex texts to generate evidence-based reading and writing. Following this work, the group will reflect on the implications of their work for their districts and schools.

Registration Information: This preconference institute will be held at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio, Texas from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 19 before the 58th International Reading Association Annual Convention begins on Saturday, April 20. Register online for this or another institute and/or to register for the annual convention. Call 888-294-9167 or 415-979-2278 to find out how to register by phone, fax, or mail. To learn more about convention events in San Antonio, visit the annual convention website and the online itinerary planner (iPlanner), or read more Reading Today annual convention articles.