Reading, as the old saying goes, is fundamental. However, not all public school students have access to the variety of materials necessary to build a strong reading foundation. Research grant opportunities for purchasing books, digital devices, and other materials to aid in literacy instruction. Explore multiple means of acquiring literacy-related donations and discover open-access materials online. Finally, participate in the sharing of strategies for the effective use of these resources.

Literacy instruction is as difficult as it is essential. This program will provide early grades teachers with a complement of research-based tools and strategies to help answer some of their more burning questions: How do I teach close reading to students who don’t yet know the alphabet? What level of writing can I attain from children who are still learning to spell? How do I simultaneously provide enrichment for advanced readers and remediation for delayed readers? How can I integrate reading and writing instruction into all other subject areas? Finally, what does this instruction look like in the classroom and how are student engagement and learning measured in this process?

Designed for elementary math, ELA, or self-contained teachers of grades 3–5.

Students who struggle with the abstract and symbolic nature of mathematics may benefit from leveraging their reading and writing skills to analyze, evaluate, and solve complex problems. In this program, teachers will engage in a series of activities that combine reading and writing skills with mathematical inquiry. They will then have time to create or revise lessons that integrate these areas. Teachers of younger or older students may benefit, but activities will be geared to the upper elementary grades.

Designed for educators teaching students in 6th through 12th grade.

200-word essay required for placement (see below for details)

The aim of this program is to gain an understanding of the precursors, events, and consequences of the Holocaust and to grapple with the problem of how best to convey this history and the meaning that it can have in the lives and civic practices of our students. To accomplish this goal, we will explore the exhibits and other resources of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Participants will meet our bus at predetermined locations across the state and then journey together to Washington for this intensive week. Under the guidance of museum staff and teacher fellows, we will study in the museum which has earned an international reputation for the quality of its contents, presentations, architecture, and technology. This program is for educators involved or interested in teaching about the Holocaust to students eleven years of age and older. (Two participants to a room. Participants must be physically able to walk up to 1/2 mile over level ground, stand for extended periods, and ride for up to 8 hours on an excursion bus without detriment to their health.)

Three days of substitute teacher costs are covered. Applicants must exhibit a seriousness of interest in the subject matter as expressed in an essay that is reviewed by NCCAT staff as a part of the application process.

Designed for teachers in grades 4–12.

Students are engaged when they are involved in their work, persist despite challenges and obstacles, and take visible delight in their accomplishments. Solving student engagement issues is complex. What works in one class may be a failure in the next, with every year presenting new challenges for engaging students in various lessons. This program will review and evaluate strategies for motivating disengaged students and will prepare you to implement them upon your return to the classroom.

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.

The multiple transitions that North Carolina has made in the mathematics curriculum have students, teachers, administrators, and parents scratching their heads. How can we navigate the complexities of a very difficult subject in a world where numerical fluency is increasingly important? Many high school students have given up. They are turning to Wolfram-Alpha or deciding that “I’m not a math person.” Explore ways to engage students in the secondary mathematics classroom to show the relevance and importance of math in their everyday lives. Discover interactive digital resources to use in the classroom and connect with other educators across the state to form supportive networks.

Designed for teachers of grades K–8.

Today’s students use phones, tablets, computers, and video games as ways to obtain information. Information does not always link to understanding! What types of strategies can teachers use to include this type of information sourcing? Are literacy strategies the same for traditional text as they are for digital text? Discuss the digital divide and the complexities involved with nontraditional text. Investigate strategies for “digging deeper” into digital text. Explore a variety of digital tools you can use to make literacy instruction and learning more authentic and relevant.

Digital learning is a broad category that encompasses the use of digital resources and technology to enhance and differentiate instruction. The number of available options, however, can be overwhelming. Gain experience with free high-quality tools for: video and audio production, blended lessons, games in education, online content, augmented reality, and digital formative assessment. Dive into robotics and discover how inexpensive classroom robots can be used across grades and subjects to teach higher-order thinking and problem solving. Participants will learn how to make their own rudimentary robots! Those who attend this session will explore these digital tools as students, determine how to use them effectively as teachers, and leave NCCAT with a virtual toolbox of techniques to take back to the classroom

Designed for teachers of grades 4–8.

The North Carolina General Assembly mandates that public schools identify and serve gifted children, and each LEA is required to have an AIG plan. Join teachers of AIG students and experts in the field of science as we investigate strategies to motive the critical thinking skills of gifted children. Create lessons that enrich, extend, and accelerate AIG science standards. Explore the policies and best practices of AIG expectations, create ways to challenge gifted children, and encourage continual intellectual growth.