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The Reading League Maine

LXCL:Included with your registration:-Keynote and two breakout sessions (AM and PM)-Coffee and snacks-Lunch (enjoy a variety of options in the Thomas College cafeteria; we will eat in the Summit Room)-Contact Hours certificate (emailed afterwards)-A FREE professional book! First come, first serve from the following titles until we run out. Everyone will get a book though! <ul class="lxcl-ul"><li class="lxcl-listItem" dir="ltr">Executive Skills and Writing Instruction by Dr. Leslie Laud </li><li class="lxcl-listItem" dir="ltr">The Writing Revolution 2.0 by Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler</li><li class="lxcl-listItem" dir="ltr">The Writing Rope by Joan Sedita</li></ul>

General Admission

Hi <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip" fr-original-style="" style="color: rgb(42, 42, 196); overflow-wrap: anywhere; user-select: none; background-color: rgb(248, 248, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255); border-radius: 4px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 8px; font-size: 11px; display: inline-block; box-sizing: inherit;">First name, Thank you for registering for our event and supporting our cause. Your registration greatly helps our mission. 🚀 If you would like to contribute further, contact us to become a volunteer, or talk to your friends about our cause! Sarah Perlesarah@me.thereadingleague.org

Join TRL-ME in welcoming these outstanding Presenters:  Laura Stewart is an educator and organizational leader. She has served as a classroom teacher, building and district administrator, adjunct professor, and director of numerous professional development projects across the country, including the Reading First initiative in Wisconsin. Before joining 95 Percent Group as the Chief Academic Officer, Laura was the Chief Innovation Officer with The Reading League and the CAO for Professional Development at the Highlights Education Group. Laura presents widely and is a published author, most recently publishing The Science of Reading 3.0: Widening the Lens of Literacy and The Courage to Lead Literacy. She co-authored The Everything Guide to Informational Texts K-2; Best Texts, Best Practices, and is a contributing author to Reading Isn’t Optional and Climbing the Ladder of Reading and Writing: Meeting the Needs of ALL Learners. Laura hosted the podcast “Teaching, Reading, and Learning: The TRL Podcast.” Laura states that her mission is “to contribute in the best way I can to ensure that all children learn to read joyfully, enabling them to  flourish as literate citizens of the 21st century. “<img style="cursor:pointer;padding:0px 1px;user-select:none;position:relative;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%" /> Dr. Leslie Laud is the director of <a href="https://thinksrsd.com/" target="_blank">Releasing Writers</a> (formerly Think SRSD), which supports districts and states nationally with strengthening writing instruction. She has taught in both general and special education, and worked as a principal. She now leads research studies. She holds a doctorate from Columbia University. She has served as co-PI and lead PI on federally-funded large research studies of writing instruction, publishes empirical studies in peer-reviewed journals, presents frequently at national conferences and is the author of Executive Skills and Writing Instruction.<img style="width:248px;height:175.456px;display:inline-block;vertical-align:bottom;margin-right:5px;margin-left:5px;text-align:center;cursor:pointer;padding:0px 1px;user-select:none;position:relative;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%" /> Dr. Sara Flanagan is an associate professor of special education at the University of Maine with a focus on students with high incidence disabilities (e.g., learning disabilities, ADHD) and literacy. She teaches courses on reading and writing instructional strategies, and has the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from teachers and their students statewide on literacy-related instructional practices. She has published on and presented on various literacy topics including writing instructional practices, K-12 students’ descriptions of their strengths and areas of need in writing, and teachers’ needs teaching writing. She mirrors her research and courses she teaches to meet these needs and support all students’ writing successes.<img style="width:252px;height:280.918px;cursor:pointer;padding:0px 1px;user-select:none;position:relative;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%" /> Keynote: Laura Stewart The Wellspring of Writing: Building a Strong Foundation in Written LiteracyEvery strong writer draws from somewhere. But where does writing really begin?Using the Simple View of Writing as our framework, this keynote explores the foundational skills that make skilled writing possible. We'll start with transcription—handwriting and spelling—and see how these "facilitators and accelerators" free up precious cognitive space for young writers to think and compose. Then we'll dig deeper into a foundation that's too often overlooked: oral language, the true "source and sustenance" of written expression.Through a research-based look at the components of language and their surprising influence on writing development, educators will leave with clear, practical implications for instruction—and a renewed appreciation for the deep roots that written literacy grows from.Great writing doesn't start on the page—it starts long before. Let's go back to the source. Breakout Session #1 (3 options):  1. Laura Stewart - Research into Action: How Building a Language Foundation for Writing Looks in the K-2 Classroom We are currently facing a seismic shift in our understanding of the role of language in literacy, that language is, in fact, the central foundation for all of literacy. This includes writing. Understanding the relationship between oral language and writing is not simply an academic exercise; it is a practical imperative for all of us as educators who want to support the development of confident, enthusiastic writers from the earliest grades onward. This session helps unpack our specific intention around developing and elevating oral language to subsequently serve and develop writing.  This breakout will reinforce the relationship between oral language and writing, then focus on specific instructional strategies that can be used immediately to build a strong foundation for writing. Key strategies will be provided in each of these areas of language:<ul><li>Phonology</li><li>Vocabulary/Semantics</li><li>Syntax</li></ul>2. Dr. Leslie Laud - Dive deeper into collaborative writing and scoring to see how the Power Cycle can work in upper elementary grades (3-5).   3. Dr. Sara Flanagan - "Good writing is hard work:" Supporting writing growth and application with middle and high school students with and without disabilities who have writing instructional needs.  As Snoopy lamented when working on a novel, writing can be challenging for students with and without disabilities, and teaching writing can be equally as challenging. This session will focus on identifying students' writing strengths and needs, and then connecting those with strategies that can be used across content areas and writing tasks. This session will also focus on the "other" factors that impact writing in adolescents like motivation and engagement. __________________________________________________________________________________Breakout Session #2 (3 options):  1. Laura Stewart - Research into Action: How Building a Language Foundation for Writing Looks in the K-2 Classroom We are currently facing a seismic shift in our understanding of the role of language in literacy, that language is, in fact, the central foundation for all of literacy. This includes writing. Understanding the relationship between oral language and writing is not simply an academic exercise; it is a practical imperative for all of us as educators who want to support the development of confident, enthusiastic writers from the earliest grades onward. This session helps unpack our specific intention around developing and elevating oral language to subsequently serve and develop writing. This breakout will review (from session 1) the relationship between oral language and writing, then focus on specific instructional strategies that can be used immediately to build a strong foundation for writing. Key strategies will be provided in each of these areas of language:<ul><li>Narrative Discourse</li><li>Pragmatics</li><li>Orthography</li></ul>2. Dr. Leslie Laud - An upper grade collaborative write (Grades 5-8)  Join us to dive deeper into how these approaches work at upper (5-8) grade levels. Watch a collaborative write and short scoring lesson to see how we bring the strategies up and down.  3.  Dr. Sara Flanagan - "Good writing is hard work:" Supporting writing development in students who are in 3rd to 12th grade with and without disabilities who have writing instructional needs As Snoopy lamented when working on a novel, writing can be challenging for students with and without disabilities, and teaching writing can be equally as challenging. This session will focus on identifying students' writing instructional needs and strengths, and then connecting those with strategies that can be used in inclusive classrooms to support all students' writing development.

The Reading League Maine

Unpacking the Science of Writing: Research and Instruction for Grades K-12

Thomas College 180 W River Rd

General Admission

$100

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