2014-2015

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend and present at the Virginia State Reading Association’s Annual Conference.  I presented with two of my Reading, Literacy, and Learning classmates.  Our presentation was called “Bringing Reading to Life: How to Integrate Non-Fiction.”  Our presentation focused on combining kinesthetic learning with the use of non-fiction texts in the classroom.  We had a blast sharing our ideas and activities with our session’s attendees, and even learned some new ideas from them during group discussion.  Presenting at the conference was such a great learning experience.  I had never presented at a state conference before, and now I know what to expect.  Another great part of the conference was visiting the vendors.  I liked being able to talk to the vendors and learn about new products to use with students.  My favorite part was learning about “Words Their Way With English Learners.”  Words Their Way has been a staple resource of our program and I cannot wait to check out the their book for working with English Language Learners.  I look forward to attending many more VSRA conferences!

The Virginia State Reading Association Conference was a great experience for me as a future classroom teacher. I learned many new and exciting things that I can’t wait to incorporate into my future lesson planning. My two favorite sessions that I attended were Motivating Struggling Readers to Become Independent Readers presented by Kathryn Starke and Making Word Study FUN!!! presented by Denise Legg. Being a presenter at the conference was also a great experience as well. One benefit I gained from attending this conference is the new knowledge of incorporating active engagement strategies into word study lessons through songs, dancing, and movement. I am looking forward to my next opportunity to attend the Virginia State Reading Association Conference.

This past weekend, I attended the 2015 Virginia State Reading Association Annual Conference in Richmond, Virginia! The theme of this year’s conference was “Reading Is Magical”. Jen Eubank and I presented on the topic of motivation regarding adolescent readers to educators, administrators, reading specialists, and literacy coaches from across the state of Virginia and other visiting states. We were extremely pleased and grateful that over 50 people chose to attend our session! Our 50 minute presentation included the following: group discussion (think-pair-share), the definition of an adolescent readers, what the research says, instructional practices, engaging activities, and a wrap-up discussion/what stuck with you? The engaging activities included: Pecha-Kucha, Gummy Bears Story-Telling, Sticky Notes, and Create-a-Story. We provided attendees with a detailed newsletter with step-by-step instructions for each activity, materials needed, time required, and how to incorporate these activities into the classroom. It was a wonderful experience to be able to talk with these attendees as they shared their prior classroom experiences and offered ideas to enhance or modify the activities. Laughter and excitement filled our entire room as attendees collaborated and communicated with one another. An experienced reading specialist stated, “I could see myself modeling and sharing each of these activities with the teachers I work with.”

After presenting, I was able to attend several other featured speakers and concurrent sessions. One featured speaker I loved listening to was Richard Allington, who happens to be the author of one of our textbooks (What Really Matters for Struggling Readers). His passion for literacy is very moving and inspiring. These speakers and sessions provided me with several ideas, resources, and activities that I will definitely utilize within my future classroom. It was exciting to watch my fellow grad students present on topics they have become so knowledgeable of. The amount of support I felt from my professors and fellow grad students was very comforting. We have become one big happy literacy family! There were also lots of vendors at the conference that supplied me with resources, websites, leveled readers, and other books to use within my own classroom library.

I had such an amazing time at VSRA! Reading truly is magical!

      Last Friday, March 13th, Mary Lacen Kinkel and I were able to present at the Virginia State Reading Association’s “Reading is Magical” Annual Literacy Conference. The Conference took place at the Richmond Marriott Hotel and Greater Richmond Convention Center in Richmond, Virginia from March 12th to March 14th. Our 50 minute presentation theme was “Motivational is Marvelous: Engaging Strategies for Adolescent Readers.” The presentation included: information regarding who are adolescent readers; research-based engaging reading strategies for adolescents; and instructional practices and resources for teachers to use in their classrooms. There were a variety of participants who attended our session including graduate students, undergraduate students, program professors, administrators, reading specialists/coaches, and classroom teachers. I believe that this opportunity to present allowed me to network with professionals from around the state, as well as prepared me for future presentations that I may be required to give in my career.

     Throughout the conference, I was able to visit a variety of vendors, attend numerous concurrent sessions, and attend the general session with featured speaker Richard Allington. I especially enjoyed the concurrent sessions led by my fellow classmates because I was able to learn new literacy ideas and see their hard work come to life! I even gained a wealth of free resources and leveled texts from vendors such as Pearson, McGraw-Hill Education, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Overall, presenting at the “Reading is Magical” VSRA Conference was a highlight in my Graduate career thus far and I have expanded my knowledge of teaching literacy by attending this annual event!