At ILA West 2018 you can work closely with leading literacy and equity experts during intensive workshops around key topics in literacy instruction, through a lens of providing equitable learning opportunities for all students. Workshops are based around three strands: Teachers and Coaches, Administrators, and Early Literacy. TEACHERS AND COACHES STRAND Getting Everyone Reading Complex Texts: Why It s Critical, How It s Do-Able Sandra Alberti Although we realize that we want to hold all students to high standards that put them on the pathway to college and career readiness, bringing complex text into literacy instruction is much easier said than done. During this session, we will examine the research behind accessing text complexity for all students. Participants will be given the opportunity to apply the concepts of text complexity to analyze and plan supports around a text. We will share strategies to support students in this work. Providing Equity for English Learners Through Embedded Professional Learning for Teachers MaryEllen Vogt, Jana Echevarria Learn how equity for English learners can be attained when teachers engage in professional learning about SIOP that is embedded, inquiry-based, and collaborative. Word Generation: Strategies for Academic Vocabulary Acquisition Pilar Ramos Research says academic word learning is a critical element of boosting reading comprehension, leveling the playing field, and closing the opportunity gap. In this workshop, participants will learn concrete strategies for supporting the development of academic language using research-based materials that are available to all online. Through videos, model lessons, and collaboration, educators will come away with a host of tools and resources to implement tomorrow.
Social Justice Does Not Just Live in Our Content, It Lives in Our Methods Cornelius Minor This presentation will explore how grading practices, classroom routines, teaching methodologies, discipline codes and other school structures can perpetuate the kinds of exclusion that keep poor children, girls, LGBTQIA+ children, disabled children and children of color from fully accessing and benefiting from a school curriculum. We will study how inquiry/action research can be a tool that practitioners use to dismantle these structures and to change them to truly benefit all learners. Reciprocal Teaching: New Insights and Powerful Lessons for Results Lori Oczkus Boost literacy and yield dramatic results with the ultimate proven classroom "talk" and comprehension technique: reciprocal teaching. Take the power of the "Fab Four" comprehension strategies predict, question, clarify, and summarize to the next level with dozens of engaging new ideas for fiction and informational texts. This low-prep, highyield strategy also makes charting a natural. Lessons to use tomorrow plus ways to share with parents will be shared. Close Reading Through Surface, Deep, and Transfer Levels Olivia Amador-Valerio Students learning with and from each other in a collaborative conversation setting requires consideration of the language required to engage in discourse in meaningful ways. Determining the language function that is necessary to understand content is a key ingredient that supports surface, deep, and transfer learning. This interactive session focuses on the language requirements that guide students along shifts in learning progression through a focus on grammar, syntax, and signal words embedded in text. Participants will connect with the close reading model through the language perspective, text dependent questions designed with language functions in mind, and the language production students will utilize both in spoken and written format to demonstrate mastery of the content. Assessment-Capable Learners Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey We all know that collective efficacy is the new number one influence on students learning. And there is good reason for that. In part, efficacious teachers ensure that their students are assessment capable, which means that students understand their current level of performance and compare that with the desired level of learning. Learn how to create assessment-capable visible learners who understand their educational goals, have the tools they need for the journey, and monitor their own progress. We ll also explore how student self-assessment acts as a springboard for markedly higher levels of achievement. Taking the Threefold Path: Effective Vocabulary Instruction for Equity Gwynne Ellen Ash Layered on top of our everyday Anglo-Saxon English are words of Latin and Greek origin. These words share roots and affixes with other similar words. Their shared morphology allows students to use known word parts to decipher the meaning of previously unknown words. In this session, participants will learn not only what roots and affixes might be appropriate to teach but also how to include definitional and contextual strategies into their vocabulary instruction to support students in their literacy development. Give Them Tools, Not Excuses: Writing in the Early Grades Cathy Collier and 1:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. Teaching writing in the early grades can be exciting AND independent. We just have to give our students the tools to make them successful.
Visible Learning for Literacy Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey Educators have been in search of what works for decades. Our collective search for better ways to reach students and ensure that they develop knowledge and skills has resulted in thousands and thousands of instructional resources. The truth is, not everything works. We ve turned to Hattie s Visible Learning (2009) for help. As he noted, students must develop surface-level learning if they are ever going to go deep. And we know that deep learning can facilitate transfer, which has been a goal shared by educators for as long as there have been teachers. In this interactive session, we focus on specific approaches that work at the surface level of learning and note that they are different from strategies that work at the deep and transfer levels. Importantly, we will clarify which approaches work at which phase of learning. What We Read in Books, We Read in The World Cornelius Minor People often say that books make us better people or that writing can change the world. This session will take a very close look at our role as educators in ensuring that this happens. Just like we cannot leave the teaching of literacy skills to chance, we cannot simply hope for a better world. We teach for one. In this session, we will work to name the skills, plan the lessons, gather the resources, and practice the methods that help children to learn and practice critical thinking skills in the literacy classroom and then to transfer those skills to their lived experience in the world. ADMINISTRATORS STRAND Building Equity Dominique Smith We will refocus on how to create positive student teacher relationships. We will focus on the philosophy of equity and the taxonomy created by Dr. Smith and his colleagues. Within the taxonomy, we will generate a conversation around the tier of social emotional engagement and how this can be seen within the work of restorative practices and how using effective language, impromptu conversations, and circles can help create the balance of managing a classroom while building relationships. No More Low Expectations for English Learners Jana Echevarria English learners are the fastest growing population in our schools. As such, providing both effective literacy instruction and focused language teaching must be a priority so that these students can meet grade-level standards and acquire associated skills. We will discuss the importance of literacy leadership at both the building and district level to ensure that English learners receive an appropriate instructional program. A Comprehensive Approach to Improving Literacy Achievement Jenna Shumsky, Pilar Ramos, Doris Lee, Meisha Ross Porter New York City s Middle School Quality Initiative (MSQI) provides middle schools with targeted funding and on-theground support, all specifically focused on improving reading achievement and preparing students for success in high school. MSQI s framework for school improvement is based on the Carnegie Corporation s Reading Next report, which laid out recommendations for improving adolescent literacy instruction and supporting older readers struggling with comprehension. In this workshop, participants will learn about the MSQI framework, district- and school-level implementation, and lessons learned; engage in collegial discourse; and complete a guided planning process.
Leadership for Literacy Julia Reynolds Principals and district leaders play key roles in supporting teachers, students, and families in literacy development. We will hear stories of building leaders and district administrators prioritizing literacy and seeing results throughout all aspects of student achievement. Conversations will revolve around what can happen in your own schools and districts and what next steps need to be put into place immediately. EARLY LITERACY STRAND Humanizing Approaches to Sharing Diverse Literature in Early Childhood Classrooms Angie Zapata, Noreen Naseem Rodriguez, Selena E. Van Horn, Nancy Valdez-Gainer, Amy Seely Flint, Tasha Tropp Laman, Monica Kleekamp Research points to the importance of young children s access to high-quality diverse literature as a mirror into their own lives and a window into worlds very different than their own. During this two-hour session, presenters will share literacy-focused approaches to sharing African American, Latinx, Asian American, LGBTQ, and inclusive children s picture books that affirm these communities. In addition to hearing from presenters, attendees will participate in small-group discussions and leave both inspired and informed with new titles, principles, and practices to take back to their schools. Using Data to Plan Instruction and Achieve Equity in Early Literacy Jan Hasbrouck Friday, March 16, 1:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. Many educators believe we are collecting too much data. However, we need information to help us identify students with instructional needs as early as possible, diagnose what specific assistance they need, and monitor the effectiveness of our instruction so modifications can be made if needed. The better we are in collecting and using data, the more effective we can be in meeting the needs of every student. This session will provide a framework for collecting and using data that answers key questions to guide instruction and doing that effectively and efficiently. Close Reading = Close Thinking in the Early Years Diane Lapp, Kelly Johnson Friday, March 16, 2:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. How can teachers in the early grades design and implement close reading opportunities when students are just learning to read? This session will address this question and more: What exactly should close reading instruction involve in grades K 2? How can close reading complement teaching the early foundational skills? How does close reading fit into an early balanced reading program? Through demonstrated lesson examples, you ll learn specifics of how to use formative assessment data to design scaffolded learning experiences for students to support their growing independence when engaging with complex texts. Celebrating Student Differences Promotes Early Learning Equity Aida Cervantes Allen-Rotell, Lisa Trevino Forehand, Hilda Martinez, Diane Lapp, first-grade children Although children come to school with differences to be celebrated, there are grade-level standards and literacy proficiencies they all need to achieve and develop. This session will illustrate how each child can make achievement gains in a balanced literacy program that provides purposeful, data-driven, scaffolded instruction. A guided reading lesson demonstration with first-grade students will be modeled. Wrestling With Words and Big Ideas in Text Ruth Yopp, Hallie Yopp Saturday, March 17, 1:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. All voices count in this comprehension and word study strategy that engages readers in using, thinking about, and working with words to collaboratively interpret text.
Guided Writing The Missing Middle Piece: Practical Lessons, Powerful Results! Lori Oczkus Saturday, March 17, 2:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. Learn the powerful effect scaffolded writing instruction can have on your students. Guided writing is the missing middle piece that supports students during that fledgling phase between modeled/shared writing and their solo work. Discover practical lessons to easily transform dull, lifeless writing into colorful organized pieces full of voice. Proven ways to reach struggling, reluctant writers will be included throughout the session, and you ll leave with dozens of proven and exciting ideas to use immediately to improve your students writing using mentor texts, modeling, impromptu dramatizations, and cooperative group writing. *Presenters, sessions, and times are subject to change.