Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning: 30th Anniversary Conference New Orleans, February 2025

December 2, 2025

Submitted by: Cindy Pellerin


Thank you for the support from MAME and the Professional Development for Executive Members fund, I had the opportunity to attend the 30th anniversary of Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning in New Orleans. It was an informative , 3-day experience focused on literacy for all learners through evidence-based practices and collaboration. The conference had incredible presenters, some hands-on sessions, and valuable teaching strategies that I am excited to bring back to the classroom. Here are a few sessions that I attended:

 

Dr. Robert Brooks – Building Resilient Learners

Dr. Brooks emphasized the importance of:

  • Positive relationships between students and adults—and among peers.
  • Focusing on students' strengths, not just their challenges.
  • Creating a sense of competence, which boosts confidence, friendships, and academic engagement.

 

Linda Farrell – The Fastest Ways for Students to Catch Up When They Are Missing Orthographic Skills

Linda shared strategies for students struggling with foundational reading skills:

  • Teach letter names first, then sounds, and finally shapes.
  • Encourage students to look at the letter when making sounds—not the teacher.
  • Keep instruction focused—avoid overwhelming them with too much at once.


Practice Activities:

  • Alphabet songs (with and without visual aids)
  • Vowel identification
  • Random letter/sound recall
  • High-frequency word reading


Flashcard Strategy:

  • 12-card decks per student:
  • 4 known letters
  • 2 just learned letters.
  • 6 new letters

Mastery: 3 days of all-correct responses


 More info: Readsters.com

 

Andrea Harrell – Comprehension: The Ultimate Outcome

Andrea reminded us that reading is more than decoding—it is about meaning.

  • Surface-level reading: Reading for speed or score
  • Deep reading: Thinking, questioning, and applying background knowledge.


Strategies:

  • Sound chaining (e.g., not → nod → pod)
  • Phoneme-grapheme mapping
  • Fluency trees: Building sentence fluency step-by-step
  • Beth → Beth has → Beth has two → Beth has two dogs.
  • Syntax building with sticky notes and index cards: who  do
  • Example: The frog swims in the pond.
  • Phrasing practice: Read in chunks, not word-by-word.
  • Fluency cycles: 2 days on a passage, 2 days on a new passage then assessed with a new passage on Friday.

 

I have already started using syntax and phrasing activities in class to improve descriptive writing and fluency. 

 

Dr. Kastner- Getting Started with Structured Literacy Grades 3-5

this session emphasized the importance of daily reading and writing in every classroom.


Key points:

  • Build background knowledge: through read-alouds, visuals, art, texts, discussions, and content-rich media.
  • Encourage talking about reading to deepen understanding.
  • Explicit vocabulary instruction:
  • Pronunciation
  • Meaning
  • Examples
  • Checks for understanding

Based on work by Anita L. Archer

 

Helpful Resources from these and other sessions:

 

I am incredibly grateful to MAME for making this professional learning experience possible. Not only did I come away with new ideas and research-backed strategies, but I also felt validated that I am already doing many things right. I have already started weaving these techniques into my multi-age classroom to better meet the diverse needs of my students and I am excited to see their literacy skills continue to grow!


**The next Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning conference is being held March 11-13, 2026 in New Orleans.

 


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