Archive for Annual Convention

The IRA Annual Convention is all about choices, such as which sessions to attend, when to visit the Exhibit Hall, and which featured speakers to hear. You simply can’t be in two places at once. Maybe you missed some speakers you really wanted to hear. Maybe you couldn’t attend the convention at all.

CDs and MP3s of many convention sessions are now available from Dove Conference Services. For a complete list and for information about ordering, visit the IRA section of the Dove website and then click on the 2008 link.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker gently took the stage at the General Session Thursday during IRA’s 53rd Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. She paused and smiled at the audience, saying “I feel like I’m in heaven—I feel like I’m in heaven with all these teachers.” Walker, who won the Pulitzer in 1983 for The Color Purple, praised teachers for what they do. “There is nothing more important in the world than to teach children to read,” she said.

She said that when was very small she was very curious about words, the magic of words on paper. One of her early experiences was watching her parents order things from the Sears Roebuck catalog. It was one of the books she learned to read from—especially, she smiled, the old catalog that went to the outhouse for recycling.

"Writing is an act of revelation," said award-winning author Christopher Paul Curtis at the Annual Awards Banquet on Wednesday evening during the IRA Annual Convention in Atlanta. Noting that he was born on Mother's Day in 1953, Curtis launched into a lively storytelling session about his childhood memories of his mother and how the theme of mothers resonates in his writing.

He recalled viewing his mother as a superhero. "I respected her and feared her," he said. He told one touching story of how his mother responded when his younger brother, David, was very ill. While his mother rocked David, she also comforted her other children by rubbing their heads with her hands--"the language of hands," he called it.

"What you read about in all my books is partly the result of two loving African-American parents," Curtis concluded, "mostly the love of my mother." He thanked the audience for allowing his voice and those of his characters to be heard. "Without you, they would be mostly silent," he said.

Fifth-grade teacher and bestselling author Rafe Esquith teaches in a Los Angeles school in which most of the students come from lives of poverty. Many speak English as a second language. Few go on to graduate high school, let alone college. Yet Esquith's alumni include many successful people, including a lawyer who helped establish a foundation to support Esquith's efforts in the classroom.

"How can I break the cycle of failure?" Esquith asked the audience at the Wednesday General Session of the IRA Annual Convention in Atlanta. "If my kids don't read well, there is no hope. If our kids don't love to read, there is no hope. We took all of the basals and we tossed them. We take all the books that have been banned and we read them."

Not only do Esquith's students read, each year they become involved in producing a Shakespeare play set to rock music. This year's class is beginning a production of As You Like It, and some of his students performed Shakespeare scenes set to Del Shannon's "My Little Runaway," Sting's "Fields of Gold," and the Rolling Stones' "She's So Cold." Other students performed the music, with each song earning a standing ovation from the appreciative crowd. The students concluded with an entertaining compilation of phrases from Shakespeare's plays that remain in use today.

Esquith read from a letter that a former student had written for her college application about how her experience in his class had shaped her. "Putting together those plays taught me about humility and teamwork," she wrote. "Who thought one could learn so much by being in a play?"

"What I fear for these kids is not drugs or gangs," Esquith concluded. "What I fear for these kids is being ordinary." All who attended this rousing session left realizing that here were a teacher and students that were indeed extraordinary.

Andreas Schleicher, expert on international assessments, told attendees at the Tuesday General Session at IRA's Annual Convention in Atlanta that there is a common currency in today's global market--literacy.

Using charts, graphs, and other forms of data, Schleicher revealed how some countries, such as Poland, have dramatically increased the value of reading, while countries such as the United States have fallen behind. "The global talent pool is changing," said Schleicher, division head for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and director of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and other programs.

Schleicher noted that countries that continue to show progress in education share one thing in common--a devotion to reading. He showed data revealing that in such countries families promote literacy through having more books at home, more frequently visiting local libraries, and creating a more diverse reading environment at home. "Having diverse reading material at home is strongly connected to high student performance and reading engagement, which includes a positive attitude torward reading," he said.

IRA President Linda Gambrell had a confession to make during Monday’s Opening General Session. She said she sometimes fears educators take the joy and pleasure out of reading when reading is taught as simply a subject in school, rather than a way of life.

The way to combat this is to promote pleasure reading in the classroom. “Pleasure reading plays an important role in literacy development,” she said. “It’s through reading we’re able to better understand ourselves, others, and the world around us.”

Known for her movie rolls in films such as Freaky Friday and A Fish Called Wanda, Jamie Lee Curtis welcomed attendees to IRA’s 53rd Annual Convention during Monday’s Opening General Session as a fan and author of children’s books. She added that she also has deep respect and admiration for educators and has long held the IRA in high regard. “I feel you are the gatekeepers of our children and the future, and you let me in the gate and I’m overwhelmed to be here,“ she said.

During her speech, Curtis explained how she—an actress—became an author of seven children’s books, which have collectively sold more than 5 million copies. “It has taken some time to get some street cred as a writer,” she said. “The truth is it’s something I’m very passionate about and take seriously. It’s not a just another ‘Hollywood-thing.’“

Educators and researchers seeking a full day of presentations, lectures, discussions, and dialogues with experts thronged to the Institutes held Sunday in the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) and at the Omni Hotel.

Among the 20 institutes offered, topics ranged from vocabulary instruction to literacy coaching to teacher quality and performance. Speakers ranged from leading researchers to former governors.

Adolescent literacy, still one of the “hot” topics in the 2008 survey of “What’s Hot” in the literacy field, drew about 100 educators to Institute 3, Adolescent Literacy: Policy Into Practices and Practices Into Policy-Strategies for Teaching Adolescent Learners, chaired by former IRA President Carol Santa. Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia (2001-2005) and current president of the Alliance for Excellence in Education was the keynote speaker. Wise described the current crisis in middle and high school education, acknowledged minimally, he said, by the federal government in 2004, but which has since become an issue addressed in the Striving Readers’ Act, currently before Congress.

With the increasing need for higher-level literacy skills in what used to be “blue-collar” occupations, such as auto mechanics and mining, literacy is “critical to all of us,” he said. The United States must have a work force possessing not only basic literacy skills, but a high level of literacy to cope with the increasing demands of technology.

From pirates to puffins, from diners to dinosaurs, from snakes to skyscrapers—name a topic that interests children, and Gail Gibbons has probably written a book about it. Gibbons, one of the foremost authors and illustrators of children’s nonfiction books in the United States, entertained the capacity crowd at the Primary Literature Luncheon on Monday afternoon with stories about her life and her books.

Gibbons described her life-long love of art, recalling, “I was always drawing and painting in grade school.” She talked about various jobs she held in television, including set design work for Saturday Night Live and a children’s program called Take a Giant Step.

Gibbons talked about the development of her first children’s book, Willy and His Wheel Wagon, and noted that she is currently working on her 149th title. She also mentioned two books she is currently completing on the topics of corn and elephants.

Best-selling thriller author David Baldacci, who recently wrote a young-adult book series, shared real-life stories from his life as an author during Monday’s Special Featured Speaker presentation.

Baldacci, known for books such as Simple Genius and the recent Freddy and the French Fries young-adult series, has been a writer most of his life. “I started writing as a kid,” he said. “I loved to tell stories most of my life. When I was a kid, it was usually to get myself out of trouble.”

Even during his decade as a trial lawyer, Baldacci continued writing. He recalled a time while working for a difficult senior partner when he was told the difference between getting a verbal confirmation and oral confirmation. The criticism later came with a copy of the book How to Write Well. The next day, Baldacci’s first book, Absolute Power, was sold to a publisher after months of writing. Upon returning to the office, Baldacci couldn’t help but return the book to his critical boss.

“I held the book up and said, ‘I just want you to know how much this book has changed my life,’” he recalled.

 Today marks the deadline for submitting program proposals for the International Reading Association's 54th Annual Convention, West, scheduled for February 21-25, 2009, in Phoenix, Arizona. IRA seeks proposals for institutes, sessions, symposia, workshops, special interest group meetings, exhibitor sessions/technology labs, and research poster sessions.

Proposals are also invited for IRA's 54th Annual Convention, North Central, scheduled for May 3-7, 2009, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The submission deadline for that conference is June 1, 2008.

Further information about submitting program proposals can be found on the IRA website.

 Friday, February 15, marks the deadline for submitting program proposals for the International Reading Association's 54th Annual Convention, West, scheduled for February 21-25, 2009, in Phoenix, Arizona. IRA seeks proposals for institutes, sessions, symposia, workshops, special interest group meetings, exhibitor sessions/technology labs, and research poster sessions.

Proposals are also invited for IRA's 54th Annual Convention, North Central, scheduled for May 3-7, 2009, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The submission deadline for that conference is June 1, 2008.

Further information about submitting program proposals can be found on the IRA website.

 The deadline is fast approaching to submit program proposals for the International Reading Association's 54th Annual Convention, West, scheduled for February 21-25, 2009, in Phoenix, Arizona. Proposals must be submitted by February 15, 2008. IRA seeks proposals for institutes, sessions, symposia, workshops, special interest group meetings, exhibitor sessions/technology labs, and research poster sessions.

Proposals are also invited for IRA's 54th Annual Convention, North Central, scheduled for May 3-7, 2009, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The submission deadline for that conference is June 1, 200

In addition, IRA seeks program proposal reviewers for both co-conventions. For details or to sign up, contact Carolyn Harris in IRA's Conferences Division by February 11, 2008.

Further information about submitting program proposals or serving as a program proposal reviewer can be found on the IRA website.

 Please note that the deadline for submitting program proposals for the 54th IRA Annual Convention West, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, February 21-25, 2009, is fast approaching. Proposals must be submitted by February 15, 2008.

Visit the following page on the IRA website to submit your proposal for this exciting convention.

 Find out about IRA’s plans for co-conventions in 2009: the 54th Annual Convention West, to be held in Phoenix, February 21–25, 2009, and the 54th Annual Convention North Central, in Minneapolis, May 3–7, 2009. Begin with the list of Frequently Asked Questions, and watch for additional details to be posted as they become available.

A daily review of convention news from the staff of Reading Today

 The Fourth General Session on Thursday during the IRA Annual Convention featured the passing of the IRA Presidential gavel from Timothy Shanahan to Linda Gambrell, the honoring of outgoing IRA Board members and members of the Local Arrangements Committee, a presentation by Ontario Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne, a musical invitation to the 2008 IRA Annual Convention in Atlanta, and more.

Incoming IRA President Linda Gambrell read the picture book Wolf by Becky Bloom, a story about a wolf who discovers the value of reading. “Like Wolf, we are all members of an important literacy community—the International Reading Association,” Gambrell said. “Like Wolf, we want all our students to become members of the literacy community.”

Featured speaker Sharon Robinson discussed the legacy of her father, baseball legend Jackie Robinson, and talked about how she is working to continue that legacy through her books for children. She closed by reading from her book Safe at Home, leaving to enthusastic applause.

A daily review of convention news from the staff of Reading Today

 At the Awards Banquet during the IRA Annual Convention on Wednesday, popular author Steven Layne urged listeners to wonder “what if?” He described the arduous process he went through to get his publisher to agree to let his friend Ard Hoyt do the illustrations for his new book Love the Baby, and he read the finished work.

There were “magic” wands at each table, and he urged listeners to use their magic with their students or families to help others imagine the “what ifs?” in their lives. “We have the potential to be the fairy godmother or godfather for someone,” he said. “Think about someone you know who needs a chance.”

Layne recalled how 13 years ago he attended his first IRA Annual Convention in Toronto as a fifth-grade teacher from Illinois. While there, he dropped off at a publisher’s booth the manuscript for what became his first book, Thomas’s Sheep and the Great Geography Test. Many successful books later, Layne says it all started for him at the IRA Annual Convention in 1994.

He challenged listeners “to leave tonight determined to explore new possibilities or to wave the wand for someone.”

A daily review of convention news from the staff of Reading Today

 Despite Lemony Snicket’s propensity for doom and gloom, there was a series of fortunate events for hundreds of convention-goers Wednesday who had the opportunity to hear featured speaker Daniel Handler, creator of the character Lemony Snicket, as well as featured authors Katherine Paterson and Esme Raji Codell, who spoke earlier in the day.

A daily review of convention news from the staff of Reading Today

  Wednesday’s general session speaker at the IRA Annual Convention, children’s rights activist Craig Kielburger, moved the crowd with an impassioned presentation about ways all of us—including students—can make a difference in the world. In his own case, he noted that “what started as a group of a dozen 12-year-olds has grown into an international project.” The Free the Children organization, which he founded as a youngster, has gone on to build more than 400 primary schools and educate more than 35,000 children throughout the world.

Kielburger talked about the organization’s new campaign, “Me to We,” which emphasizes the difference that individuals can make. “A simple act of good can have a ripple effect we can never imagine,” he said.

Kielburger challenged teachers, students, and families to do what they can—large or small—to make the world a better place. He closed with a statement that Mother Teresa made when asked about how she approached her work. “In this life we can do no great things,” she said. “We can only do small things with great love.”

For further information about the “Me to We” campaign, visit the campaign website.

A daily review of convention news from the staff of Reading Today

  “Not everything that can be counted counts—and not everything that counts can be counted,” said William Teale, paraphrasing Albert Einstein and highlighting concerns some educators have about the current dominance of database decision making in policy and legislation. He spoke at a session during IRA’s 52nd Annual Convention.

In a presentation Wednesday, Teale addressed the “current condition of early-literacy instruction in the United States,” which he sees as a cause for concern. In preschools and primary grades throughout the United States, he said, children’s reading ability is being measured by how many letters they know, their phonological awareness, and their oral fluency.

A daily review of convention news from the staff of Reading Today

 Attendees at the IRA Annual Convention had a full slate of activities to choose from on Tuesday. Here are a few of the day’s highlights.

Alice Hoffman, best-selling author and screenwriter, took a warmly appreciative audience on a short tour into her mind and heart at the Second General Session on Tuesday. The keynote speaker said this year marks the 30th anniversary of the publication of her first novel, Property Of.

Each year, people flock to the Exhibit Hall to get autographs from popular authors such as Avi.

A daily review of convention news from the staff of Reading Today

 With a “top o’ the mornin’ to you,” outgoing President Timothy Shanahan greeted thousands of “my closest friends” to open the 52nd Annual International Reading Association Convention in Toronto, Canada. After paying tribute to local arrangements Chair Shelley Stagg Peterson, Shanahan honored Carl Braun, 1990–1991 past president, and draped the blue Grand Marshal banner across his chest. “We are here to learn, share, and celebrate literacy,” Shanahan said, “Toronto’s story is written in several languages.”

And by way of example, one of the promotions subcommittee chairs, Simon deJocas, welcomed attendees in French and English. He pointed out that bilingualism has equal rights in Canada, that Canada has a Prime Minister—not a President—and to laughter from the audience, he avowed, “Canada is NOT the 51st state.”

A daily review of convention news from the staff of Reading Today

 Debra Winger and Dawn Anna hugged as they took the stage at the opening session of IRA’s 52nd Annual IRA Convention in Toronto. Their affection for each other was apparent: They became friends when their lives were interwoven by the national tragedy of the Columbine High School massacre in April, 1999.

Anna’s daughter, Lauren, was slain, shot 10 times by two students who went on a rampage, killing 12 students and a teacher, as well as wounding 24 others, before they committed suicide. Winger portrayed Anna in the 2005 movie, Dawn Anna, made for Lifetime Television about the single mother of four, teacher, and volleyball coach, who survived a rare brain disorder, endured the tragedy, all the while keeping her family intact, strong, and united.

A daily review of convention news from the staff of Reading Today

 The Internet is “the defining technology for reading,” said Donald J. Leu of the University of Connecticut in his keynote address at the 2007 Reading Research Conference on Saturday. He noted that online reading comprehension is quite different than paper reading comprehension, adding that “our failure to understand the Internet as a reading issue has worked to perpetuate reading gaps.” He described changes that needed to be made to make better use of technology. He concluded, “If we do not change, those who need our help the most will continue to receive it the least. We will lose an entire generation of students who have the power to change our world in powerful ways.”