LeVar Burton, Rick Riordan, and Mo Willems are just a few of the education luminaries speaking at the International Reading Association (IRA) 58th Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas, from April 19 to 22, 2013.

Rick Riordan


LeVar Burton


Mo Willems

The opening general session on Saturday, April 20, features San Antonio’s own Rick Riordan, author of the bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and experienced English teacher. Riordan will discuss what he’s learned from his students, his readers, and his own sons about turning kids into avid book lovers.

Actor and producer LeVar Burton’s career in entertainment includes roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Roots, but perhaps he is best known as the host and executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning PBS children's series Reading Rainbow. Burton recently launched an interactive Reading Rainbow App for the iPad which became the No. 1 educational app in the iTunes store within the first 36 hours. A staunch advocate for children's literacy, Burton says he's most proud of Reading Rainbow's ability to use the medium of television to help create "human beings who are passionate about literature." Burton gives the general session keynote on Sunday, April 21.

Author Mo Willems, the April 22 closing general session keynote speaker, is the winner of the Caldecott Honor, Geisel Medal, Geisel Honor, and Carnegie Medal. He has written and illustrated a multitude of picture books and early readers to great acclaim. Willems’ latest books include Don't Let the Pigeon Finish This Activity Book! and That Is Not a Good Idea! 

The new annual convention website at www.iraconvention.org offers information on these keynote speakers as well as the popular Teaching Edge series with Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Irene Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell, Richard Allington, and Ellin Oliver Keene; invited speakers Ruth Culham, Greg Tang, Steven Layne, Danny Brassell, Debbie Diller, Cris Tovani, Lucy Calkins, Stephanie Harvey, and Kelly Gallagher; featured IRA authors Regie Routman, Maureen McLaughlin, Brenda J. Overturf, Linda Kucan, Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar, and Lori D. Oczkus; and luncheon speakers Jane O'Connor, Joan Bauer, and Chris Soentpiet. Details on full-day, preconference institutes on April 19 will be added to the website soon. IRA is still accepting exhibitors and sponsors for this event that draws upwards of 10,000 literacy professionals.

Once more program information is added, the website will allow users to use research presentation topics and develop convention schedules using the online itinerary planner. Online registration will open in early December. The IRA Annual Convention also has its own Twitter hashtag, #IRA2013, as well as its own Facebook page.

IRA Annual Convention Schedule at a Glance

Annual Convention Housing and Travel

by Elizabeth Bleacher

The International Reading Association (IRA) William S. Gray Citation of Merit is awarded to a nationally or internationally known person who has made significant contributions to the field of reading at various academic levels. The application deadline is November 15.

To be considered an eligible recipient, there are a number of criteria that must be met. The nominee should have made outstanding contributions to a leadership role in the field of reading and original contributions in the field of reading theory or methods. The original ideas must have been developed past the point of suggestion and implemented with successful results.

The candidate is also expected to have designed and implemented various reading courses for students and outstanding lectures for other professionals. These courses and lectures should have had a substantial impact on their recipients and the field of reading. 

Selfless dedication and tireless efforts in furthering the field of reading are also required from the nominee. Their unassuming devotion is expected to be visible at a number of different levels including teacher, scholar, researcher, linguist, and so on.

The application should include a detailed rationale for recommending the nominee including a description of the candidate’s contributions to reading theory, reading practice, publications, service to the profession, and service to IRA. The candidate’s professional vita should also be submitted with the application.

Dr. Brian Cambourne, the 2012 recipient, started teaching in 1956 at the age of 19. After completing his doctoral studies in 1972, Brian began researching literacy learning. In 1998, Brian became the second Australian to become inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame. Most recently, Brian, along with Dr. Gary Kilarr and Dr. Ann Alexander, have been presenting Lifting Evidentiary Standards For the Twenty First Century: What Reading Education Can Learn From Forensic Science at national and international conferences.

More information about the application process can be found at the International Reading Association’s website.

Elizabeth Bleacher is the strategic communications intern at the International Reading Association.

As we celebrate Veterans Day in November, Reading Today wanted to feature an International Reading Association (IRA) member who is also a veteran. We found this hero in our midst in Nashville, Tennessee, enjoying his retirement after 38 years in the education profession.

Hoyte Snow served in the Korean War and has been a classroom teacher, elementary school principal, middle school principal, middle school director, and educational consultant. He has been an active member of the Tennessee Reading Association for over 45 years and still attends their meetings. He has also held leadership positions with the Middle Tennessee Reading Association. As well as being honored with the IRA Special Service Award in 2007, he has received the Walter Helms Service Award, the Middle School Administrator of the Year award, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Leadership Certificate of Merit, the Outstanding Community Service Award, among others. Our interview with Hoyte Snow reveals this accomplished man’s inspirational beginnings, his reading engagement secrets, and his encouraging advice to teachers practicing today.

How did you decide you wanted to be a teacher?

I grew up in a rural area of Tennessee. My father was a share cropper, and I realized I didn’t want to spend my life looking at the back end of a mule!

In third grade Miss Grace went around the room asking the kids what they wanted to be, and without hesitation I said I wanted to be a teacher.

At my high school graduation a school board member approached me and asked me to teach grades 5-8 in one room at a grades 1-10 school. I just had to take a six-week course at Middle Tennessee University over the summer.

I started teaching at age 18 in August; I turned 19 in September.

We hear that you are a Korean War veteran. Thank you for your service to America! How long did you serve in the military?

I was drafted during the Korean War in March of 1953, during my third year teaching. I asked to finish school year, and they said I couldn’t. I spent two years in Tokyo, and when I came back I started teaching fifth and sixth grade in Nashville. I also finished college, thanks to the GI Bill. (I had completed one year of college credits by taking courses on nights and Saturdays while teaching.)

Where did your career go from there?

After five years of teaching, I got a promotion. In those days you didn’t ask for a promotion, you waited for someone to ask you! The area supervisor asked me to become principal of a local school. Then I became a middle school principal, and then director of middle schools, the job from which I retired.

As a literacy educator, which classroom strategies did you use to motivate kids to read?

When I worked in a one-room classroom my strategy was to get the other students involved. I would help the eighth-graders, but if a fifth-grader needed help I would ask an eighth-grader to help him.

What did you learn during your military service that helped your teaching career?

Punctuality! Also, serving in Tokyo was my first experience working with people from other parts of the country. I also learned how to get along with different people and how important it is to get along with others.

How have you been involved in the International Reading Association?

I am a strong believer in the International Reading Association. I was Tennessee Reading Association (TRA) president in 1984 and chaired a state conference. I still go to TRA meetings; many past presidents are still active with TRA. I’ve held board position on the state and local councils, chaired two IRA regional conferences, and served on several IRA committees.

What do you consider to be the proudest moment in your teaching career? 

I’d have to say it was when I was given the 2007 IRA Special Service Award. It meant a lot to be recognized by IRA.

Can you offer any advice to teachers who are new to the profession?

Teachers today are so overburdened. I would say: realize what your goal is. You are there to help children, and don’t let the regulations guide you away from your goal.

by Elizabeth Bleacher

The International Reading Association (IRA)/ Weekly Reader Eleanor M. Johnson Award is given to an elementary classroom teacher who exhibits outstanding dedication to reading and language arts. It is given in memory of Eleanor M. Johnson, the founder and editor of Weekly Reader. The award is a US$1,000 grant supported by Weekly Reader Corporation.

The deadline to submit an application for the award is November 15.

To be eligible for the award, nominees must be current IRA members, have taught at least five years in the classroom, and be nominated by at least four people. These four nomination letters must come from each of the following: a supervisor/evaluator, one other administrator, a fellow teacher, and one from another teacher, the parent of a student, or a student. Specific content guidelines for the letters can be found on the award’s online application form.

Along with the application and nomination letters, nominees are expected to include a personal statement regarding their beliefs about education. While the application will include factual data and specific examples, IRA asks that no pictures or scrapbooks be included. Instead, nominees will be asked to release information from their personal files to support the assertions of their applications.

A winner will be announced by March 1 and asked to attend the IRA Annual Convention to receive recognition for their accomplishments. This year the convention will be held in San Antonio, Texas from April 19-22.

Gary Wellbrock, the 2012 recipient, teaches deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students at a dual language elementary school in New York City. He earned his master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University.  He is also a licensed reading specialist partly as a result of his efforts with the Hello Friend/ Ennis William Cosby Foundation.

More information about the award application process can be found at the International Reading Association’s website.

Elizabeth Bleacher is the strategic communications intern at the International Reading Association.

by Elizabeth Bleacher

The IRA Special Service Award is given for exceptional and distinguished service to the International Reading Association. Recipients go above and beyond to ensure that the IRA continues to successful. The deadline for submission is November 15.

To be eligible for the award, nominees must have shown admirable service to the IRA in a specific capacity that requires special skills, knowledge, and creative effort. The results of these services should have results that support the IRA in some discernible way. Finally, recipients have typically shown a generous and tireless contribution of their time and talent as committee members at various levels.

Nominators are asked to provide their rationale behind the nomination, the educational background of the nominee, and at least three letters of recommendation that cite the nominee’s generous contributions to the IRA.

Rita M. Bean, emeritus professor of education at the University of Pittsburgh, was the last recipient of the Special Service Award. Bean has been a member of the IRA for more than 40 years and was a member of the board of directors from 2002-2006. She was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame in 2009 and is well known for her numerous publications on teaching literacy.

More information about the application process can be found at the International Reading Association’s website.

Elizabeth Bleacher is the strategic communications intern at the International Reading Association.