Regular membership – Illinois Association of Teachers of English

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Friday 25 Oct 2024

8:30 AM - 9:50 AM Plenary Session 1

Conference Welcome & Opening Session Featured Speaker
Staley Library, Ballroom (3rd Floor)

Challenged and Challenging Texts and Teaching

Carol JagoStaley Library, Ballroom (3rd Floor)

Carol Jago taught middle and high school for 32 years in Santa Monica, California. She has served as president of the National Council of Teachers of English and on numerous committees including the College Board’s English Academic Advisory committee, ILA Adolescent Literacy Interest Group, and NAEP Writing Standing Committee.

Carol Jago has published a number of books on literacy and English pedagogy, including her most recent book The Book in Question: Why and How Reading Is in Crisis (Heinemann, 2019). She has written for the Los Angeles Times and many educational journals and online forums.

Carol is the recipient of the International Literacy Association's Adolescent Literacy Thought Leader award and the NCTE Exemplary Leadership Award.

Book signing to follow

Fri 8:30 AM - 9:50 AM

All levels

2024

10:00 AM - 10:50 AM Breakout Session A

Mimicking Isn't Thinking: Putting Thinking Back in Writing Instruction

Kimberly Williams and Sarah Scholz, Hinsdale Central High SchoolStaley 138

Students emerged from Covid classrooms, but not unscathed. More than ever, they were not engaging in their own learning. Our course team decided we couldn't keep lamenting the fact that our tried-and-true approaches weren't working anymore; we needed to adapt to teach the students in front of us now. Inspired by a book for math teachers on getting kids to think, we adapted our own approach to writing instruction.

Session Materials: Website

Fri 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

High School, Middle/Jr. High

Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered)

Perils of the Participation Grade: Rethinking our Evaluation of Participation

Stephanie Bailey, Glenbrook South High SchoolStaley 140

As educators, we know the value of participation. However, we also know that many barriers to participation exist in and out of the classroom. We know that participation grades favor extroverted students, and at their worst, participation grades “may be inherently ableist” (Laurel Bastian, as cited in D’Agostino, 2023). But what if there is a way we could abandon the perilous participation grade while simultaneously showing students we value daily engagement? There is a way: the Engagement Grade.

In this session, Dr. Stephanie Bailey will define the Engagement Grade and the implementation of it with various abilities and grade levels. Dr. Bailey has been teaching high school English for 27 years and has taught at the community college level. Also, she has been a reader for the AP Language and Composition test. Currently, she teaches AP Language and Composition and remedial junior English.

Session Materials: Handout 1; Handout 2

Fri 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Classroom Management, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Pedagogical Preparation and Practice

Culturally Responsive Teaching Standards, Practices, and Resources for the HS English Classrooms

Beth Schurman, Olivet Nazarene UniversityStaley 142

In March of 2021, the Illinois State Board of Education adopted a set of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards for the purpose of better preparing future teachers to create culturally rich spaces and curricula that are welcoming and supportive for all students. While the new standards are an important tool for teacher education programs, there does not seem to exist a similar set of standards for practicing teachers in Illinois. While research suggests that culturally responsive teaching is a practice of many high school English teachers regardless of a required set of standards, we wanted to determine the extent to which this is happening using the CRP standards as a lens for teachers to consider the ways in which they are already embracing culturally responsive practices.

Specifically, our session will first share the results from a survey and interview with several high school English teachers in Illinois about their perspectives on and teaching habits related to the CRP standards. Then, we will share a repertoire of resources that we have curated and created to support teachers in their continued implementation of the CRP standards and culturally responsive practices in general.

Fri 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

College, High School, Pre-service teacher

Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice

It Does Happen Here: The Literary and Cultural Roots of American Authoritarianism

Tim Libretti, Northeastern Illinois UniversityStaley 144

It hardly seems arguable that U.S. national politics have, for nearly a decade now, veered in a decidedly and intensified authoritarian direction. That nearly half the nation seems to crave autocratic rule and repression is not, in fact, a brand new development. Despite the fact that prominent trailblazers in American literary study such as F.O. Matthiessen defined American literature precisely by its strong democratic impulse and individualist spirit, one finds from even a cursory study of the U.S. literary tradition a powerful and canonical anti-democratic politics—relentlessly so. In the works of such writers including T.S. Eliot and William Faulkner, one finds unapologetic supremacist values. Even the romantic individualism of Emerson and Thoreau endorse autocratic behavior, eschewing the rule of law that is a key principle of democracy. This seminar invites us to scrutinize closely as teachers of literature what values we are transmitting to our students as we teach U.S. literature, reflecting on how the institution of literary study itself has participated in creating our current national condition.

Fri 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

College, High School

2024, Academic Scholarship, Cross-curricular Connections

10:00 AM - 10:50 AM Discussion Panel 1: Book Challenges

Moderated by Amy Magnafichi Strong
IATE Intellectual Freedom Committee Chair

Book Challenges

Amy Magnafichi Strong, Moderator, IATE Intellectual Freedom Committee ChairStaley 146

While Illinois schools and libraries enjoy broad protections against book bans, parents and community members bring challenges nevertheless. Panelists will discuss their experiences with book challenges. What books in the curriculum or library have been challenged? On what grounds? How have they addressed challenges to those books? What measure of success have they had in defending the challenge?

Panelists

Gary Anderson, District 211 (Retired), Illinois State University, Harper College
Bayyinah Bey, Chicago Public Schools
Stacy Haynes-Moore, Coe College
John Essington, Blackburn College

Fri 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

11:15 AM - 12:30 PM Workshop 1

Sharing our Humanity: Healing from Trauma Through the Power of Story

Julie Hoffman Springfield Public SchoolsScovill 211

Healing from trauma can be scary, messy, and complicated. Fortunately, the power of story can help. We have been passing stories on to each other for centuries. Stories of hope and resilience are the best ones to share with each other. This session will cover some of the basics regarding trauma, including a review of the physiological responses (fight, flight, freeze).

The session will include discussion about how the vicarious experiences of fictional characters help a reader know they are not alone, introduce new coping mechanisms, and provide a safe place to approach traumatic experiences. The presenter knows that all books are not created equal. Not only will she explain how some “bibliotherapy” books miss the mark, but she will introduce books that are much more effective.

Expect lively read-alouds and group discussions about how the books can be used to teach SEL goals in general or toward healing from trauma. You will receive a link to a comprehensive book list, but you might also start filling your bookstore cart during the presentation!

Elementary, Middle/Jr. High, Pre-service teacher

2024, Classroom Management, Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Interpersonal Relationships, Social-Emotional Learning 

Video Games as Literary Source Material for the Writing Classroom

James Drown and Mark Brand, University of Illinois at ChicagoScovill 212

Video-computer based games emerged as consumer products in the 1970s and now surpass movies, television, and music in terms of worldwide profits. Many of the original text-based games, such as Zork and Deadline had a genre based literary quality to them, and 50 years later we still see literary storytelling in this medium, with both major corporations and independent developers delivering significant texts using varying levels of technology and sophistication.

At the lower level of this, developers often produce low cost material that effectively deals with social and personal issues our students are interested in. Papers Please is a multi-platform game that examines issues around immigration and documentation. One Night, Hot Springs looks at the experience of being trans at a hot spring, while This War of Mine allow us to be a civilian in an urban combat zone (and is a text in Polish history classes). New and exciting games come out frequently, and this is a rich area for texts, which are sophisticated and meet students “where they live.”

We have successfully used video games in the writing classroom, and we are proposing a workshop that presents a number of short low-cost (or free) games to the audience, along with a variety of ways of using them in the classroom. As part of the experience, we would like to engage the participants in an actual lesson in relation to one of the games being presented.

College, High School

2024, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Technology

11:30 AM - 12:20 PM Breakout Session B

Teaching SEL in the Secondary High School Classroom

Barbara Schiffer, Legal Prep Charter AcademyStaley 138

As educators, our primary goal is not only to impart academic knowledge but also to nurture the holistic development of our students. Recently, there has been a growing conversation around the importance of social-emotional learning in the classroom space. By infusing SEL skills and techniques into our classroom environment, we have the opportunity to support the whole child, fostering their self-esteem and creating a conducive atmosphere for optimal learning. Ultimately, the goal of this session is to look at how by recognizing and nurturing the social-emotional well-being of our students, we empower them to thrive academically and personally. I aim to equip educators with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to effectively integrate daily practices into their teaching, ultimately fostering a more compassionate and resilient learning community.

Fri 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM

High School

2024, New and Pre-service Teachers, Social-Emotional Learning 

The CEIT Paradigm for Non-fiction Writing

Kevin Aldrich, Routt Catholic High SchoolStaley 140

In non-fiction writing, there are only four basic “moves” a writer can make. An acronym to help student writers remember them is CEIT, for claim, explain, illustrate, and tie-back. First, you can make a claim. This claim may be called a thesis, a topic sentence, a theme, or a main idea. Second, you can explain that claim. Third, you can illustrate the claim. In literary criticism, this would be evidence from the story that supports your claim. Finally, you can tie the example back to the original claim. That is, you can briefly analyze how this example illustrates your theme. In addition to making these four basic moves, you can also signal them. "In other words," signals explanation. "For instance," signals an illustration. "This is an example of wisdom because" signals a tie back. When a thesis statement includes multiple parts, those parts can be made the core of subtopic sentences in a single-paragraph essay, or topic sentences in a multiple-paragraph essay. Each subtopic section can be explained, illustrated, and tied back to the subtopic sentence’s idea. In addition to the signals mentioned above, time or order signals can further clarify structure, such as first, second, finally, and so on. Once students become adept with the CEIT paradigm, they can choose which features to use and which to leave out. This presentation will thoroughly explain the CEIT paradigm and use student examples to show how it applies both simpler and more complex essays.

Session materials: Handout

Fri 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM

College, High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Classroom Management, Cross-curricular Connections, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), New and Pre-service Teachers, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice, Research and Writing

Strengthening Students’ Reading Muscles to Build Stamina and Confidence

Carol Jago, University of California at Los Angeles; California Reading and Literature ProjectStaley 146

What can teachers do when students balk at doing the assigned reading? Why do so many students have difficulty staying with a book for more than a few minutes? In this workshop Carol Jago will demonstrate instructional moves that can help students increase their stamina and develop greater confidence in themselves as readers. Based upon current research in adolescent literacy, the session offers texts and tasks designed to engage today’s young readers.

Fri 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM

High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Pedagogical Preparation and Practice, Social-Emotional Learning 

12:30 PM - 1:50 PM Plenary Session 2

Business Meeting Luncheon and Featured Speaker

Promises of Gold: Reflections on Writing, Reading, and the Classroom

Jose Olivarez, Featured SpeakerStaley Library, Ballroom (3rd Floor)

Jose Olivarez is the author of two collections of poems, including Promises of Gold and Citizen Illegal. He co-edited the poetry anthology The BreakBeat Poets, Volume 4: LatiNEXT, with Felicia Rose Chavez and Willie Perdomo.

Promises of Gold was long-listed for the 2023 National Book Award and Citizen Illegal was a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and winner of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize.

In 2018, Jose Olivarez was awarded the first annual Author and Artist in Justice Award from the Phillips Brooks House Association and was named a Debut Poet of 2018 by Poets & Writers. In 2019, the Poetry Foundation awarded Olivarez a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship.

Olivarez's work has been featured in the New York Times, Paris Review, POETRY magazine, among others.

Book signing to follow

Fri 12:30 PM - 1:50 PM

All levels

2:00 PM - 3:15 PM Workshop 2

“My Excellent Friend”: The Letter-Writing of Frankenstein in the Age of SnapChat

Leslie Birdwell and Jane Schumacher, New Trier High SchoolScovill 211

Our students use text to correspond with each other more than ever, often churning out micro-epistles while we teach our most engaging lessons. But while research overwhelmingly suggests that handwriting stimulates brain development and correspondence boosts mental health, snapping bypasses many of these benefits, due to the brevity and screen-dependence of the medium. When given the opportunity to turn a text into a real letter, however – one with an elevated salutation, advanced vocabulary, and ornate sentences, students will scribble seriously for half an hour, phones forgotten in backpacks. Engaging this activity in preparation for reading novels such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein will allow students to playfully encounter the language of the 19th century, consider new words and their shifting meanings over time, and compose heartfelt and often hilarious missives (if only to scold the dog for soiling the “citadel” of their bedroom).

In this workshop, participants will examine sample letters, both from Frankenstein and from online archives of Victorian-era correspondence; next, they will draw from an extensive word list in composing letters of high emotion and elevated language. At the end of the workshop, participants will discuss further implications for how such writing generates authentic stakes, stimulates discussions of word usage and parts of speech, and increases student confidence in the otherwise daunting task of reading 19th century texts.

Fri 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM

High School

2024, Academic Scholarship, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Research and Writing, Social-Emotional Learning 

Engaging students in local, collaborative problem solving to build their vision of the future

Florian Feucht, Thinking HabitatsScovill 212

Explore how local news can be used as a powerful tool to teach reading, writing, critical thinking, and collaborative problem-solving skills, while serving as a motivational hook to help students seek out information and connect with peers and the broader community. Our federally-funded unit connects reading and thinking skills with the writing process using a student-centric, project-based approach.

To highlight some features of the highly versatile featured unit, students develop reading and critical thinking skills through interactive modeling of cognitive skills and corresponding writing assignments. Built-in prompts engage students in peer-to-peer discussion about local issues. A culminating group project invites students to engage in collaborative problem-solving with their peers as they formulate a personal cause, select and analyze news articles, and produce an essay and a creative work aimed to advocate for change within their own community.

Participants will learn a reliable process for evaluating news articles in a non-biased manner. They will explore unit materials, including reading and writing activities, grading rubrics, student work and notes from teachers who have taught with the materials previously. This unit can be tailored to meet the needs of any classroom, and provides ample opportunities for cross-curricular connections, community involvement, and meaningful communication with peers and the broader community.

Fri 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM

High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Social-Emotional Learning 

2:30 PM - 3:20 PM Breakout Session C

"Picturing" Socially Just Research Writing

Remy Garard and Katie Bovenkerk, Normal West High SchoolStaley 140

As we are navigating “contentious times” in the ELA field, a high-interest and non-threatening approach to moving our students towards engaging in social justice issues is using diverse children’s picture books as a jumping-off point for students to choose topics for required research papers. We encourage teachers to use a mentor text to lead students through the process of engaging with diverse picture books for children, critically examining the texts that capture their attention, and then using a single text to lead their higher-level research and study of visual media. This approach is a highly motivating and non-threatening way to engage students in important discussions, concerns and eventual research about culturally diverse topics. Teachers will come away from this session understanding the research that supports a move towards this type of unit, as well as with practical tools and lists of texts to use immediately in their lessons.

Session Materials: PDF

Fri 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM

High School

2024, Academic Scholarship, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Research and Writing

ELA & AI: The Obstacle Course of Future Pedagogy

John Essington, Blackburn CollegeStaley 142

Generative artificial intelligence (genAI) is disrupting, if not overthrowing, five thousand years of human communication, encompassing the entire existence of the English language. ELA educators must clearly understand the role genAI will play in our classrooms and adapt to technological trends in a vigilant yet open manner.

This session will highlight numerous areas of genAI and how they correspond with English education. Additionally, the presentation will discuss and question our current understanding of genAI and how that affects our understanding of what it means to educate students.

One of the main goals of the presentation is to critically examine the correct role for genAI in ELA education and tangle with the philosophical implications of this moment, and seek the middle ground between accepting all technological innovations without thought and living in a neo-luddite, sequestered classroom space.

Session materials: Slides

Fri 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM

College, High School, Middle/Jr. High, Pre-service teacher

2024, Classroom Management, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Research and Writing, Social-Emotional Learning , Technology

Empowering Students Through the Use of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

AngelaNina Escanilla, Unity Junior High SchoolStaley 146

Culturally responsive teaching stresses the importance of connecting students’ identity and lived experiences to the classroom in order to enhance their learning. With book banning and curriculum censorship at an all time high, students feel powerless. They feel as if their voices don’t matter, often leading to the question “Why do I need to know this?” By understanding the communities from which our students come, we are better able to create engaging lessons and find literature that all students can relate to. Creating a welcoming and culturally responsive classroom will decrease student apathy and, in turn, increase student engagement. Not sure how to get started? This session will provide you with a multitude of resources, ranging from beginning of the year “Get to Know You” activities to giving students voice and choice on literature.

Session materials: Slides

Fri 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM

High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Book Love, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Interpersonal Relationships, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice, Social-Emotional Learning 

2:30 PM - 3:20 PM Interview with Jose Olivarez

Interview with Jose Olivarez

Jose Olivarez Interviewed by Jen Vincent, Bannockburn School, Story ExploratoryStaley 144

Writers bear witness. Educator and writer Jen Vincent will talk with poet José Olivarez about how living the life of a writer means paying attention, collecting ideas, navigating the writing process, and ultimately, bearing witness to the human experience. In exploring writing through Olivarez’s eyes, educators will see ways to wield the power of poetry as invitations to read and write and celebrate our humanity.

Fri 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM

3:30 PM - 4:20 PM Breakout Session D

Engaging Scholars through Counterstory and Connection

Erin Perkins and Jay Mehta, Adlai E. Stevenson High SchoolStaley 138

As education consistently adapts to the ever-changing landscape of the field and its student population, teachers and administrators are acknowledging the necessity of diverse curriculums as part of culturally relevant and responsive practices. However, we argue that this has been implemented to varying degrees of success, especially texts related to the Asian American Pacific Islander and Desi American (AAPIDA) community. As the United States continues to grow its racial diversity, the literacy opportunities within the education system need to represent it. We will report on the unique perspectives that teachers of color bring to the professional space as it comes to curriculum and instruction from our own personal experience as teachers within the AAPIDA community as well as research. We will offer a discussion about how counterstory narratives empower scholars and promote empathy across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups and challenge ourselves to view all stories with complexity, nuance, and compassion. We will examine successful ways to conduct authentic moments of cultural connections and discuss how well-intentioned practices may result in inauthentic or exacerbate systems of harm for scholars. We will offer and report on practices that we have done to enable student discussion surrounding how their identities interact with the various systems while centering counterstories, authentic connections, and tending to the social and emotional needs of scholars.

Fri 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM

High School, Middle/Jr. High, Pre-service teacher

2024, Book Love, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Interpersonal Relationships, New and Pre-service Teachers, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice, Social-Emotional Learning 

Handling Heavy Texts with Care

Abigail Kindelsperger, University of Illinois at ChicagoStaley 140

Many of the most frequently taught works of literature include death, trauma, and other topics that can feel daunting for new teachers to approach in the classroom. Focusing on a literacy methods course with a fieldwork component in Chicago Public Schools, this presentation explores how pre-service teachers learn to navigate teaching literature with heavy content. With Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat as a focal text, the presenter will share classroom strategies that help teachers reflect on their teaching philosophies and design lessons that balance paying attention to social-emotional needs and building literacy skills.

Session Materials: Slides; Website (Note that the website link is to the Google Slides presentation, which may be updated slightly from the ppt version.)

Fri 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM

College, High School, Pre-service teacher

2024, New and Pre-service Teachers, Social-Emotional Learning 

The Perfect Match: Coupling Groundbreaking Texts with Revolutionary Pedagogy

Keisha Rembert, National Louis UniversityStaley 142

As ELA teachers, we know the power of a great book to captivate students' minds and hearts. By thoughtfully selecting and presenting texts that grapple with issues of race, identity and justice, we can ignite students' curiosity, empathy and critical consciousness. But we can't stop at just putting diverse books in students' hands - we must also equip ourselves with the pedagogical tools to guide them through meaningful engagement and reflection.

In "The Antiracist ELA Classroom," I laid out a vision and roadmap for transforming our English Language Arts classrooms into sites of antiracist education and empowerment. But how do we bridge the gap between theory and practice, between the pages of a professional book and the lived realities of our classrooms? In this session, I’ll book talk some great texts coupled with ready-to-implement anti-oppressive, antiracist instructional strategies.

Fri 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM

High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Book Love, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion

Exploring Our Literacy Histories in Verse: Using Poetry to Cultivate Humanity, Content Knowledge, Community, and Craft

Kate Sjostrom,University of Illinois at ChicagoStaley 144

Much has been written about students’ and pre-service teachers’ fear of poetry; heck, there’s even a scientific name for the fear of poetry: metrophobia. Thankfully, there have been some great books to guide teachers and teacher educators in suffusing their classrooms with positive poetry experiences—books like John O’Connor’s 2004 Wordplaygrounds and the new Whispering in the Wind by Linda Rief and A Poetry Pedagogy for Teachers by Pindyck and Vinz. And yet, it can be hard to make sufficient time for poetry in high school and methods courses, where teachers and teacher educators are often bound by curriculum and time constraints. The presenter will describe her project to infuse both her high school classroom and, later, her writing methods course with poetry in an attempt to create fear-free poetry experiences—as well as to capitalize on poetry’s power to enhance content knowledge, collaboration, communication, and creativity. In the process, she will outline a literacy autobiography assignment she has done with high school and college students which enlists writers in creating snapshots of their most formative literacy experiences: engaging in writing workshops, reflecting on the implications of their and peers’ experience, and celebrating each other’s voices through publishing parties. Attendees will be invited to share some of their own literacy experiences and play with poetry as well.

Session materials: Slides

Fri 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM

High School, Pre-service teacher

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), New and Pre-service Teachers, Social-Emotional Learning 

3:30 PM - 4:20 PM Discussion Panel 2: Engagement and Curriculum

Student Engagement in Scripted Curriculums vs. Student Choice Contexts

Elizabeth Kahn, Moderator, Northern Illinois UniversityStaley 146

Some districts engage students with a severely limited classroom experience using scripted curriculums, while others engage students with curriculums that allow for broad student choice. Panelists will discuss their experience on this student engagement continuum. Where do their districts fall? What successes and challenges have they experienced? How have they worked around the challenges and capitalized on the successes?

Panelists

John Barrett, Pleasant Plains Middle School
John Hartzmark, MacArthur High School
Cindi Koudelka, Fieldcrest Community School District, Aurora University
Nicole Boudreau Smith, Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Julie Hoffman, Springfield Public Schools & University of Illinois at Springfield

Fri 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM

Elementary, High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Workshop 3

Identity Cycles: SEL Integration in the ELA Classroom

Elise Zerega, Northwestern University, and Corrine Ulmer, Lane Tech College PrepScovill 211

Suggested: Bring a laptop with Google Suite

Together we will explore a curriculum rooted in identity for middle school students that empowers them to not only critically craft their own identities, but more thoroughly develop critical thinking skills in order to enact social change. The curriculum integrates social emotional learning with common core, while being non-linear and revolutionary. Texts, skills, and activities centered on identity allow students of color, in particular, to take control over their identity formation, and also allows white students the chance to authentically reflect and understand their own positions of privilege in contrast. Paired with seminars, collaborative writing, and individual reflections through an active revision process, this cyclical curriculum engages students by returning to concepts and skills in order to deepen their holistic development throughout the year. The intersection of SEL, ELA, and equity is of utmost importance as our students, and the world around us, continue to recover from the upheaval of a global pandemic. Corrine Ulmer has over a decade of direct experience developing and implementing advanced middle school curriculum that offers practical takeaways from Elise Zerega's background in pedagogical research that explores the intersection of SEL and academic achievement.

Fri 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

High School, Middle/Jr. High, Pre-service teacher

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Interpersonal Relationships, Research and Writing, Social-Emotional Learning 

Transforming Teaching Through Self-Care

Sarah Bland, Enter Peace Print and Wellness CollectiveScovill 212

We all know that teachers cannot “pour from an empty cup.” This rhetoric of self-care is all too common. But amid the fast pace of the school system, what are we actually supposed to do to refill our cups? The obstacles to self-care are made worse because much of what the dominant culture calls “self-care” simply helps us cope within antiquated systems rather than truly promote sustained well-being. This cultural confusion around self-care keeps teachers stuck in cycles of exhaustion, overwork, and disconnect. The steeply increasing rate of teachers’ chronic stress and burnout makes clear that we must prioritize real self-care practices—boundaries, self-compassion, power, and processing feelings of guilt. Centering our humanity in this way creates the groundwork for life-giving teaching practices, classrooms, and communities.

Drawing on ten years of teaching English in Illinois public high schools and the work of Paulo Freire, bell hooks, and Pooja Lakshmin, Sarah Bland holds space for teachers to use reflective writing to create a real self-care plan that will support their well-being throughout the school year. Further, participants will be invited to practice short guided meditations to foster self-compassion. Engaging with reflective writing and guided meditation in this way is an act of self-care, community care, and love that naturally shifts how we engage with ourselves, our students, our curriculum, and our school communities.

Session materials:

Transforming-Teaching-through-Self-Care-workshop-Worksheets-1.pdf

Fri 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Elementary, High School, Middle/Jr. High, Pre-service teacher

2024, Classroom Management, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Interpersonal Relationships, New and Pre-service Teachers, Social-Emotional Learning 

4:30 PM - 5:20 PM Breakout Session E

Voices Silenced: Unpacking the Dilemma of Book Challenges in the Context of Culturally Responsive Pedagogies Through Content Analysis

Amy Magnafichi Strong, Illinois Association of Teachers of EnglishStaley 140

This session will discuss the findings of a three-year dissertation study about the reasons for and rhetoric surrounding book challenges and bans. The presentation will discuss how this rhetoric interrupts culturally responsive teaching practices and silences marginalized voices. This session will also present effective ways of discussing these challenges with stakeholders.

Fri 4:30 PM - 5:20 PM

Elementary, High School, Middle/Jr. High, Pre-service teacher

2024, Academic Scholarship, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice

Cultivating the Next Generation of Teachers

John Barrett, Pleasant Plains Middle SchoolStaley 142

A session to empower and celebrate the vocation of professional educator. We will celebrate what we do, brainstorm ways to celebrate young teachers (in particular) and brainstorm ways to keep young teachers in the field of education.

Session materials: Slides

Fri 4:30 PM - 5:20 PM

Elementary, High School, Middle/Jr. High, Pre-service teacher

2024, Interpersonal Relationships, New and Pre-service Teachers

Exploring Diverse, Modern Voices in Book Clubs

Sue Hersam and Brad Ruda, Lake Forest High SchoolStaley 144

As English teachers, we’re used to teaching texts in isolation. This presentation will demonstrate how the presenters have experimented with book clubs as a way to weave more varied voices into classrooms. This session will showcase an American Literature Book Club Unit, which provides a framework for students to helps our students see the larger America beyond their own experiences and those captured in canonical literature. Presenters’ sophomore teaching team reads recently published American fiction, searching for well-written literature from varied perspectives to expose students to characters facing complex issues. The novels include relatable teenage narrators whose experiences move students beyond their comfort zones. The unit revolves around student choice, beginning with book selection and extending through student-led book group discussions. In the course of the unit, student groups research related real-world issues like Native American land rights, groundwater contamination in low-income areas, and effects of immigration policies. For a final project, students create movie book trailers using Canva to advertise novels' themes and motifs.

Presenters will also share novel titles, videos of book groups in action, and project examples.

Fri 4:30 PM - 5:20 PM

Elementary, High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Book Love, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Social-Emotional Learning 

Novel Selection in Secondary Settings: Curating Inclusive Texts

Kelly P. Vaughan, Lewis UniversityStaley 146

In the last four decades, literacy scholars and national educational organizations have emphasized the need to include more diverse and inclusive texts for our students. However, teachers have also experienced increased calls for censorship and book banning in the last decade. This presentation will address two questions: how do secondary English teachers currently select books for inclusion in their curriculum? How can teachers ensure access to diverse and inclusive texts?

The presenter will share the results of a pilot study about how teachers select novels in their classrooms and share multiple resources (evaluative checklists, book awards, and online resources) to help curate inclusive classroom libraries, comprised of texts featuring protagonists representing diverse racial, linguistic, gender, and disability communities. Participants will be asked to share their experiences with text selection, reflect upon the criteria they would like to use to determine which novels to teach, and evaluate their current novel choices.

Attendees are suggested to have access to Google slides.

Fri 4:30 PM - 5:20 PM

High School

2024, Book Love, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Cocktails & Hors d’oeuvres

Staley Library, Ballroom Foyer (3rd Floor)
Enter the Basket Raffle to benefit the IATE Minority Scholarship

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Plenary Session 3, Friday Dinner

Awards Dinner

Staley Library, Ballroom (3rd Floor)

6:30 pm, Plenary Session 3

Awards Dinner

Drawing for Basket Raffle
Minority Scholarship Recipients
Student Literature & Art Contest Winners
Lifetime Achievement Award
Author of the Year

Fri 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

All levels

Joelle Charbonneau Interview

Joelle Charbonneau , Interviewed by Genevieve Sherman

Joelle Charbonneau is the author or the New York Times best-selling The Testing trilogy (comprised of The Testing, Independent Study, and Graduation Day), as well as two mystery series: The Rebecca Robbins mysteries (including Skating Around the Law and Skating over the Line) and the Glee Club mysteries (comprised of Murder for Choir, End Me a Tenor, and A Chorus Lineup). Her YA books have appeared on the Indie Next List, on the YALSA Top 10 books for 2014 as well as the YALSA Quick Picks for reluctant readers.

Joelle has performed in opera and musical theater productions across Chicagoland, and now teaches private voice lessons.

Book signing to follow

Fri 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

All levels

Saturday 26 Oct 2024

9:00 AM - 9:50 AM Breakout Session F

Demystifying Native Speakerism in English Teacher Education

Watsachol Narongsaksakul, Illinois State UniversityStaley 140

This presentation explores native speakerism —the problematic division between native English speakers teachers (NESTs) and non-native English speakers teachers (NNESTs)—resulting in the controversy surrounding desirable English language teaching professional identity. This critical issue informs ideological beliefs about the English language as a property. The most recent theoretical foundations address the privilege of NESTs that should be detached from a Western approach. Acknowledging power differentiation is another consideration that reinforces NNESTs' valuable cultural and linguistic backgrounds and imposes an unrealistic standard of language articulation and production.

Session materials: PDF

Sat 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM

Pre-service teacher

2024, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion

Future Leaders Speak Out on Refining Our Literary Traditions

E. Mariah Spencer Naya Haller, Jayne Hill, Jacklyn Costa, Northern Illinois UniversityStaley 142

Since literary traditions are ever-evolving, it's crucial to engage with the perspectives of future educators on how to refine and redefine these traditions. This presentation will offer insights and research from pre-service teachers enrolled in the licensure program at Northern Illinois University. These emerging educators represent the next generation of literary leaders, and their voices are instrumental in shaping the future of ELA education. This panel features pre-service teachers at various stages of their licensure program, each offering a unique perspective on the refinement of literary traditions. Through interactive discussions, personal reflections, and practical examples, the presenters will delve into innovative approaches to teaching literature that honor tradition while embracing contemporary voices and perspectives. By amplifying the voices of future leaders in education, this session contribute to the ongoing dialogue about how literature can foster empathy, criticalthinking, and cultural understanding. The presentation will inspire conference attendees to reevaluate their own teaching practices and consider new ways to engage students with literary texts. Areas of focus include: 1) Reimagining canonical texts for diverse classrooms; 2) Integrating contemporary literature into the curriculum; 3) Using technology to enhance literary learning experiences; and 4) Empowering student voices through reader-response pedagogy.

Sat 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM

College, High School, Middle/Jr. High, Pre-service teacher

2024, Academic Scholarship, Book Love, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Interpersonal Relationships, New and Pre-service Teachers, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice, Research and Writing, Social-Emotional Learning , Technology

Empowering Multilingual Learners: Leveraging Asset-Based Language and Effective Strategies in Mainstream English Classes

Brittany Neil and Katharine Cole, Round Lake High SchoolStaley 144

This presentation aims to explore the transformative potential of asset-based language frameworks and practical strategies for supporting multilingual learners in mainstream English classes. By shifting the focus from deficit-based models to acknowledging and harnessing the linguistic strengths and cultural assets of multilingual students, teachers aim to create a positive and inclusive learning environment. Attendees will gain insights into differentiated instructional techniques, effective assessment methods, and collaborative learning approaches, supported by real-world examples and success stories. The session encourages interactive participation, fostering a space for educators to exchange ideas and best practices, contributing to a more inclusive and effective approach to teaching English to multilingual learners in diverse educational settings.

Session materials: Slides

Sat 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM

High School

2024, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Interpersonal Relationships, Social-Emotional Learning 

Make Time To Write!

Martha Keller, Adlai E. Stevenson High SchoolStaley 146

Looking for new ways to energize your instruction through creative writing? This session will offer strategies for helping students gain a better understanding of point of view, punctuation, mood, narrative distance, and syntax by giving students the opportunity to write letters, spoken (and unspoken) dialogues, and poetry in a range of voices. Why not ask students to write a deferral letter in the voice of Meursault or imagine Jane Eyre and Janie Crawford as college roommates and write the dialogue when they first meet? Why not re-write the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet in a spaceship or re-imagine the soldiers in The Things They Carried as junior high school boys on a basketball court? Creative writing helps students unpack character motivation, and builds empathy and connection with different lived experiences.

Re-writing scenes from different characters’ perspectives can help students develop a deeper appreciation for the limitations and possibilities of the author’s selected point of view. Attendees will look at student samples and consider nimble creative writing possibilities for commonly taught novels in grades 9-12 as well as short stories, poems, and even independent reading. Writing can also be a great way to get students to connect with their classmates through sharing their writing with one another. The session will give teachers tools to strengthen students’ reading and writing skills and to establish a greater sense of community in the classroom.

Session Materials: Slides

Sat 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM

High School

2024, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Interpersonal Relationships, Social-Emotional Learning 

Increase Student Engagement and Learning through Culturally Responsive Teaching & Leading Standards

Melissa Wheeler and Jaclyn Turner, Mattoon Community School DistrictStaley 138

Learn about ISBE-issued CRT leading standards through collaborative exercises. Create and share instructional practices and supplemented curriculum materials in a digital community. It is suggested to bring a device to access Google slides. Links and QR codes will be provided.

Session materials:

PDF
(PRESENTERS' NOTE: If you would like to further your learning in Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards, please reach out to Jac & Melissa using this google form: https://bit.ly/moreCRTL)
Queer-Joy.pdf

Sat 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM

Elementary, High School, Middle/Jr. High, Pre-service teacher

2024, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion

10:00 AM - 10:50 AM Breakout Session G

Getting Students INTO Analysis

John Hayward, Naperville Central High SchoolStaley 138

Teaching the previously-dreaded analysis skill becomes an anticipated opportunity for discovery and reasoned defense with a new approach. Get students into analytical reading and writing using a series of engaging warm-up activities that will spark interest, inspire investigation, and boost confidence. No more dry and boring book talks! Guide students through the fields of art and music first. Transition to crime scene analysis to make clue searching fun again. Involve AI if you dare. When students finally land in the world of text, they will know how to argue for their interpretation with conviction and solid evidence. Come learn new ways to approach analysis!

Session materials: Slides (The slide deck also includes access to a note-taking page.)

Sat 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

College, High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Pedagogical Preparation and Practice, Research and Writing

Read with Choice: The Rebecca Caudill and Lincoln Titles

Nichole Folkman, Hartsburg-Emden Community School District; and Jeanne’ Aken, Beach Park School DistrictStaley 140

Come learn about the titles for the 2025 Rebecca Caudill and Lincoln Teen Readers Choice book awards! Learn about new, great books and also how you can run the program at your own school, if you want. Learn how you can get involved in helping select the books that go on the lists as well!

Sat 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

Middle/Jr. High

2024, Book Love, Cross-curricular Connections, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Social-Emotional Learning 

The Larry Johannessen New Teacher Forum

Elizabeth Kahn, Northern Illinois UniversityStaley 142

This open discussion session focuses on challenges, hopes, and strategies for success in teaching. Student teachers and teachers in their first few years of service are invited to talk about challenges and victories. Experienced teachers and others who care about the struggles of novice teachers are encouraged to attend and share their ideas.

Sat 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

College, High School, Middle/Jr. High, Pre-service teacher

2024, Classroom Management, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), New and Pre-service Teachers, Social-Emotional Learning 

Themes Across Time and Place

Sheila Yarbrough, National Louis UniversityStaley 144

Can exploring themes found in traditional folklore, pop culture, comics, and classical literature help students understand the dreams, needs, and fears that connect humanity across time and place? “Themes Across Time and Place” provides opportunities for students to discover and to think critically about ideas that link us to the past and connect us wherever we find ourselves in the present. Workshop attendees will delve into themes and discuss how the activity might be used in their classrooms.

Sat 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

All levels

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered)

Frag-Free Fluency: The Importance of Complete Sentences and Sentence Variety in Dialogue, Reading, and Writing

Tiffaney Washington and Nancy Larocca, Flossmoor School DistrictStaley 146

This session will teach participants how to provide more opportunities for student-to-student discourse, giving written and verbal feedback, and utilizing tech, activities, and research-based strategies to improve communication in the classroom while answering the age-old question posed by students, Do We Need To Use Complete Sentences? This session can provide elementary and junior high teachers with valuable insights and practical strategies to en- hance their literacy instruction and support their students’ development as proficient readers and writers.

Sat 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

Elementary, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Cross-curricular Connections, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Research and Writing, Social-Emotional Learning 

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM Workshop 4

Implementing Writing Across the Disciplines

Jennifer May, A-C Central Middle & High SchoolScovill 211

This workshop introduces instructional techniques and activities for implementing writing across the disciplines. It is appropriate for all grades K-12 and is based on The Writing Revolution, training educators to incorporate short and simple activities into pre-planned lessons for any content. The objective is to boost students’ writing abilities and knowledge of the similarities and differences of content writing. Think about a science report and an ELA literary essay—a hypothesis vs. thesis statement, results of an experiment vs. proving an argument, etc. Participants will leave with several content-specific activities and the know-how to incorporate them into the units they’re already teaching. Attendees are suggested to bring a lesson plan.

Session materials:

Sat 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM

Elementary, High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), New and Pre-service Teachers, Research and Writing

The Science of Reading for Adolescents: What to do when big kids can't decode

Jennifer French, ThinkCERCAScovill 212

This presentation was born out of the presenter’s experience with the reading achievement gap at the secondary level. When students don’t master the strands of Word Recognition Skills in Scarborough’s Reading Rope by third grade, they typically end up being middle school or high school students who still can’t decode. Secondary teachers know how to support reading comprehension, but they are not trained to teach decoding or fluency. Furthermore, there are limited resources for secondary students who need decoding and fluency work. In this presentation, attendees will discover how to engage adolescent readers using age-appropriate strategies grounded in the science of reading. Participants will explore the science of reading and its application to older students, delving into evidence-based practices that promote literacy development. Whether you're a classroom teacher, reading specialist, or literacy coach, this workshop offers valuable insights and tools to enhance your teaching practice and empower your middle and high school students to become proficient readers. Attendees are suggested to bring a phone or laptop to access QR codes for resources referenced in the presentation.

Sat 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM

High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), New and Pre-service Teachers, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice

11:00 AM - 11:50 AM Breakout Session H

Interactive Lectures and You

Kathryn Creasy, Limestone Community High School Illinois Central CollegeStaley 140

In this session, the presenter will demonstrate how interactive lectures (Nearpod, Peardeck, etc.) can introduce literature and literary elements, help students to analyze literature, make note-taking engaging, guide them through self-assessments of their writing, and more. Teachers are always looking to increase student engagement, deepen student reflection, and teach more effectively, and interactive lecture sites can help teachers to reach those goals. Teachers are invited to learn how they can incorporate this option into their current repertoire. Attendees are suggested to bring a laptop or tablet (a phone will work, too) to access the sites featured in the presentation.

Session materials: Nearpod

Sat 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM

College, High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Interpersonal Relationships, Technology

Stories in Every Classroom: Energize Your Teaching, Empower Your Stu- dents, and Help Save the World

Randal Hendee, Writer and Retired TeacherStaley 142

Storytelling is the key to classroom learning. Why? Because it's the key to human cognition, communication, and culture. If the English teaching pendu- lum has swung away from narrative and toward argumentation and analysis, it needs to swing back. The presenter proposes that telling stories—both oral and written—is one of the most powerful life skills a student can ever learn. The same goes for teachers, because stories are essential to a lively, humane, and knowledge-resonant classroom. And yet, storytelling is prone to pitfalls and misuses, and students need to learn about those, too. The presentation will include storytelling basics, practical story activities, and an overview of the storytelling crisis students and teachers face today—and what teachers can do about it.

Sat 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM

High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Interpersonal Relationships, New and Pre-service Teachers, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice, Social-Emotional Learning 

Interview with Abdi Nazemian

Abdi Nazemian, Interviewed by Andrew J. Rodbro, Warren Township High SchoolStaley 144

Abdi Nazemian, Interviewed by Andrew J. Rodbro, Warren Township High School

Join IATE’s second vice president, Andrew Rodbro, for an intimate conversation with Abdi
Nazemian. They’ll talk about Abdi’s writing process, his experience in the motion picture industry, the differences in the creative process between novel writing and script writing, his novels, and, of course, his love for Madonna.

Sat 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM

All levels

2024

12:00 PM - 1:20 PM Plenary Session 4, Past Presidents' Luncheon

Building Bridges Through and With Creativity

Abdi Nazemian, Featured SpeakerStaley Library, Ballroom (3rd Floor)

Randy Rambo Classroom Library Grant Luncheon Featured Speaker

Abdi Nazemian is the author of Like a Love Story—a Stonewall Honor Book, Only This Beautiful Moment, The Chandler Legacies, and The Authentics. His novel The Walk-In Closet won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction. His newest novel, released in September 2024, is Desert Echoes, and is available for purchase in the exhibition hall.

Abdi Nazemian’s screenwriting credits include the films The Artist's Wife, The Quiet, and Menendez: Blood Brothers and the television series Ordinary Joe and The Village. He has been an executive producer and associate producer on numerous films, including Call Me By Your Name, Little Woods, and The House of Tomorrow.

He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, their two children, and their dog, Disco.

In this discussion, Abdi Nazemian will share his journey coming of age as a queer Iranian-American who found refuge in stories and also felt invisible in those same stories. In tracing his life experiences, Nazemian will discuss the challenges he’s faced and lessons he’s learned through his writing career in film and television, and as an author of young adult books that tell all the stories he wishes he had in his own young adult years.

Sat 12:00 PM - 1:20 PM

1:30 PM - 2:20 PM Breakout Session I

Fostering Student Choice in the AP Classroom

Courtney Beresheim, Proviso Math & Science AcademyStaley 138

Students perform better when they care about the material they are studying—but teachers can't always guarantee every student responds the same to a high-interest text. In both AP Literature and AP Language, there are ways to allow for student choice in text selection that allow for both windows and mirrors. In this session, teachers will receive (and hopefully share!) text selections for both courses, as well as specific lesson templates and activities to allow for student choice as they work towards skill mastery. Non-AP teachers welcome!

Session materials: Slides

Sat 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM

High School

2024, Book Love, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice

The Nostalgia Project: Discovering Community Through Poetry, History, and Human Impact

Laura Krueger, Cynthia Martinez, and Bethany Morton, Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy, East Aurora School DistrictStaley 140

In preparation for a return to school following the pandemic in 2021, East Aurora School District partnered with Dr. Badia Ahad, Loyola University Provost, to train staff district-wide on the concept of Nostalgia, Reclamation, Regeneration, and Retribution. Following the training, The Nostalgia Project was born. As an element of a four-part interdisciplinary unit ending with a four- part podcast, students shared their oral and written histories in the format of narrative poetry inspired by George Ella Lyon’s poem "Where I’m From" while considering their childhood homes, families, and community. Transitioning to social studies, math, and science, students learned about the history of their city and the diverse immigrant groups that worked to contribute to the identity and uniqueness of where they are from; compiled information about demographics of the area they chose to investigate and created their own data representation with projections; and proposed a way to resolve a social, environmental, or political issue in their city in a way that would benefit the community as a whole. In this session, educators will gain specific knowledge of the project in order to collaborate with their colleagues to provide a rich interdisciplinary experience for students to become experts in their community and to “forge a better future.” Attendees are suggested to bring a device to access links to resources presented during this session.

Session materials: PDF 1; PDF 2

Sat 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM

Middle/Jr. High

2024, Cross-curricular Connections, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Technology

Pushing Back with Love and Joy: Why Queer Representation Matters

Cindi Koudelka, Fieldcrest Community School District; Julie Hoffman, Aurora University Springfield School District; Melissa Wheeler, The Readologist Mattoon School DistrictStaley 142

Join the presenters as they share their favorite books that center and celebrate Queer Joy in Literature. Despite living in a state that prohibits book banning and mandates instruction honoring the contributions of LGBTQ+ people, our students still have limited access to literature in which Queer joy is represented. This session will highlight joyful, identity-affirming literature that spans all ages in a fast-paced jubilee and discuss how the books can add to cultivating an inclusive classroom experience. A robust list of books with links to purchase from independent bookstores will be provided. Door prizes will be given! Come and make a new TBR list for your classroom.

Sat 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM

All levels

2024, Book Love, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion

Grammar for All by Focusing on Patterns

Judi Van Erden, Westmont High SchoolStaley 144

By focusing on parts of speech and sentence patterns, teachers empower students to improve their use of punctuation, sentence complexity, and overall writing. Bonus: they also teach reading strategies that assist with tackling difficult texts and create opportunities for English emergent students to succeed. Join this session to discuss this useful and non-threatening approach to grammar and review visuals and lessons that the presenter uses in College Readiness and English classes.

Session materials: Slides

Note from presenter: If you have any questions or need clarification on something, or if you'd like to see some materials, please contact me at jve_profacct@gmail.com or jvanerden@cusd201.org.

Sat 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM

High School

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), New and Pre-service Teachers, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice

1:30 PM - 2:20 PM Discussion Panel 3

Discussion Panel on Co-Teaching, Moderated by John Hayward, Naperville Central High School

John Hayward, Naperville Central High SchoolStaley 146

Co-teaching is becoming a widespread practice to improve student performance. While collaboration is universally considered virtuous, teachers can be territorial in their lessons, with their students, and in their pedagogical judgments. Participants will be asked about their experiences co-teaching. How do co-teachers manage the division of teaching duties? What challenges have teachers experienced and how did they overcome them? What aims has co-teaching accomplished; which aims has co-teaching fallen short in achieving?

Panelists: Brittany Neil, Round Lake Senior High; Katherine Cole, Round Lake Senior High School; Alyssa Staley, Carbondale Middle School; Genevieve Sherman, Zion-Benton Township High School; Kathryn Hoving, Hampshire High School; Kimberly Millard, Hampshire High School

Session materials: Website
Note from Moderator: This doc is shared and editable. If you were not able to attend, you can still participate in the slow chat here. Please contact any one of our panelists to ask questions, offer insights, and further the conversation!

Sat 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM

All levels

2024

2:30 PM - 3:20 PM Breakout Session J

Teaching Texts with Multiple Perspectives: Analyze "Perspective," Cultivate Humanity

Angie HeiserStaley 138

Cultivate humanity by preparing your high school students to see the world and all it encompasses (past, present, future) by reading texts that encourage analyzing multiple perspectives so they, as the next generation of readers, thinkers and leaders, can be more tolerant and accepting of others around them. Three specific novels are intertwined in this presentation: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Sat 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM

High School

2024, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered)

Authentic Assessments with AI

Rick De Leon, Adlai E. Stevenson High SchoolStaley 140

Authentic Assessment with AI is a workshop that attempts to align project- based learning with AI supports. Whether researching a topic for an essay, developing an in-class paragraph, or designing a creative project, students can utilize AI independently or with teacher supports to create prompts that address the fundamental structures of an assignment or assessment while also evaluating and reflecting on their decisions in the development of a product. By using authentic assessments with AI, teachers can show students the limitations of AI in this process when it comes to the authentic learning experiences they engage in as well as the critical thinking skills necessary for student success.

Participants will be provided with some purposeful review and examples of project-based learning with practical application for a high school setting or relative experience in middle-school or college. Participants will also explore, design, and outline their own authentic assessment with AI. Organizationally, participants will be provided with an overview of the steps of a project-based learning assessment and will be shown where AI can be used to support student learning. Though not necessary, attendees are suggested to bring a device with access to ChatGPT or MagicSchool AI to allow for some person- alized exploration.

Session materials:

Sat 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM

College, High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Research and Writing, Social-Emotional Learning , Technology

Throwing Open the Doors: How to Make AP English Language Accessible to More Students

Rita Thompson, Elk Grove High SchoolStaley 142

AP Language, the most popular exam in the AP portfolio, should be open to all students who are searching for a challenge, but too often teachers are stuck as to how to forge the necessary skills. How can teachers throw open the doors and offer the right kind of support? As more and more schools move away from traditional tracking, the students in AP Language arrive with a wider variety of skills and skill deficits.

This session will introduce techniques and approaches rooted in cognitive psychology and brain science that work with students new to the AP experience, including exiting EL students. Approaches will include logical thinking applications, rhetorical analysis exercises, vocabulary acquisition that works, essay revision approaches, and pathways to deepen discussion and move students into more sophisticated thinking. Participants will be offered workable student-centered solutions to the barriers that prevent students from entering and succeeding in AP Language. Both experienced teachers and those newer to AP Language will benefit from the presentation. The presenter, Rita Thompson, has over a decade of experience teaching AP English Language in a Title I school. Though not required, attendees may want to bring a tablet or laptop to access resources.

Session materials:

Sat 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM

High School

2024, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Social-Emotional Learning 

Cultivating Resilience in Reading Through Emotionally Intelligent Teach

Danielle Colan and Nicole Lombardo, Adlai E. Stevenson High SchoolStaley 144

Students are overwhelmed and anxious. They are showing up to class and not engaging in well-intentioned activities. How do teachers reach these students and re-engage them without losing patience in frustration? This presentation explores the complex relationship between affective factors and reading comprehension, tapping into how students engage with text on an emotional, motivational, and attitudinal level. This session will also explore how teachers’ own attachment styles align with our students’ attachment styles and how teachers can build on this knowledge to further student engagement in analyzing texts. Participants will walk away with practical strategies they can use to help students self-regulate in order to better their overall literacy

Session materials:

Sat 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM

High School, Middle/Jr. High

2024, Classroom Management, Interpersonal Relationships, Pedagogical Preparation and Practice, Social-Emotional Learning 

The Rhetoric of Rap: Harnessing the Power of Hip-Hop When Teaching Rhetorical Moves

Jennifer Connolly, Granite City High SchoolStaley 146

Rather in-the-face of literary tradition, participants will explore how hip-hop/rap lyrics can be used to teach rhetorical moves and examine expert use of language in many situations. The session presenter will highlight a unit she’s taught in high school classrooms for almost 10 years, sharing ways to harness student engagement through the use of rap lyrics, examining context, appeals, reading like a writer, and a little literary analysis. Turn the love of a fascinating musical genre into a real-world way to teach rhetorical concepts.

Note from presenter on session materials: These slides are Google Slides, but feel free to email and I will send you access to view. Thanks for attending!

Sat 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM

College, High School

2024, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Instructional Activities (Student-centered), Instructional Techniques (Teacher-centered), Research and Writing

Return to 2024 Conference Home Page

LOCATION

Friday 25 Oct 2024

8:30 AM - 9:50 AM Plenary Session 1

Challenged and Challenging Texts and Teaching

10:00 AM - 10:50 AM Breakout Session A

Mimicking Isn't Thinking: Putting Thinking Back in Writing Instruction

Perils of the Participation Grade: Rethinking our Evaluation of Participation

Culturally Responsive Teaching Standards, Practices, and Resources for the HS English Classrooms

It Does Happen Here: The Literary and Cultural Roots of American Authoritarianism

10:00 AM - 10:50 AM Discussion Panel 1: Book Challenges

Book Challenges

11:15 AM - 12:30 PM Workshop 1

Sharing our Humanity: Healing from Trauma Through the Power of Story

Video Games as Literary Source Material for the Writing Classroom

11:30 AM - 12:20 PM Breakout Session B

Teaching SEL in the Secondary High School Classroom

The CEIT Paradigm for Non-fiction Writing

Strengthening Students’ Reading Muscles to Build Stamina and Confidence

12:30 PM - 1:50 PM Plenary Session 2

Promises of Gold: Reflections on Writing, Reading, and the Classroom

2:00 PM - 3:15 PM Workshop 2

“My Excellent Friend”: The Letter-Writing of Frankenstein in the Age of SnapChat

Engaging students in local, collaborative problem solving to build their vision of the future

2:30 PM - 3:20 PM Breakout Session C

"Picturing" Socially Just Research Writing

ELA & AI: The Obstacle Course of Future Pedagogy

Empowering Students Through the Use of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

2:30 PM - 3:20 PM Interview with Jose Olivarez

Interview with Jose Olivarez

3:30 PM - 4:20 PM Breakout Session D

Engaging Scholars through Counterstory and Connection

Handling Heavy Texts with Care

The Perfect Match: Coupling Groundbreaking Texts with Revolutionary Pedagogy

Exploring Our Literacy Histories in Verse: Using Poetry to Cultivate Humanity, Content Knowledge, Community, and Craft

3:30 PM - 4:20 PM Discussion Panel 2: Engagement and Curriculum

Student Engagement in Scripted Curriculums vs. Student Choice Contexts

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Workshop 3

Identity Cycles: SEL Integration in the ELA Classroom

Transforming Teaching Through Self-Care

4:30 PM - 5:20 PM Breakout Session E

Voices Silenced: Unpacking the Dilemma of Book Challenges in the Context of Culturally Responsive Pedagogies Through Content Analysis

Cultivating the Next Generation of Teachers

Exploring Diverse, Modern Voices in Book Clubs

Novel Selection in Secondary Settings: Curating Inclusive Texts

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Cocktails & Hors d’oeuvres

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Plenary Session 3, Friday Dinner

Awards Dinner

Joelle Charbonneau Interview

Saturday 26 Oct 2024

9:00 AM - 9:50 AM Breakout Session F

Demystifying Native Speakerism in English Teacher Education

Future Leaders Speak Out on Refining Our Literary Traditions

Empowering Multilingual Learners: Leveraging Asset-Based Language and Effective Strategies in Mainstream English Classes

Make Time To Write!

Increase Student Engagement and Learning through Culturally Responsive Teaching & Leading Standards

10:00 AM - 10:50 AM Breakout Session G

Getting Students INTO Analysis

Read with Choice: The Rebecca Caudill and Lincoln Titles

The Larry Johannessen New Teacher Forum

Themes Across Time and Place

Frag-Free Fluency: The Importance of Complete Sentences and Sentence Variety in Dialogue, Reading, and Writing

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM Workshop 4

Implementing Writing Across the Disciplines

The Science of Reading for Adolescents: What to do when big kids can't decode

11:00 AM - 11:50 AM Breakout Session H

Interactive Lectures and You

Stories in Every Classroom: Energize Your Teaching, Empower Your Stu- dents, and Help Save the World

Interview with Abdi Nazemian

12:00 PM - 1:20 PM Plenary Session 4, Past Presidents' Luncheon

Building Bridges Through and With Creativity

1:30 PM - 2:20 PM Breakout Session I

Fostering Student Choice in the AP Classroom

The Nostalgia Project: Discovering Community Through Poetry, History, and Human Impact

Pushing Back with Love and Joy: Why Queer Representation Matters

Grammar for All by Focusing on Patterns

1:30 PM - 2:20 PM Discussion Panel 3

Discussion Panel on Co-Teaching, Moderated by John Hayward, Naperville Central High School

2:30 PM - 3:20 PM Breakout Session J

Teaching Texts with Multiple Perspectives: Analyze "Perspective," Cultivate Humanity

Authentic Assessments with AI