69th MRA Conference has ended

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69th MRA Conference

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

4:00pm EST

Registration and Check-in at Amway Amway Concourse

5:30pm EST

Conference Kickoff Celebration Imperial Ballroom (Amway)

7:30am EST

Registration and Check-in at DeVos Place DeVos Place

8:00am EST

Exhibit Hall Hours 8:00am - 4:00pm DeVos Place

8:30am EST

Gather in Community: Welcome & Keynote Session with Wiley Blevins DeVos Ballroom A/BLiz Lietz, MRA President • Dr. Wiley Blevins

10:00am EST

Exhibit Hall Exploration 10:00am DeVos Place

10:30am EST

Author Visits: Beyond the Basics, Beyond the Books River Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Alice McGinty • Sarah Aronson Read, Feel, Grow: Cultivating Vocabulary Development and SEL with Interactive Read-Alouds Gallery Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Allison Phillippe Virtual Great Lakes Great Books Award Presentation 2024-25 Virtual EventJesse Shirtz • Heather Lander Maximizing Phonics Success: Practical Strategies for Multisensory Engagement and Orthographic Mapping River Overlook F (Devos Place - Upper Level)Jen Vanderground • Ellie Esman • Tyler Peery Maximizing the Use of Decodable Texts DeVos Ballroom CDr. Wiley Blevins Personal Narrative Quick Writes through Literature: How to Develop Student Voice and Community Grand Gallery C (DeVos Place)Leah Porter B is for Belonging River Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Shannon Anderson Reading, Writing, and Belonging: Creating a Culturally Responsive Classroom Grand Gallery F (DeVos Place)Heather Palmer • Carrie Fromm Indigenous Authors, Improving Student Culture at the K-8 Level Grand Gallery D (DeVos Place)Wendy Gilliard • Sydnie Dumas • Kendall Moser Empowering Readers with Computational Thinking River Overlook D (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Katie Marchionna Enhancing Literacy Instruction: Selecting, Piloting, and Implementing High-Quality ELA Materials Grand Gallery B (DeVos Place)Laura Allen Exploring the Early Literacy Assessment System Guide: A Tool to Drive and Support Early Literacy through the Development of a Balanced Assessment System Gallery Overlook D (Devos Place - Upper Level)Dr. Melissa Usiak • Ellen Vorenkamp Rookie to Rockstar: Empowering New Teachers for Long-Term Success Grand Gallery E (DeVos Place)Kate Rossetter • Annemarie Johnson For Elementary and Secondary - Who’s at the Center? Cultivating a Critical Lens to Building and Integrating Culturally Relevant Text Sets River Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Dr. Christina M. Ponzio • Brianna Albert • Sara Weeks Keys to Reading, Analyzing, and Writing Nonfiction Gallery Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Janet Ruth Heller Catalyzing Youth Superpowers—Co-Designing Joy, Laughter, and Peace Through Reading, Writing & Virtual Reality Gallery Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Dr. Erica Robertson Reading and Writing for Tier 2 and 3 Students, Students with Disabilities, and English Learners River Overlook E (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Megan Kowalski Room to Wrestle: Teaching with Novels in Verse Grand Gallery A (DeVos Place)Kelly J. Baptist • Dana VanderLugt

11:30am EST

Exhibit Hall Exploration 11:30 am DeVos Place Ticketed Event: Luncheon with John Schu Ambassador East (Amway)John Schu

1:00pm EST

Museum Visits as Literacy-Learning Opportunities: A Look at The Henry Ford’s Literacy-Focused Programming River Overlook E (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Lori Petrelius The Gift of Story DeVos Ballroom CJohn Schu Building Foundational Literacy Through Interactive Writing: A Collaborative Approach Grand Gallery A (DeVos Place)Jill Erfourth • Susan Meadows Books to Builds: STEM Activities to Compliment Your Favorite Read-Alouds Grand Gallery B (DeVos Place)Terra Tarango Reading Is a Passport to a World Without Limits Grand Gallery F (DeVos Place)Mr. David Higgins • Anfaal Shaout • Mariam Albachachy • Peggy Honer We Like Big Words and We Cannot Lie: Supporting Grades K-5 Students through Word Study, Decoding, and the English Language Grand Gallery E (DeVos Place)Meghan Block • Chad Waldron • Andy J. Schoenborn Writing from Scratch: Whip Up Delicious Writing Lessons Your Students Will Eat Up! River Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Shannon Anderson The Path to Fluency for ALL Readers: The Essential Components for Developing Struggling Readers Grand Gallery D (DeVos Place)Angi Hoyer Unlocking the Power of Morphology for Multilingual Learners Gallery Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Angela Massey • Ms. Rachel Eggleston Utilizing Free eResources from the Michigan eLibrary to Build Text Sets River Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Ann Kaskinen Stories of Leadership & Liberation Grand Gallery C (DeVos Place)Dr. Maren Oberman Transformative Literacy Teaching and Learning: A Community-Based Reading Initiative River Overlook F (Devos Place - Upper Level)Gwendolyn Thompson McMillon • Danielle Alexander • Qingxian Wang • Yujie Mao We Are All Learners and We Are All Teachers: A Community of Practice for "Teaching for Black Lives" Gallery Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Dr. Leah van Belle Good Grammar: Creating Joyful and Affirming Language Lessons That Work for More Students Gallery Overlook D (Devos Place - Upper Level)Matthew Johnson Growing Teachers in their Support of Multilingual Learners River Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Elizabeth Stolle • Dr. Christina M. Ponzio • Lindsay Stoetzel Independent Reading in High School That Honors Choice and Creativity and Doesn’t Kill the Love of Reading River Overlook D (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Becky Schwartz Using Multicultural Poems to Get Students to Write Gallery Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Janet Ruth Heller

2:00pm EST

Exhibit Hall Exploration 2:00pm DeVos Place

2:30pm EST

Building Bridges: Developing Community Partnerships that Improve Literacy Learning River Overlook D (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Gwendolyn Thompson McMillon • Joshua McMillon Lit Everywhere: Dynamic Research-Supported Literacy Tools for Learning In and Out of School Grand Gallery C (DeVos Place)Erin Pell • Annie Spear Rebellious Read Alouds DeVos Ballroom CVera Ahiyya Word Wizard: Casting Spells with Elementary Vocabulary Grand Gallery B (DeVos Place)Karen Roys 40 Ways to Spark a Love of Reading River Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Shannon Anderson Turning Writing Woes into Wins: Practical Tools for Effective Writing Instruction Grand Gallery F (DeVos Place)Nicole Nelson • Erin Kornoely From the Author Toolbox - Using Mentor Texts for Reading It In and Writing It Out Gallery Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Cindy Williams Schrauben Growing Together: Writing into Social Emotional Learning Grand Gallery D (DeVos Place)Lindsay Stoetzel • Matilyn Mumm • Angela Gonzalez-Urbina • Lexi Marzolf High-Impact Literacy Tutoring: Interventions and Strategies to Move Under-Performing Students Forward River Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Margaret Policastro Together We Can Do Great Things: The Journey of One Small County Doing Big Things in Literacy Grand Gallery E (DeVos Place)Kristal White Transforming Literacy Education: Avondale School District's Journey to Exceptional Growth Gallery Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Sarah Stickney • Jessica Guerra • Katie Carion • Helena Gorny Using Visuals and Poetry Writing to Illuminate Student Learning Gallery Overlook D (Devos Place - Upper Level)Anna Roseboro Cultivating Culture: Making Our ELA Classroom Culturally Responsive and Engaging River Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Elizabeth Gonzalez

3:30pm EST

Exhibit Hall Exploration 3:30pm DeVos Place

4:00pm EST

Authors' Garden Ambassador West (Amway)Shannon Anderson • Alice McGinty • Kelly J. Baptist • Vera Ahiyya • Nancy Roop • Dana VanderLugt • Janet Ruth Heller • Cindy Williams Schrauben • Anna Roseboro • Elaina Heard • Dr. Erica Robertson • Sarah Aronson • John Schu • Dr. Jarred Amato • Emmy Kastner Books 'N Bites Ambassador East (Amway)

8:00am EDT

Registration and Check-in at DeVos Place DeVos Place Exhibit Hall Hours 8:00am - 12:00pm DeVos Place

8:30am EDT

Gather in Community: Welcome & Keynote Session with Kelly J. Baptist DeVos Ballroom A/BKelly J. Baptist

10:00am EDT

Exhibit Hall Exploration 10:00am DeVos Place

10:30am EDT

Classroom Ebb and Flow DeVos Ballroom CKelly J. Baptist Science of Reading + Birth to Age 5 Educator, Family, and Community Engagement = Building a Reading Brain Gallery Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Robin Pizzo • Annie Spear • Laura Tortorelli Decolonizing the Bookshelf: STEM Books That Celebrate Black and Brown Brilliance Grand Gallery B (DeVos Place)Dr. Leah van Belle Advancing Thinking through Writing Across Content Areas: Read It In, Write It Out! Grand Gallery C (DeVos Place)Jill Erfourth • Rae Cloyd Writing Inside the Room: Using the Reading Rope, Content Knowledge, and Shared Experiences to Build Strong Foundational Writing Skills in K-1 Grand Gallery A (DeVos Place)Nicole Cobb Data Data Everywhere: Understanding Reading Assessments to Plan Small-Group Instruction in the Upper Grades Grand Gallery D (DeVos Place)Jessica Crawford • Kristie Marks Leading Change that Increases Literacy Achievement Gallery Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level) Professional Book Clubs for Teachers Writers Grand Gallery E (DeVos Place)Becky Schwartz • Megan Kowalski Building Reading Identity through Reading Community in the Middle Grades River Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Jenny Sanford Making Mischievous Writers River Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Jonah Lane-Moore Empathy & Digital Literacy: A Sample Unit Plan for Adolescent Developing Readers River Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Julee Boland Empowering Literacy with Scaffolded Writing and AI Tools Across Disciplines Gallery Overlook D (Devos Place - Upper Level)Jenelle Williams

11:30am EDT

Exhibit Hall Exploration 11:30am DeVos Place Early Career Educators' Brunch Ambassador West (Amway) Ticketed Event: Kaleidoscope Luncheon Ambassador East (Amway)Emmy Kastner

12:30pm EDT

Empowering Student Voices: Composing and Communicating in a Digital Age Grand Gallery D (DeVos Place)Elaina Heard Going Deeper with GELN’s Essential Practices in Early Literacy Grand Gallery A (DeVos Place)Heather Phelps Moving Past Book Trauma for Neurodivergent Readers! Learn How to Reduce the Struggle so Students Can Strive in Reading and Writing. Gallery Overlook D (Devos Place - Upper Level)Nancy Roop • Megan Cavanaugh Enhancing English Literacy through Content-Based Instruction and L1 Support: Strategies for Engaging Multilingual Learners Grand Gallery B (DeVos Place)Austyn Sabin Enhancing Student Outcomes Through Student-Centered Coaching Grand Gallery C (DeVos Place)Jill Erfourth • Kristie Marks Teacher Book Studies: Fostering Collaborative Professional Learning Grand Gallery E (DeVos Place)Kate Rossetter • Melissa Brooks-Yip Unbound: Books Not Boundaries River Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Patti Skinner • Ingrid Fournier Come to Camp! Creating an Inclusive, Positive Literacy Summer Camp Experience for Middle School Students River Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Liz Lietz, MRA President • Sara Belvedere Just Read It: Unlocking the Magic of Independent Reading DeVos Ballroom CDr. Jarred Amato Read STOP Write: Teaching Foundational Skills in a Middle Grades Multicomponent Reading Intervention Gallery Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Amy Edlefson • Laura Tortorelli • John Strong Silent Sustained Reading in High School: Fostering a Love of Reading in the Classroom and Building a Culture of Literacy within the School Gallery Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Mrs. Becky Gerhart • Katarina Moore

1:45pm EDT

Braided Pathways: Funding Literacy Innovations River Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Carol Ann Paul • Dr. Leah van Belle Where I'm From: Centering Adolescent Engagement, Voice, and Literacy Identity through a University-Community Partnership Gallery Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Maggie Hanna • Jacqueline LaRose What Does Handwriting Have to Do with Reading? Grand Gallery C (DeVos Place)Meagan Beam 25 Culturally Relevant Read-Alouds that Motivate Students into Independent Reading and Writing River Overlook A (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Margaret Policastro Curating Dynamic & Diverse Classroom Libraries that Engage Students and Encourage Reading Grand Gallery B (DeVos Place)Alyce Hartman Get Off to the “Write” Start! How to Support Early Career Teachers’ Writing Instruction Grand Gallery D (DeVos Place)JoAnne West • Julie Brehmer Our Journey to the Science of Reading: How One School Went from Sporadic Literacy to Systematic Literacy Grand Gallery A (DeVos Place)Stephanie Howay • Jennifer Smart • Andrea Korotko Write It Out: Telling Your Coaching Story with Data and Digital Tools Grand Gallery E (DeVos Place)Heather Rottermond • Laura Gabrion Getting to the Heart of Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom Gallery Overlook B (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Emily Toy • Kevin Bullis Helping Students Connect to Text-Based Assessments and Facilitating Creative Essay Writing River Overlook C (DeVos Place - Upper Level)Liz Ropp