Digital Events

Navigating New Realms: Generative AI and Literacy Education

How is AI changing the way we teach and learn? In this interactive webinar, speakers Ian O’Byrne, Raúl Alberto Mora, and Peggy Semingson will focus on the applications for—and implications of—bringing generative AI and the tools it powers, such as ChatGPT, into schools and classrooms. Participants will gain the knowledge needed to effectively incorporate generative AI into literacy instruction that cultivates creativity and critical thinking.

Takeaways include

• An understanding of the fundamental concepts underpinning generative AI, including AI, machine learning, and generative models
• Deeper knowledge of AI’s implications for literacy instruction, for both teachers and students, including the fine line between its helpful applications and potential pitfalls
• Ideas for adapting pedagogy, including multimodal approaches, to seamlessly incorporate AI into teaching practice

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers

Registration: FREE for members  |  $44.00 nonmembers (includes annual membership)

Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details.

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Four Actions to Design Tailored Reading Instruction

In order to design and tailor instruction to teach children to read, teachers should understand the importance of assessments that identify students’ strengths and needs and know how to apply that knowledge to selecting and creating instructional materials. In this ILA webinar, Diane Lapp (recipient of the ILA 2023 William S. Gray Citation of Merit), Kelly Johnson, Hilda Martinez, and Aida Allen-Rotell will address topics such as scope and sequence, flexible grouping patterns, progress monitoring, and more. Participants will leave with actionable ways to create engaging, effective reading instruction that supports the specific needs of their learners, setting the stage for each and every one to become a fluent, independent reader.

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers

Registration: $29.00 for members  |  $69.00 nonmembers (includes annual membership)

Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details.

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Read-Alouds for All Learners

Learn the step-by-step instructional plan for teachers to implement read-alouds in pre-K–8 classrooms. Whether you’re a longtime professional or new to teaching, this ILA webinar with Molly Ness will help you support young learners emotionally, intellectually, linguistically, and developmentally.

Takeaways include

• Understand the role of read-alouds in the science of reading
• Develop an understanding of the three-step planning process for a read-aloud
• See current read-aloud research and trends among elementary and middle school teachers
• Gain tips targeted for each age group’s social-emotional learning and cognition
• Capture the importance of read-alouds in all content areas

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers

Registration: FREE for members  |  $44.00 nonmembers (includes annual membership)

Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details.

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Sponsored in part by Solution Tree

 

Literacy and Content Instruction That Supports Language Development

For decades, assessment data has painted a concerning picture of students’ reading comprehension, revealing that traditional approaches have fallen short in raising proficient readers. However, research demonstrates that integrated content and literacy approaches have a significant impact over typical instruction in both vocabulary and comprehension outcomes in elementary school. In this ILA Intensive hosted by Sonia Cabell, speakers will focus on how content-rich approaches, which often integrate science and social studies with oral language instruction, improve students’ language development in the early grades and offer ideas for classroom application.

Through sessions from keynote Susan B. Neuman and featured speakers HyeJin Hwang, Jackie Relyea, and Tanya S. Wright, participants will learn how to 

• Make content-rich conversations the cornerstone of learning
• Foster language comprehension through content-rich read-alouds
• Craft text sets and using multimedia to build vocabulary and knowledge

In addition, they will gain

• A firm understanding of what constitutes content-rich literacy instruction—where students are immersed in multiple, engaging, and connected texts around a science or social studies topic
• Insight into how this interwoven instruction can close vocabulary and comprehension gaps and assist in knowledge building
• Explicit examples of how to integrate science and social studies within literacy instruction in early childhood classrooms
• Frameworks for supporting young students’ inference-making—their ability to activate prior knowledge to generate new ideas—and creating an inquiry-rich learning environment

For a preview, listen in as Sonia Cabell explains the importance of oral language instruction.

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers

Registration: $79.00 for members  |  $119.00 nonmembers (includes annual membership)

Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details.

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The Reading Brain: Building Students' Reading Muscles in the Digital Age

The digital age has changed the types of text that both students and teachers encounter as well as how they interact with them. In this ILA Webinar, Gilda De La Cruz and Carol Jago will explore insights from neuroscience about the reading brain, particularly the ways in which technology has affected deep reading. Participants will learn methods for helping young readers pay closer attention to what they read—strategies that will not only improve background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension but also foster positive lifelong learning and reading habits.

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers

Registration: FREE for members | $44.00 for nonmembers (includes annual membership)

Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details.

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Centering the Languaging and Literacies of Students in the ELA Classroom

In this ILA webinar, Kate Seltzer will explore the three strands of a pedagogy that encourages students' translanguaging—an empowering practice that enables them to express themselves and construct meaning using all of their language practices, including their home language—and views it as an asset for effective learning. Seltzer will offer examples from research that illustrate the pedagogy at work in middle school and high school ELA classrooms, offering a glimpse into the transformative impact of embracing students’ linguistic diversity.

Takeaways include

• Knowledge of translanguaging as a theory, including how it can disrupt current ideologies about students' language practices and literacies
• Insights into translanguaging pedagogy through real classroom examples
• Ideas for how to apply a translanguaging lens that will reimagine the “English” in ELA instruction

Seltzer will participate in a live Q&A following her recorded presentation, which was previously available exclusively to registrants of an ILA Intensive on translanguaging.

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers

Registration: $29.00 members  |  $69.00 nonmembers (includes annual membership)

Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details.

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Dyslexia for a Day: A Simulation of Dyslexia

In this ILA Webinar, Kelli Sandman-Hurley will guide participants through two reading simulations and two writing simulations that will offer insight into the challenges students with dyslexia face—including the social and emotional impact dyslexia can have on students every day. Participants will gain a greater understanding about what dyslexia is and is not, deepen their empathy and expertise, and learn more about effective accommodations that are necessary for many students' growth.

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers

Registration: FREE for members  |  $44.00 nonmembers (includes annual membership)

Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details.

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Sponsored by Dyslexia Training Institute

 

Caregivers as Coaches: Partnering With Families to Promote Language Growth at Home

Discover how families and caregivers can play a vital role in their children's language growth while honoring their cultural heritage in this ILA Webinar with Mai Zaru. Zaru, the recipient of ILA’s 2023 Jeanne S. Chall Research Fellowship, will explore how the peer-assisted reading strategy can be used to promote multilingual learning experiences and foster stronger family connections. Participants will gain tools and knowledge to help connect with families and support children's language skills while valuing their diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Takeaways:

• Learn routines and practices that families can implement to boost their children's literacy development.
• Become familiar with the relatively new domain of translanguaging practices that take place within the home setting.
• Learn about tools for caregivers and educators to support language growth in students from diverse linguistic backgrounds and nationalities.

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, preservice teachers, and caregivers

Registration: FREE FOR EVERYONE

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Innovations in Assessing Multilingual Students for Dyslexia

Universal screenings for reading challenges and potential learning disabilities such as dyslexia are commonplace in schools, but are they equitable? In this webinar, Lillian Durán will delve into the recommended screening protocols and practices for multilingual learners in U.S. public schools and how traditional approaches do not fairly serve dyslexic or nondyslexic students. She’ll also explore innovative approaches to assessment as well as the nuanced decision making needed to account for home language exposure and the language of reading instruction.

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers

Registration: $29.00 members  |  $69.00 nonmembers (includes annual membership)

Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details.

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Executive Functions: Foundations for Self-Regulated Reading

Executive functions are self-regulatory thinking skills that help students manage their thoughts, emotions, and actions. These essential albeit often invisible skills play such a critical role in reading that when students have weak or disordered executive functions, it becomes patently obvious in the classroom.

In this ILA Webinar replay, Kelly B. Cartwright explores how deficits in executive functions can have a direct impact on word reading and comprehension. Takeaways include

• Basic information about executive functions and how they support self-regulated reading
• Insights on how strengthening reading-related executive function processes improves reading achievement
• Use-them-tomorrow instructional ideas and strategies for assessing and supporting students’ executive functions in the literacy classroom

Cartwright will participate in a live Q&A following her recorded presentation.

Who should register: Classroom teachers, reading specialists, and literacy coaches—as well as any educator who has ever wondered why some students who seem to have skills in phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, and vocabulary struggle with putting these things together in reading

Registration: FREE FOR MEMBERS  |  $44.00 for nonmembers (includes annual membership)

Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details.

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Spelling Instruction Through the Lens of Dyslexia: Development, Differentiation, and Adaptation

Spelling and orthographic knowledge support reading as well as writing. In this webinar, Shane Templeton will address the nature of the challenges that dyslexic students face in coordinating sound, alphabetic/pattern-based spelling, and morphology from a developmental perspective. In addition, he’ll share strategies for tailoring instructional supports and interventions in ways that are both effective and engaging.

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers

Registration: $29.00 members  |  $69.00 nonmembers (includes annual membership)

Special pricing is available for groups of 5+, students, and individuals in countries with developing economies. Contact customerservice@reading.org for details.

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Sponsored in part by PhonicBooks | DK Learning

 

Adding Encoding to Phonics Lessons

Incorporating daily spelling practice within phonics lessons enhances students’ understanding of the intricate relationships between sounds and letters—which enriches their phonemic awareness, decoding abilities, vocabulary, writing skills, and overall language proficiency. In this session, Wiley Blevins will lead attendees through multiple ways to add and differentiate spelling during their phonics lessons, including dictation, word building, word sorts, and writing about decodable texts. Participants will learn strategies to help build a comprehensive approach to literacy and language development that will promote deeper understanding and engagement in their classroom.

Who should register: Classroom teachers, literacy/instructional coaches, reading/literacy specialists, literacy supervisors/coordinators, instructional leads, teacher educators, and principals

Registration: FREE FOR EVERYONE

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Sponsored in part by Sadlier School

 

Dyslexia: What We Know and What We Want to Know

Join us for a free webinar focusing on key questions literacy educators have about dyslexia—and which instructional supports research tells us are most effective. Dana A. Robertson, chair of the ILA Research Committee, will lead a discussion featuring Young-Suk Kim, Dominic Wyse, and Danielle Dennis.

Who should register: School-based educators, principals, teacher educators, and preservice teachers

Registration: FREE FOR EVERYONE

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Thank You to Our Event Supporter

    

Reading Assessments That Promote Equitable Learning

Not all assessments are created equal. However, when formative assessments that focus on teacher and student engagement and high-quality reading instruction are prioritized, the process can be both humanizing and empowering. Join Laurie Elish-Piper, Mona W. Matthews, and Victoria J. Risko as they explore reading assessments created with an equity mind-set, making visible teachers’ decision-making and students’ strengths and needs. They will share samples of assessments that can be embedded in daily and authentic learning activities—assessments that account for the complexity of reading while also capturing students’ identities, cultural histories, knowledge, and lived experiences.

Registration: FREE FOR MEMBERS

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New Voices in Children’s and YA Lit: Meet the 2023 ILA Award-Winning Authors

ILA’s Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards shine a spotlight on emerging authors who display unusual promise with their first or second publication. At this webinar, emceed by book awards chair Sonja Ezell, age-level subcommittee leads Miriam Martinez, Margaret Osgood Opatz, and Thu Anh Nguyen will sit down with some of this year’s winners for a robust discussion about their books’ contemporary relevance and universal themes, the importance of authentic and engaging texts, and the power that high-quality, diverse children’s literature holds to open our minds to the past, present, and future.

Who should register: Classroom teachers, literacy/instructional coaches, librarians, reading/literacy specialists, literacy supervisors/coordinators, and instructional leads

Registration: FREE FOR EVERYONE

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Thank You to Our Event Supporters

 


 

Choosing Your Favorites: New Reader-Selected Books for Your Collections

In 2020, amid the global pandemic, the International Literacy Association (ILA) suspended production of the popular reader-selected Choices book lists. Three years later, the Children’s Book Council (CBC), our longtime Choices cosponsor, gave the project new life—and a new name.

In this webinar, meet some popular authors featured on the CBC’s inaugural Favorites Lists, as well as hear from CBC Executive Director Carl Lennertz on this fresh take on the classic (and beloved) resource. As an added bonus, the winners of the 2023 ILA Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards will be revealed by project chair Sonja Ezell.

Get ready—your to-be-read pile is about to get a whole lot taller!

Who should register: Classroom teachers, literacy/instructional coaches, librarians, reading/literacy specialists, literacy supervisors/coordinators, and instructional leads

Registration: FREE FOR EVERYONE

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Thank You to Our Event Supporters

 

 

 

Using Literature to Promote Understanding, Empathy, and Global Citizenship

Literature has the power to open minds to new worlds, new understandings, and new possibilities. This free ILA Webinar, held in partnership with the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY), explores ways to leverage high-quality, global literature for powerful learning opportunities. Mónica Montañés (author of Different), Mari Kanstad Johnsen (illustrator of Bedtime for Bo), Paloma Valdivia (illustrator of Book of Questions) and Sara Lissa Paulson (translator of Book of Questions), whose books were named to USBBY’s 2023 Outstanding International Books List, will be on hand to discuss their work and how engaging young readers in world literature can help them become active global citizens.

Registration: FREE FOR EVERYONE

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The Impact and Influence of ILA National Recognition

Attracting teacher candidates in this competitive climate requires preparation programs to demonstrate both excellence and value. At this free webinar, learn how earning ILA National Recognition can do both—and help your program stand out from its competitors.

Hosted by J. Helen Perkins, chair of the ILA National Recognition Commission, the event will feature representatives from schools that have been successful in earning this achievement, as well as Diane Kern, cochair of the ILA Standards Revision Committee and a key architect of the ILA National Recognition Program.

Speakers will address

• The benefits of earning ILA National Recognition
• What it’s like to go through the process
• How to determine if ILA National Recognition is right for your school
• Ways to become a program reviewer

Participants interested in becoming a volunteer reviewer for the ILA National Recognition program will be invited to join breakout discussions to ask questions and get more in-depth information.

Who should register: Higher education faculty/coordinators interested in strengthening or expanding their specialized literacy professional or elementary teacher preparation programs; potential volunteer reviewers.

Has your program already earned ILA National Recognition or is it in the process of earning the seal of approval? This event is for you as well. Indicate your level of participation during the registration process, as well as any interest you have in networking with other recipients/current candidates.

Registration: FREE

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