California Reading Conference

Hi everyone,

Tomorrow is opening day for California Reading Association’s 2022 virtual conference. Keynote speaker for the opening session is GEORGIA HEARD. The lineup of other speakers and topics is impressive as well.

I counted twenty videos that are available to those who are registered for the conference, include one by MARY JO FRESCH and LAURA ROBB and one by TIM RASINSKI and me. I look forward to feedback on those. Here are the program descriptions. If you know of someone who plans to attend the conference, I hope you will consider sharing the information.

David Harrison and Tim Raskinski … Why Poetry for Reading Instruction – Let us
Count the Ways! – Poetry for children is one of the least valued texts for teaching reading.
We will make the case that poetry offers such great potential for improving all aspects of
reading. Moreover, we argue that poetry is particularly beneficial for students who struggle
in reading.
Mary Jo Fresch and Laura Robb … Powerful Comprehension Tools: Three Reading
Strategies That Work – Fresch and Robb model and discuss how three strategies (visualizing,
comparing/contrasting, and inferring) engage and motivate K-8 students. The strategies trigger
students’ critical thinking for active and deep comprehension.

Presenting virtually is not anyone’s first choice but thank goodness it has become a viable option. The other conference I have in California this year is in person, next month in Anaheim. That’s for NCTE. I’ve mentioned it before but will get back to it before long. I’m working on my schedule now.

A good trip

Hi everyone,

Sandy and I got in from Salt Lake City yesterday afternoon after a good conference with American Association of School Librarians. It was well attended by librarians and other educators from around the country and I was happy to be invited. My thanks to Holiday House for sponsoring me and to Senior Publicist Sara DiSAlvo in particular for being there, manning the booth when I signed, and hosting a terrific party for Josh Allen and me on Friday night.

A big added bonus was spending time with Jerry Pallotta and old pals Roland Smith and Michael Spradlin. The beat goes on and writers are still doing their best to find opportunities to present their work, traveling wherever necessary to do it.

Kate Coombs and I presented on Saturday afternoon with librarian Amanda Jones as our moderator. Our talk, “Take a Walk on the Wild Side, Connecting Young Readers to Nature,” was well attended and lasted 50 minutes. My thanks to Amanda and Kate for a very enjoyable experience.

Out of books

Hi everyone,

I’m enjoying the American Association of School Librarians conference in Salt Lake City. Signed books today — The Dirt Book and I Want an Apple — and ran out of both. Tomorrow I co-present with Kate Coombs and look forward to that. It feels SO good to be in front of people again after all these weary months.

I got some poems for the Fairfax project roughed in on the flights out here and plan to sketch in two more on the way back.

Write to Learn Virtual Speaker Series

Hi everyone,

If you haven’t heard about it, The Missouri Literacy Association is going virtual this year for the well known and popular WRITE TO LEARN conference. https://web.cvent.com/event/bf32ad3e-cd74-4eaf-87b3-ca33a66b00fd/summary.

“National-level keynote speakers, bringing you some of the best language arts teaching strategies for these challenging times. Whether your school is going face to face, 100% virtual, or using a hybrid model, these mini series of workshops will give you practical, actionable strategies you can use right away.”

I’m happy to note that two talented friends of mine, Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger, are the leaders of the November and December, 2020 series.

Chairperson Sam Bommarito provided this link to help you get started touring the program and learn more about how you or someone you know might participate. The series of workshops stretches from the first on October 1, 2020 through the final one on January 28, 2021.

If you have questions, the answers should be available on the links provided. I’m glad to see how beautifully this year’s conference has adapted to the needs of our current world. Way to go, Dr. Sam and all involved!

More news from ILA

Hi everyone,

I mentioned the other day that the all day institute proposal to ILA for October this year has been accepted. Now the presentation proposal for Laura Robb, her son Evan Robb, and me has also been accepted. The good news is I’m on two programs. The bad news is I’ll have to prepare for two presentations. But I’m thrilled to have this kind of problem. The name of the second program is, “Poetry: A Surefire Way to Build a Love of Language and Improve Reading Comprehension Among Striving Readers.”