Elective Sessions
Download a PDF of the Catalog or browse sessions below
Download a PDF of the Catalog or browse sessions below
Participants will be introduced to digital tools that enhance the world language experience with a focus on promoting all three modes of communication: interpersonal, interpretive and presentational. *For Beginners
This introductory work session will focus on the development and strengthening of the joint partnership between the special educator and the general educator. Participants will explore the rationale, benefits and challenges of the collaborative teaching model. Collaborative partners will participate in activities together.
*Co-Teachers should register together, in order to reap the maximum benefits.
Learn what it takes to infuse your classes with design centric learning activities allowing your students to self identify parts of a project and, through inquiry, discover how to create a solution that meets both yours and the students needs.
This session will provide a low-tech hands-on approach to basic and easy-to-implement differentiation strategies for all levels and content areas. Areas covered will include instructional, review, and assessment strategies and will greatly benefit those teachers new to education or those looking to add some new tools to their repertoire.
Accurate assessment of the types of dyslexia (i.e. dysphonetic, surface, mixed dyslexia) is essential so that instructional strategies are targeted specifically to students' weaknesses. This presentation will describe the cognitive processing and executive functioning deficits that comprise dyslexia, how to assess them, and link instructional strategies to the evaluation findings.
This session will focus on how to use film for a variety of reasons in your classroom. Learn basic film terminology and cinematic techniques as well as how to read a film. Also, learn how to use film to teach creative and non-fiction writing and to understand literary terms. Finally, learn effective strategies to teach entire films to your students.
Attendees of this session will develop an awareness of English Language Learners (ELL), understand the process of second language acquisition, methodologies, and best practices appropriate for the instruction of content areas and English to second language learners.
Join this session for a discussion about GoMath and its many components. Participants will develop their resources from GoMath to help address the needs of diverse learners.
This roundtable discussion will explore how to plan and execute a successful author visit. Discussion points will include: booking honorarium and free author visits; lesson planning; preparing students, parents, faculty, and the building; creating a schedule for the day; working with your Home & School Association; advertising and handling orders; and simple ways to show appreciation to the visiting author.
Through the exploration of the Self Directed Growth Plan, Lead Teams, standard based report cards, PLC’s, and blended learning this session will explore the impact of technology and digital integration in the classroom as a tool which enhances student learning.
Maker, STEAM, STREAM, what does it all mean and how can we make it work within your classroom? With this new direction in education we will discuss realistic ways in which you can be part of this exciting movement, from start up costs to projects.
As primary teachers, we are looking for ways to bridge the home-school connection. Inviting parents to come and explore the wonders of math and literacy with their child can promote at-home reinforcement as well as show-off the great work you do in your classrooms. Join us and explore two different parent workshops for kindergarten parents that work for us. While the materials presented will be Kindergarten examples, the format can fit other primary grades as well, particularly lower Elementary.
Join with Northern Valley Physical Education educators for a roundtable discussion about PE curriculum scaffolding K-12, Option 2 and current trends in Physical Education.
Take a birds-eye view to address the role of essential questions and patterns in designing history/social studies units for teachers in grades four through eight. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own ideas and resources to help build coherent, relevant, and thought-provoking experiences for students.
"Structured Academic Debate" is designed for students to develop a compromise solution as the end product and stresses developing speaking and listening skills. It also fosters more active participation as you divide your students into teams of two, rather then half the class on one side and half on the other.
Fluent readers utilize speed, accuracy, expression and intonation to sharpen their reading skills. Participants will learn various whole and small group techniques and strategies which foster the development of this essential component of reading.
Poetry is the gateway to strong teacher-student relationships. Poetry helps students strengthen critical reading skills (including inferencing, tracking a theme, and word connotations) and writing skills (including precise diction, creating tone, and writing for an audience). Together, we will assemble poetry methods, resources, and lessons for immediate use.
Do you have a desire to move away from the traditional "lecture"? In this roundtable discussion we will discuss ways to increase student engagement by sharing exploration lessons and activities, as well as help each other convert a regular “lecture” into an interactive lesson.
From learning rudimentary syllable counts (for grade schoolers) to constructing an authentic poem based on the classical model, emulating classical short-form Japanese poetry teaches students a variety of important language skills and helps put older students in better touch with themselves and the world around them.
Together we will look at how to design reading units that follow workshop structures. We will look at model unit plans and you will have time to begin writing your own units for classroom use.
Jennifer Annese, Paula Cummings
LGBTQ students remain heartbreakingly, disproportionately prone to bullying, depression, school phobia, and self harm. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of instruction and of formal advocacy for these students in our schools. This session will bring together educators from across the Valley to explore opportunities for addressing widespread lack of knowledge and understanding about gender and sexuality, and the isolation our LGBTQ students often experience as a consequence.
Communication is the key to success! Parents want to know about their children more than ever and that has become one of the great responsibilities of the teacher. Join this session to discuss effective communication strategies and all the details on the what, when, why and how of contacting a parent and building meaningful parent teacher connections.
Kimberly Faustini, MA, BCBA, School Psychologist
Justin Saxon, BA, Special Education Teacher, Aimee Edwards, BA, Special Education Teacher
This session will provide quick tips and strategies when working with students who have emotional challenges. Students that tend to struggle with emotional issues often require professionals to think quick and use "out of the box" techniques.
What's all the hype around growth mindset these days? Let's discuss it! This breakout will explore some of the current research surrounding the work of Carol Dweck, and others, in the science behind a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. We, especially as educators, need to value effort, perseverance, and praise it –(with a plan) regardless of the outcome.
This session will be exploring methods of creating an atmosphere of wellness for self and students. Participants will learn about obstacles to wellness for students, including substance and mental health disorders. Walk away with techniques for working through obstacles in your respective work environment.
Timothy Gouraige, Luisella Marolda
In support of our continued efforts to provide a safe and secure learning environment, this round table discussion will allow current and aspiring administrators to share security strategies. Participants will be asked to provide a brief overview of their most recent or effective strategy and answer questions from the group.
Music and movement activities along with chants and rhymes encourage a positive and productive kindergarten classroom. Come share your favorite songs, catchy phrases, and brain break ideas. Leave with some new ideas to create a harmonious community in your early childhood classroom!
Explore Bookshare, Read2Go, and other apps to support struggling students. Engage in collaborative discussions around integrating these apps into classroom instruction.
During this roundtable discussion participants will look at the pros and cons of Blended Learning and will discuss their visions and goals moving forward with this methodology. This session is designed for teachers who have experience Flipping their class, as well as with those who are curious and want to learn more.
During this presentation teachers will be provided with an overview of ten new and emergent technologies for instruction and assessment. These technologies include tools for digital video, digital assessment and response systems and student tools to express comprehension of learning.
While data analysis can help us shape our instructional practices, for the non-statistician, raw data can quickly become confusing and overwhelming. In this session you will learn basic Excel techniques, formulas, and strategies to help you address the more common data collection and analysis situations we encounter as teachers.
Google Classroom is a free web-based platform that integrates your G Suite for Education account with all your Google services, including Google Docs, Gmail, and Google Calendar and much more. It saves time and paper, and makes it easy to create classes, distribute assignments, communicate, and stay organized. Google classroom is easy and safe for students to use in school and at home. Extend learning opportunities outside of the classroom with Google Classroom.
This introduction to Google Drive session will offer support for anyone who is new to Google Drive. This information session will offer help on all Drive features including Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Forms.
This is an introductory session on a graphic design program called Canva. It is a user friendly program that allows anyone, including those who are "technologically challenged", to choose from beautiful pre-made graphic design templates and use for various educational purposes. You can use Canva to create presentations, infographics, letters to parents, reminders or charts for your classroom.
Do you and your students like Escape Rooms, Breakouts, Scavenger Hunts, Puzzles? Learn how to turn subject skills into a digital puzzle that requires creativity and critical thinking. Participants will experience a BreakoutEDU Digital Game and learn basics to create one on your own. Experience with Google Suite is ESSENTIAL.
How can I use technology to help my students achieve their goals? Blended learning allows teachers to integrate traditional and digital content to meet the needs of all students based on their individual learning and academic styles. This session will aide teachers with integrating technology in meaningful ways.
Educators are increasingly becoming the #1 users of twitter in the country! Expand your professional development horizons anytime and anywhere with this social networking tool. Learn how to establish an account, cultivate a news feed that suits your interests, and participate in chats.
This roundtable discussion offers an opportunity to explore the pros and cons of using social media in the classroom. We will discuss how teachers can use social media in their lessons and determine why it's a useful teaching tool.
Blogging provides students with a place to reflect on their learning, develop their writing voice, and practice engaging an audience. This workshop will demonstrate how blogs have been used in my own classroom, give ideas for your own, and model how Haiku's software can be used for implementation and assessment.
Changes to the SAT, effective March 2016, have changed the face of the Math SAT. New topics are covered, questions are presented via NJSLS standards and the scoring procedure has changed. Explore the released exams and discuss how to best prepare your students for the new S.A.T. test.
A roundtable discussion for teachers of Kindergarten. Bring your ideas and thoughts to this Kindergarten think thank. Topics will include Go Math, center time, Reader's and Writer's Workshop, Word Study, Interactive Writing, Shared Reading, and incorporating Science and Social Studies.
Anchor charts are valuable visual tools which assist students in both learning new concepts and becoming more independent learners. In this session, you will see examples of routine, strategy, process, exemplar and genre Anchor Charts as described in the book Smarter Charts by Marjorie Martinelli and Kristine Mraz. Chart paper and markers will be available for you to create your own Anchor Charts.
Children with autism may present with challenging inappropriate behaviors, many of which have a communication component. This session will examine the relationship between communication difficulties and challenging behaviors. In addition, we will provide strategies to improve appropriate communication skills while decreasing inappropriate behaviors.
This session will provide Social Studies teachers with ideas to promote student engagement. Through examination of model lessons that have proved successful across grade levels, participants will acquire tools to develop unique and engaging lessons that students will love. Closing discussion will allow participants to share their best practices.
Join this roundtable discussion about STEM facilities solutions. The session will begin with a tour of the recently renovated high school STEM classrooms then continue with sharing from other schools. Please bring photos of your classrooms to share with the group.
Students in the elementary grades start to develop as fluent readers, using specific strategies for reading and understanding new words. In this workshop, teachers will learn to support their students' development of fluency, vocabulary, and decoding strategies. We will discuss the importance of fluent reading, vocabulary knowledge, and word analysis skills in effective, interactive, and engaged reading.
Although biases toward mathematics are often socially constructed, the idea that “I am not a math person” is very real for our students. It is time to kick this stereotype by making math relevant and accessible. Participants will engage in discussions and activities that enhance teaching strategies and resources while addressing questions and concerns in mathematics education. Please bring at least one idea or activity you would like to share and/or receive feedback on.
This session will investigate how to develop and implement research based mindfulness techniques to support the social and behavioral needs of special education students in the classroom. A special educator and behavior consultant will co-present, providing recent research, classroom applications, and time to create tools for the classroom.
Music stimulates students minds in both creativity and problem solving situations. This session is designed to help teachers incorporate music into their lessons. Particpants will discuss research conducted on the topic, music for different instructional situations, and ideas for all subject lesson plans to become interdisciplinary with music.
Explore how integration across content areas can help improve understanding. Activities for grade levels from Kindergarten to Grade 8 and multiple content areas, including Math and Science.
Are we still preparing our students to succeed in the 20th Century? How do we better prepare them for success in careers, citizenship, and life in the 21st Century? Watch clips from the award winning documentary "Most Likely to Succeed" and strategize how to implement projects in your class that model the skills of creativity and innovation that colleges and employers expect when students leave your classroom.
This interactive session is designed to provide an overview of special education law and the spectrum of disability classifications along with the ways that they affect learning and achievement. Participants will leave understanding why classroom accommodations are necessary tools for student learning.
CALLING ALL SLPs!! It’s time to collaborate. Get together with other regional Speech-Language Specialists to discuss a variety of topics including referral and testing procedures, therapy ideas, and how to incorporate Google into your life! Come to the table with topics to discuss and ideas to share!
This session will highlight some of the STEM lessons that were used to meet the Next Generation Science Standards using technology and the engineering design process. Software and hardware that will be highlighted include: Scratch Programing, Arduino IDLE and Arduino Microprocessors, Python Coding, Ozobots, Choreograph and NAO robots.
In this session we will discuss various co-teaching models and strategies for creating an inclusive classroom environment. We will share personal anecdotes from our co-teaching experience throughout the session in the hopes that general education teachers and specialists leave with a variety of strategies to apply within their co-taught classrooms.
Focus, Coherence and Rigor in the math standards anchor decisions about lesson planning, instructional strategies and assessment in grades K-12. This session will include a summary of the shifts and will engage participants with problems and strategies that illustrate them.
This professional learning experience will highlight classroom and strategies and tools that encourage 100% student engagement! Participants will experience exciting traditional instructional strategies, as well as select digital tools. This experience will include real life examples, demonstrations, and prove to be energetic and exciting!
This session will be a discussion on how to use hydroponics and aquaponics successfully in the classroom. The focus will be on lessons and strategies we have found to be successful. We will also discuss maintaining the systems and funding options.
Looking at the nuances of what is STEM education creates an assortment of education jargon. In education, is STEM a verb - related to inquiry-based problem solving, or is STEM a noun - describing the academic disciplines and units of study for students? If teachers ask our students to pick up the torch for STEM, what do educators mean when they use it? Participants of this round table discussion will examine several definitions while coming up with a definition that works for the Valley.
Our days are filled with things that cause our bodies to tense up and hold onto stress. Learn simple breathing and stretching exercises to help reduce this tension for yourself and maybe even share these simple moves with your students!
Come and explore the key points in Angela Duckworth's new book, Grit. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how to determine one's grit and how to become grittier. Let's generate ideas about the role of grit in our classrooms. (Participants may wish to watch the Ted Talk by Angela Duckworth about Grit -- Viewing is NOT REQUIRED!)
Do you struggle getting your middle school students to listen and really care about your lessons? This roundtable discussion is a place to discuss strategies that truly work to get your students caring and actually wanting to learn. Please bring any problems you may be having to share with everyone.
Participants will learn about the basics of person-first language and its implications on an individual's social and emotional well-being. Person-first language aims to avoid perceived and subconscious dehumanization when discussing people with disabilities and is sometimes referred to as a type of disability etiquette.
What are effective ways to resolve conflicts with a difficult student or adult? What are some practical things you can do when someone with a conflict with another person comes to you for advice? Learn about different conflict styles, and how to manage and resolve disagreements in a positive and effective way.
Are you looking for strategies to support students inside & outside of the classroom? This session will provide teachers with strategies to promote positive home/school relationships. Discussion will focus on utilizing concepts from ABA to help troubleshoot challenges, including homework refusal & poor organization/time management.
Google Chrome offers many extensions for free that can benefit students and staff alike. Come explore various extensions, add-ons and accessibility features and see how you can use them in your lessons, to aid in differentiation and to promote independence for your learners!
Imagine a classroom where students are constantly collaborating, communicating and competing with each other. This can become a reality by creating your own digital "BreakoutEDU" challenge! This session allows participants to learn how Breakout games can be incorporated simply by using Google Forms!
When I heard about “flipped learning,” I knew my students would not watch a long video and dismissed this trend. However, EDpuzzle allows you to edit videos, infuse questions and voice overs, and monitor students’ progress. Come with your laptop and a YouTube video and leave with a flipped-classroom activity!
Google Sites Training: instructional session for those who are new to Google. Teachers will learn how to create, modify, and update their Google Sites. Instruction will include how to insert and change links, images, documents, fonts, themes, colors, and more!
Participants will learn how to create their own iMovie and come up with applications in the classroom for both instruction and project-based assessments. Ideas will be given on how to break down the process so teachers and students can work in manageable parts.
Blended learning classrooms allow students autonomy in the pace/place of their learning. With current technology, creating this environment is more possible than ever. In this session you’ll hear about one teacher's successes/failures in creating a blended learning environment. Participants will also explore the tools that can facilitate blended learning classrooms.
The session will develop strategies and tips as well as give practice in building meaningful online posts and relevant discussions that extend the classroom, inspire dialogue, and foster community--but that are not crushing and time consuming for teachers to grade.
Members of the Northern Valley ELLs consortium
Join ELL teachers for a roundtable discussion on the many topics related to ESL learners. Topics will include PARCC for ELLs, review updates in the NJDOE Bilingual Code, update on ACCESS 2.0 and WIDA News, supporting ELLs in the mainstream classroom, best practices in Differentiation and and technology. Time will be given to delve into other topics affecting ELL programs in the Northern Valley.
Technology has transformed the landscape of education by allowing learning to occur anywhere, at anytime, and at any level. Join this roundtable discussion to probe how educators can better engage students and staff through the facilitation of a personalized learning environment.
In this session, educators will learn how to use Pear Deck in their classrooms for guided reading, class discussions, and vocabulary acquisition.
Using technology to document student growth can be an engaging and greener way to share student work with students, parents, and administrators. However, it’s important that these digital tools are easy to implement for the teacher and/or students. Participate in this roundtable discussion to share and build upon your “bag of tricks."
For several years, NVRHS has used a web-based program called T-Eval to manage all evaluation system data. This session will allow participants to learn and ask questions about this system.