SMSD Elementary IFair 2025

Whether you’re a new teacher looking to continue building a strong foundation to your classroom management toolbox or an experienced educator seeking new ideas to refresh your classroom management routines, this session is for you! Join us as we explore proven strategies for creating a positive, productive, and engaging learning environment.

Learn and explore five essential elements of an effective teacher.

Understand purposeful classroom management as the foundation for your classroom structures, routines, and procedures.

Reflect on and share personal experiences to collaboratively create or refine effective classroom management techniques.

Participants will learn about career pathway options for SMSD students to help students understand their options in the middle and high school setting._x000D_1. I can connect students' passions to career opportunities. 2. I can share information about SMSD's middle and high school career pathways with my elementary students. 3. I can help students learn about the opportunities available for college credit, internships, and entrepreneurial experiences.

Active Learning Strategies will be presented with videos of teachers implementing in their classrooms. Boost engagement and increase student ownership of learning with active learning strategies you can use tomorrow in your classroom!

Teacher will gain knowledge and understanding to improve engagement and student participation in the classroom.

Students often struggle to comprehend curriculum content when the people, places, and events seem distant from their own experiences. Frequently, what's lacking is the background knowledge necessary to establish meaningful connections to the material. Visual art serves as a universal language that students of all reading abilities can access to not efficiently build background knowledge but also spark inquiry for further learning. This workshop aims to equip teachers with the ability to confidently engage students in looking, thinking and talking about art for various instructional purposes in a manner that is both differentiated and engaging.

Participants will be able to identify, define and analyze what visual art is.
Participants will be able to describe where art is seen in their daily lives.
Participants will be able to describe 9 elements to notice and describe when reading art.

In this session, we will explore the work of Dr. Kateri Thunder and John Hattie with success criteria for impactful, visible learning during play. By using visual representations to illustrate skill mastery, students can work toward individualized learning goals. _x000D_The learner will understand the purpose of posting and teaching success criteria for purposeful play. The learner will reflect on intentional planning for purposeful play. The learner will plan for several center activities with success criteria.

This session is designed to equip PreK through 2nd grade teachers with practical, easy-to-implement strategies to support English Language Learners (ELLs) in their classrooms. Focusing on quick wins that can be applied immediately, this session will help classroom teachers foster a more inclusive and effective learning environment for their ELL students. Teachers will leave with actionable tools and strategies that promote language acquisition, engagement, and content understanding.

By the end of this session, teachers will be able to:

• Identify key principles of effective instruction for ELLs in PreK through 2nd grade classrooms.
• Use strategies to scaffold instruction and encourage linguistic participation by ELL students.
• Implement quick win techniques to promote oral language development and academic success.
• Create a more inclusive classroom environment that celebrates linguistic diversity.

Developed by the SMSD Student Chamber of Commerce, this professional development session offers educators the opportunity to engage PK-8 students through student-led entrepreneurial activities. Participants will learn to integrate innovative projects that foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and leadership skills while building partnerships with high school students. By the end of the session, educators will be equipped with strategies to create inclusive learning environments, promote confidence and resilience, and implement tech-enabled approaches for collaboration in the classroom.

Spend time diving deeply into PALs reading and math interventions for the classroom. The presentation will include videos of teachers implementing the intervention both in whole and small groups.  This product can support a CORE program, by providing a TIER 2 resource that can be used many ways to support student learning. Presenters will share their data and success stories with participants.

Familiarize participants with PALS interventions to help support learning in the classroom as suggested by the district recommendations.

Our goal is to give everyone the opportunity to understand the concept of purposeful play and identify the benefits backed by research. You will get the opportunity to see how purposeful play can be incorporated into your classroom by teachers who are already providing this learning style in their classrooms. Key benefits include differentiate learning through fun and engaging student-lead brain building experiences.

Students often struggle to comprehend curriculum content when the people, places, and events seem distant from their own experiences. Frequently, what's lacking is the background knowledge necessary to establish meaningful connections to the material. Visual art serves as a universal language that students of all reading abilities can access to not efficiently build background knowledge but also spark inquiry for further learning. This workshop aims to equip teachers with the ability to confidently engage students in looking, thinking and talking about art for various instructional purposes in a manner that is both differentiated and engaging.

Participants will be able to identify, define and analyze what visual art is.
Participants will be able to describe where art is seen in their daily lives.
Participants will be able to describe 9 elements to notice and describe when reading art.

We would like to teach how easy it is to use Canva to create adaptive books for our EC students and how we can incorporate those throughout the centers in the classroom. Adaptive books are books that have been modified to help people with disabilities read. They can help people with cognitive challenges, visual impairments, or communication difficulties. The benefits of adaptive books are they help students learn new skills and concepts.  They can help students prepare for events, holidays, and social interactions.  Adaptive books can be engaging for students and they can help students feel successful.

CL.L.p4.2: With prompting and support, retells books or stories with increasing detail and accuracy.
CL.L.mi.2: Attends to reading books, telling stories and singing.
CL.L.p4.7: With prompting and support, uses the illustrations to retell major events in the story.
CL.L.p4.8: With prompting and support, begins to compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.
CL.L.p4.9: With prompting and support, answers “wh” questions, such as what, when, where or why, based on information presented in the book or story.
CA.DP.p4.2a: Participates with others in listening and responding in dramatic role.

Join us for a session focused on actionable vocabulary instructional strategies that enhance student learning across all subject areas! During this interactive session, participants will: -Discover effective vocabulary instructional strategies -Increase student engagement, critical thinking, and communication skills through interactive vocabulary activities -Collaborate with fellow educators to integrate vocabulary instruction into your existing lesson plans for two or more subject areas. Enhance your teaching and support student achievement through the power of words in this interactive session!_x000D_Teachers can... Identify and describe three or more effective vocabulary instructional strategies. Integrate vocabulary instruction into their existing lesson plans for two or more subject areas. Increase student engagement and communication skills through interactive vocabulary activities.