Laura Stewart
Laura Stewart is an educator and organizational leader. She has served as a classroom teacher, building and district administrator, adjunct professor, and director of numerous professional development initiatives around the country. Before joining The Reading League as their National Director, she served as the Vice President of Professional Development for the Rowland Reading Foundation, and as the Chief Academic Officer for Professional Development at Highlights for Children. Laura presents nationally and internationally and has written for numerous organizations and publications, including co-authoring The Everything Guide to Informational Text K-2; Best Texts, Best Practices. She is the host of the podcast “Teaching, Reading, and Learning: The TRL Podcast.” Laura serves on several advisory boards, including The Path Forward in Teacher Preparation and Licensure for Early Literacy. Laura is a certified LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) facilitator. Laura’s passion is empowering educators to positively impact ALL students and ultimately change the course of literacy achievement in this country.
Concurrent Session Description
Handwriting: A Major Player in Literacy
Laura Stewart
(Writing, Components of Literacy Instruction, Coaching/Instructional Support, General Science of Reading)
Legible handwriting is beautiful to behold, but does handwriting have a place in today’s high-tech world? Let’s step away from our keyboards to explore:
- What research says about the value of handwriting (hint: it is connected to both writing AND reading)
- The benefits of handwriting over keyboarding
- Manuscript, cursive, or both?
- The importance of explicit instruction
- Position, paper, preparation, and practice
Join us as we bust some myths, get practical, and discover how, with just a few minutes a day, handwriting “hits it out of the park” as a major player in literacy.
Target Audience: Elementary
Education Track(s): New to the Science of Reading, Advanced Science of Reading