Monday+Session+2

= Session Two Monday Mid-Morning =

22. Time Well Spent: Making a Connection Between Curriculum and Technology
Presenters will share best practices for integrating technology into all curriculum areas, emphasizing shared learning to meet the instructional needs of students and encourage professional growth among teachers. Hear how one middle school uses collaboration, interactive online tools, and applications to reinforce curriculum content, prepare students for mandated testing, and achieve computer skills proficiency simultaneously. Learn how developing instructional strategies that engage teachers in a deeper understanding of technology integration enhances instruction, increases motivation, and impacts academic success.

23. Natives vs. Immigrants: Bridging the digital divide in 21st century classrooms
Students are technology natives, while their teachers are technology immigrants. This session will provide the research behind best “digital” practices and show how ipods, digital photography, and flip cameras can transform classrooms. Participants will leave with concrete examples of how to integrate current technologies seamlessly into their instruction.

24. Vocabulary Instruction: The Gate Keeper to Student Success
Students who know and understand academic vocabulary learn faster, remember longer and are able to transfer their learning to other situations. Systematic vocabulary instruction, conducted at a school-wide level, provides opportunities for increased student achievement and student success. This session will provide a deep look at vocabulary instruction through Nonlinguistic Representations, a category of strategies from Classroom Instruction that Works.

25. Implementing Middle School Philosophy for Academic Achievement
Columbia University research indicates that NYC’s K-8 schools foster higher academic achievement than stand-alone middle schools. Undoubtedly, this means that being a successful middle school encompasses much more than grade-level configurations. Join us to examine middle level organizational strategies that lead to student success in any school setting.

26. 21st Century Presentation Literacy
PowerPoint is one of the most misused and underdeveloped learning tools today. Mindless bullet points and endless slides turn off the minds of professionals and students alike. Modeling good presentation techniques is essential for student learning. Teachers present to students every day and if students are to learn to present well then teachers must be careful to develop presentations that promote great student work. Every time we stand in front of our classes we are modeling how to present. Make it inspiring and engaging every time.

27. NCPOMLE Business/Board Meeting/Issues for Middle Level Teacher Educators
All NCPOMLE members and faculty interested in joining NCPOMLE are invited to the NCPOMLE board meeting. New officers will be elected, an agenda for future plans will be discussed, and fellowship shared. An update on the status of and issues for North Carolina Middle Level Teacher Educators will immediately follow this lunch/board meeting.

28. Questioning Exploring and Writing in the Middle School
Participants—district instructional leaders, principals, and teachers—will understand how to use key questioning strategies, exploration of ideas and writing instructions to support the National Core Standards for all middle school students.

29. ALL WRITE, RIGHT…ALRIGHT!
Attendees of this session will have a hands-on experience with technology that helps all students transfer skills from language arts to other academic classes in order to become better writers and note takers. ALRIGHT!

30. How to Tame Your Math Monster Using Technology
Are you considering throwing away the textbook? This presentation provides teachers with strategies, techniques, and motivational tools for reaching today's digital natives mathematically. Participants will experience innovative technological methods connecting math concepts with the real world of an adolescent. Use technology already at their fingertips to make sense of math.

31. Common Core State Standards: An Introduction for Middle School Mathematics Educators
This session will provide general background and introductory information on the Common Core State Standards, adopted for North Carolina on June 2, 2010. This session will focus on middle school Mathematics content while a separate session will focus on English Language Arts.

32. Using Common Assessments to Transform Instruction
What’s the best way to predict performance on state tests in time to impact the results? That’s the idea behind CASE21’s Benchmark Assessments, Pacing Guides, Reporting, Test Bank and other products. Learn from a former principal of a National School to Watch how these tools transformed instruction.

33. Music, Power, & Action: Using TODAYS’s Music and Movies as Powerful Teaching Tools
What's the connection between Drake & Green Day? From T.I. & Taylor Swift? X-Men & Harry Potter? Come to this tool-filled workshop to learn how to use over 40 different media tools, including Today’s music and movies in your cutting edge work with young people. Participants will be introduced to many free or inexpensive tools that they can use to hear the music months before their youth, legally download clips of movies still in the theater. Hold on tight and Arrive early, as this workshop moves at warp speed and is often standing room only!

34. Using Political Cartoons and Graphic Novels in the Social Studies
The session will discuss activities, examples, and benefits of using political cartoons and graphic novels. These two genres will be examined as a tool to spark students’ interest with reading in the social studies classroom. Finally, the presenter will distribute a bibliography of sources and activities on these two genres.

35. Hands-on Science Vocabulary Strategies
Participants will create graphic organizers and 3-Dimensional vocabulary models. We will also explore online resources, unit lessons and research based strategies aligned with the new evaluation standards.

36. Tier-rific Math Solutions from Renaissance Learning
Join us as we build a matrix of research-based math solutions for Tiers I-IV and explore math intervention scenarios using Accelerated Math, MathFacts in a Flash, and STAR Math. Special attention will be given to NC’s Response to Intervention framework as well as how you can use STAR Math to track progress toward NCEOG. Find out how to use the tools you may already have to increase student achievement and manage data.

37. Schools to Watch Showcase: McGee’s Crossroads Middle School
McGee’s Crossroads Middle School has been recognized for using academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational support to provide a great experience for our students. In this session we will highlight some of the practices that helped us earn this recognition. Join us and learn what makes our school a “School to Watch.”

38. Life Skills is a Class Too...
What are exceptional children doing at your school? Are they stuck in the basement and never get to see the faces of their peers? It is time to step into the 21st century classroom, and we invite you to see what we're doing at Cranberry Middle School. Learn how to teach life skills through innovative activities and real-world experiences.

39. Name: What Does a Grade Mean?
One of the hottest topics in middle grades education is grading. Attend this session if you want to explore some fixes to grading. Find out what some schools are doing to answer the question, “What does a grade mean?”

40. Cooperative Learning Centers: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners
Explore and discover the power of interdisciplinary cooperative learning centers. Learn to create units through collaboration that foster inclusive classrooms for all students, including your English Language Learners. Enjoy as your students work cooperatively, think critically, use technology, and apply content knowledge through meaningful culminating activities and projects.