Literacy Now

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

    #ILAchat: Instructional Coaching at its Best

    by ILA Staff
     | Feb 09, 2015

    Log on to our very first #ILAchat this week! With a focus on literacy coaching, our experts will answer questions on how to be an effective coach, successes of coaching and potential pitfalls to avoid.

    With the rise of teacher leaders, many educators find themselves playing more than one role in the classroom. In addition to daily duties, they are working as a coach for their own classes and for colleagues. Experts weighing in on Thursday’s Twitter chat will share some tricks of the trade and guidance on what being a coach is all about.

    Kathy Perret (@KathyPerret) is an educational consultant focused on enhancing learning opportunities and growth for instructional coaches, teachers and administrators. Her specialty areas include leadership team development and facilitation, literacy and technology integration.

    She is the co-moderator of the weekly #educoach Twitter chat focused on Instructional Coaching.  Kathy is the author of the popular educational blog, Learning is Growing , where she shares her passion for empowering and inspiring educators so they can impact student learning. She also offers trainings and virtual coaching sessions.

    Elena Aguilar has worked in public education for 20 years. She has been a classroom teacher, a site-based instructional coach, a leadership coach for principals and administrators, and the manager of a team of coaches. The majority of her work as an educator was in the Oakland Unified School District.

    Aguilar (@artofcoaching1) is a consultant and works with schools, districts, and educational organizations across the country. She is also the author of The Art of Coaching: Effective Strategies for Transforming Schools (Jossey-Bass, 2013) and is working on a book on coaching teams. She writes for Edutopia and EdWeek Teacher.

    Join @ILAToday in the #ILAchat at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 12. Be sure to use the hashtag so you don’t miss a single post!

     
    Log on to our very first #ILAchat this week! With a focus on literacy coaching, our experts will answer questions on how to be an effective coach, successes of coaching and potential pitfalls to avoid. With the rise of teacher leaders, many...Read More
    • Blog Posts
    • ILA News

    In Memory of a Tireless Literacy Advocate: Bernice Cullinan

    by ILA Staff
     | Feb 06, 2015

    The world of literacy lost a powerful advocate and friend in Bernice “Bee” Cullinan Thursday.

    Cullinan was a past president of both ILA and the Reading Hall of Fame (she was inducted to RHF in 1989) and the author of more than 40 books, including her seminal work, Children’s Literature in the Reading Program, the first of what is now in its fourth edition. In particular, Cullinan was an advocate of putting literature in the hands of children. She died Thursday at age 88.

    The following is an excerpt from “Creating Lifelong Readers: An Interview With Deborah Wooten,” which appeared in the January/February issue of Reading Today. Terrell Young, a past ILA board member, wrote the piece to mark the publication of Cullinan’s final book, Children’s Literature in the Reading Program: Engaging Young Readers in the 21st Century, co-authored by Wooten, her mentee and close friend.

    “She was my academic mom and largely responsible for my passion for children’s literature,” Wooten said of Cullinan Thursday. “I owe my career to her.”  

    From Reading Today:

    In the early 1980s, Ronald Mitchell, then the executive director of IRA, approached Bee Cullinan and asked her, “Don’t you think it’s time IRA did something about children’s literature and reading programs?” Her response was an immediate yes.

    The result: Children’s Literature in the Reading Program, an edited book first published in 1987. It was followed by Invitation to Read: More Children’s Literature in the Reading Program in 1992, and Children’s Literature in the Reading Program: An Invitation to Read in 2009. The fourth and highly anticipated edition—Children’s Literature in the Reading Program: Engaging Young Readers in the 21st Century—will be published [in January]. Each edition of this book has been completely different and a reflection of current reading education trends, with the third and fourth editions co-edited by Deborah Wooten.

    Bernice Cullinan’s legacy is articulated in the chapter she wrote for the first edition, Why Use Children’s Literature? and How to Make Students Willing Readers. Her mission is to encourage the joy and learning found through children’s books, and the importance of helping children to become lifelong readers. Wooten notes, “Each will be a primary purpose throughout all of the editions. The terminology will shift over time with words like ‘engaging and motivating’ young readers, but the core theme is timeless.”

    It was my privilege to interview Wooten recently about the forthcoming book, as well as what it was like to have Cullinan as a mentor and what she hopes educators take from this latest edition.

    Terrell Young: Bee once said that studying with Charlotte Huck was like receiving “an endowment of magic.” How would you describe your experience studying under Bee’s tutelage?

    Deborah Wooten: Bee changed my life. I quickly fell in love with her and children’s literature. The first time I met her was while I was teaching fifth grade in a New York City public school. Because of her encouragement, I enrolled in the doctoral program at NYU and joined Bee’s beloved organization, IRA. She not only had an impact on my life but also on my entire family. My daughter, Katie, started attending IRA when she was in third grade, presenting a project she did with Pegi Shea’s The Whispering Cloth: A Refugee’s Story. Now Katie is teaching high school and uses children’s and young adult literature with her students and continues to regularly attend and present at IRA.

    See the full story here.

    ILA would like to extend sincere condolences to Cullinan’s family. Her loss is profound; her legacy will live on for years to come.

     
    The world of literacy lost a powerful advocate and friend in Bernice “Bee” Cullinan Thursday. Cullinan was a past president of both ILA and the Reading Hall of Fame (she was inducted to RHF in 1989) and the author of more than 40 books,...Read More
    • Blog Posts
    • ILA News

    Be Heard: Publish with ILA

    by ILA Staff
     | Feb 02, 2015

    The International Literacy Association offers a host of publishing opportunities for educators. Outlets run the gamut from research-driven journals to short blog posts direct from classroom teachers.

    Here is a summary of what ILA editors are looking for:

    The Reading Teacher

    The Reading Teacher (RT) welcomes well-written, original descriptions of research-based instruction that improves literacy learning of children through age 12. Manuscripts must provide an appropriate blend of practical classroom application and solid theoretical framework. For additional details, see Author Guidelines.

    Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy

    Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (JAAL) seeks articles highlighting research-based practice aimed at improving engagement and achievement for literacy learners ages 12 and older. Topics include curriculum, instruction, assessment, and programs for diverse populations; adolescents’ and adults’ consumption and production of visual, digital, and print-based texts; and content area and disciplinary literacies. See the Author Guidelines for more details.

    Reading Research Quarterly

    Reading Research Quarterly welcomes quality, research-oriented manuscripts that make significant contributions to advancing knowledge and understanding of reading and of literacy, broadly defined. Its primary mission is to foster connections among researchers to build a coherent knowledge base in literacy across geographic and intellectual borders. For submission details, see the Author Guidelines.

    Literacy Daily

    ILA’s Literacy Daily blog publishes articles on Member & Events NewsLiteracy ResearchDigital LiteraciesThe Engaging Classroom, and Children's & YA Literature. We're always looking for inspiring stories told by the people involved at the ground level. Pitch us your article via e-mail.

    Literacy Today

    Literacy Today is ILA's bimonthly digital membership magazine with articles that reflect current trends in literacy instruction and provide easy-to-implement tips for today's educators. ILA members can also submit career news (books published, awards received, promotions/retirements, etc.) for consideration in Literacy Today's News & Notes section. We encourage pitches and submissions to Literacy Today. If you're submitting member news, please put "News & Notes" in the subject line. For complete details visit the full submissions page.

    Submit with confidence

    No matter the vehicle, and regardless of the author’s experience level, every submission is given the same careful consideration. So, if you think you’re not a writer or having nothing important to share, think again.

     
    The International Literacy Association offers a host of publishing opportunities for educators. Outlets run the gamut from research-driven journals to short blog posts direct from classroom teachers. Here is a summary of what ILA editors are ...Read More
  • ILA Membership
    ILA Next
    ILA Journals
    ILA Membership
    ILA Next
    ILA Journals
    • Blog Posts
    • Conferences & Events

    2015 Annual Conference Registration Opens

    by ILA Staff
     | Jan 27, 2015

    More than 6,000 literacy educators and experts from around the world will be at the 2015 Annual Conference in St. Louis, MO, in July. Registration for the conference is now open!

    With the theme “Transforming Lives Through Literacy,” this will be International Literacy Association’s inaugural conference, offering a host of new experience for conference-goers while carrying on the tradition of inspiring educators and transforming practices through general session talks, hands-on learning, and community building.

    Among the celebrated speakers to participate in the conference, basketball legend and author Shaquille O’Neal will speak about how his passion for learning transformed his own life and inspired him to pursue a doctorate degree and become an author. In addition, Octavia Spencer, best known for her critically acclaimed performance as Minny in the film The Help, will share the story of her struggle with dyslexia and how her passion for mystery novels encouraged her to take up reading and inspire others to do the same.

    “This year’s conference marks a turning point for the International Literacy Association,” explains Marcie Craig Post, ILA Executive Director. “Now more than ever we stand behind the need to advance literacy as a whole, not just reading. Literacy educators and leaders are the foundation of this vision, and for that reason, we are honored to be able to provide the forum to advance the dialogue on literacy in our effort to make literacy accessible to all.”

    The conference will feature more than 300 sessions on key topics affecting literacy educators today, including content literacy, children’s literature, classroom engagement, innovation, international literacy instruction, and professional development. In addition, the revamped Teaching Edge series will pair some of the brightest minds in the field for an engaging look at the latest literacy topics, as well as practical ideas and resources for the classroom and beyond. Attendees will also have the opportunity to test new tools and technologies from more than 120 companies in the ILA 2015 Exhibit Hall.

    For more information, or to register for the conference, visit ilaconference.org.

    More than 6,000 literacy educators and experts from around the world will be at the 2015 Annual Conference in St. Louis, MO, in July. Registration for the conference is now open! With the theme “Transforming Lives Through Literacy,” this will...Read More
    • Special Education Teacher
    • Partner Organization
    • Literacy Coach
    • Librarian
    • Classroom Teacher
    • Teacher Empowerment
    • Professional Development
    • Literacy Advocacy
    • Illiteracy
    • Policy & Advocacy
    • Topics
    • Literacy Leadership
    • News & Events
    • Volunteer
    • Tutor
    • Teacher Educator
    • Retiree
    • Reading Specialist
    • Policymaker
    • Literacy Education Student
    • Other/Literacy Champion
    • Corporate Sponsor
    • Administrator
    • Job Functions
    • Blog Posts

    We’re ILA and We’re Transforming Lives

    by April Hall
     | Jan 26, 2015

    You talked. We listened. The International Reading Association is now the International Literacy Association!

    Reading is one important part of literacy, but ILA’s expanded vision focuses on how literacy transforms lives—and how crucial it is to bring literacy to every corner of the world.

    In addition, ILA embraces its role as an education advocate. In the coming months, look for more opinion pieces about ILA positions on legislation, proposed policies, and changes in and out of the classroom.

    “We are energized and galvanized in thinking about the endless possibilities of how this storied organization can build upon its legacy and truly transform literacy and education,” writes ILA Executive Director Marcie Craig Post in the January/February issue of Reading Today.

    In her article, titled “Welcome to the Future of Literacy,” Post expands on what led to the organization’s own transformation—and offers a sneak peek of what’s to come. Read Post’s piece here.

    Here are some of the big changes taking effect as of today:

    • IRA Members are now ILA Members. Member logins remain the same.
    • Our website looks different. More online changes are coming over the next several months; this is only the beginning.
    • Registration for the ILA 2015 Conference is open. The theme is “Transforming Lives Through Literacy,” and this year’s conference promises to be like no other. New programs and formats will be offered, and existing content has been revamped as well. Take a look at the exciting list of speakers coming to St. Louis July 18–20.
    • Reading Today Online is now Literacy Daily. The blog will still be where educators share their thoughts, practical tips, book reviews, and more. ILA contributions cover not only the latest news about this organization, but also the world of literacy at large.
    • Our journals received a facelift, too. But don’t worry—you’ll get the same quality content from The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, and Reading Research Quarterly.

    For even more information, check out our downloadable list of Frequently Asked Questions.

    Are you ready to transform lives? Tell us what you think at social@reading.org.

    April Hall is the editor of Literacy Daily. She can be reached at ahall@reading.org.

     
    You talked. We listened. The International Reading Association is now the International Literacy Association! Reading is one important part of literacy, but ILA’s expanded vision focuses on how literacy transforms lives—and how crucial it is...Read More
Back to Top

Categories

Recent Posts

Archives