Writing instruction is not only important but also vital for today’s students. Yet finding the time to teach writing in the elementary classroom can prove challenging. In this program, teachers will explore the various purposes for writing, the writing process, and strategies to integrate writing in other content areas. Additionally, teachers will investigate creative strategies to motivate students to write.

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Extreme weather events offer multiple opportunities to create engaging lessons across grade levels and the curriculum. Real-time media coverage of devastating storms like Maria and Irma creates the ideal catalyst for motivating student interest in science, literacy, technology, and social studies lessons. Hear accounts from Outer Banks residents who have experienced hurricanes firsthand and see evidence of damage caused by recent storms. Partner with science, literacy, and digital learning experts to explore how extreme weather events are the perfect curriculum storm for creating lessons that will enhance K–12 instruction.

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The Maker Movement empowers regular people to become inventors, engineers, and designers. A current trend in education uses the Maker mindset to encourage students of all ages to build, design, program, solve problems, collaborate, and innovate. Learn to plan lessons that teach the Maker mindset and pull in content as diverse as engineering, reading, and math. In this hands-on session you’ll explore how you might use Maker activities in your classroom to promote learning, to foster engagement, and to build innovation and creativity in your students. Topics include: design, 3D printing, building, invention, robotics, programming, electronics, app smashing, and more!

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Whether or not your school or district has adopted a Google Chromebook environment, if your LEA infrastructure allows for the use of Google Tools and/or Apps, the “Googlesphere” can be an immense help. It can aid in engaging students, keeping in touch with parents, automating feedback and assessment, sharing documents, and more. Hone your skills with the Google Chrome Browser, with Google Apps, with Android Apps, and with Chrome OS so that you can engage your students using freely available tools on almost any platform.

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Designed for teachers in grades 4–8.

Our public schools are encountering a multicultural diversity challenge. Minority students (and all students) need to see positive verbal and visual images of children like themselves in the books they read. When children see themselves in books they are motivated to read more books and read more often. It can increase self-esteem and make them feel part of the larger society. Reading literature about people from other cultures can increase sensitivity to those who are different from themselves, improve their knowledge of the world, and help them realize that although people have many differences, they also share many similarities. Learn to identify and evaluate books and online literacy resources that you can use to build a positive multicultural classroom. Become familiar with grants and other sources you can use to acquire multicultural resources. We also will explore strategies for involving parents in multicultural literacy programs.

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Designed for teachers in grades K–8.

How do we take a standardized curricula and design instruction to align with the diverse learning needs of the students in today’s classrooms? How do we ensure students are engaged and motivated to learn? How can we design and implement lessons that ensure student success? This program will help teachers answer these questions by examining elements of lesson design and planning that focus on the learning processes of the students. Teachers will incorporate these elements with evidence and research-based instructional strategies as they design and create lessons for student learning in their classroom.

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The fundamental difference between the ELA Standards for Grades 9–10 and Grade 8 is not one of substance but of scope. Whereas eighth graders are asked to evaluate the effect of individual elements in a text, freshmen and sophomores must understand how a series of such elements impact a text in its totality. Words like “thorough” and “cumulative” begin to appear in the 9-10 ELA Standards. In this program, participants will engage in a series of activities that scaffold this skill development. We will demystify the concept of author’s purpose and examine how we can sensitize students to understand how the language and organizational choices communicate purpose. This program incorporates many of the activities from “Middle Grades ELA: Teaching Beyond the EOG,” “Teaching English II: Enrich the Mind and the Scores Will Follow,” and “Teaching English I: Fresh Ideas for Freshmen.”

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It’s time to start thinking outside the box! Teachers often think projects take too much time to plan or don’t know how to align them with curriculum. PBLs are an effective and enjoyable way to learn that allow students to work as a team, reflect, ask questions, build confidence, work with a purpose, problem solve, and learn time management. Investigate what essential questions, unit questions, and content questions will enable you to develop your own PBL unit. Return to your classroom with a PBL unit you create that will excite and engage your students as they claim ownership of their learning.

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There is new research and a renewed focus across the nation on the value that the arts have in education. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes the arts as a part of a well-balanced education for every student. But what can this mean for elementary math instruction? While most teachers are aware that children exposed to dance, drama, music and visual arts do a better job at mastering content in the non-art subject areas, many feel ill-equipped at designing arts-integrated math experiences. Investigate strategies for engaging your students in deep and meaningful processes as they creatively explore connections between the arts and the non-arts content. Construct lesson plans and gather ideas and resources for enhancing your math instruction. Come build your toolbox of instructional strategies that support arts integration. This program is presented by A+ Schools of North Carolina.

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In order for students to become globally competitive, it is imperative students receive a good foundation in literacy instruction. With new challenges facing teachers each day, this task can be daunting. Examine key aspects of the Read to Achieve legislation to insure alignment in your classroom and school with research-based strategies and best practices. See how to “fit it all in” by integrating literacy across the curriculum. Learn how to effectively maintain a progress monitoring assessment schedule. Use data to develop engaging lessons that foster a love for reading while still teaching foundational skills. Develop a reading and writing environment that is welcoming and inviting to students of all developmental levels.

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