69th MRA Conference: Full Schedule

Add sessions to your personal schedule to register your attendance (Check-In).

1:00pm EST

Books to Builds: STEM Activities to Compliment Your Favorite Read-Alouds LIMITED

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST

Integrate STEM seamlessly into read-alouds to boost comprehension and engagement without extra time. Learn to pair beloved stories with simple engineering challenges that bring texts to life while also building STEM skills. Discover new favorite picture books and walk away ready to enrich your read-alouds with interactive, story-based STEM activities.

Speakers

Terra Tarango

Director, Van Andel Institute for Education

Terra Tarango serves as Director of the Van Andel Institute for Education, overseeing innovative student programs, game-changing teacher professional development, and the implementation of Blue Apple projects where teachers inspire students to make the world a better place. She is... Read More →

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Grand Gallery B (DeVos Place)

Elementary (K-5) Literacy Coaching

Strand(s) Diverse Literature for Children and Young Adults, Foundational Reading Skills, Language Comprehension

1:00pm EST

Reading Is a Passport to a World Without Limits LIMITED

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST

Grand Gallery F (DeVos Place)

This hands-on session will provide participants with research based practices and ideas in three areas of ELA instruction; how to build and utilize classroom libraries and engage students in literature, integrating literature across all subjects, and literacy models of co-teaching through partnerships with high schools and colleges. Participants will receive a book(s) and prizes!

Speakers

Mr. David Higgins

Principal, Dearborn Public Schools

Anfaal Shaout

Mariam Albachachy

Peggy Honer

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Grand Gallery F (DeVos Place)

Elementary (K-5) Literacy Coaching

Strand(s) Foundational Reading Skills, Language Comprehension, Writing in the Content Areas

1:00pm EST

Good Grammar: Creating Joyful and Affirming Language Lessons That Work for More Students FULL

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST

Gallery Overlook D (Devos Place - Upper Level)

Grammar is often taught with a focus on error correction, rather than an invitation to craft, joy, and play—and so often the results are less than desired. This session will offer an alternative: practical, novel, joyful, and human solutions for teaching grammar in effective, equitable, enjoyable ways. Participants will walk away with research-based lessons that can be implemented tomorrow.

Speakers

Matthew Johnson

ELA Teacher, Ann Arbor Public Schools

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Gallery Overlook D (Devos Place - Upper Level)

Middle School to Post Secondary (6-12+)

Strand(s) Culturally Responsive Instruction, Language Comprehension, Multilingual and Multidialectal Literacy

1:00pm EST

Growing Teachers in their Support of Multilingual Learners LIMITED

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST

River Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)

This session integrates the Literacy Essentials with research in English language development to deepen teachers' understanding and application of instruction while supporting multilingual learners and building capacity to interact with families and communities across diverse language and cultural backgrounds.

Speakers

Elizabeth Stolle

Grand Valley State University

Grand Valley State University's (GVSU) mission is to empower learners and enrich society through teaching, scholarship, equity, and public service. GVSU's vision is to prepare globally-minded citizens.

Dr. Christina M. Ponzio

Assistant Professor, Grand Valley State University

Building from my previous experiences as a secondary ELA/ESL teacher, ESL program coordinator, and literacy coach in Metro Detroit and teacher educator at Michigan State University, University of Michigan, and Wayne State University, I am committed to advancing equity, inclusion and... Read More →

Lindsay Stoetzel

Professor, Grand Valley State University

Saturday March 8, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
River Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)

Middle School to Post Secondary (6-12+)

Strand(s) Culturally Responsive Instruction, Language Comprehension, Multilingual and Multidialectal Literacy

2:30pm EST

Word Wizard: Casting Spells with Elementary Vocabulary FILLING

Saturday March 8, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EST

Grand Gallery B (DeVos Place)

Do your students have foundational reading skills but struggle with comprehension? Are you a preschool teacher and want to set up your students for success? This session will explain the significant role that vocabulary plays in reading comprehension, offer protocols to follow for explicitly teaching vocabulary, and how you can improve your day to day word choice in your classroom.

Speakers

Karen Roys

Literacy Coach / Early Math Specialist, Dryden Community Schools

Saturday March 8, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EST
Grand Gallery B (DeVos Place)

Early Childhood (Birth-K) Elementary (K-5) Literacy Coaching

Strand(s) Early Language and Literacy, Language Comprehension

12:30pm EDT

Moving Past Book Trauma for Neurodivergent Readers! Learn How to Reduce the Struggle so Students Can Strive in Reading and Writing. FULL

Sunday March 9, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT

Gallery Overlook D (Devos Place - Upper Level)

Neurodivergent readers struggle with executive functions and self-regulation which form barriers when connecting to texts. In this session, we explore how some readers gasp while breathing in the words or freeze while breathing out the appropriate marks on paper. You will learn about co-regulation and how to use our Take Back to Class accommodation guide to build their reading and writing muscles!

Speakers

Nancy Roop

Publisher, Developmental Texts, LLC

I publish early chapter books in a developmental format to support reading comprehension with sensory-friendly, early chapter books. Using dialog, nonfiction, and storytelling, the reader's path is wrapped around the topic which is real, relatable, and relevant!I promote neurodiversity... Read More →

Megan Cavanaugh

Sunday March 9, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Gallery Overlook D (Devos Place - Upper Level)

Elementary (K-5)

Strand(s) Foundational Writing Skills, Language Comprehension, Social-Emotional Learning and Wellness

12:30pm EDT

Read STOP Write: Teaching Foundational Skills in a Middle Grades Multicomponent Reading Intervention LIMITED

Sunday March 9, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT

Gallery Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)

In this session, upper elementary and middle school teachers can experience a research based, multicomponent reading and writing intervention designed for middle grade students. This open source intervention uses science and social studies texts to integrate instruction in multisyllabic decoding, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.

Speakers

Middle School to Post Secondary (6-12+)

Strand(s) Foundational Reading Skills, Language Comprehension, Writing in the Content Areas

69th MRA Conference

1:00pm EST

Terra Tarango

1:00pm EST

Mr. David Higgins

Anfaal Shaout

Mariam Albachachy

Peggy Honer

1:00pm EST

Matthew Johnson

1:00pm EST

Elizabeth Stolle

Dr. Christina M. Ponzio

Lindsay Stoetzel

2:30pm EST

Karen Roys

12:30pm EDT

Nancy Roop

Megan Cavanaugh

12:30pm EDT

Amy Edlefson

Laura Tortorelli

John Strong