Illinois Reading Council 2016

     One of my favorite times of year has come and gone again... The annual Illinois Reading Council conference was once again an inspiring event where I learned a ton, and took a lot of literacy guru selfies.  :)  Check the Twitter feed #IRC2016 for more tweets.

     I started writing this post, but then realized I never published it.  So, I am going to just share my #sketchnotes from the sessions I attended and call it a day.  One word synthesis: Inspiring!  My general, overall thoughts?  Writing matters.  Model it, use books as a model for it, and be a writer yourself.  Non-fiction has so much potential for reading and writing, and we really need to think about how we teach it to our kids.  Images and visuals in books and our writing matter.  Literacy matters.

@amybender8

@writeguyjeff

@KyleneBeers @BobProbst
(I always misspell her first name, because our PE teacher is a Kyleen.  Ignore the handle on the #sketchnote.  Her real handle is @KyleneBeers)

@debbiediller

@writeguyjeff

@ReadDRjwilhelm

@maestracarrera @leahod
(I had the honor of presenting this session with the lovely and talented Lucy Carrera.
Thanks, Lucy, for your inspiration!)

@LynMullalyHunt

@FletcherRalph

     For those of you who know me, I am a self proclaimed literacy nerd.  In fact, I like to take selfies at reading conferences.  I mean, who doesn't?  The truth is, I like to go up to people who inspire me, and tell them that they inspire me, while posing for a picture with them.  I figure it really helps me synthesize the influence others have on myself and my students, and shows a little gratitude for their dedication to our professional field.  So, here are my 2016 #litguruselfies!

@writeguyjeff

@KyleneBeers
@BobProbst

@LynMullalyHunt

Many of the D100 ELA Squad with @FletcherRalph

                       

@FletcherRalph

@ReadDRjwilhelm

IRC Reflections

     Here are my reflections on Illinois Reading Council 2015!  

     This year, I used the Paper 53 app to take notes during the sessions.  A few years ago, the Cognitive Coaching instructor had us do a single page mind map at the end of the PD, in the same way that our Apple PD provider had us make a One Sheet.  I remembered this strategy, and how effective it is for me as a learner, this summer at a PD session with +Lucy Carrera and +Stacy Rammer.  The result?  Digital mind maps from IRC!

Day 1

     Our first session of the year was breakfast with Maria Walther and Jan Richardson.  We got to hear their fantastic literacy ideas about both whole group and small group instruction.  What a great start to our conference!  

     I have been waiting to see +Christopher Lehman at IRC since last fall at IRC 2014.  He was listed in the preview for this year, and I have had it on my calendar ever since.  Legos, bitmoji, references to great literature, and a mindset for #edujoy and collaboration.  He is one of my favorite eduheroes for many reasons, and he did not disappoint.  

An hour about writing from sources + an hour on primary close reading = 2 sessions in a row of inspiration. 

     For lunch, we got to listen and watch Dave Burgess perform.  I have been following his energetic and passionate style of teaching on Twitter with the #tlap hashtag, and with Paul Solarz and #LearnLAP as well.  Check them both out and redefine yourself as a teacher.

     Back to Jan Richardson... 

     Our whole school is trying to follow her Guided Reading structure, so I had to hear her talk about the top 5 strategies to use.  She even gave us an extra strategy as a plus one!  She is one amazing educator.  

     For my next session, I couldn't take notes because I was actually presenting it with Jeremy Majeski.   We were presenting on using 1:1 tech, literacy, and assessment.  Thanks, +Jeremy Majeski, for giving me the push to present.  Now that it is over, I am grateful for the challenge.  We made quite the bitmoji pair.  :)

If you would like to see our presentation, here it is:

Putting the Pieces Together: 1:1 Technology, Literacy, and Assessment

     Day 1 ended with a table full of blessings.  All the #bsd100 staff who attended the conference from Emerson, Pershing, Hiawatha, Irving, Komensky, and Heritage all got together and shared a meal with a shared spirit of collaboration and growth mindset.  Our extremely talented literacy coach at Komensky, +Felicia Frazier, made all my literacy dreams come true and invited +Christopher Lehman to join us.  I might have screamed in a restaurant when I found that out a day before...  After getting over the embarrassment of telling my #eduhero that he is indeed my #eduhero, I managed to eat my meal.  Thanks, Felicia.  I hope someday to be half the literacy coach that you are, but even more important half as thoughtful as you are.  

#grateful #thankful #blessed #inspired 

 

Day 2

     We started the day off with listening to Dav Pilkey talk about his experiences as a child with ADHD and dyslexia, and how he created his first books in a hallway because he got in trouble in class.  He shared parts of his newest book with us, this time in an auditorium filled with educators and  as a very successful author.  What a great story of triumph to remind us as educators that all our students are individuals.  Sadly, I was not able to take notes with Paper 53, because the auditorium was dark, but I did snap a picture.  

     Donalyn Miller.  The Book Whisper.  Oh. My. Goodness.  

     I love her.

     Penny Kittle is also a new #eduhero of mine.  I saw her for the first time at the online EdCollab Gathering a few weeks ago, and I have been thinking about her words ever since.  So, even though her session started while I was still at the breakfast with Donalyn Miller, I snuck into the second half of her session to get inspired.   And I did.  

     My goal of Day 2 was to go to sessions about writing, because I am actively trying to improve myself as a writing teacher and coach.  Georgia Heard knows her stuff.  I wrote fast and furious in that session.  I have a lot to learn, and she put me on that path.  

     This is where there should be a session with Tanny McGregor, but sadly we ended up leaving the conference before her 2 sessions in the afternoon.  SO sad.  But, I certainly couldn't get stranded in Peoria.  My family would have missed me.  So, instead I virtually attended +Michelle Brezek and +Colleen Noffsinger's session on PLNs on Twitter during the ride home.  They introduced the #mytimePD hashtag to the IRC world.  So, if you find yourself learning on your own time or in your own way, tweet about it with their hashtag. 

#eduheroes

     So, here's a secret...  I'm a literacy guru fangirl.  

     After almost every session, for the last few years, the lit coaches and I (and sometimes I by myself) try to get a picture with the presenter.  It's a fun (yet apparently odd) way to say thank you to the presenters for their influence and time.  Here is the post from our first year at IRC as lit coaches, with some pretty awesome people.  Why not embrace our deep respect and admiration for those who make a difference on our teaching?

     Here are some #litguruselfies from IRC 2015.  These educators have all made an impact on my students and my professional self.  This year, I have a picture of my son's first grade teacher in the mix!  Thanks, Mrs. Hartmann, for being such a dedicated teacher.  It was such a surreal experience, sitting next to you while listening to Jan Richardson and Maria Walther, having such deep respect for them as educators, but at the same time being a thankful parent.

     IRC is such a special place.

I'll end with a little #hiawathapride.  Thanks for a great trip, ladies.

My Teaching Idols

Day 10 of #BTBC14

Who are your teaching idols?

                                   

     There are many teachers who inspired me along the way, and many who continue to inspire me now.  I would rather not name names, as there would be too many to list.  I prefer to name qualities via catchy posters about good teaching.  

     If you believe in the beliefs behind those posters, perhaps I idolize you!  :)

     Now, anyone who knows me personally does know that I like to stalk reading gurus.  I have not been shy about my current obsession with Christopher Lehman and his book Falling in Love with Close Reading.  Truth is, I do like to be a fan.  This fall, at the Illinois Reading Council Spring Conference, I got to be a fan of many big literacy people.  I have not posted the pictures yet, because it probably does paint me as a literacy nerd.  But, here goes...  The topic is teaching idols, after all!  The lovely ladies with me are the other literacy coaches in my district.  I was lucky to travel with and learn from them at IRC.

Doug Fisher.
"We assume struggling reader is part of their identity.  It's not.  It's a situation."

Sunday Cummins
"Close reading has to have a clear purpose."

Richard Allington
"If you want kids not learn to read well, give them hard texts."

Stephany Harvey
"The most direct link to learning is engagement.  The most direct link to engagement is fun."

Mary Ehrenworth
"The biggest thing we can do is stop saying "Yes!" but what other ideas can you find?  Make them find 2-3 big ideas.  Don't let kids just stay on the surface.  Break through.  Don't let them just find the most obvious idea." 

Nancy Steineke
Point of view and alternative perspectives will make our students go deeper.

Jan Richardson
"The one-third of entering kindergartners who don't know all their letter names are likely to become the one-third or 4th graders reading below the basic level."

Susan K. L'Allier
Become a better listener.

Timothy Rasinski
Fluency is critical at every grade level and many readers who struggle in reading are not sufficiently fluent.

     That gives you a quick photo snapshot of IRC and the literacy leaders that I look up to.  Well, some of them.  Like I said at the beginning of this post, there are many teachers whom I look to in awe.  People don't need to be famous in order to inspire me.  They just need to put kids first, care about their students, and have an open mind.  I also like when they agree to take a picture with me.  :)