VAASL 2024 Annual Conference: Full Schedule

Welcome to the VAASL 2024 Fall Conference App!
Telling Our Story through an incredible program of sessions and events.

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8:00am EST

Comics and Manga in the Classroom - Beginner Session

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST

Piedmont A

For years, comic books and graphic novels were dismissed as mere recreational reading, often relegated to a less serious status. However, emerging research reveals their true value: they engage struggling readers, enhance skills for accomplished ones, and effectively teach all subjects, not just English. Join us to explore their crucial role in education and discuss integrating them into curricula.

Speakers

Emily Cissell

Librarian, Thornburg Middle School

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST
Piedmont A

Collection Development Instruction Literature Programming

AASL Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, Engage
Audience All Levels

8:00am EST

VAASL Supervisors' Session

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST

Liberty AB

This session will be a discussion/round table of topics for those who lead/supervise librarians. It is open to all who want to grow leadership skills.

Speakers

Amy Hailey

Supervisor, Arlington Public Schools

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST
Liberty AB

Collection Development Instruction Professional Growth Programming

AASL Inquire, Collaborate, Curate
Audience All Levels

8:00am EST

WONKA: Movie Magic Library Lessons

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST

Piedmont C

Book-based blockbusters have to potential of engaging students as they learn about fictional characters navigating their world, making decisions, and solving problems. Featuring Willy Wonka, (as well as other Roald Dahl books that have been made into movies), this interactive session includes library-ready lessons, an annotated bibliography and door prizes.

Speakers

Lynne Stover

Teacher Consultant, JMU Center for Economic Education

Lynne Farrell Stover is currently a Teacher Consultant at the James Madison University Center for Economic Education. Prior to this, she spent thirty-three years in public education where she enjoyed various teaching assignments including classroom teacher, gifted education specialist... Read More →

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST
Piedmont C

Instruction Literature

AASL Inquire, Explore
Audience Elementary School - Intermediate, Middle School

8:00am EST

Using Constructivist Media Decoding to Empower Students and Improve Media Literacy

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST

Tidewater AB

In this session, you will learn the basics of Constructivist Media Decoding as developed by Project Look Sharp, an outreach program of Ithaca College that works with K-16 educators to enhance critical thinking, civic engagement, and metacognition through media literacy and professional development.

Speakers

Dale Harter

Librarian, Albert Hill Middle School

After spending five years in High School Land in Chesterfield County, I decided I needed to be rejuvenated and became the librarian at Albert Hill Middle School, in Richmond. I'm a journalist and a public historian who likes to bring people with interesting occupations and interests... Read More →

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST
Tidewater AB

Instruction Professional Growth

AASL Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, Engage
Audience Middle School, High School

8:00am EST

Hot Topics on Zero Budget

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST

Allegheny C

You've heard all the buzzwords and new programs to try, but how do you make them work with no money? Makerspaces, STEAM Labs, flexible seating, videos, and scavenger hunts can be done with very little to no money when you explore community support and become a scavenger of opportunities!

Speakers

Emily Preuss-Anderson

School Librarian/ITRT

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST
Allegheny C

Instruction Programming

AASL Inquire, Explore
Audience Elementary School - Primary, Elementary School - Intermediate

8:00am EST

Beyond Books: Tech Initiatives in the Library

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST

Allegheny AB

Beyond Books demonstrates how technology initiatives in the library transform learning by harnessing communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity to engage students in lessons and community outreach. Session leaders will showcase uses of technology such as 3D printers, sublimation printers, Cricut machines, and iRobots to enhance learning across the curriculum. Sample websites: Tinkercad, Thingiverse, and Canva.

Speakers

Debra Forbes

Librarian, Louisa County Public Schools

I have dedicated 23 years to the field of education, serving as both a teacher and librarian. I have been enriched by the lives of students across five school divisions, teaching a diverse range of learners from elementary to college level. The library has always been one of my happy... Read More →

Nikki Wagoner

Technology Coach/ITRT

My educational background offers a variety of experiences from the grade levels of 5th-12th grade as Career and Technology Classes!During my time as a Technology Coach at LCHS, I have had the privilege of witnessing the transformative power of technology in education. It has been... Read More →

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST
Allegheny AB

Instruction Technology

AASL Inquire, Collaborate, Explore, Engage
Audience Middle School, High School

8:00am EST

Meet the Authors - Secondary

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST

Tidewater CD

Five Virginia and DC Authors who write for Middle School and High School Readers will present information about their Author Visits and answer questions. One participant will win a free virtual author visit from one of the presenting authors.

Speakers

Erin Teagan

author

Erin Teagan is the author of the Luciana series, American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year, The Friendship Experiment (HMH), and Survivor Girl (Clarion, 2019). She has a background in science and worked in drug research for more than ten years. She uses many of her experiences from... Read More →

Terry Jennings

Author

I am a Cuban American author of children's books. I am the author of The Little House of Hope, a book about an immigrant family who shares their home with other immigrants to give them a leg up in their new country. The Definitely Dominguita series is a chapter book series about a... Read More →

Edie Hemingway

Author

I am co-author of two Civil War novels, both licensed by Scholastic Book Fairs and optioned for films. My middle grade novel, Road to Tater Hill (Delacorte Press), won a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and was listed on Bank Street College’s Best Books List and several state lists... Read More →

Jen Furlong

Author, MPC Publishing

Author of award-winning YA series The Unimaginables: Hidden City, Tattooed Angel, Magick Squared. Meredith’s World Series (middle-grade humorous adventures) Meredith at The Met, Meredith for Congress. Children’s picture book: Mrs. Cheesely Loves Cheese. Co-Author of Antagonists... Read More →

Heather Murphy Capps

Author, SCBWI Mid-Atlantic

I’m an award-winning author of upper middle-grade books. I write historical fiction and use magical realism—topics I love to talk about, especially with young readers and educators.

Friday November 8, 2024 8:00am - 8:45am EST
Tidewater CD

Literature Programming

AASL Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Explore, Engage
Audience Middle School, High School

11:00am EST

Building Bridges through Books: High School Librarians Transforming Learning Experiences for All Abilities

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST

Liberty AB

This session is for secondary librarians ready to design and deliver interactive lessons tailored to the unique needs of students in low-incidence and multiple disabilities classrooms within the high school setting. Librarians will leave the session with a toolkit of activities and resources that can be readily integrated into their library programs to engage and support these exceptional students.

Speakers

Shelby Decker

Librarian, Massaponax High School

Nicole Hagermann

Librarian, Riverbend High School

I have been a high school librarian for 8 years and am passionate about creating a library space that offers something for everyone!

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST
Liberty AB

Instruction

AASL Inquire, Include, Collaborate
Audience Middle School, High School

11:00am EST

History in the Making: The Power of Library-Social Studies Collaboration

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST

Tidewater AB

Dive into the benefits and importance of collaboration between librarians and social studies teachers. Receive resources and lesson ideas to enhance student learning with a variety of interactive and engaging teaching strategies that are classroom-tested. From research and stations to historical artifact footlockers, come share ideas of how the library can engage in history!

Speakers

Laura Channing

Librarian, Stone Bridge High School

Erin Curry

Librarian

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST
Tidewater AB

Instruction

AASL Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, Engage
Audience Middle School, High School

11:00am EST

Mission Spies! Using Ciphers and Codes to Engage Students

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST

Allegheny AB

Need a breakout or lesson boost? Try using ciphers/codes to get students moving and thinking. I will share examples of different ciphers and how we used them to get students collaborating, inquiring, and engaging in a Cold War Unit. Ciphers can be used for any lesson at any level.

Speakers

Wendy Knox

Librarian, Frederick County Public Schools

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST
Allegheny AB

Instruction

AASL Inquire, Collaborate, Explore, Engage
Audience Elementary School - Intermediate, Middle School, High School

11:00am EST

C.S.L. - Simple Strategies for Organizing Your Centers, Space, and Lessons

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST

Piedmont B

Explore strategies intended to make your class flow smother. This session will include tips and tricks on how to include and organize simple centers during checkout. How to use pictures, colors, and signage, to organize your space for student independence and success. I will discuss why I find it helpful to do checkout first. (BYOD)

Speakers

Lori Valdepenas

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST
Piedmont B

Instruction Professional Growth

AASL Inquire, Include, Collaborate
Audience Elementary School - Primary, Elementary School - Intermediate, Middle School

11:00am EST

Multiply Math Collaboration

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST

Patriot AB

Multiply math collaboration in the high school library! Virginia’s 2025 Teacher of the Year and her Librarian and Instructional Technology Coach will share how they made the powerful connection between mathematics, information literacy, and technology and worked together to create meaningful learning for students.

Speakers

Alaina DeHaven

Avanti Yamamoto

Casey Nugent

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST
Patriot AB

Instruction Technology

AASL Inquire, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, Engage
Audience High School

11:00am EST

Beyond the Pages

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST

Allegheny C

A selection of themed book club activities to do when you are short on time or if no one has read the book.Trying a different approach to our book club meetings has had a positive impact on student engagement. Instead of relying solely on discussion questions, we've started organizing thematic club activities. By tying the discussion topics to the themes of the books, we've seen a significant increase in participation and interest in the club overall. We will share ready to use examples, and allow time to brainstorm together.

Speakers

Amanda Minter

Librarian, Spotsylvania High School

Hillary Moyer

LIBRARIAN, Spotsylvania High School

Friday November 8, 2024 11:00am - 11:45am EST
Allegheny C

Programming

AASL Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, Engage
Audience Middle School, High School

12:00pm EST

Helping Your School Be Equipped with Book Selections and Science of Reading

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST

Allegheny AB

As new book and reading requirements unfold, we’ll first share how you can instantaneously get Book Resumes to increase confidence in your collections and purchases. Second, we’ll review share how to use TeachingBooks to identify popular picture books by phonetical classifications to reinforce literacy instruction.

Speakers

Nick Glass

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST
Allegheny AB

Collection Development Instruction Literature Professional Growth Programming

AASL Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate
Audience All Levels

12:00pm EST

Intentionally Accessible: Designing Welcoming Spaces for Everyone

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST

Allegheny C

Let's make your library a place everyone can enjoy! Come explore easy ways to make your space more accessible for all students. From simple tweaks to bigger changes, let's share ideas to try right away. You'll leave with new strategies for evaluating and improving your library to be even better!

Speakers

Rachel Grover

Librarian, Fairfax County Public Schools, Rocky Run Middle School

I'm passionate about making the library a welcoming, safe space for the school community to thrive and learn. Talk to me about makerspaces, accessibility, student ownership, best practices for instruction and collaboration with staff, and literally anything else library related. (Oh... Read More →

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST
Allegheny C

Collection Development Instruction Professional Growth Programming

AASL Inquire, Include, Explore
Audience Middle School, High School

12:00pm EST

Empowering Your Narrative: Leveraging Canvas and GoOpenVA for Success

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST

Liberty AB

In collaboration, VDOE and Virtual Virginia will share how to leverage the use of online learning platforms such as Canvas and GoOpenVA. This session will highlight resources that can be tailored to meet the instructional needs within your school division. Please bring your own device to this session.

Speakers

Ryan Champney

Instructional Technology Specialist, Virginia Department of Education

Virginia Department of EducationInstructional Technology Specialist for the Office of Educational Technology and Classroom Innovation

Morgan Occhuizzo

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST
Liberty AB

Collection Development Instruction Professional Growth Technology

AASL Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, Engage
Audience All Levels

12:00pm EST

Finding Story in VA's Hidden History (and Helping Students Love Research)

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST

Piedmont C

A cataclysmic Depression-era drought that devastated Virginia farms. Steely horsewomen. Penny auctions. Rainmakers. The Bonus Army. Author L. M. Elliott - winner of the Scott O’Dell Award (2024) and VLA’s Cardinal Cup (2023) - shares stunning, forgotten history from her O’Dell-winning BEA AND THE NEW DEAL HORSE and its research treasure hunt.

Speakers

Laura Elliott

YA/MG historical fiction author, self

L. M. Elliott was a Washington, D.C. magazine journalist for 20 years before becoming a New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen historical and biographical fictions. Her YA/MG novels have won the Scott O'Dell, VLA Cardinal Cup, and Grateful American Book Prize for historical... Read More →

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST
Piedmont C

Instruction Literature

AASL Inquire, Explore, Engage
Audience Elementary School - Intermediate, Middle School

12:00pm EST

Reading as a Revolutionary Act

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST

Tidewater CD

Join author Samira Ahmed for a candid discussion about the ongoing attacks on the freedom to read, the role of libraries as lighthouses of our democracy and why art is revolutionary. She will share personal stories of being "cancelled" and banned including work she's doing with Authors Against Book Bans and invites you to share your experiences as well.

Speakers

Samira Ahmed

Author - Keynote

Samira Ahmed is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of numerous works for young people including Love Hate & Other Filters, Internment, Hollow Fires, This Book Won’t Burn, the Amira & Hamza duology and Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit. She was born in Bombay, India and grew... Read More →

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST
Tidewater CD

Literature Professional Growth

AASL Inquire, Explore, Engage
Audience All Levels

12:00pm EST

Boost Your Productivity with AI

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST

Colony DE

Using Adobe Firefly and Microsoft Copilot as potential tools, participants will learn how to generate prompts to improve workflow in the library and customize content based on student needs. Specific examples will be shown that are transferrable to various AI platforms.

Speakers

Jennifer Terrillion

Librarian, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY SCHOOLS

Leslie Rhodenhizer

Friday November 8, 2024 12:00pm - 12:45pm EST
Colony DE

Technology

AASL Inquire, Collaborate, Engage
Audience All Levels

1:00pm EST

Comics and Manga in the Classroom - Advanced Session

Friday November 8, 2024 1:00pm - 1:45pm EST

Piedmont A

Join us for a collaborative session to analyze comics as historical artifacts, explore their history, and create lesson plans using comics and manga for all subjects. This working session will involve brainstorming ideas and reviewing my planning process for teaching with comics. Bring your device and get ready to collaborate!

Speakers

Emily Cissell

Librarian, Thornburg Middle School

Friday November 8, 2024 1:00pm - 1:45pm EST
Piedmont A

Collection Development Instruction Literature Programming

AASL Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, Engage
Audience All Levels

1:00pm EST

From Epic Tales to Everyday Heroes: High School Students Shaping Young Citizens

Friday November 8, 2024 1:00pm - 1:45pm EST

Piedmont B

In this session, attendees will discover how high school students were able to transform their knowledge of epic and tragic heroes to create citizenship lessons for elementary school students fostering a sense of responsibility and positive community values for all that were involved in this project.

Speakers