February 2014
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In This Issue
IRC Has Gone Mobile!
2014 Illinois Reads
IRC Book Donations
Website Links









Welcome to iCommunicate, IRC's monthly e-newsletter!  Here you will learn, share, and enjoy information on timely topics and cutting edge projects. We'd love to hear your thoughts.  Please contact us with your comments, suggestions, and ideas at icommunicate@illinoisreadingcouncil.org.   
IRC Has Gone Mobile!        
By the Illinois Reading Council 
 

The 2014 Conference theme "Building Bridges to Literacy" is about building bridges to close the gaps:  between literacy teachers and content area teachers, between literature and non-fiction, between young and old. The 2014 Conference also marks the building of a new bridge into technology. The conference will feature, through Guidebook, a new conference app for your smart phone, tablet or computer. Some of the conference app features are:    

  

Up-to-Date Session Schedules
The entire program/schedule is right on your phone or tablet.  Attendees can select sessions to create a personalized itinerary with reminders.

Speaker Listings
Bios and pictures for featured speakers are listed with session links.  Attendees can search sessions by speaker name, topic, grade level, content area and more.

Exhibitor Listings
A searchable list of exhibitors includes descriptions, booths, locations and exhibit hall classroom sessions.

Interactive Maps and Floor Plans
Interactive maps make navigating the conference much easier, which means attendees can create a visual link between locations on their personalized schedule and the corresponding location on a floor plan or map.  Maps also provide attendees with information on local sites.

Shared Photo Albums
Attendees can take photos and instantly upload to create a collective photo album.

Get Social
All of the social buzz surrounding the conference on Twitter and Facebook is collected in one place for easy browsing and participation.  Post Tweets and Facebook updates right from the app!

To-Do List
An interactive to-do list allows attendees to jot down all of the things they don't want to miss and check them off upon completion.  With one touch, they can add a speaker, exhibitor or event to a list.

Instant Conference Feedback
Share positive feedback or concerns related to a speaker, exhibitor or event in the moment.

Push Messaging/Alerts
Attendees can receive push messages/alerts for giveaways, special events, room changes or speaker cancellations. 
 

 

QR Code Scavenger Hunt Game

Make sure you visit the Exhibit Hall in the Prairie Area Convention Center to scan the hidden QR Codes.  Ask the exhibitors for help finding the codes.  Once you have completed the entire phrase show it to the Registration Booth for a raffle ticket to be eligible to win one of 2 FREE registrations to be given away to the next IRC Conference.  

 

The APP is available now and features up-to-date session schedules, speaker listings, an itinerary planner, interactive maps and floor plans, exhibitor listing, Scavenger QR Code Game, and more.  On your smart phone or tablet, download the FREE Guidebook App from the Apple Store or Android Marketplace.  Then, search for the March 2014 Illinois Reading Council Conference Guide. Or, follow this link to the guide at http://guidebook.com/g/3ystc7gi.  You will need to create an account and sign in.  You can also join IRC on Face Book and Twitter a 

@ILReadCouncil #IRC2014!   

2014 Illinois Reads Program     
By the Illinois Reads Committee

 


Birth-4
  • Cock-A-Doodle-Doo, Creak, Pop-Pop, Moo by Jim Aylesworth, il Brad Sneed
  • Cha-Cha Chimps by Julia Durango, il Eleanor Taylor
  • Busy-Busy Little Chick by Janice N. Harrington, il Brian Pinkney
  • Paws, Claws, Hands, and Feet by Kimberly Hutmacher, il Sherry Rogers
  • Peep! by Kevin Luthardt
  • Truck Stuck by Sallie Wolf, il Andy Robert Davies
K-2
  • Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer by Carol Brendler, il Ard Hoyt
  • Fairly Fairy Tales by Esm� Raji Codell, il Elisa Chavarri
  • In Arctic Waters by Laura Crawford, il Ben Hodson
  • Doctor Ted by Andrea Beaty, il Pascal Lemaitre
  • Cookies:  Bite-Sized Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, il Jane Dyer
  • Multiply on the Fly by Suzanne Slade, il Erin Hunter  
3-5
  • The Fast and the Furriest by Andy Behrens
  • Where Lincoln Walked by Raymond Bial
  • Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World by Laurie Lawlor, il Laura Beingessner
  • Charlie Collier, Snoop For Hire:  The Homemade Stuffing Caper by John V. Madormo
  • Darwin by Alice B. McGinty, il Mary Azarian
  • GUYKU:  A Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka, il Peter H. Reynolds 
6 - 8
  • The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
  • Volcano!:  The Icelandic Eruption of 2010 and Other Hot, Smoky, Fierce, and Fiery Mountains by Judith Fradin and Dennis Fradin
  • The Bully Book by Eric Kahn Gale
  • The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander
  • One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
  • The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen  

9-12
  • Being Henry David by Cal Armistead
  • Chime by Franny Billingsley
  • Serendipity Market by Penny Blubaugh
  • Hollywood on Lake Michigan:  100+ Years of Chicago and the Movies, 2nd Edition by Michael Corcoran and Arnie Bernstein
  • Good Girls by Laura Ruby
  • The Espressologist by Kristina Springer   
  
Adult
  • The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
  • Salsas That Cook:  Using Classic Salsas to Enliven Our Favorite Dishes by Rick Bayless
  • A Killing in the Hills by Julia Keller
  • The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore
  • The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow by Rita Leganski
  • Hidden Order:  A Thriller by Brad Thor  

The complete list of the 2014 Illinois Reads Books is also available in a PDF.  

IRC Book Donations to Tazewell County
By Gail S. Owen, Regional Superintendent

 

"When you give a man a book, you don't give him 12 ounces of paper and ink and glue - you give him a whole new life.  Christopher Morley

 

 

Dear Illinois Reading Council:

 

It is with deep gratitude to all of your members that I extend my sincere thanks for touching the lives of students in Tazewell County in such a profound and generous manner. Your donation of books will help families begin to rebuild their home libraries that were swallowed by the E-4 tornado that rocked our communities in November.

 

Students in 9 of the 18 school districts throughout Tazewell County were affected by the tornadoes that hit Illinois that day. Hundreds of families lost their homes and many more sustained substantial damage with the greatest devastation in the community of Washington.

 

Your donations will help students begin the recovery process. The road ahead will be long for many of them, but the gift of a book to accompany them on that journey will bring untold smiles.

 

With gratitude,

 

Gail Owen