Friday, October 27

Registration

Welcome

9:15am - 10:15am

Keynote

Short Bursts of Shared Reading = Big Gains in Foundational Skills

Maria Walther

What’s a short burst of shared reading? Join Maria Walther to find out! Learn a predictable instructional sequence for designing short bursts of shared reading. Discover how engaging in language-expanding conversations during shared reading boosts learners’ print knowledge, expands vocabulary, promotes oral language development, and supports language comprehension. Hear about recently-published picture books for shared reading that reflect your students’ lived experiences and build their reading power. Leave with a list of books and actionable ideas.

Teacher, author, literacy consultant, and children’s literature enthusiast, Maria Walther taught first grade for 34 years. Currently, Maria partners with educators in their classrooms and inspires colleagues through engaging professional learning experiences. What educators appreciate most about Maria is her focus on joyful, realistic approaches toward classroom instruction. Maria earned a doctorate at Northern Illinois University and was named The Outstanding Literacy Alumni for professionalism, service, and career success. Maria has been a longtime advocate of reading aloud. Maria is a prolific professional writer. She strives to create practical resources for busy teachers. Her best-selling books, The Ramped-Up Read Aloud and Shake Up Shared Reading, promote kidfriendly read aloud and shared reading experiences. The Literacy Workshop, co-authored with Karen Biggs-Tucker, supports teachers in combining their reading and writing workshops. She is going to put on a great session! You won’t want to miss her! 

Break

10:45am - 12:00pm

Keynote

Short Bursts of Shared Reading = Big Gains in Foundational Skills

Maria Walther

What’s a short burst of shared reading? Join Maria Walther to find out! Learn a predictable instructional sequence for designing short bursts of shared reading. Discover how engaging in language-expanding conversations during shared reading boosts learners’ print knowledge, expands vocabulary, promotes oral language development, and supports language comprehension. Hear about recently-published picture books for shared reading that reflect your students’ lived experiences and build their reading power. Leave with a list of books and actionable ideas.

Teacher, author, literacy consultant, and children’s literature enthusiast, Maria Walther taught first grade for 34 years. Currently, Maria partners with educators in their classrooms and inspires colleagues through engaging professional learning experiences. What educators appreciate most about Maria is her focus on joyful, realistic approaches toward classroom instruction. Maria earned a doctorate at Northern Illinois University and was named The Outstanding Literacy Alumni for professionalism, service, and career success. Maria has been a longtime advocate of reading aloud. Maria is a prolific professional writer. She strives to create practical resources for busy teachers. Her best-selling books, The Ramped-Up Read Aloud and Shake Up Shared Reading, promote kidfriendly read aloud and shared reading experiences. The Literacy Workshop, co-authored with Karen Biggs-Tucker, supports teachers in combining their reading and writing workshops. She is going to put on a great session! You won’t want to miss her! 

Lunch

Keynote

Hilarious Tales from the Classroom

Steve Brinder

Tales from the Classroom is an insightful, inspirational and hilarious look at the everyday challenges teachers face in the classroom. Not only does it offer ways teachers can stay sane but it also reminds teachers of the reasons they became teachers in the first place! Cleverly crafted and delivered with impeccable timing, Brinder’s jokes and stories—a lot of them culled from his day job as a substitute teacher—send audiences into fits of hysteria. Perfect for teachers who need to hear from someone who knows what life in the classroom is like, and can help them both to laugh at the trials and tribulations of the profession, and be inspired by the impact they have on the lives of our children. Steve knows that today, more than ever, teachers need to laugh to relieve stress and to put things in perspective. Teaching is often a lonely profession. Teachers prepare lessons by themselves, teach by themselves and mark by themselves so Steve shares why a sense of humour is a key to teacher survival and shares how to achieve it. By laughing together, teachers are brought closer together and realize that they are all in this together.

By day, Steve Brinder is a school teacher, who is loved by his students. By night, he is a brilliant stand up comedian, whose brand of wry social commentary wins over even the most hardened audiences. He has combined both careers to create the perfect marriage of humour and social commentary. His material comes directly from the classroom and from the heart. Steve Brinder’s work has won accolades from entertainment industry veterans, appearances on CBC’s “Comics!”, and at comedy festivals across North America, including the world-renowned Halifax and Winnipeg Comedy Festivals. He has also toured with Jay Leno, Jim Carey, and Howie Mandel. What makes Brinder unique among his peers is that he never gave up his day job. And that day job, as a substitute teacher, provides him with an endless stream of material, and the ability to be funny.

Closing

AGM