Using Digital Tools in the Classroom to Support Common Core: ReadWriteThink to Offer Practical Ideas at Annual Convention

Countless teachers have told International Reading Association (IRA) staff how much they love ReadWriteThink.org, a free lesson-planning resource from IRA, the National Council of Teachers of English, and Verizon Thinkfinity. As well as offering over 800 lesson plans from real teachers, ReadWriteThink.org develops online interactive tools and recently released two new mobile apps!

At this year’s IRA Annual Convention, the ReadWriteThink team is back to share practical tips on  technology into literacy lessons. Even educators who shudder when they see the term “STEM” can integrate these user-friendly ideas into English/language arts curricula.

On Saturday, April 20, Natalie Spangler from Lewisville Independent School District in Texas; Alece Campbell, Head of English Department/Teacher; and Kristin Townsend from the Verizon Foundation present Increasing Literacy Across the Curriculum Through Mobile Learning and ReadWriteThink.org. The Lewisville Independent School District is committed to leveraging mobile learning through “bring-your-own-device” (BYOD) and school-provided devices as well as in-depth professional development provided to teachers through the Verizon Innovative Learning School project. Attendees will hear first-hand how high school teachers and students are benefiting from mobile devices and how they're leveraging digital resources from ReadWriteThink.org to support reading and writing across the content areas to support the Common Core State Standards.

On Sunday, April 21, Laurie A. Henry, assistant professor at the University of Kentucky, teams up with Scott Filkins, English Language Arts/Social Studies Coordinator for Grades 6-12 at Champaign (Illinois) Unit 4 Schools, to speak about Using ReadWriteThink.org to Address the Common Core Standards and Engage Adolescent Learners. The Common Core State Standards call for adolescent readers to be proficient consumers and producers of a range of narrative, informational, and persuasive texts, both in English classes and in content areas throughout their school day. Literacy educators Laurie A. Henry and Scott Filkins will share a range of approaches for using formative assessment, themed book lists, cross-disciplinary reading and writing, and digital technologies to engage students and elevate their achievement as readers and writers. They will incorporate a range of resources from ReadWriteThink.org. Session participants will be encouraged to explore resources using a BYOD format.

Literacy professionals interested in using more technology in their classrooms are encouraged to attend these informative sessions. Visit the iPlanner event search at www.reading.org/iplanner for session times and locations. Visit www.iraconvention.org for more details on the IRA 58^th Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas, from April 19 to 22, 2013.