Friday, November 18
9:30-10:45 a.m.—”Putting the ‘Science of Reading’ Into Practice: 5 Foundational Skills Swaps To Make Now,” Anaheim Convention Center 261-A
Join Dr. Julia B. Lindsey, author of Reading Above the Fray: Reliable, Research-based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills, to discuss this year’s hot topic, foundational skills instruction. In this session, Dr. Lindsey will discuss the importance of research-based foundational skills instruction. She will guide you through 5 critical swaps to make foundational skills instruction as efficient and effective as possible. You’ll leave with at least one swap to try tomorrow to ensure your students can all become proficient readers. Sponsored by Scholastic.
Presenter: Dr. Julia B. Lindsey
9:30-10:45 a.m.—”ELA Can’t Do This Alone,” Anaheim Convention Center 261-B
Learn how one large urban district has partnered with ThinkCERCA to move Close Reading and Academic Writing beyond the English Classroom with a cross-curricular and discipline-authentic literacy integrated resource for grades 3-12. We’ll share the strategic implementation moves district leaders have made to support stakeholders of all levels and to integrate this movement into the structures that create classroom, school, and network ecosystems for sustained and impactful implementation. This session is designed for leaders and educators who recognize the literacy needs of our students will only be met when educators of all disciplines—and their leaders—are empowered with literacy rich tools and resources situated in a broad vision for school and student success. Sponsored by ThinkCERCA.
Presenters: Shauna Evans, English Language Arts Instructional Lead, Middle Schools, Jefferson County Public Schools
Shalonda Foster, Executive Administrator, Teaching and Learning, Jefferson County Public Schools
Dr. Ronda George, Executive Director Curriculum Design & Learning Innovation, Jefferson County Public Schools
Emily Wilson, Director District Success East, ThinkCERCA
9:30-10:45 a.m.—”THINKING PRO: How do I teach news media literacy in my classroom?” Anaheim Convention Center 204-B
Explore our technology-based media literacy unit that empowers students to critically evaluate the news, engage in deliberative discourse on current topics, and write a community-based capstone project that integrates multiple documents. THINKING PRO is an innovative school curriculum and integrated professional development program that can be adjusted to your needs. Sponsored by Thinking Habitats.
Presenter: Dr. Florian Feucht, Professor of Educational Psychology
9:30-10:45 a.m.—”Empowering Student Writers with NoRedInk,” Anaheim Convention Center 209-B
Educators know that engaged students are successful students. Prioritizing student choice and voice leads to the development of a greater depth and diversity of thought, preparing students to positively contribute to society as adults. Join us as we highlight the student-centered NoRedInk features that promote efficacy and amplify student voice. Sponsored by NoRedInk.
Presenter: Lauren Schaefer
9:30-10:45 a.m.—”Supporting Struggling Learners in Reading, Writing and Communication with Microsoft Tools,” Anaheim Convention Center 210-CD
This session will look at one of the most critical skills in education, Literacy! Learn how instruction, accommodation and technology can work together to remove barriers and increase learning outcomes for your students! We will demonstrate the full capability of Microsoft Free assistive technology tools available to support classroom engagement, accessibility, analyzing and monitoring of literacy with our Immersive Reader, Reading Progress and Reading Coach tools. These FREE supports and tools are available for PC, Mac, iPad, Chromebook, iPhone, Android. No special equipment needed. Sponsored by Microsoft.
Presenter: Rachel Berger, Learning Disability & Accessibility Engagement PM
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.—”Tips to Introduce APA Style in Your Classroom,” Anaheim Convention Center 204-A
How are you preparing your high school English students for their future in academic writing? Although MLA and Chicago are popular choices for high school writing instruction, most students will need to be familiar with APA Style as they enter higher education and throughout their journey. Attend this session to learn why APA Style should be presented to students before they head to college. Sponsored by American Psychological Association.
Presenter: Jason Wells
2:00—3:15 p.m.—”Improving Reading Skills with Microsoft Immersive Reader and Reading Progress,” Anaheim Convention Center 303-C
Students with language barriers and learning disabilities are often at a disadvantage from their peers when it comes to accessing curriculum and engaging in classroom content. Microsoft’s broad set of assistive technology capabilities ensure that students of all abilities can engage in and personalize learning experiences to effectively participate in their learning community. This session will discuss and demonstrate accessibility tools to break down barriers in reading, writing, math, and communication. The presenter will be sharing examples from Microsoft Education’s free accessibility suite of tools. Sponsored by Microsoft.
Presenter: Rachel Berger, Learning Disability & Accessibility Engagement PM
Saturday, November 19
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.—”Introducing Joy to Culturally and Historically Responsive Education,” Anaheim Convention Center 303-B
In this follow-up to her popular and acclaimed book Cultivating Genius, Gholdy Muhammad adds a fifth pursuit―joy―to her groundbreaking instructional model. She defines joy as more than just celebration and happiness but also as wellness, beauty, aesthetics, healing, and justice within the self and across humanity. Drawing upon Black historical excellence as a model to educate children better today, she centers joy as the ultimate goal for education, teaching, and learning. In this session, Dr. Muhammad gives a guide on how develop culturally and historically responsive education for educators in PK-12 and professional development settings. She shows how joy can enhance our efforts to cultivate identity, skills, intellect, and criticality for all students, giving them a powerful purpose to learn and contribute to the world. Sponsored by Scholastic.
Presenter: Gholdy Muhammad
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.—”Literacy Lights the Way: Savvas’ Screener & Diagnostic Assessments Illuminate Instruction,” Anaheim Convention Center 205-A
Seeking Validated Literacy Results? Now you can provide an easy and reliable way to diagnose student needs to promote positive outcomes for your K-8 students. Look to the new Savvas Literacy Screener & Diagnostic Assessments (LSDA), a high-quality assessment system that shines the light on student needs and illuminates instruction. Each student entering your classroom is unique – with individual strengths and learning needs.. This new tool is available on the Savvas Realize™ platform, and is designed to maximize the power of instruction by targeting each student’s greatest opportunities for growth and pairing that data with aligned instructional resources. Come join in on the conversation with fellow educators from across the nation and enter to win a cool door prize! Sponsored by Savvas.
Presenters: Tavy Chen, Senior Software Product Manager
Brandy Pitre, Director of Assessment and Learning Analytics
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.—”Becoming an Organized Educator with Wakelet,” Anaheim Convention Center 252-C
This session will cover basic account setup, teacher use to transform resources, how to organize lesson plans, onboarding new staff, parent or campus newsletters, and using Wakelet to tell your story in a beautiful way for colleagues, students, and stakeholders. Sponsored by Wakelet.
Presenter: Tisha Poncio, Digital Learning Specialist
2:45-4:00 p.m.—”Rethinking Reading Intervention: Putting Volume on the Front Burner,” Anaheim Convention Center 205-B
The term “reading intervention” typically conjures images of specialized programs, pull out support, and strategy-based teaching. Reading volume–how much students are actually reading–is often overlooked when creating a plan to support striving readers. Learn how one district keeps reading volume at the center, expanding and enlivening intervention plans and fueling readers’ accelerated progress. In this session, learn ways to assess and increase students’ reading volume and track volume-based interventions on support plans. Sponsored by Scholastic.
Presenters: Suzanne Carroll
Maggie Hoddinott
Annie Ward