Today was the first day of the International Reading Association (IRA) annual conference in Chicago.  I left my hotel room before 7:30 am to board the shuttle bus to the McCormick Place Convention Center.  When I got there I waited in a long line, that moved surprisingly fast, to register and get my program.  Up until this morning I hadn’t thought much about what sessions I wanted to attend.  I was spending most of my time working on my own presentation scheduled for earlier this afternoon or writing up lesson plans for the three days I would be out of school.

It has been a few years since I attended an IRA convention.  My first impression was that there were fewer teachers at this year’s conference than at previous gatherings as well as fewer workshops from which to choose.  Was it because of the economy?  The increasingly insane demands on teachers and students?  A combination of both?  I’m not sure.  At the same time, I was relieved; I had hated the crowded bathrooms, hallways, and sessions.  Yet, one of the things that I had always appreciated about IRA conventions was that by virtue of the incredible range and variety in choice of workshops I could attend a completely different conference from the teacher next door.  I was worried that I wouldn’t have as many choices and therefore as successful a conference experience.

The highlight of my day was a 2 ½ hour session I attended by the Special Interest Group (SIG), Teaching Literacy Through the Arts.  After the initial introduction, attendees were on their feet dancing, chanting, talking, imagining, creating, and enjoying many activities that allowed us to explore literacy learning through the arts.  I left with many ideas for how to seamlessly incorporate arts strategies and techniques, not cute activities, throughout the day.  For someone like me, who is not an “artist”, I feel certain that I can successfully incorporate these techniques into my classroom.

I have yet to look at tomorrow’s program.  A sushi dinner, checking emails, and a quick workout at the gym came first.