The Spotlight on Structured Literacy series is now an annual offering by IDA Georgia and The Reading League Georgia. There is no cost to attend. Registered attendees can opt to receive a Certificate of Attendance documenting clock hours after completing a Knowledge Check/Survey. Each webinar is 1 hour, from 7:00-8:00 pm ET (Presentation and Q&A)

IDA-GA offered a special bonus to the 2025 Spotlight Series, a 5th expert webinar! On August 20, 2025, our guest, the fabulous Dr. Laura Tortorelli of Michigan State University, provided a clear overview of the Science of Reading and then took us deeper—exploring implications for multilingual learners and older students, areas at the heart of her current research. She shared key understandings from reading research, dispelled common myths, and highlighted evidence-based practices that support word recognition, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. The session concluded with an enlightening Q&A.

The Knowledge Check will be emailed to registrants by Friday, August 29. In the meantime, watch the recording and note what resonates with you, as well as any questions you still have after watching the webinar. Those questions will be included on the Knowledge Check. We will not be able to provide COAs to registrants after the deadline for submitting the Knowledge Check, September 7, 11:59 p.m. 

The Science of Teaching Reading: How Evidence-Based Literacy Practices Can Empower All Learners

In this session, Dr. Tortorelli of Michigan State University will explain the recent national movement called the Science of Reading. She will describe key understandings from reading research about how children learn to read, including the key ideas like the and Simple View of Reading, Orthographic Mapping, Lexical Quality, and how children build reading proficiency over time. She will then explain what these findings can – and can’t — tell us about the science of teaching reading in diverse classrooms. She’ll discuss common myths about how to apply the Science of Reading in elementary classrooms and highlight evidence-based instructional supports for these students to develop foundational recognition skills. She will highlight evidence-based practices in word recognition, vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension and the importance of text access for building young readers’ skill and love of literacy! 

Slides & Resources

Dr. Laura Tortorelli is an Associate Professor of Elementary Literacy in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University. Dr. Tortorelli’s research focuses on the texts, technologies, and evidence-based practices for developing foundational reading and writing skills. She also teaches future teachers how to teach reading in Michigan State’s #1 ranked elementary education program. Her work has been funded by the Institute for Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund, and the International Literacy Association. Her current projects focus on supporting informational text reading and writing in 4^th and 5^th grade and integrating AI into early reading instruction.

Register HERE. 

Bonus! Get to know our guest before this August 20 event by listening to this January 2024 podcast episode from Just Right Readers:
Elevating Reading Skills: Strategies for 3rd-5th Grade Classrooms with Dr. Laura Tortorelli, January 2024
In January 2024, Dr. Christi Lamb and Terri Lamb hosted Dr. Laura Tortorelli, an esteemed associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University. Known for her profound scholarship that delves into the realms of how and who teachers teach, Dr. Tortorelli’s focus on bridging the gap between research and practice in reading education is nothing short of inspiring.  During the podcast, Dr. Tortorelli shared insights into her journey from a creative writing enthusiast to an educator passionately committed to teaching reading. Her story began with a love for reading, which initially led her to pursue creative writing. However, her experience teaching creative writing to young children revealed to her the fundamental importance of reading in education. This realization prompted her to shift her focus and pursue a degree in teaching reading, driven by the desire to empower children with the tools to access enriching literature. Dr. Tortorelli’s experience underscores the intricate relationship between reading and writing, highlighting how each skill enriches the other. Her commitment to improving reading fluency and comprehension in children, particularly in the context of informational texts, stands out as a testament to her dedication to fostering a generation of proficient and enthusiastic readers.