The moment has come! Registration for IRA’s 57th Annual Convention, to be held in Chicago on April 29 to May 2, 2012, is open. Register now for this exciting and unparalleled professional development opportunity by utilizing any of four convenient options including online, phone, fax, or regular mail. Housing registration for the convention is open as well. Book now to make sure you can stay at the hotel of your choice.
Engage your passion while connecting with 10,000 colleagues from around the globe and more than 500 specially selected programs to ramp up your professional repertoire and energize your classroom. As IRA President Victoria Risko explains, “This year we offer multiple thematic strands of sessions focusing on current literacy topics that include early literacy, comprehension and critical thinking, adolescent and adult literacy, instruction for English Language Learners, culturally responsive teaching, and Common Core.”
The theme for the convention is “Celebrating Teaching.” Attendees will be able to enjoy programs, institutes, workshops, and luncheons, as well as the opportunity to visit the extensive Exhibition. Details can be found on the convention website, www.iraconvention.org, as well as in the special convention preview that mailed with the latest issue of Reading Today.
Teaching Edge
Back by popular demand, the Teaching Edge Series will offer incisive and valuable teaching strategies from a variety of well known reading professionals. The lineup of outstanding presenters currently includes Regie Routman, Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey, Kelly Gallagher, Alfred Tatum, Ernest Morrell, Lori Oczkus, and Gail Boushey and Joan Moser (The 2 Sisters).
Institutes
For those interested in full day courses, IRA will be offering 18 separate institutes on Sunday, April 29 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Topics covered will include: Common Core, vocabulary, cognitive engagement, digital literacy, early literacy, language learners, content area literacy, metacognition, IRA/NCATE partnership, differentiated literacy instruction, literacy leadership, and reading research. Registration for the Institutes is available with or without annual convention registration for an additional fee.
General Sessions and Invited Speakers
At IRA Chicago, attendees will also get to hear from outstanding speakers, including Dr. Steve Perry, founder of the acclaimed Capitol Preparatory Magnet School and author of Man Up, and Ron Clark, Disney’s American Teacher of the Year, and author of The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck—101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers.
Invited speakers include such luminaries as Ellin Keene, Mary Bigler, Peter Afflerbach, Valerie Ellery, Dick Allington, Beverly Tyner, Debbie Diller, and Janet Allen. They will offer insights and guidance on such compelling topics as enhancing understanding through discourse, teaching with pizzaz, formative assessment, creating strategic readers, summers and the achievement gap, literacy work stations, and the Common Core.
Authors
Once again the convention will offer ample opportunities to hear and meet well known authors of children’s and young adult book titles, both in the luncheon series and in publisher sponsored panels. Book signings will be conducted in the exhibit hall at various times throughout the convention. Consult the convention website for additional details.
Website Provides Planning Tools
Once you register, you’ll want to start planning your convention experience so that you can realize all of your personal goals for this event. To facilitate this process, you may want to use the convenient tools provided on the convention website. These include a program grid for each day, an itinerary planner, and an event search feature. There is also a special sign resource for convention speakers. Click on "Featured Video" to view the latest Convention Insider episode. In January's video, host Wes Ford talks to Douglas Fisher.
Easy Ways to Register
Online: www.iraconvention.org (Credit Card Required)
Fax: 415-239-4399 (Credit Card Required)
Phone: 888-294-9167 or 415-979-2278 (Credit Card Required)
Available M-F 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST
Mail: Download registration form from above website and mail with full payment to:
IRA Registration
c/o Convention Management Resources
33 New Montgomery, Suite 1100
San Francisco, CA 94105