Community Literacy Conference

Join us for a free professional development opportunity at the 2023 CLiF Community Literacy Conference! The workshops provided by this talented group of presenters will inspire you to try new things, provide ideas that can be scaled for preschool through grade 6 students, and offer a community in which to ask questions and offer advice.

Dates: March 15, March 22, and March 29, 2023 (each session is 3pm-4:30pm EST)

Cost: Free

We invite all CLiF partners – librarians, teachers, school staff, administrators, out-of-school time providers, early educators, summer program staff, and other friends of CLiF. We will provide certificates of professional development. Access to high-speed internet will be a requirement to attend this conference with preference for a computer with video and microphone to participate in the activities.

This year’s conference will include all the beloved aspects of the CLiF Community Literacy Conference:

• Presentations with ideas you can use in your classroom, learning space, or library with opportunities to share with the group and ask questions of the presenters and attendees.
• Book giveaways! One of the most popular features of the conference is a giveaway for attendees. We will be sending books in April to those in VT and NH who attend sessions.
• Our presenters offer a wonderful mix of experience; read more about them here.

To allow for increased sharing, presentations will be recorded, but discussions will not. You must attend that day’s session to receive a link to the recording.

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Wednesday, March 15th, 3-4:30pm

“Using Picture Books to Ignite Project Based Learning“
Katy Farber, Ed.D., assistant professor of education and author

This workshop will guide participants in how to use picture books to launch project-based learning with students, using their interest and excitement to drive inquiry and spark learning. Participants will leave with a usable template and ideas of several books that can be used to begin this work at various levels and content areas. 

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Wednesday, March 22nd, 3-4:30pm

“Drawing Connections with Comics”
Dan Nott and Daryl Seitchik, Center for Cartoon Studies

In this workshop, Vermont-based cartoonists Daryl Seitchik and Dan Nott will discuss their work and lead an exercise in using comics storytelling to explore a current topic or experience that’s important to you. Participants of all skill levels, including reluctant drawers, are encouraged to join in! 

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Wednesday, March 29th, 3-4:30pm

“When Books Become Best Friends: One Book/Many Visits“
Lester L. Laminack, children’s book author and literacy specialist

Explore the potential of revisiting a small collection of carefully selected books through focused read aloud experiences across time. Imagine slowing down to explore a small set of books in layers, one layer at a time with a clear focus for each read aloud experience. Lester will take you through the potential of a few picture books to demonstrate what can be done with well-loved Best Friend Books because he understands that to be a good writer you must first be able to read deeply and understand author’s intent. Lester will show you that the key to successful writing is harnessing the power of close reading. You will learn how your students can transfer what they know about reading structures and strategies into practices that will hone their writing skills and help them become more focused writers.

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For inquiries about accessibility or accommodations, please contact Cassie Willner, CLiF Program Manager, at cassie@clifonline.org.