ARA Conference November 12-13:

Over the past two days, I have had the opportunity to attend the
ARA (Alabama Reading Association) conference at the Birmingham,
Marriott. It has been such a treat to be in the present of authors,
teachers, and advocates for reading in schools. I have gained
knowledge on strategies to enhance reading, ideas for childrens books
to read, and ways to make reading fun for all learners. All the advice
and presentations I have encountered have been awesome and they
will be reflected in my future teaching of reading.
The first day of the conference was Thursday, November 12th. I
attended the opening session, a breakout session, and then a final
session before lunch. The first session was a speaker by the name of
Jeff Anderson. Mr. Anderson is a writer and teacher. He talked about the
importance of writing in the classroom and cultivating young minds to
enjoy writing and strategies to promote writing. I loved how
enthusiastic Mr. Anderson was and I could definitely tell he have a
passion for students and writing. Throughout his presentation, he
presented us with different types of strategies that we could use to
promote writing in the classroom. Everyone in the audience
participated in the strategy, which was great because you experienced
what your students would if you assigned them one of the strategies
Mr. Anderson mentioned. I personally liked the power write, which is
when the teacher would give the students one minute to write about

topic, word, or free write. I believe this gets the students brain flowing
with ideas for writing, probably similar to how I felt at the conference.
Mr. Anderson mentioned having the students count their words and see
if you were do it again would they increase the number of words they
wrote. Another way you can incorporate this into a classroom would be
using it for a content-based quick write about a science topic, math
topic, etc. I believe the strategies and approaches that Mr. Anderson
presented the class were just and I felt like I gain a lot from his
presentation. During the breakoff session, I got to hear Todd Gerelds,
author of Woodlawn. He talked about his experiences growing up in a
racial tense time and how his father excepted Christ in his life because
of the passion and devotion his players in 1971 showed towards Christ.
His story is incredible and the impact his father made and the football
players made on his father is a genuine, sweet. I have personally seen
the movie and it is incredible. The power of prayer and hope that
Woodlawns football team displayed helped changed the minds of
many who were ignorant towards Christ and African Americans. I really
enjoyed his talk and his honest opinion about the current racial issues
in the U.S. today. The final speaker I heard at the ARA conference on
Thursday was a woman by the name of Dr. Hiebert. Dr. Hiebert
addressed: Learning Words and Learning How Words Work: The
Foundation for Reading Complex Text. Dr. Hiebert focused on reading
and vocabulary. She specifically focused on five ideas: number of

words in English, small group words in written language, rare words in

narrative texts, words in information, and knowledge is stored in texts.
All of these subunits of her presentation identified the importance of
reading and consistently presenting your students with reading
materials. I loved the resources she provided the teachers with as
reading materials and instructional methods. She was also funny and
engaging. I really enjoyed the first day and the start to the ARA
conference.
The second day of the ARA conference was filled with sessions
and exciting speakers. To beginning, we had the superintendent of
Alabama schools, Dr. Tommy Bice speak. He did awesome, reflecting
and encouraging teachers renovate learning in the classroom and
takes chances to make a change in the education our students are
receiving. Dr. Bice talked about the vision for Alabama schools and
teachers. I love how proactive Dr. Bice is about making a change for
the better in schools for all students. The breakout session I attended
after Dr. Bice was Dr. Underbakke. I have heard Dr. Underbakke speak
before, but he has such a passion for reading and childrens literature
that I wanted to hear him again. He specifically focused his talk around
the different childrens books that he thought would benefit children
and how they could be used during a lesson. Dr. Underbakke really like
reading to his students and engaging in reading conversation. The final
presentation I heard at the ARA conference was Diane Barone. Mrs.

Barone is the ILA President (International Literacy Association), which is

impressive. Mrs. Barone like most of the speakers at the ARA
conference has a passion for reading and investing in childrens lives
through books. She and Dr. Underbakkes presentations were similar
because she presented favorite books of hers and how they could be
used in a classroom. Lots the reading strategies she mentioned are
strategies that my teachers have presented to us in class. It was neat
to see the variations of books and strategies that can be incorporated
with reading. I loved Mrs. Barone presentation and I believed she
highlighted lots of good childrens literature for a teacher to use. The
second and final day of the ARA conference did not fail to please. The
presenters and information I gained was great and beneficial to my
growing knowledge as a future teacher.
The ARA conference was great and really highlighted the
continuous importance of reading in your classroom and providing your
students with access to reading materials. Reading opens many
opportunities for students and gives them a chance to think outside
the box and imagine the unimaginable. I really enjoyed the conference
and would love to attend in the future.