In this session, Dr. Erica Buchanan-Rivera will unpack the work of cultivating an equity lens with the purpose to create educational spaces that intentionally center humanity. School environments have the potential to be spaces of wonder and joy yet can also be a source of trauma and harm when the potentialities, identities, histories, and lived experiences of students are not considered in educational systems. This session will call for educators to think about how they show up into justice-centered work. Importantly, educators will consider the collective work that is needed within organizations to advance affirming spaces that generate a sense of belonging and connection for youth as well as their caregivers. The work of advancing equitable, just schools is a commitment to actions, and we must ensure that our beliefs about children are aligned to the values we walk in every day.

As our nation’s classrooms become more diverse, so does the need to bring more inclusive stories into our school’s curriculums. It has been said that many students from different cultures live in two completely different worlds. One world is represented by their own traditional culture and the other is the one made up of ideas which our schools teach. Most curriculums have done a poor job of providing opportunities for diverse students to see themselves in the stories that they read. Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop once coined the phrase “books as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors” to illustrate this need that representation was then, and even more so now, needed in the classroom for students to see themselves. In this session, participations will do the following: (1) identify the importance of why diverse students need to see themselves in literature; (2) demonstrate how to use active engagement strategies to make connections using sketch notes.

In this session, participants will learn how data driven instructional practices can help native Spanish speakers build a strong foundation in their first language and how explicit and systematic instruction grounded in the Science Of Reading can support cross linguistic transfer to English. Participants will explore the similarities and differences of foundational literacy skill instruction in English and Spanish and how to support the positive transfer of skills. This session will explore how to promote biliteracy in several linguistic models, including one way and two way dual immersion and transitional bilingual instruction. We will also consider how teachers of English Language Arts can support Spanish speaking English Language Learners to build their language and literacy skills through explicit, systematic instruction and appropriate scaffolding. In this interactive session, participants will have the opportunity to collaborate around practices and strategies they will bring back to their sites to support biliteracy.

Cross-curricular literacy improves students thinking and learning. A 2020 study by the Fordham Institute shows increased social studies instruction time is associated with improved literacy abilities. Literacy education does not take place in a vacuum and it’s important to engage the entire school to build students’ literacy skills. Interdisciplinary efforts create a more engaging academic environment as teachers partner with colleagues in other disciplines for our students’ benefit. In this session, learn about the Indiana Bar Foundation’s civic education programs, how they align with teaching English Language Arts, and bolster literacy skills with the help of social studies teachers in your buildings. This session will look at two programs: We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, which helps students understand American government through the US Constitution and other historical, informational, and nonfiction texts; and Mock Trial, which helps students understand the judicial branch and legal system. These programs focus on argumentative writing, non-fiction reading, public speaking, and critical listening. Leave with turnkey ready programs to engage your students and faculty in an interdisciplinary way.

This workshop will provide a basic overview of both the science of reading and structured literacy from a practical perspective. That is, participants will leave with an understanding of (1) the processes involved in reading, (2) essential elements of literacy instruction, and (3) strategies for immediate classroom application. A large portion of the workshop will feature hands-on and dynamic training dedicated to the teaching of explicit phonics and promoting reading automaticity.

Look at implementations from hundreds of schools nationwide; examine best practices, and ideas that work to reverse the summer learning slide; with books delivered to the home, coupled with proven parental engagement techniques.

Learn how others effectively generate analytical data for program evaluation; recording summer activities against spring/fall reading scores. Review summer reading list/book selection for students while taking into account independent reading level, book availability, and other criteria.

Receive means, methods, and examples: social media posts, reading tip videos, memes, and more to keep families engaged over the summer. We also will learn how to develop activity questions using pedagogical techniques specific to a book to promote fluency and comprehension.

The audience will break into groups and be given books to create questions using the techniques they just learned. The group will vote on the most effective questions and the winners will receive a small prize.

Visit Hamilton County has the most comprehensive lineup

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Asian Grill, Noblesville - 74 N 9th St, Noblesville, IN 46060

Bru Burger Bar, Noblesville - 350 Westfield Rd STE 100, Noblesville, IN 46060

Debbie's Daughters Bakery & Cafe - 1236 Conner St Suite 100, Noblesville, IN 46060

Grindstone Public House - 101 N 10th St, Noblesville, IN 46060

Matteo's Ristorante Italiano, Noblesville - 40 N 9th St, Noblesville, IN 46060

Noble Coffee & Tea Company - 933 Logan St, Noblesville, IN 46060

Rosie's Place - 68 N 9th St, Noblesville, IN 46060

Wolfies Waterfront Grill - 20999 Hague Rd #9015, Noblesville, IN 46062

Our LGBTQIA+ youth are increasingly under attack and subjected to constant bullying. Participants will learn how to easily identify themselves as an ally: a port in the storm. Participants will also receive resources and advice on how to navigate the troubled waters with these formative young people. Bring your question, concerns, and your fears as we engage in meaningful dialogue so we can better support our LGBTQIA+ youth and provide shelter in the storm.

myON is an amazing resource for titles that celebrate diversity. Over 800 of the 7000+ titles in the core library include diverse characters, topics, and cultures.

Attend this session if you are looking for a way to provide students the opportunity to connect to diverse fictional characters as well as people, events and topics in non-fiction. Use myON to increase your students' enjoyment of reading and reading proficiency through deliberate, differentiated, independent reading. This session presents the myON digital library, platform and eReader tools through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The role of eBooks in equity and inclusion will be discussed and sets of titles that support DEI presented. Data will be presented on student reading gain based not on more skills instruction but on simply reading and connecting with more books!

The session will provide time for participants to discuss how books that provide diverse characters facilitate a positive self-concept and create awareness of other cultures. Subsequently, participants will BYOD (bring your own device) to log on via the Kids A-Z app and experience books that celebrate diversity. Furthermore, Learning A-Z’s commitment to building cultural awareness, understanding, and respect through thoughtfully developed instructional resources will be presented. Learning A-Z believes education is the cornerstone of change and are committed to providing culturally responsive resources that serve teachers, students, and families of all backgrounds and ethnicities in classrooms and homes around the globe. Finally, participants will engage in an SEL activity.

Inspire your students to enjoy reading with these 30 creative ideas you can use for years to come in your classroom, library, or school! Reading for pleasure leads to improved reading comprehension, writing skills, vocabulary, spelling, and grammatical development. Most importantly, reading for pleasure is crucial for developing life-long, avid readers.

Participants will engage through interactive questions, video clips and photos of classroom implementation of strategies, and oodles of ideas for motivating elementary-level readers.

The guiding principle of the Indiana ELA standards states, "Students read a wide range of fiction, nonfiction, classic, and contemporary works, to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; and to acquire new information.

Let's get our kids excited about reading!

This workshop will provide a basic overview of both the science of reading and structured literacy from a practical perspective. That is, participants will leave with an understanding of (1) the processes involved in reading, (2) essential elements of literacy instruction, and (3) strategies for immediate classroom application. A large portion of the workshop will feature hands-on and dynamic training dedicated to the teaching of explicit phonics and promoting reading automaticity.

Lucille Clifton says "We can create what we cannot imagine." In this workshop, we will use poetry by Ross Gay, Lucille Clifton, Mari Evans and more , prompts, and engaging activities to explore what they would like to see for their future, ask them what kind of people they hope to be , and learn about how to build a better community themselves and the ones they love.

This session will showcase several examples of Booktubes and Booktoks- some even created by my own students so those who attend can see how meaningful these tools are in building readers, purpose, and engagement. It will explain (with handouts and visuals) how to build your own booktubes and booktoks so librarians, teachers, community folks feel equipped and know how to implement and build these. It will also share management strategies and talk about how tools such as these can be far more impactful and meaningful than Accelerated Reader tests, book reports, and book presentations. And it can also get a community involved. Meaning parents, library patrons, and others can join in with these. And they can be themed adding layers of tubes or toks within the tube and tok. And finally for those who want to assess their students, the session will showcase assessment models for how to assess their students tubes and toks. Finally, I will ensure that those who attend understand that this tool opens the gates. Meaning, this tool allows readers a free voice--one that is out of bounds of publishers who decide what to publish, the book stores and librarians who decide what to shelve, and teachers who decide what to teach. These tools are so popular that they even help sell hundreds of books and give access of titles to readers who may not know about these titles.

PRESENTATION

This session will invite participants to reflect and discuss current literacy trends in Indiana, and how districts may be adapting and changing the literacy block for elementary students. Additionally, the current research regarding best practices for teaching foundational skills will be examined. Participants will be encouraged to examine hard copy resources from Learning A-Z, or explore them online at www.raz-plus.com or www.foundationsa-z.com. Activities for teaching foundational skills will be engaged in digitally via the Kids A-Z app or by using the hardcopy resources available for perusal. Finally, a drawing for a prize will take place and invitations for all participants to take advantage of a complimentary trial to both sites in order to implement ideas and resources they have gained during the session upon return to their campuses.

This session seeks to support teachers’ helping diverse students to read and write in prek-2 classrooms. For decades, researchers have highlighted and identified ways to address the enduring inequities in the learning opportunities offered to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [BIPOC] students, low-income students, and English Learners (e.g., Duke, 2000; Mertzman, 2008). Strategies such as needs-based instructional planning, increasing students’ voices and representation in the classroom, and applying verbal scaffolding have been linked to students’ literacy growth (e.g., Gavelek & Bresnahan, 2009; Rodgers et al., 2016).

Participants will explore instructional snapshots and discuss students’ learning opportunities. Then participants will examine and practice teaching moves that have been used to improve the fit between ELA curricula and instruction and young children’s diverse capabilities and prior experiences. Afterward, participants will collaborate to apply the teaching moves in practice, to identify and resolve challenges likely to be encountered when helping students from diverse backgrounds in their own classrooms, and to create individualized future plans of action. The three segments will allow prek-2 teachers to enhance their understanding of how to leverage students’ capabilities and lived experiences and to take action to increase the “student-centeredness” of their ELA time.

Join us to learn some fun phonemic awareness games, tools, and strategies that can help strengthen the foundations of early literacy. You’ll get to play with some easy multisensory tools that can be used to build Phonemic Awareness, as well as learn some original Phonemic Awareness games that were created for use during down-time.

We’ll touch on the critical importance of building the foundations of early literacy through Phonemic Awareness, but will have plenty of time for learning, practicing, and playing. Finally, we’ll spend some time as a team to discover all the hidden moments in your day that can be utilized without having to change your hectic schedule. Join us for some FUN-emic Awareness play time!