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    The ILA 2016 Conference Cheat Sheet

    By ILA Staff
     | Jul 07, 2016

    In case you’ve missed any conference news, here’s a list of Literacy Daily blog posts previewing the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits this weekend. Catch up on the 411 and feel extra-prepared to network and learn about the latest and greatest literacy practices!

    Get Online and Get to ILA 2016

    Everything You Want to Know About ILA 2016 Conference

    The Preconference Institute Wrap-up

    Taking a Deep Dive into General Classroom Strategies

    Teaming Up to Teach the Teachers

    Use the Conference iPlanner to Build Your Itinerary

    Bringing ILA 2016 Fun to Beantown

    Sparking Inspiration with ILA General Session Speakers

    Tap Into a Wealth of Experts With ILA Featured Speakers

    Literature Luncheon Author Interviews

    Putting Books to Work Conference Sessions

    The Learning Continues in the ILA 2016 Exhibit Hall

    Unpacking ESSA: Panel to Discuss Critical Implementation Challenges

    Partial Draft of the 2017 Standards for Literacy Professionals to Be Unveiled at ILA 2016

    My Annual ILA Pilgrimage

    Ahdieh Joins YA Luncheon

    Upgrade Your Conference Experience

    TheILA 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 on July 8, the weekend is sure to be a memorable one. Learn more about what’s coming up at this summer’s conference at ilaconference.org.

     
    In case you’ve missed any conference news, here’s a list of Literacy Daily blog posts previewing the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits this weekend. Catch up on the 411 and feel extra-prepared to network and learn about the latest and greatest...Read More
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    Upgrade Your Conference Experience

    Wesley Ford
     | Jun 30, 2016

    Technology is integrated into most aspects of our lives, even our professional development. This change is for the better: The mobile device app assistant for the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits in Boston. You can find the app by searching “International Reading Association 2016” in the app stores. Although you can access the ILA 2016 Conference app from a desktop, you'll have a more efficient and seamless experience by downloading the app to your smartphone or tablet.

    This year’s app still lets you plan your day with session schedules, find exhibitors in the Exhibit Halls with step-by-step directions, get notifications about last-minute changes and exciting events, and network with fellow attendees. Rather than rehash the same features from last year, these helpful tips make the most of the app and offer sneak peeks at the new features that will upgrade your conference experience.

    Creating a schedule

    The ILA 2016 app makes it easy to plan your PD calendar for the whole conference. At any time, touch or click on My Schedule in the dashboard to be taken to a personal calendar, which can be easily populated with sessions and meetings.

    To import a specific session, choose Events from the dashboard, browse by the available categories, and find the session. Select the star icon on the left-hand side of the screen to add the session to the calendar.




    Want to hit the Exhibit Halls during a particular window of time? Schedule that, too! Touch or click on the Exhibitors button and browse through hundreds of potential stops. Select the exhibitor’s name, and then click the calendar icon, which is the fourth icon from the top on the left-hand side. Choose Date to set the time. Click on or press Done and then on Submit to save this event on the calendar.

    Do you have other meetings you need to attend? Having lunch with a mentor or catching up with colleagues? You can add those items to your My Schedule calendar by clicking on the plus icon in the top right-hand corner and filling in the information.

    You can have your plan in place even before arriving in Boston, or you can make it up as you go.

    Synchronizing the iPlanner


    If you’ve already created your schedule using the Conference iPlanner, you can download that schedule onto your mobile device. Click on the gear icon in the top right corner, select Online Profile Login, and use your username and password from the iPlanner. This will populate My Schedule with your iPlanner schedule.

    Can’t make a session?


    It happens at every conference: A session is canceled or the room fills up or you’re too far away to make it. Is there something going on nearby? The ILA 2016 app has a new feature on the dashboard called What’s on Now, and it tells you just that! Tap there for a list of sessions available at that moment. It’s a quick and easy way to make the most of your time, even if the day goes off track.

    Extras

    Previously called Show Documents, the Extras icon takes you to a collection of conference information that might be of use to you. Here you will find a digital version of the Events, Signings & Savings Guide (the print version is in your registration bag), a copy of the hotel shuttle, and more.

    ILA Quest

    Don’t forget: ILA 2016 isn’t all work and no play. This year we’ve added ILA Quest, a treasure hunt of sorts played through the app. Click or touch the dashboard icon for the full rules and the tasks to complete the game. These tasks take players across the conference and exhibits to events, locations, and sessions. Each task gives direction to obtain an ILA Quest code. Enter this code into ILA Quest for points. The player with the most points at the end of ILA 2016 wins a travel pack including travel to and accommodations at ILA 2017 in Orlando!

    There’s no purchase required to play the game. Just fill out a profile in the app and provide a valid e-mail address so we can contact you when you win. For full rules, visit ilaconference.org/ilaquestrules.

    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 on July 8, the weekend is sure to be a memorable one. Learn more about what’s coming up at this summer’s conference at ilaconference.org.

    Wesley Ford is the Digital Projects Manager at the International Literacy Association. An ILA Conference & Exhibits veteran, he can usually be found in or around ILA Central chatting with attendees. Feel free to stop by with any questions about the app.
    Technology is integrated into most aspects of our lives, even our professional development. This change is for the better: The mobile device app assistant for the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits in Boston. You can find the app by searching ...Read More
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    Ahdieh Joins YA Luncheon at ILA 2016

    By Lara Deloza
     | Jun 27, 2016
    Renee_Ahdieh_h300Genre-bending best-selling novelist Renée Ahdieh will join April Henry at this year’s Young Adult Literature Luncheon at ILA 2016.

    Ahdieh, whose romance-laced historical fantasy novels draw inspiration from the canonical A Thousand and One Nights, replaces John Corey Whaley, who is unable to attend.

    The Rose and the Dagger, Ahdieh’s latest project, is a sequel to her much-lauded The Wrath and the Dawn. Published this past spring, The Rose and the Dagger earned a starred review from School Library Journal, which noted that the book’s “beautiful, lyrical writing combines with a cohesive plot, richly drawn backdrop, and just the right mix of action and romance to create an undeniable new classic.”

    From Ahdieh’s site:  
     
    Rose_and_DaggerIn a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad has been torn from the love of her husband Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once believed him a monster, but his secrets revealed a man tormented by guilt and a powerful curse--one that might keep them apart forever. Reunited with her family, who have taken refuge with enemies of Khalid, and Tariq, her childhood sweetheart, she should be happy. But Tariq now commands forces set on destroying Khalid's empire. Shahrzad is almost a prisoner caught between loyalties to people she loves. But she refuses to be a pawn and devises a plan. 

    While her father, Jahandar, continues to play with magical forces he doesn't yet understand, Shazi tries to uncover powers that may lie dormant within her. With the help of a tattered old carpet and a tempestuous but sage young man, Shazi will attempt to break the curse and reunite with her one true love.


    Tickets to the Young Adult Literature Luncheon, which takes place on Sunday, July 10, are available for purchase at ilaconference.org

    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 on July 8, the weekend is sure to be a memorable one. Learn more about what’s coming up at this summer’s conference at ilaconference.org.

    Lara Deloza is the Special Projects & Strategic Initiatives Manager at the International Literacy Association. 

    Genre-bending best-selling novelist Renée Ahdieh will join April Henry at this year’s Young Adult Literature Luncheon at ILA 2016. Ahdieh, whose romance-laced historical fantasy novels draw inspiration from the canonical A Thousand and One...Read More
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    A New Summer Tune to Close the Reading Gap

    By Amber Garbe and Paula Bartel
     | Jun 21, 2016

    LT336_Book Cycle3I am sure you’re familiar with a certain summer tune—the one announcing that the ice cream truck is on its way.

    But imagine this: Instead of indicating a vessel full of treats is making its trip down the street, a new tune signals something entirely different—opportunities for summer reading.

    That’s the case in our community of Stevens Point, WI, where children come running to get their hands on picture books and chapter books instead of ice cream cones and water ice.

    We call it the Book Cycle. Sponsored by the Central Wisconsin Reading Council, it is an adult-sized tricycle complete with a basket stocked with a variety of high-interest texts, and it is ridden by a book devourer ready to help whet the appetites of enthusiastic and reluctant readers alike.

    The goal is simple: Match students with a book that leads them to pick up another book and then another, igniting the passion for reading.

    Witnessing the excitement

    Educational researchers have found that one of the simplest ways to hook kids into a lifelong love of reading is to provide access to high-quality texts. The Book Cycle provides just that—fingertip access to texts children can select for the pure pleasure and intrigue offered by the title, cover, images, and text.

    The Book Cycle brings a level of excitement to kids. It even becomes part of the neighborhood social scene as a community gathers at the book cart to find their next read, which sometimes starts as soon as the bike pedals off.

    As volunteer riders, we’ve looked over our shoulders to capture the beautiful view of siblings enjoying a book on the stoop of their front porch. At another stop, we’ve seen children select a book and begin reading under the shade of a tree. As cofounders, those moments bring us heart-thumping pleasure.

    The inspiration for the project was borne out of children’s need for access to books during the summer. In 2006, our school welcomed several Hmong refugee immigrants, all whohad tremendous interest in books but little access. Many other children attending the school also had limited access to books over the summer. Transportation to a public library was difficult, which only accentuated the problem.

    As members of our local reading council, we looked to our colleagues to help get the idea of a summer mobile library off the ground. Through fundraising and the generous support of local businesses, the Central Wisconsin Reading Council raised funds for two trikes and materials for our lending library to begin the mobile library in the summer of 2009.

    Our Book Cycle trikes have been cruising the Stevens Point streets two afternoons per week during the months of June, July, and August for the past seven years, making stops along the way at spots marked by yard signs declaring: “The Book Cycle Stops Here: Come and Get a Free Book.”

    Although the design of the mobile library is an exchange system, which increases the distribution, the system is informal and the emphasis is on matching children and books. If a child isn’t able to find the borrowed book, he or she is not denied another read.

    You could say it has been a bit of an evolution, with a lot of support from our local and state councils, the school district, and local businesses. Over time, we have partnered with organizations that service children, including the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, to bring the Book Cycle library to children participating in those programs.

    Going the extra mile

    We measure the success of the Book Cycle by anecdotal stories and the relationships built. Our 20–30 volunteers, often teachers, offer recommendations to help match a child and a book. There are typically 300–400 books to choose from, but the volunteers also take requests. While children are browsing, volunteers talk with the children, parents, and grandparents.

    One family has been borrowing books for all seven years of the Book Cycle’s existence. Initially apprehensive to borrow books out of fear that their younger children might destroy them, we assured the parents and grandparents that the Book Cycle did not have fines. We don’t know what these children’s reading achievements would be without the Book Cycle, but we know that this family, arriving in the United States in 2006, has elementary-age children who are meeting and exceeding grade-level benchmarks.

    Another family on the route, at times hesitant to be part of the school community, comes out together to pick out books. When one child in the family wasn’t home, the others began selecting books for their missing family member. Conversations during the selection process showed what the family knew about one another as readers.

    Our volunteers go the extra mile—literally—to establish a relationship with students and families. When a grandmother reminisced about the countless times she read Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino to her own daughter and expressed frustration in not finding the book at local garage sales, a volunteer purchased the book so the grandmother could enjoy it with her grandchildren.

    Building a reading relationship

    We realize the Book Cycle is not about the tunes or the shiny trikes. It is about building relationships with children and extending access to high-interest texts. Our anecdotal stories and connections with children and families reflect the success and are the only fuel we need to keep the Book Cycle going.

    As volunteers, we can’t help but smile as we pedal through town. As cofounders, we hope the moment of hearing the trike coming spills over and transfers to the excitement of turning the pages of a captivating book.

    Amber Garbe, an ILA member since 2009 and a past president of the Central Wisconsin Reading Council, is currently the literacy coordinator for Mosinee Schools in Wisconsin. Paula Bartel, an ILA member since 1988 and also a past president of the Central Wisconsin Reading Council, is currently a reading specialist in the Stevens Point Area School District in Wisconsin.

     
    I am sure you’re familiar with a certain summer tune—the one announcing that the ice cream truck is on its way. But imagine this: Instead of indicating a vessel full of treats is making its trip down the street, a new tune signals something...Read More
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    Partial Draft of the 2017 Standards for Literacy Professionals to Be Unveiled at ILA 2016

    By April Hall
     | Jun 16, 2016

    ThinkstockPhotos-84460968_x300Last year a select committee made up largely of teacher educators appointed with the approval of the ILA Board began an extensive effort to produce the 2017 revision of the Standards for Literacy Professionals, last revised in 2010. These standards, once reviewed and accepted by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), will become part of CAEP’s program evaluations thereafter.

    The committee’s first draft of the standards pertaining to specialized literacy professionals, including reading/literacy specialists, literacy coaches, and literacy coordinators, will be unveiled at a session on Saturday, July 9 at 1:30 p.m. during the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits in Boston.

    Aside from being the first to hear about the key changes, attendees will have an opportunity to provide feedback and give input to help shape the final version of these standards. This session is ideal for administrators, reading teachers, literacy specialists, researchers, and teacher educators.

    “The results of the working committee include a major shift for reading specialists,” said Rita Bean, cochair of the committee and professor at University of Pittsburgh. Among other changes, the Standards will now align to ILA’s research brief The Multiple Roles of School-Based Specialized Literacy Professionals.

    “We needed to understand key shifts,” said Diane Kern, also cochair of the Standards committee and associate professor at the University of Rhode Island. “Folks are not just reading specialists, they’re literacy specialists.”

    “We’re preparing not only literacy specialists, but an expert literacy teacher who can take on a role of leadership,” Kern said. The Standards are used to inform teacher preparation accreditations around the world. “ILA is the association others are looking to for guidance and leadership as they write their own standards.”

    The draft standards will be published on ILA’s website following the conference session for educators to review. A public comment period will open in April 2017.

    TheILA 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 on July 8, the weekend is sure to be a memorable one. Learn more about what’s coming up at this summer’s conference at ilaconference.org.

    April Hall is editor of Literacy Daily. A journalist for 20 years, she has specialized in education, writing and editing for newspapers, websites, and magazines.

     
    Last year a select committee made up largely of teacher educators appointed with the approval of the ILA Board began an extensive effort to produce the 2017 revision of the Standards for Literacy Professionals, last revised in 2010. These...Read More
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