WELCOME

Nancy Peterson

UVU Presidential Lecture Series: Tara Westover - Author of Educated: A Memoir

The lecture series, sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of Engaged Learning, is an initiative to help enhance the academic exchange on campus. This event brings in some of the nation’s very best scholars and experts to speak to UVU faculty, staff, and students. 

In 2018, she published her memoir, Educated, which explores her struggle to reconcile her desire for education and autonomy with her desire to be loyal to her family. Educated was an instant commercial and critical success, debuting at #1 on The New York Times bestseller list and remaining on the list for more than two years. It was also a finalist for a number of national awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. The New York Times named Educated one of the 10 Best Books of 2018, and the American Booksellers Association voted it the Nonfiction Book of the Year.

This event is a virtual live presentation, and will not be available to be viewed after the event.

This event is free, but requires a separate registration.  

"BEST BOOKS OF 2020" - Gene Nelson, Joella Bagshaw, Tiffany Sorensen, and Caroline Mcfarlane

This panel of four will book talk and present their favorite children's and young adult books of the past year.

This event will be live-streamed with moderators, but will be available to watch on demand after the event.

"Book Talk: Iggy Is Better Than Ever" - Annie Barrows and Sam Ricks 

Join this session to hear Annie Barrows, author of the Ivy and Bean series and Sam Ricks, illustrator of the Geisel Award-winning Mo series talk about their new book in the Iggy series, Iggy Is Better Than Ever.

"A Conversation with Donors and Friends" - Elaine Dalton, Katie Kofford, Terri McDowell, Dennis Norton, and Gene Nelson

The For the Love of Reading Conference and Digital Event is made possible only because of the generous support of donors and volunteers. Hear advice from some of these amazing individuals and learn how you can help your children, students, and even adults develop a love for reading.

"Promoting Literacy in the Classroom and Home: Inspiring Each Other" - Lorilynn Brandt and Nancy Peterson

... Teachers ... Dear Parents. We are the adults who share very similar goals for helping our children develop healthy relationships with themselves, with peers, and with the world. What if we were on the same "team" where books and a love of reading are concerned? We are both powerful advocates for our children. We both desperately hope to see our children reaching for another book that will make them love reading as much as the book before this one did. What if we worked together? What if, together, we could make it work?

"Where are we going: Examining trends and projecting the future of Young Adult Literature" - Mandy Luszeck, Chris Crowe, James Blasingame, and Steven Bickmore

This presentation will interview nationally recognized scholars in the field of Young Adult Literature as they discuss the trends of the field--where have we been, where are we now-- and make projections for where the literature category is going based on social, economic, and political implications. Panelists will discuss how certain authors and topics have been historically gated by publishing industry and how current demand is forcing a shift in published YA content.

"Gnarly Santa's Holiday Books" - Gene Nelson

Gnarly Claus will book talk and present the best of the new Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas books.

"Teaching English in Unsettling Times" -Thomas B. Smith

Beyond our current pandemic, our students are growing up in a world markedly different from what most of us experienced as students. So, how do we prepare students to take part in an ever-changing society? To have their voices represented and heard? Using the framework of building empathy and agency, we will talk about ways to best help our students prepare to meet these challenges.

STORY TELLING UNDER THE STARS AND IN THE CLASSROOM

Stories told by Deb Escalante

"Christmas Underwear" Read A Loud

Read by Author, Keri Measom-Francis

AT HOME MAKE & TAKE: CREATE A DOS-A-DOS BOOK

Ideas from Tracy Sermon

AT HOME MAKE & TAKE: Ideas for your Classroom

Ideas from Mitzi Cooper

Welcome to Day 2

Benton Brown

"Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: Navigating Race, History, Truth and Hope in Books for Children" - Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome

Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome believe picture books are gateways to opening discussions on complex topics and complex people. Join them as they discuss some of their 70+ books and the discussions it can lead to in understanding race, ethnicity, equality and in-equality.

This event will be live-streamed with moderators, but will be available to watch on demand after the event.

Questions and Answers - Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome

Join us for a Q&A with questions from our attendees to discuss James and Lesa's books, their writing and artistic process, and race and diversity.

Having reading buddies is an excellent way to motivate both younger and older students to read, and to model good reading. But having reading buddies is just a smidge tricky right now! In this session, we will explore how students can create digital audio books to share their love of reading, as well as platforms to allow students to safely engage with each other.

"Do Your Teacher Thing Your Way: Sustainable Literacy Solutions for Everyday Educators" -Paige Drumm

In the ever-changing world of education, empowerment is the key. Discover how shifting perspectives and adaptability are solutions to sustainable literacy instruction. Learn how to focus on what matters by keeping things simple. It's time for you to do your teacher thing, your way.

Presentation of material from past grant recipients.

"Your Story Matters: How Creator's Notebooks Inspire ELL Students, and ALL Students to Write Their Story!"- Keri Measom-Francis, RaDawn Anderson, and Kristel Peterson

Curious Creator’s Unite! Transform your student’s innate curiosity into voracious writing! Using creator’s notebooks in your classrooms gives students the ability take a dive into their personal stories and opportunities to chase their curiosity. Harness questions students have about life by giving them space to create and dig deeper into what matters to them. Join Keri, RaDawn, and Kristel as they show how personal stories open doors to diverse experiences, perspectives, understanding, empathy, and knowledge about the deep truth of our students. As Dolly Parton put it, I want to be able to tell stories, stories of life, my memories, and they are very real."”

"Online Resources for Teachers" - Katherine Paterson

A short talk about online resources Utah teachers can use to inspire a love of reading in their students. This talk details free resources available to all educators and describes how they can be used in K-12 classrooms.

"Simple Tips for Evaluating Children's Literature" -  Tracy Sermon

Remember your college Children’s Lit course? Maybe it’s been a while…if so, this refresher class is for you! Discover basic principles you can use when selecting books for children. Learn what to look for…and what to avoid.

"Increasing Representation in Literature" -Thomas B. Smith

 Our communities are quickly becoming more and more diverse, yet many times our literature remains relegated to the white, male, upper (middle) class voices. This session will explore the idea of representation in literature-- why it is important? how to increase it? and how to best explore this idea with students.