SMSD Elementary IFair 2025

The session will cover a more systematic approach to strengthen student writing skills with strategies and activities that can be taken directly back to the classroom. All activities are easily incorporated into current district-approved curriculum and will require minimal additional prep on your part. These activities and strategies are based on the book "The Writing Revolution".

Calling all principals, coaches, and teachers! Have you ever felt the spark of new found inspiration after observing a learning experience with kids that you knew you just had to act on?!?! If so, you are in good company. Join us for a productive session that will walk you through start to finish (well, are we ever really finished learning?) of the Building Thinking Classrooms philosophy. This session will focus on the foundations of Building Thinking Classrooms as an instructional strategy and how teachers can implement this framework from day to day within their core math block. We will highlight how this journey moved from an idea to a daily reality embedded within a learning framework that places students as the drivers of achieving high levels of learning. Through rich discourse, knowledge mobility, collaboration, and using "what we know to figure out what we do not yet know" teachers serve as facilitators of the learning and are no longer the sole keeper of all the knowledge within their classroom.

Teachers will receive concrete guidance for materials and preparation needed to get started. Teachers will engage in conversations regarding how to script pieces of our core resource to a thinking task. Participants will hear teacher testimonies and witness the principal-coach-teacher partnership necessary to engage in this work. Teachers will learn how to embed Building Thinking Classrooms as an instructional strategy that engages all learners and that organically enriches their learning.

Learn how to use the Corrective Reading Intervention-designed to help your intermediate students improve their reading fluency and accuracy. This session will cover the basics of the intervention such materials needed, and how to use the placement test, along with the layout of each lesson and how to follow the teacher's manual.

This session is designed to equip 3rd through 6th 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 3rd through 6th grade classrooms. 
• Use strategies to scaffold instruction and make content more accessible to ELL students. 
• Implement quick win techniques to promote language development and academic success. 
• Create a more inclusive classroom environment that celebrates linguistic diversity.

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.

School psychologists will learn about conducting strengths based comprehensive assessments. School psychologists will also dive into the eligibility indicators in the area of specific learning disabilities and identify data sources to assist teams with eligibility decisions.

Increase school psychologists understanding of strength based assessments and eligibility for learning disabilities.

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.

Exploring the "Writing Rope" and integrating writing into special education intervention_x000D_Learn the science/research behind writing instruction, learn new instructional strategies/routines, and incorporate writing data into student IEPs

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.

We will take a look at how to start collaborative conversations between classroom teachers and special education teachers to ensure all students are getting what they need in the classroom. We will talk about accommodations, paraeducator resources, and the role of SPED case managers in the PLC process.

By the end of the session, educators will have a better understanding as to how to better meet the needs of Special Education students in their classrooms.

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.