October 2015 preview

James Howe Author of more than ninety books for juvenile and young adult readers, James Howe has become a spokesperson for the acceptance of differences, speaking out on the subjects of bullying, name-calling, and homophobia. Known for his comical Bunnicula series, James uses humor, excitement and adventure throughout his plots, but he sometimes incorporates serious issues, such as homelessness, illness, and death as a way to be open and honest with his readers. The Misfits inspired the national anti-bullying initiative known as No Name-Calling Week, as well as three companion novels: Totally Joe, Addie on the Inside, and Also Known as Elvis. He is also known as a dynamic speaker on creativity, writing and the imagination.

Jane Yolen Called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century, Jane Yolen sets the highest standard for the industry, not only in the meaningful body of work she has created, but also in her support of fellow authors and artists. She has written over 300 books, won numerous awards, and been given six honorary doctorates in literature. She has been the president of the Science Fiction Writers of America and a member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for over 25 years. All of Jane’s stories and poems are rooted in her sense of family and self.

Penny Kittle As a professional development coordinator for the Conway, New Hampshire, School District, Penny Kittle acts as a K-12 literacy coach and directs new-teacher mentoring. In addition, she teaches writing at Conway’s Kennett High School and in the Summer Literacy Institutes at the University of New Hampshire. Penny is the author and coauthor of numerous books including Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers; Children Want to Write (coauthored with Thomas Newkirk); Write Beside Them: Risk, Voice, and Clarity in High School Writing, which won the 2009 James N. Britton Award from NCTE; The Greatest Catch; and Public Teaching. Penny coauthored two books with Donald H. Graves — Inside Writing and Quick Writes.

Conference Preview 2015

Passport to Possibilities October 1–3, 2015 Peoria, Illinois

Join the Illinois Reading Council as we welcome and learn from a number of diverse featured speakers who will help teachers, specialists, and administrators from every grade level and content area. We are pleased to announce this year’s speakers:

October 2015 IRC Conference Preview

For more information, visit www.illinoisreadingcouncil.org

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Donalyn Miller

In her popular book, The Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller reflects on her journey to become a reading teacher and describes how she inspires and motivates her middle school students to read 40 or more books a year. In her latest book, Reading in the Wild, Donalyn collects responses from 900 adult readers and uses this information to teach lifelong reading habits to her students. Donalyn currently co-facilitates the community blog, The Nerdy Book Club. Her articles about teaching and reading have appeared in publications such as Education Week Teacher, The Reading Teacher, Educational Leadership, and The Washington Post.

Tanny McGregor

A teacher for more than 25 years, Tanny McGregor shares imaginative, inspiring, and practical teaching strategies that engage and motivate teachers and students alike. With creativity and a can-do spirit, she has helped hundreds of thousands of practitioners improve how they reach their readers. She is the author of Comprehension Connections: Bridges to Strategic Reading and Genre Connections: Lessons to Launch Literary and Nonfiction Texts. She also coauthored Comprehension Going Forward: Where We Are/What’s Next. She is currently working on a new book that tackles tough-to-teach instructional concepts in the literacy classroom.

Jim Burke

Author of more than a dozen books on the art of teaching, including The English Teacher’s Companion, What’s the Big Idea?, Reading Reminders, and Writing Reminders, Jim Burke serves on several national commissions related to adolescent literacy and standards, including the Advanced Placement English Literature and Language Course and Exam Review Commission with the College Board and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award, the NCTE Conference on English Leadership Award, and the California Reading Association Hall of Fame Award.

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Georgia Heard A founding member of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, Georgia Heard is the author of numerous books on teaching writing including Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School, Poetry Lessons to Meet the Common Core State Standards, Finding the Heart of Nonfiction: Teaching 7 Essential Craft Tools with Mentor Texts and The Revision Toolbox: Teaching Techniques That Work (second edition). She is also the author of several children’s poetry anthologies including Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems and The Arrow Finds Its Mark: A Book of Found Poems.

Dave Burgess Teacher and professional magician, Dave Burgess specializes in teaching hard-to-reach, hard-to-motivate students with techniques that incorporate showmanship and creativity. He has inspired teachers from all over the globe to achieve new levels of excellence by dramatically increasing student engagement, designing wildly creative lessons, and building a course that is a life-changing experience. Dave’s New York Times bestseller Teach Like a PIRATE has sparked an educational revolution all over the world and transformed the way teachers look at their roles as educators.

Christopher Lehman International speaker, education consultant, and New York Times bestselling author Christopher Lehman is the Founding Director of The Educator Collaborative, a think tank and educational consulting organization working to innovate the ways educators learn together. His books include Falling in Love With Close Reading with Kate Roberts, Energize Research Reading and Writing, Pathways to the Common Core with Lucy Calkins and Mary Ehrenworth, and A Quick Guide to Reviving Disengaged Writers. His articles and interviews have appeared in many publications and popular blogs.



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Mac Barnett Mac Barnett is a New York Times bestselling author of books for children, including Extra Yarn, which won a 2013 Caldecott Honor and the 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Picture Books. He also writes the Brixton Brothers series of mystery novels. He’s on the board of directors of 826LA, a nonprofit writing center, and founded the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers.

Jan Burkins Kim Yaris Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris are the writers and thinkers behind Burkins & Yaris—Think Tank for 21st Century Literacy, where their blog and their instructional resources have drawn a national audience and made them thought leaders in the field of literacy instruction. Jan and Kim’s first book together, Reading Wellness, shares field-tested, practical lessons designed to meet the rigorous demands of the Common Core while increasing joy in classrooms. With more than 40 combined years of experience in school districts, Jan and Kim’s work is steeped in literacy research, but both have the heart of a practitioner. They truly understand what teachers need to know in order to improve literacy instruction.

Peter Brunn The Director of Professional Development at the non-profit Developmental Studies Center (DSC) in Oakland, California, Peter Brunn leads the organization’s professional development work with schools and districts across the country to support the fostering of student’s academic, social, and ethical development. Prior to coming to DSC, Peter worked as a staff developer with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Peter is the author of The Lesson Planning Handbook: Essential Strategies That Inspire Student Thinking and Learning.



Jim Grant An internationally renowned keynote speaker, educator and author/co-author of over two dozen books for educators and parents, Jim Grant is regarded by fellow educators as one of America’s most passionate advocates for children. A teaching principal for almost twenty years, he founded Staff Development for Educators (SDE, Inc.) with the goal of creating classrooms where all students can succeed. Jim offers practical instructional strategies to help all students learn. He is the author of many popular professional books, including the best-selling, Differentiated Instruction: Different Strategies for Different Learners and Differentiating Textbooks.

Heidi Stemple A former probation officer in Florida, Heidi Stemple published her first short story in Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. Her famous mother is Jane Yolen! Since then, Heidi has published more than a dozen books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children. She loves speaking to students about the process of crafting a book, emphasizing research, writing, and editing.

Roberta Sejnost Author of Reading and Writing Across Content Areas, Strategies for Reading in the Content Area, and Tools for Teaching in the Block, former high school teacher and college professor Roberta Sejnost currently serves as a literacy consultant to the Kane County Regional Office of Education and Race to the Top facilitator for ISBE. A nationally recognized staff developer and presenter, Roberta is a certified trainer in Authentic Assessment, Brain-Based Learning, Portfolio Assessment, Multiple Intelligences, and Reading and Writing Across Content Areas. She has been a member of the board of directors for the International Reading Association’s Secondary Reading Special Interest Group as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the Illinois Reading Council, and she has served as an officer in several of IRC’s special interest groups. Roberta has won numerous honors, including IRC’s Hall of Fame Award, IRC’s Reading Educator of the Year, and IRC’s Service Award, and the International Reading Association’s Contribution to Literacy Award for the State of Illinois.



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Nancy Steineke As an English teacher for more than 25 years, Nancy Steineke has witnessed firsthand the potential of collaborative, performance-based learning in extending and refining student knowledge. This experience has influenced her books Assessment Alive!, Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles with Harvey “Smokey” Daniels, Content Area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide with Harvey “Smokey” Daniels and Steve Zemelman, and Reading and Writing Together: Collaborative Literacy In Action. During the summer, Nancy works with Dr. Daniels at the Walloon Institute, offering seminars for teachers, administrators, parent leaders, and their families.

Marilee Sprenger Marilee Sprenger is passionate about brain-research based teaching strategies, which include differentiated instruction and wiring the brain for success. Author of eight books and numerous articles, Marilee has been translating neuroscience research for over twenty years. She is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the Learning and the Brain Society, and the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and she has taught students from Pre-kindergarten through graduate school. She is an adjunct professor at Aurora University, teaching graduate courses on brain based teaching, learning and memory, and differentiation.

Sherry Sejnost Sheila Ruh Valued members of the IRC Educational Media Committee and Conference Technology committee, Sherry Sejnost and Shelia Ruh work with teachers and students to effectively integrate technology throughout the curriculum to raise student achievement and motivation. Their inventive, practical ideas incorporate their expertise in increasing comprehension, differentiated instruction, and multiple intelligences through the use of technology in the classroom.



Becky Anderson Wilkins In addition to her service on the Illinois Reads committee, Becky Anderson Wilkins, co-owner of Anderson’s Bookshops in Naperville and Downers Grove, has been president of the American Booksellers Association, the Association of Booksellers for Children, and the Great Lakes booksellers Association. Her mission to share a passion and knowledge of books to create lifelong readers is apparent in her co-founding of Naperville Reads, a communitywide reading program; Andrea’s Angels, a program that has distributed over 350,000 books to disadvantaged children; Turning the Page,which collects books for use in alternative high schools and arranges for young adult author visits; and Books for Troops, which has sent hundreds of books to troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Authors Reader’s Theatre Authors Reader’s Theater (ART) is a group of authors who have formed a traveling troupe, performing readers’ theater across the country. The authors perform their own writing, reading from prepared scripts without costumes or props, in true readers’ theater tradition. The authors use their own voices to demonstrate the power of dramatizing literature and to transport the audience into the text.

Illinois Authors Luncheon Join us for lunch with the Illinois Reads authors: Illinois Reads is a yearly statewide project that promotes reading for all Illinois citizens and highlights the work of Illinois authors. You will be able to sit with an Illinois Reads author, talk about his or her book, get an autograph, and snap your picture together. In addition, many of our Illinois Reads authors will treat us to engaging and stimulating sessions during the conference.

8October 2015 IRC Conference Preview


The Illinois Reading Council

invites you to join us for the

48th Annual Conference

October 1-3, 2015

PEORIA, ILLINOIS

October 2015 preview

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Transcript of October 2015 preview