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Support Positive Literacy Outcomes with Large Print
Wednesday, August 28, 2019 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EDT
Presented by Dr. Julie Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Project Tomorrow; Tasha Squires, Librarian, O’Neill Middle School, Downers Grove, IL; Bernice Homel, Reading Specialist, O’Neill Middle School, Downers Grove, IL; and Nicole Ferroli, Teacher, O’Neill Middle School, Downers Grove, IL
Hosted by Jennifer Shafer, IMLS, Education Sales Consultant, Striving Readers, Thorndike Press
Sponsored by Thorndike Press, a Gale Company
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According to The Nation’s Report Card, 67 percent of 8th graders in public schools aren’t proficient in reading. When a student isn’t reading at their grade level, it can affect their learning as a whole. Books formatted in large print can make a big impact on literacy. The combination of a larger font and fewer words on a page helps young readers with decoding, tracking, fluency, and overall comprehension.
In this edWebinar, the presenters share results from a Project Tomorrow efficacy and feedback study to evaluate the impact of using Thorndike Press large print books on 4th – 11th graders at 15 schools representing a diverse set of communities. Learn the benefits associated with the effective usage of large print from the perspectives of students, teachers, librarians, and administrators, including relationships with academic outcomes, as well as a regular print comparison.
This recorded presentation will be of interest to elementary through high school teachers, librarians, school and district leaders, and reading specialists.
About the PresentersDr. Julie A. Evans is the CEO of Project Tomorrow and is the founder of the heralded Speak Up Research Project which annually collects and reports on the authentic views of 400,000 K-12 students, parents and educators on education issues each year. Dr. Evans serves as the chief researcher on the Speak Up Project as well as leading research efforts on the impact of digital content, tools and resources in both K-12 and higher education. Prior to this position, Dr. Evans enjoyed a successful entrepreneurial career in the technology industry including with two education technology startups. She is a graduate of Brown University and earned her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of California, San Diego and California State University San Marcos. Dr. Evans serves on several boards and advisory councils and is a frequent speaker and writer on K-12 and higher education issues around digital learning.
2015 Follett Challenge winner Tasha Squires started her career as a Young Adult Librarian in a large public library district serving a diverse southwestern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, where she spent many hours booktalking in and working with the middle and high schools in the area. Currently, she is the school librarian at O’Neill Middle School in Downers Grove, IL where she spends her days engaging students and teachers in the process of furthering their 21st century skills and developing a love for reading. She is the author of Library Partnerships: Making Connections Between School and Public Libraries published by Information Today, INC. She is the creator and main contributor of the blog Books in the Middle and you can contact her on Twitter @tasquires.
Bernice Homel is the reading specialist at O’Neill Middle School in Downers Grove, IL. This is her 20th year of teaching and has been both a classroom and reading support teacher. You can contact her on Twitter at @Bhomel1.
Nicole Ferroli is a seventh grade reading and language arts teacher at O’Neill Middle School in Downers Grove, Illinois. Nicole began teaching in room 212 at O’Neill 19 years ago and continues to do the same today. She has a self-diagnosed obsession with her classroom library and is extremely passionate about creating and supporting lifelong readers. During the 2018-2019 school year, Nicole Ferroli was nominated for and won the Distinguished Service Award for Downers Grove District 58. Nicole is very dedicated to the growth and success of her students. She is also very committed to her two young boys, Joey and Vinny, and her husband, Tim.
About the Host
After 20 years in education as a teacher, librarian, digital learning specialist, and district-level administrator, Jennifer Shafer joined the team at Thorndike Press to bring awareness of the power of large print for striving readers and help in the fight for student literacy.
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Thorndike Press, a Gale company, publishes unabridged reprints in large print format for middle grade and young adult readers since 1999 and our catalogue of nearly 400 titles grows monthly with high-interest fiction and nonfiction books, including contemporary classics, award-winners and bestsellers. Our commitment to producing high quality, 100% guaranteed large print books supports young readers as they develop the skills necessary to become successful, confident, lifelong readers.
