IRA Annual Convention: "A Life-Changing Event"

“My first IRA Annual Convention in the late 1970s changed my life, professionally and personally. I was in awe of the number of smart, groundbreaking literacy experts I heard speak and had an opportunity to interact with.”
-Regie Routman, internationally renowned educator and author


Join leading literacy researchers and top classroom specialists at IRA’s 2011 Annual Convention, May 8-11 in Orlando, Florida, as they engage with, mentor, and inspire attendees through the exploration of this year’s theme, “The Power of Literacy.” A special convention issue of Reading Today highlights the many avenues that attendees can take better trained to master today’s challenges of producing stronger student performance.

The problem is, there’s no “one size fits all” when it comes to professional development (PD) for literacy instruction. Sometimes an immersive experience is just the thing, providing an intensive focus on a particular topic. Sometimes a more a la carte approach is best, picking and choosing from diverse topics of personal interest. Often, a networking opportunity or hands-on roundtable is the optimal approach for sharpening skills.

For many regular attendees at IRA conventions, catching a ReadWriteThink.org session is an absolute must. They don’t want to miss the inspiring presentations provided by members of the site’s staff and highly experienced teacher-users. They know the importance of engaging students through technology, and they understand that digital literacy is an indispensable survival skill in the 21st-century workforce.

This year ReadWriteThink.org is pleased to offer two sessions that allow you to make connections between language arts and content areas through technology.

ReadWriteThink.org Presents: Globetrotting by Blogs: No Passport Required
Monday, May 9, 2011
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Peabody Hotel, Orlando L

Learn how to use blogs to hone students’ writing and connect them to communities of learners around the globe. Lisa Zawilinski will discuss how her journal article “HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking” inspired a teacher in Lebanon to use blogs with her eighth-grade students, and Laurie Henry will narrate her experience with first and second graders in Kentucky who used blogs to communicate with pen pals in Rio de Janeiro.

ReadWriteThink.org Presents: STEM Poetry
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
Peabody Hotel, Florida A

Discover how poetry can be used to engage students in a deeper comprehension of STEM content areas. Jennifer Altieri will explain how to use poems to develop a better understanding of math concepts by providing examples from Literacy + Math = Creative Connections in the Elementary Classroom. Emily Manning will highlight science poetry books and ways to connect science concepts and poetry in the classroom, and the team of Deborah Kozdras and James Welsh will focus on the integration of technology to enhance learning in K–12 classrooms.

Visit IRA’s Annual Convention homepage to find out more about sessions and how you can make your visit “a life-changing event.” See you in Orlando!