Literacy Now

If you visited our new URL, literacyworldwide.org, recently, you may have noticed the beginning stages of the new ILA website. When we changed our name to the International Literacy Association on January 26, our new logo and colors graced the pages and we began the process of transitioning the thousands—yes, thousands—of website pages, PDFs, and files over in phases. Today, our new website officially launches on literacyworldwide.org and, although there are more exciting changes ahead, we wanted to take a moment to tell you about the improvements you’ll experience now.

What to expect

At the top of each page on the new website, you’ll find quick links to what you need, including signing in to your member account (“Sign In”), joining ILA (“Join”), renewing your ILA membership (“Renew”), the ILA 2015 Conference (“Conference”), and the Literacy Daily blog (“Blog”). 

The new website has five top navigation choices: “Why Literacy?,” “Get Involved,” “Our Community,” “Get Resources,” and “About Us.”

“Why Literacy?” explains the illiteracy problem throughout the world and what ILA is doing to solve it.

“Get Involved” offers you ways to become an ILA Member (“Membership,” “Join”), donate to our cause (“Donate”), talk about literacy (“Join the Conversation”), and find out about councils, affiliates, Special Interest Groups, and the Alpha Upsilon Alpha Honor Society (“ILA Network”). Some of these links will send you to forms and information on the “old” / site; we’re working on transitioning all of the webpages to the new site in the next few months.

The “Our Community” section reaches out to you, our audience, in four areas: “Champions,” “Educators,” “Donors & Sponsors,” and “Partners.” On these pages, you will find stories from people like you, resources tailored to your needs, and what you can do to help fight illiteracy alongside ILA.

The “Get Resources” section has a page that details our offerings and publications: reading lists from Choices and Literacy Daily; the Literacy Daily blog; position papers, statements, and advocacy briefs; books, ILA E-ssentials articles, ILA Bridges curricular units, and ReadWriteThink.org lesson plans; journals; and Reading Today magazine. The links in this section go to the old / site for now. If you browse our hundreds of resources, you’ll see why! We’re still in the process of bringing them over to the new site, and when that happens, we promise you an even fuller, richer experience.

“About Us” is self-explanatory: It tells you all about ILA! The “About Us” page has our new mission, and the “Our Story” page talks about what we’ve done during the past 60 years. See press releases and conference news on the “News & Events” page, and check out our financial reports on the “Financials” page. As always, feel free to click on “Contact Us” to see how to mail, call, or e-mail us.

What’s next

One website! Improved search! And much, much more. Stay tuned for more changes and improvements this summer.

A wide array of literacy experts will hit the stage at the ILA 2015 Conference in St. Louis, MO. Learn classroom best practices, education reform, and quick tips with our full schedule of Featured Speakers.

Saturday, July 18:

Meenoo Rami (@MeenooRami)

A veteran of EduCon, #140edu, Urban Sites Conference for National Writing Project, and others, Meenoo Rami is no stranger to educational conferences. An English teacher at Philadelphia’s Science Leadership Academy, she pushes her students to think outside the box and connect themselves to the world beyond the classroom. Rami is the author of Thrive: 5 Ways to Re(Invigorate) Your Teaching and founder of #engchat, a Twitter chat that engages teachers across the United States to discuss English teaching techniques. She will be discussing the power of networking across classrooms, helping students to become active members of society.

Steven L. Layne (@StevenLayne)

In Defense of Read-Aloud, will highlight successful practices for read-aloud instruction. He is also the author of various children’s books, including The Teachers’ Night Before Christmas, an ILA/Children’s Book Council “Children’s Choice” book. Layne currently teaches children’s and young adult literature courses at Judson College in Elgin, IL and serves as a literacy consultant. Layne is well known for motivating educators through his talks.

Stephanie Harvey (@Stephharvey49)

After working in the public school system for 15 years, Stephanie Harvey worked as a staff developer for the Denver, CO–based Public Education & Business Coalition and is now president of her own consulting firm. As a passionate advocate for children’s reading and writing, Harvey has written many books, including Nonfiction Matters and The Comprehension Toolkit. Her session will include strategic tips for close reading and comprehension in K–12 literacy.

Jennifer Serravallo (@JSerravallo)

As a staffer at Columbia University’s Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and Vassar College, Jennifer Serravallo developed a passion for urban education reform and children’s literature. She is an active blogger and the author of the Association of Educational Publishers award-winning Independent Reading Assessmentin addition to The Literacy Teacher’s Playbook. Serravallo will be hosting a session to engage student motivation and growth through independent reading.

Sunday, July 19:

Pam Allyn (@pamallyn)

Pam Allyn, author, motivational speaker, and founder of global literacy initiative LitWorld, will be hosting a session dedicated to creating practices that meet the needs of students with varying reading and writing experience. As a 2013 Scholastic Literacy Champion, Allyn is the author of Your Child’s Writing Life and is a spokesperson for BIC Kids 2014 and BIC’s “Fight For Your Write” campaign.

Julie D. Ramsay (@JulieDRamsay)

Julie D. Ramsay, a sixth-grade ELA teacher, navigates the world of technology from her classroom and shares what she learns in her regular Literacy Daily column, Plugged In her personal blog, eduflections. She will discuss the importance of using digital tools and thinking critically to collaborate on classroom projects and engage in active writing inside and outside the classroom. She is the author of “Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing?” Collaborating in Class and Online, Grades 3–8and speaks at various conferences about student writing practices.

Christopher Lehman (@iChrisLehman)

As the founding director of The Educator Collaborative, Lehman supportsteachers and literacy coaches in implementing rigorous literacy instruction. He will be discussing techniques to assist students with voice-filled writing and critical thinking. Lehman is also the author of literacy books such as A Quick Guide to Reviving Disengaged Writers and Energize Research Reading and Writing.

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 new features, such as the refreshed Teaching Edge series. 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 program at ilaconference.org. Register today for the ILA 2015 Conference to take advantage of special Early Bird pricing.

Morgan Ratner is the communications assistant for ILA.

The precious years between elementary and high school are fundamental to student development and academic achievement. To help maximize your middle-level students’ potential, the International Literacy Association (ILA) has made a new cross-journal virtual issue on middle-level education free through July 31.

This publication provides resources and guides for working with middle-level students. MiddleLevel Education features 12 articles from ILA’s three journals The Reading Teacher (RT), Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (JAAL), and Reading Research Quarterly (RRQ)thatprovide insight to encourage and promote middle-level students’ academic achievement.

From RT

Articles from RT highlight methods that can aid reading comprehension and content literacy in middle-level students. In their article “Reading Thematically Related Texts to Develop Knowledge and Comprehension,” Lynn Gelzheiser, Laura Hallgren-Flynn, Margaret Connors, and Donna Scanlon illustrate how to develop content themes that will ultimately allow students to develop greater genre knowledge. Peter Dewitz and Michael F. Graves also focus on expanding students’ knowledge through transfer and other academic applications in their article “Teaching for Transfer in the Common Core Era.”

In her RT article “Level Up With Multimodal Composition in Social Studies,” Bridget Dalton discusses how teachers can lead students through multimodal composition.

From JAAL

JAAL articles provide guidance for instructing middle-level learners on literacy and language topics.

Dianna Townsend’s “Who’s Using the Language? Supporting Middle School Students With Content Area Academic Language” explores how educators can integrate academic language support into content area lessons. The dynamic of writing in content area classrooms is discussed in “Learning to Write in Middle School?” by Joshua Fahey Lawrence, Emily Phillips Galloway, Soobin Yim, and Alex Lin.

In “Putting Two and Two Together,” Mark B. Pacheco and Amanda P. Goodwin offer strategies and recommendations to support students in determining word meanings. Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey discussing using close reading intervention as a tool for advancing student achievement in “Close Reading as an Intervention for Struggling Middle School Readers.”

The Literacy Lenses column “Independent Reading” by Katy Benning features essays highlighting perspectives on teaching with literacies to stimulate reader reflection.

From RRQ

Engaging struggling readers and unleashing their potential is discussed in articles from RRQ.Greg Roberts, Sharon Vaughn, Jack Fletcher, Karla Stuebing, and Amy Barth study the effects of multiyear, response-based tiered intervention for struggling readers in grades 6 through 8 in their article “Effects of a Response-Based, Tiered Framework for Intervening With Struggling Readers in Middle School.” More classroom techniques are discussed in John T. Guthrie and Susan Lutz Klauda’s article “Effects of Classroom Practices on Reading Comprehension, Engagement, and Motivations for Adolescents.”

Bridging the achievement gap based on income inequality is discussed in “The New Literacies of Online Research and Comprehension” by Donald J. Leu, Elena Forzani, Chris Rhoads, Cheryl Maykel, Clint Kennedy, and Nicole Timbrell.

“Effects of Educational Technology Applications on Reading Outcomes for Struggling Readers” by Alan C.K. Cheung and Robert E. Slavin examines how popular programs including Leapfrog and Destination Reading affect the progress of struggling readers and why.

Madelaine Levey is a communications intern with ILA.

New coeditors were selected for both the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (JAAL) and The Reading Teacher (RT), International Literacy Association’s peer-reviewed journals for educators of literacy learners.

Jan Lacina

Kelly Chandler-Olcott and Kathleen Hinchman will be coeditors of JAAL, and Jan Lacina and Robin Griffith will be coeditors for RT. All editorships will run from June 1, 2015 through May 31, 2021.

Chandler-Olcott is chair of the Reading & Language Arts Center at Syracuse University where she teaches content literacy. She focuses her research on technology-mediated literacy practices and coauthored Tutoring Adolescent Literacy Learners: A Guide for Volunteers. As the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the School of Education at Syracuse University, Hinchman concentrates on literacy methods, examining students’ and teachers’ perspectives towards literacy-related secondary school reform.

Reflecting current theories and practices in support of effective literacy instruction, JAAL serves university scholars, literacy consultants, and administrators. ILA Executive Director Marcie Craig Post said, “The Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy is unique in that it is the only literacy journal published exclusively for teachers of older learners. This requires a distinctive perspective on the literacy practices of adolescents and adults, an area that Kelly and Kathleen have dedicated their careers to.”

Robin Griffith

Focusing on primary classroom instruction, RT provides evidence-based teaching ideas and focuses on critical issues in teaching and professional development.

As Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the College of Education at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas, Lacina’s interests range from writing instruction to English language learning. She recently completed her term as the editor in chief for the Journal of Research in Childhood Education and holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction/Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Kansas. Also a literacy education educator at TCU, Griffith focuses on the critical role that teachers play in helping students become successful readers and writers. She holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas Tech University.

“The Reading Teacher has provided educators with practical teaching ideas that are grounded in theory and research for more than 60 years,” said Post. “Jan and Robin’s impressive classroom and research experience will be critical in our mission to continue to provide the insightful and relatable content that readers of The Reading Teacher have come to expect.”

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.