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.
Blog Archives
Interactive Lectures and You
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
The Science of Reading for Adolescents: What to do when big kids can’t decode
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.
Implementing Writing Across the Disciplines
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:
The Larry Johannessen New Teacher Forum
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.
Read with Choice: The Rebecca Caudill and Lincoln Titles
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!
Getting Students INTO Analysis
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.)
Increase Student Engagement and Learning through Culturally Responsive Teaching & Leading Standards
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:
- (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
Future Leaders Speak Out on Refining Our Literary Traditions
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.
Transforming Teaching Through Self-Care
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: