Monday, November 07, 2016

NCTE: Things I Am Most Looking Forward To

The NCTE annual convention is one of my favorite events of the year. If you've followed this biog for a while you probably know that as we blog about it often! This year, I am looking forward to so many things about the convention.  I will be busy and not able to attend everything I want to attend but I think that is a good problem to have! There are so many  good things happening simultaneously all weekend. So many opportunities for learning and connecting.

Elementary Section Get-Together
The section get-togethers are always fabulous. Not only do you get to reconnect with old friends, but the speakers and award acceptance speeches are always the best way to kick off the convention. At this year's Elementary Section Get-Together, we'll get to hear Bess Altwerger, Ann Marie Corgill and Barbara Flores.

General Sessions
 I always think the general sessions have such good energy.There are so many amazing people speaking at the general sessions this year. Diane Ravitch and Doug Hesse (Thursday), an amazing panel of Author Advocates (Friday,) Ta-Nehisi Coates (Saturday), and Brad Meltzer (Sunday-And, if you missed his Why I Write podcast, you can  listen to it here.).  So many great speakers around such an important topic!

My Sessions
People often ask me why I write and present. First of all, I love to think with people around topics I care about.  I always learn so much in the process of thinking through a session. This year, I am excited about my sessions--the people I am working with are amazing and I have learned so much with them throughout the year.  I have 3 sessions that I am part of:

Staying True to our Beliefs: Advocating for Literacy and Learning Through Our Stories (Friday at 11) is a session I am doing with Ann Marie Corgill, Jen Allen and Cris Tovani on the ways we have stayed true to our beliefs and advocated by telling our stories.

Strategies for Equitable, Sustainable Literacy Assessment: A Roundtable Offering (Saturday at 11 a.m.) is a discussion around The Assessment Story Project. If you have not taken a look at it, I would highly recommend it. There are so many ways teachers can use the information.

Beyond Cute: The Digital Work of Young Children --an IGNITE Session that I am most excited about! I am chairing this one and excited to be able to chair for such an amazing group of people.


Children's Book Award Lunch
This has always been one of my favorite events of the convention each year.  Not only do you get to hear great authors, but you get to sit at a table with an author. Yes, an author at every table!  The winners of the 2016 Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction (Sharon Draper) and the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children (Don Brown) will speak at the luncheon. This is the place to be if you love children's literature!

Orbis Pictus/Charlotte Huck Award Sessions
There are so many great children's literature sessions at the convention.  I love the years when I am able to attend the Children's Literature Assembly and the ALAN Breakfasts.  But there are lots of other sessions that focus on children's books.  I have been a committee member of the Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for the past 3 years. The Charlotte Huck Award and the Orbis Pictus Award have a few sessions where you can learn more about the winning titles and meet some of our award-winning authors!

I am excited about all of this before I even look at the program to see what concurrent sessions I can attend!

And don't miss this week's NCTE Twitter Chat about the #ncte16!  You'll get lots of information and tips!  The Twitter chat is at 8 pm EST on Sunday, November 13. Just follow the hashtag #nctechat
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5 comments:

  1. I'll be there! I hope we can finally meet face to face.

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  2. I always LOVED this conference. Really sad that I have not been able to go the last few years. Hopefully, I will be able to go again someday…

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  3. Woo hoo! So excited to see you! 💛

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  4. Looking forward to seeing you, Franki!

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