Yesterday, ILA released the 2018 What’s Hot in Literacy Report, our survey of literacy professionals from around the world designed to assess the trends in the field that are the most important for advancing literacy and those trends that are the hottest—the most talked about by administrators, policymakers, and media. By examining the gaps between what’s hot and what’s important, we can better assess which topics educators need to focus on in order to effect real change.

Our infographic and “Top Takeaways” one-sheet make for a quick breakdown of some of the most interesting findings from the survey. The No. 1 most important topic and No. 2 hottest topic in the field at the moment? Early literacy, the topic of our next #ILAchat, which will take place on Thursday, January 11, 2018, at 8:00 ET.

It is no coincidence that on the same day of the release of the What’s Hot report, ILA also released a new literacy leadership brief, What Effective Pre-K Literacy Instruction Looks Like. Authored by Susan B. Neuman, educator, researcher, and education policymaker in early childhood and literacy development, the brief discusses how to help young children develop critical literacy skills—and makes policy recommendations for strengthening early literacy education.

What’s needed for effective early literacy instruction? Only a subset of educators works with young children to develop early literacy skills, but all educators can benefit from understanding the process of fundamental skill development and can help to promote early literacy best practices to colleagues and families.

We’re excited to have Timothy Shanahan as our guest host for this #ILAchat. Shanahan is a past president of the International Reading Association (now ILA) and is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where he is founding director of the UIC Center for Literacy. Previously, he was director of reading for the Chicago Public Schools. An expert in early literacy education, he is author or editor of more than 200 publications on literacy education, including Early Childhood Literacy and Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through Third Grade. He chaired the National Early Literacy Panel, which reviewed research on preschool literacy learning and instruction, and was coprincipal investigator of the National Title I Study of Implementation and Outcomes in Early Childhood Language Development, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. He was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame in 2007 and is a former first-grade teacher.

Join our #ILAchat on Thursday, January 11, 2018, at 8:00 ET as we discussion the importance of early literacy instruction.