Professional Organizations and Journals

Good teachers continue to learn and grow in their profession. One way of doing this is to join professional organizations and to read professional literature. Many organizations offer discounts on professional books. Conferences and workshops offered by professional organizations provide a place to network with other teachers as well as to increase your professional knowledge.

The organizations I have listed below are ones that I know from experience provide information for elementary teachers.

International Reading Association (IRA): The Reading Teacher is one of the journals offered with membership in this organization. It will help you stay on top of the latest research and strategies for teaching reading. There are also reviews of children's books.
Virginia State Reading Association (VSRA): This is one of the state affiliates of the IRA. There are links to all the state affiliates on the IRA site. I encourage you to also get involved in your local reading council. The contact information for Virginia councils is on the VSRA site.
Reading Online: This is an online K-12 journal of the IRA. Many articles deal with the role of technology in literacy instruction.
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE): This K-College organization has many offerings for elementary teachers, including journals and books.

The following links are to the online versions of some print magazines. Information for subscribing to the print version is on the website. You may want to encourage your school librarian to subscribe to these magazines if they are not already available in your school library.

Book Links

Instructor

The Mailbox and The Mailbox Bookbag

Teaching K-8

These are some other organizations that you may want to join.

National Education Association

Virginia Education Association

Other state affiliates are listed on the NEA website. I also encourage you to join your local education association.