Literacy Now

News & Events
ILA Membership
ILA Next
ILA Journals
ILA Membership
ILA Next
ILA Journals
    • Blog Posts
    • Conferences & Events

    Taking the Studies to the Students: The Teaching Edge Series

    by April Hall
     | Mar 12, 2015

    Consider the point where research meets the classroom as where the rubber meets the road. With the revamped Teaching Edge series at ILA 2015 Conference, expert researchers and practitioners will provide a map for teachers to transform their practice through academic study put into practice. The four sessions offer practical ideas for classroom buzzwords such as project-based learning (PBL), rigor, and close reading by breaking down research by academics and then reinforcing those findings through proven strategies by classroom teachers.

    On Saturday, July 18, take a look at project-based instruction in the classroom with experts Nell Duke and Lynn Bigelman at “A Project-Based Place: Supporting Project-Based Instruction at the School Level.”

    Duke is the author of several books, including Inside Information: Developing Powerful Readers and Writers of Informational Text Through Project-Based Instruction, which is copublished by ILA and Scholastic. Bigelman is the principal at a Michigan elementary school that uses PBL extensively. She trained staff in the practice when she started at a new school this year. The pair’s session will include practices that support PBL in schools.

    Also on Saturday, Ruth Culham, Lester Laminack, and Kate Messner will lead a Teaching Edge session on how to help your students “steal” from authors and, in the process, learn to write.

    Culham, author of The Writing Thief: Using Mentor Texts to Teach the Craft of Writing, will lead the session by the same name. During her career, Culham has perfected her method of grooming young writers through both the fiction and nonfiction they read and love. Beloved authors Laminack and Messner, who was a middle school teacher before becoming a full-time author, also encourage teachers to allow their students to steal from them. All three will be sure to share some of their favorite mentor texts as inspiration for teachers when they return to the classroom.

    Culham and Messner were part of a team who discussed a similar topic during an October 2014 Google Hangout on Air, “Making the Most of Mentor Texts.” The Hangout is available on YouTube.

    On Sunday, July 19, explore close reading in all genres with Lori Oczkus and Timothy Rasinski at their session, “Powerful Partners for Empowering Readers: Close Reading Workouts With Comprehension, Fluency, and Paired Texts.”

    Oczkus, a classroom teacher and frequent Literacy Daily contributor, is the author of Best Ever Literacy Survival Tips: 72 Lessons You Can’t Teach WithoutandJust the Facts! Close Reading and Comprehension of Informational Text, copublished with Shell Education. Rasinski, a literacy education professor at Kent State University, is a prolific researcher who has authored more than 150 articles. His research interests include reading fluency and word study. He is a former coeditor of The Reading Teacher and is currently coeditor of the Journal of Literacy Research.

    This session will share techniques for close reading, targeting informational text features and structures, methods for comparing and contrasting texts, and more.

    Also on Sunday, crowd favorites Penny Kittle and Donalyn Miller will talk all about reader motivation in “Complex, Rigorous, and Social: Fostering Readerly Lives.” Learn with these authors how to empower young learners with opportunities and challenges. Kittle is the author of Book Love and founder of the Book Love Foundation that helps teachers build classroom librarians, and Miller is the author of The Book Whisperer. Kittle and Miller will hit on the motivating factors for lifelong reading: relevance, engagement, and success.

    In preparation for their appearances at conference, Kittle will host the April #ILAchat on summer reading and learning, and Miller will cohost ILA’s next Google Hangout on Air, “Modeling Good Reading Habits.”

    The ILA 2015 Conference will be July 18–20 in St. Louis, MO, with more than 6,000 educators ready to transform their practice. Key topics affecting literacy featured at the conference include content literacy, children’s literature, classroom engagement, and professional development. In addition to conference favorites, there will be plenty of brand new features like the Author Meetups. More than 120 exhibitors will be on hand with new tools and technologies for all manners of literacy education.

    Preconference institutes, which take place on July 17, offer an all-day deep dive into topics including culturally responsive instruction and building literacy through project-based learning. You do not need to register for the full Conference & Exhibits to take part in the preconference institutes.

    Learn more about the conference programs at ilaconference.org. Register today for the ILA 2015 Conference to take advantage of special Early Bird pricing.

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

     


    Consider the point where research meets the classroom as where the rubber meets the road. With the revamped Teaching Edge series at ILA 2015 Conference, expert researchers and practitioners will provide a map for teachers to transform their...Read More
    • Blog Posts
    • Conferences & Events

    #ILAchat: Help English Learners Succeed

    by Madelaine Levey
     | Mar 04, 2015

    With 10 million English learners (ELs) in today’s classrooms, educators need to be able to work with students from diverse language backgrounds—and do so successfully. Many ELs struggle in the classroom as they struggle to climb over the language barrier. Our #ILAchat hosts, Karen Nemeth (@KarenNemethEdM) and Judie Haynes (@judiehaynes) will share their knowledge and insight on teaching EL students in today’s classrooms to make student transitions easier. Nemeth and Haynes co-moderate the weekly #ELLCHAT for teachers of English learners.

    Nemeth is an author, consultant, presenter, and advocate whose expertise lies in effective early childhood education for dual language learners. She is a consultant for Language Castle, where she shares resources guiding educators through the process of teaching young children whose first language is not English. She writes and edits for the National Association for the Education of Young Children, is the chair of the Early Childhood Education Special Interest Group of the National Association for Bilingual Education, and is a steering committee member for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages International Association (TESOL). She is the author of several books including New Words, New Friends (Language Castle Press, 2014), a bilingual children’s book for English learners.

    Haynes is an EL teacher with more than 35 years of teaching experience. She has authored and co-authored four books about working with EL students, including two TESOL books. She is co-founder and content editor for everythingESL.net, providing lesson plans and tips for EL teachers. She previously served as the president for New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/New Jersey Bilingual Educators.

    Join @ILAToday in the #ILAchat at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, March 12. Use the hashtag to be sure you don’t miss a tweet!

    Madelaine Levey is a communications intern for the International Literacy Association.

    With 10 million English learners (ELs) in today’s classrooms, educators need to be able to work with students from diverse language backgrounds—and do so successfully. Many ELs struggle in the classroom as they struggle to climb over the...Read More
    • Blog Posts
    • ILA News

    What’s New ThisWeek

    by ILA Staff
     | Mar 02, 2015

    International Literacy Association has changed how we are bringing news to your inbox.

    ThisWeek, a bulletin e-mailed every Tuesday, was designed to streamline our efforts to hit the highlights of what’s happening in literacy. From calls for the U.S. legislature to make a greater commitment to literacy, to book announcements, to conference updates, ThisWeek will cover it all.

    This weekly e-mail will replace a number of separate messages ILA regularly sent out and is easy to read and full of resources for more in-depth reading.

    All ILA members and customers receive this bulletin. If you’re not subscribed, or have unsubscribed to any ILA communications in the past, e-mail customerservice@reading.org or call 800.336.7323 (U.S. and Canada) or 302.731.1600 (all other countries) to receive ThisWeek.

     
    International Literacy Association has changed how we are bringing news to your inbox. ThisWeek, a bulletin e-mailed every Tuesday, was designed to streamline our efforts to hit the highlights of what’s happening in literacy. From calls for the...Read More
  • ILA Membership
    ILA Next
    ILA Journals
    ILA Membership
    ILA Next
    ILA Journals
    • Blog Posts
    • Conferences & Events

    Meg Cabot Lives the Fairy Tale

    by April Hall
     | Feb 27, 2015

    Prolific author Meg Cabot has written about princesses for years. Her whimsical self-portrait was a continuation on the theme, but with the added foundation of her years studying as a fine artist. She’s come full circle now, releasing From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (Feiwel & Friends), the first book she’s both written and illustrated.

    April Hall: Your portrait is great! Are all three of the faces you? Do you see yourself in three different roles? Can you describe those personas?

    Meg Cabot: Thanks so much! I don't actually see myself in any of the figures except the one on the cloud, the storyteller-illustrator sprinkling fun (and maybe a little advice) into the lives of her readers…and in the case of this picture, Cinderella. 

    I threw in a moon and a princess because I feel uncomfortable being the center of attention. (But also because I was taught you need to have an odd number of figures/objects in a picture, or the eye automatically divides the page.) 

    I chose Cinderella because none of the heroines in my stories ever need rescuing. They occasionally just need a little empowerment!

    I chose a lady moon because of the Lewis Carroll poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter." It's one of my favorites because the moon is female. She complains about the male sun being rude, refusing to quit shining even when it's night and her turn to shine! Stereotypical alpha male.

    AH: You are a formally trained artist, right? What made you follow the writing path? You’ll be illustrating your first book to be released this summer. Why now?

    MC: I majored in studio art at Indiana University (with an emphasis on drawing) and moved to New York City after graduation with the intention of being an illustrator. But even in the ‘90s, I couldn't pay the rent on what I was earning! 

    I'd always loved to write and did take a few writing workshops in college. I wrote novels for fun in my spare time (which I realize is an odd hobby). My husband was always asking, "Why don't you try to publish some of those books you've got hidden under the bed? Then we could pay off all those shoes you bought at DSW."

    But I was too mortified to let anyone see my stories. I felt my drawings were much better.

    Then my dad died when I was 26, and I decided that life is too short to be shy or afraid of rejection, so I sent out some of the books. 

    I got a lot of rejections, but some of them were encouraging, like, "Not now, but if you have anything set in Victorian times, let us know. Victorians are hot." 

    Illustrators know how to cut and paste something to please an art director—good writers can do the same thing. So I got my first novel published when I was 30 (it was a historical romance novel set in Victorian times).

    The Princess Diaries soon followed. (An editor told me "princesses are hot." I was already writing a diary book about a girl whose mom is dating her teacher, so I just made that girl a princess.)

    But honestly, I still consider myself an illustrator more than I do a writer. I can't believe it's taken this long to do my first illustrated book. From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess takes The Princess Diaries a step further with the diaries of Princess Mia's little half-sister, who has only just found out she, too, is a Genovian princess, but there's a twist—Olivia can draw, and wants to be a wildlife illustrator (something I wanted to be at age 12).

    Now I finally get to combine my two greatest loves. I feel like a princess at last!

    AH: As a student, what teacher made the most impact on you and how?

    MC: Wow, this is a hard question to answer because I attended public school in Bloomington, IN, where I had a lot of great teachers. It's hard to pick just one! 

    But the one I remember most is Connie Hunter Williams. I even named the teacher in my middle grade book series, Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls, after her! 

    Mrs. Hunter taught fourth and fifth grade at my elementary school, and instilled in us a love for storytelling by reading aloud for 10 or 15 minutes at the end of each day from her own favorite children's books. I was always so anxious to find out what was going to happen in the next chapter that I'd go to the library and check out the book (and then read the whole thing) before Mrs. Hunter got to Chapter 2. 

    (I sometimes worry that it was because of me that the term "spoiler alert" was invented.)

    Mrs. Hunter was one of my first teachers to encourage my love of writing by entering one of my stories in a creative writing contest. I can't remember if my story won—but that wasn't the important part to me. The fact that she chose something I'd written was such a thrill that it kept me writing (in secret, of course) as a hobby for years to come.

    And when the rejections poured in later, I often thought to myself, "Well, Mrs. Hunter believed in me, so all of these agents and editors are wrong." So I kept writing, and kept sending out my manuscripts.

    And in the end, it turned out Mrs. Hunter was right all along!

    AH: You seem always willing to help nonprofits continue their work, whether donating time or work. Why is that important to you?

    MC: I know what it's like to have a run of bad luck. Now that things are looking up for me, I try to help those who are going through hard times of their own whenever I can, because I remember how grateful I felt to those who helped me. 

    AH: Finally, is there a question that you’ve never been asked in an interview? That is, something you’ve wanted to share, but have never had the opportunity?

    Q: What's your idea of a perfect day? 

    A: Sleep late, wake up to a perfectly prepared brunch, then head to the pool or beach with a great book—not my own, of course! Someone else's, so I don't know the ending. 

    Then maybe spend an hour or two writing or drawing, then attend a fun dinner party with friends or family. And obviously all of this is taking place in my palace in Genovia!

    See Meg Cabot at the ILA 2015 Conference in St. Louis, MO, when she speaks at the Author Luncheon Sunday, July 19. The luncheon is an add-on to conference registration and tickets are $65.

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

     
    Prolific author Meg Cabot has written about princesses for years. Her whimsical self-portrait was a continuation on the theme, but with the added foundation of her years studying as a fine artist. She’s come full circle now, releasing From the...Read More
    • Blog Posts
    • Conferences & Events

    Conference Luncheons Offer Unique Author Experiences

    by April Hall
     | Feb 27, 2015

    Sure, the schedule at the International Literacy Association 2015 Conference is busy and chockablock with useful, practical advice to transform your practice in the classroom. But did you also know there is a chance to sit down, enjoy a meal, chat with colleagues, and get inspiration from your favorite authors?

    Each day of the conference, a different children’s book author will share personal stories at a ticketed luncheon. William Joyce, Nick Bruel, and Meg Cabot are all award winners and authors of hit book series but, when it comes to style, they each have a unique voice and path to success.

    joyce headshotJoyce is the author of The Guardians of Childhood series (which inspired 2012’s Rise of the Guardians film) and Rolie Polie Olie (HarperCollins), which spawned a TV series and earned Joyce three Emmys. He also received an Academy Award for his animated short film The Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (now a book with Atheneum Books for Young Readers, as well) and is a founder of Moonbot Studios. At lunch Saturday, July 18, he will talk about how he was able to translate his journey in publishing and production into successful collaboration at Moonbot.

    meg cabot headshotCabot, beloved for The Princess Diaries series, is a classically trained fine artist, but her summer release, From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (Feiwel & Friends), marks the first time she’s illustrated her own work. In her talk Sunday, July 19, she’ll share how she discovered her hidden talents and how everyone else can, too.

    Bruel is certainly known for the naughty Bad Kitty, but he is also known for being active in schools, talking to students about the themes of his books, from a primer on the political process to how to treat friends. His most recent installment, Bad Kitty: Puppy’s Big Day (Roaring Brook Press), just hit shelves. nick bruel headshotBruel plans to take a lighthearted look Monday, July 20, at his career and how Bad Kitty changed his life.

    To get more insight into this year’s luncheon speakers, click on their names at the beginning of this story to see self-portraits they gave ILA and read their accompanying interviews. Portions of these interviews appear in the March/April issue of Reading Today magazine, which is full of conference tips and details. This issue will be offered free online, but you can join ILA today to have every issue delivered to your home.

    The ILA 2015 Conference will be July 18–20 in St. Louis, MO, with more than 6,000 educators ready to transform their practice. Key topics affecting literacy featured at the conference include content literacy, children’s literature, classroom engagement, and professional development. In addition to conference favorites, including a revamped Teaching Edge series, there will be plenty of brand-new features like the Author Meetups. More than 120 exhibitors will be on hand with new tools and technologies for all manners of literacy education.

    Preconference Institutes, which take place on July 17, offer an all-day deep dive into topics including culturally responsive instruction and building literacy through project-based learning. You do not need to register for the full Conference & Exhibits to take part in the Preconference Institutes.

    Tickets to Author Luncheons are $65 as an add-on to ILA 2015 Conference registration. Register today to reserve your seat.

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

     
    Sure, the schedule at the International Literacy Association 2015 Conference is busy and chockablock with useful, practical advice to transform your practice in the classroom. But did you also know there is a chance to sit down, enjoy a meal,...Read More
Back to Top

Categories

Recent Posts

Archives