ELA SUCCESS SUMMIT KICKS OFF JULY 18TH! AND IT'S TOTALLY ONLINE!

Ashleigh Dillow

Coming Soon!

Session Information:

Establishing positive rapport between teachers and students is essential. In this presentation, I will go over seven ways to build relationships with your students, starting on day one of each school year. Relationships over everything!

About:  

Ashleigh is married and has two children. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, writing children’s books and spending time with her family.

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Lyndsey Gresehover

Digital Escape Rooms

Session Information:

In my session, I would love to show you how I make my digital escape rooms, different options for revealing codes, and ways to implement these so that the skills included apply to the Common Core Standards necessary.

About Lyndsey:  

Lyndsey is a middle school ELA teacher who is in her 17th year of teaching. She has her M Ed in Reading: Curriculum & Instruction. Lyndsey and her family live in the Metro Atlanta area, and she teaches in Marietta, GA.

Lyndsey is married to her husband, Jason, and they share 2 boys, ages 14 and 12. When she’s not teaching or creating resources for her Teachers Pay Teachers store, Lit with Lyns, you will likely find her at the baseball field as both of her boys play travel baseball.

Connect with Lyndsey!  

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Kara Wojick

Creating Lifelong Readers Using Book Talks

Session Information:

For my entire career, I have worked in schools that receive very low rankings in academic achievement. For example, in my current school, 75% of students read below grade level. My passion and mission in the classroom is to help students fall in love with books. For my first few years, this was a challenge, but once I began book-talking (in a very specific way), books started flying off my shelves. I have countless emails and letters from students thanking me for introducing them to the joy of reading. Most of the students who enter my classroom do not see themselves as “readers.” That changes for almost every child by the end of the year, thanks to my book talking routine. It is always students’ favorite part of class, and I feel I have a really special “formula” for delivering them, and I would love to share it with you!

About Kara:  

Kara Wojick is a middle school ELA and reading intervention teacher in Connecticut. She has been in the classroom for almost seven years, working primarily with struggling and reluctant readers. Through lots of trial-and-error, Kara has developed routines and practices that turn even her most reluctant readers into excited book-lovers. She loves to watch students’ reading transformations and is eager to share her experiences and expertise with other educators.

Kara Wojick currently lives the city life with her fiance and puppy, Riley, but they will soon be moving into a house in the burbs! She is eager to give her pup a big yard and have more access to nature. Kara loves to read, watercolor, and hike whenever she isn’t gushing about books to her students. She also loves to write about all things reading. The idea for Kara’s blog began as a simple bulletin board in her classroom several years ago. She hung pictures of herself reading with Riley to grab students’ attention and advertise books, and that bulletin board has now blossomed into a blog and community of teachers who want to help their students fall in love with reading. Kara is passionate about sharing quality book titles with other educators so they, too, can recommend incredible books that will keep students coming back for more all year long!

Connect with Kara!  

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Katie Wahlsteen

Game-Based Learning in the English Classroom

Session Information:

In this session, you will learn how to build in GAME-based learning in their classrooms! Using various apps, websites, and easy strategies to engage students though their natural sense of friendly competition-Race games, escape rooms, puzzles, memory matching, and team based scavenger hunts. We’ve done them all! Everything I do is completely free and doesn’t require extensive tech knowledge.

About Katie:  

Katie is originally from Southern California, but currently resides in central CA near the beautiful Monterey Bay! She is a first-year public school teacher, but had taught for 2 years at a private school while earning her single subject credential in English. Having taught 9th, 10th, 12th and now landing in a middle school, her experience with the gamut of grade levels has helped her hone some tried-and-true engagement strategies that she is excited to share with all of you!

Katie is passionate about literacy and language, earning an undergraduate degree in linguistics and English literature before going on to add a credential in ELA. From the age of four she was devouring chapter books everywhere she could get her hands on one. In the backyard treehouse, on roadtrips, at the breakfast table and even in the bathtub (Although a few soggy pages quickly stopped this habit!). Now, her passion is to lead young people in their journey to love reading too. Along with reading, her other loves include hiking the central California coast, baking all the gluten-free goodies, and snuggling up with her guinea pigs! Her two guinea pigs often make a Zoom appearance in her 8th grade classroom and were fondly dubbed the “Guinea Gals” by her students.

Connect with Katie!  

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Fallon Howes

Incorporating Art into the ELA Classroom

Session Information:

Let me teach you how to incorporate art into your ELA classroom! I am currently working on a text/art analysis unit for commonly taught 7-8 short stories. Here, students will analyze an art piece or two and a text and make comparisons between the two. Students will also complete an artistic culminating activity.

About Fallon:  

Fallon Howes is from Northwestern Pennsylvania. She graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, with a Bachelors of Science in Middle-Level English Education. In 2017, she earned her Master’s Degree in Instructional Design and Technology. She has taught reading, gifted and talented ELA, and most recently fine art.

Fallon has always loved books, art, animals, and learning. Some of her favorite novels are Pride and Prejudice, The Hunger Games, The Giver, and The Claidi Journals. She also enjoys traveling. She has also been to many U.S. cities, Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Costa Rica, and most recently Spain.

Connect with Fallon!  

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Lisa Spangler

How to Make Standard-Based Learning Interesting

Session Information:

I will present about theme & central idea and how I differentiate lessons and activities to make learning more interactive.

About Lisa:  

Lisa is a middle school teacher in the public school system in Florida. She helps teachers reach all students by finding new ways to do ordinary things. She especially enjoys teaching writing and loves traveling to new places both physical and virtual to bring them back to her students.

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Dana Petronis

Why Virtual Book Clubs Might Be the “New Normal”

Session Information:

I have some research on the benefits of virtual book clubs to share, along with strategies for facilitating book clubs in the secondary classroom (might be applicable to middle school too but I haven’t taught at this level so it’s hard for me to gauge!)

About Dana:  

Dana is a high school English teacher from Toronto, Canada. Before moving home to work within public education in Toronto, she taught at an International school in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition to secondary literacy, Dana is also an advocate for student well-being and positive classroom culture.

Turns out Dana is more of a stereotypical millennial than she’d like to admit. When she isn’t working, she’s taking care of her fur babies or tending to her 18 houseplants. Dana loves exploring holistic health and experimenting with sustainable, low-waste recipes and is deeply passionate about the environment.

Connect with Dana!  

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Michaela Arabia

Project Based Learning/Assessments

Session Information:

Learn how to incorporate Project-Based Learning into your ELA classroom. I will be discussing some of my projects that have been successful in my classroom, like MYTHBUSTERS: Ancient Greece Edition project and SHARK TANK: Ecology Project.

About Michaela:  

Michaela is a 6-7-8 teacher in Orange County, California. She has been teaching for 13 years: beginning as a 2nd grade teacher, then moving to 6th grade, and last landing in her current role as an ELA and History to 6-7-8. English Language Arts is her passion and she loves creating standards-aligned, student-focused, fun assessments (fun-ssessments) to empower her students..

Michaela loves being a teacher and a student – a professional developer forever! Her hobbies include all things google and practicing yoga (she is a trained and license yoga teacher). She is also a mother of two boys – ages 10 and 7.

Connect with Michaela!  

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Jessica Pilgreen

Design Thinking Challenges in the ELA Classroom

Session Information:

Design Thinking challenges are not just for STEM classrooms! I’ll talk about the design thinking model that I use, how I incoporate design thinking into my curriculum, and what tech tools works well with design thinking challenges (regardless of whether you currently teach in-person, remote, blended, or hybrid).

About Jessica:  

Dr. Jessica Pilgreen lives and teaches in Southwestern Illinois. She is a National Board Certified Teacher with 17 years of experience, where she has spent the last 15 years at a small rural public school. She also teaching Introductory Composition classes at Kaskaskia College and graduate-level Education classes through PLS 3rd Learning.

Jessica lives in Trenton, Illinois, with her husband James, their daughter Veronica, and their two dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys watching movies, reading books, and all things Halloween-related. She is passionate about providing students with opportunities for creativity, technology, and divergent thinking in the classroom.

Connect with Jessica!  

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Alexandra Stewart

Using Inquiry to Engage ELA Students

Session Information:

Using artifacts, paintings, and other visually observable material to create curiosity in students that fuels their learning. We will look at how you could use artifacts to set up a lesson and get students asking the questions to drive their learning. Further, can we use mentor texts to support writing with this method as well.

About Alexandra:  

Alexandra just completed her 8th year of teaching. She has taught in Boston, Massachusetts where she began her career in urban education and recently moved to NH in a much more rural setting. She is a 7th grade ELA teacher who started in Social Studies and likes to infuse history into her ELA curriculum. Alexandra is also the Founder of the New Teachers Retreat which supports teachers in their first 5 years.

Alexandra loves to infuse creativity into her work in school, but also uses creative outlets to unwind from the week. She loves to sew and makes most of her favorite outfits when she’s not running around after her 3 year old daughter.

Connect with Alexandra!  

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Nicole DiTrani

Creating Connections and Community Digitally

Session Information:

This year my district was remote from September until February during that time I worked diligently to create connections Witt my students using various strategies as well as conferencing to get to know them. In addition, I worked in lessons not only to engage students in topics but get them to work together as a class. In the end, I’ve seen students reading levels improve, participation increase, and friendships form. Therefore, I would like to discuss the importance of connection in the classroom.

About Nicole:  

Nicole DiTrani has been teaching English Language Arts for over a decade in the New Jersey Public School System. During this time, she has worked with students ranging in ages from middle school to college level. Through her experience, she has been fortunate to work with a diverse group of students. As a result of this, her work has focused on bringing and validating a variety of voices to her lessons. It is her hope that her practices help to raise awareness and bring value to different perspectives. Her belief in inclusion begins with her students by working to form meaningful connections and a true classroom community. Nicole is excited not only to share her strategies with other educators, but empower them to build a classroom where respect and understanding prevail. When she is not teaching, Nicole enjoys traveling with her partner, Jesse. Their trips have helped her to learn about other cultures and incorporate this into her work. Most recently, the couple has traveled to Ireland and she has used this opportunity to introduce her middle school students to new voices from this country. When she isn’t spanning the globe, Nicole enjoys a good beach read, spending the day at the driving range, and playing with her cat, Kiki.

Jonathan Stephens

Grading Essays-Getting Your Life Back

Session Information:

Do you struggle with grading essays? Does it take you a tremendous amount of time? I am going to share my essay grading process, from outlook, to assigning, to revising, to flipping the script of grading to get our lives back and empower learners.

About Jonathan:  

Jonathan resides in Charlotte, NC. For thirteen years, he taught English, Creative Writing, and ELD from 6th grade all the way up through college level.

Jonathan loves learning to grow his own food. The past 2 years, he’s dived into the world of acting, performing in 20 plays and films. In 2020, he was awarded Best Actor for his work in FELON LOVE.

Connect with Jonathan!  

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Lesa Smith

Building Students’ Inferences Skills 

Session Information:

How do you introduce inferencing in grade 9 and how to build and expand those skills through to grade 12? It start with examining types of questions to use to drive inferencing skills with any text, practicing, practicing, practicing in a variety of ways – same skill different context – to keep it fresh, and using small activities to build and to reinforce the skills as students continue through school. It’s a skill that can fit with any course so literacy skills across the curriculum is possible.

About Lesa:  

Lesa Smith is a high school English teacher from Toronto, Canada with 15 years teaching experience. She is the teacher-author and owner of the TeachersPayTeachers store SmithTeaches9to12. She uses pop culture, technology, and rigorous reading and writing strategies to ensure students think creatively and critically about all kinds of texts. These are tools that will serve students beyond the classroom and beyond their high school years. At the heart of it all though is a desire for students to be curious and to follow that curiosity even if it’s down a rabbit hole!

When not marking, planning, or working on her side hustle business, Lesa Smith loves London Fog lattes, a great movie or docuseries, and time spent with her young daughter. In the last year her ability to devour an audiobook has been a glorious discovery that has meant a return to more regular reading!

Connect with Lesa!  

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Jennifer Thompson

Growth Mindset

Session Information:

How can we encourage students to appreciate their progress and not necessarily the grade number they are receiving? Students need to understand failure will happen. But that is not the end result! Teachers are able to inspire learning curves that appreciate the process, not necessarily the outcome!

About Jennifer:  

Jennifer Thompson has been teaching for over 10 years in North Carolina. She started in public school with elementary and then slowly worked up to middle school ELA. She now teaches at a private school on a children’s home campus in Falcon, NC. Her students consist of community students and campus students. She teaches ELA, Science, and Math for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. She also teaches a Media course for all of the middle school that deals with current news, media awareness, and social media safety.

Jennifer Thompson lives at a children’s home in Falcon, NC with her her husband and 2 daughters. She teaches on the campus while her husband is a house parent and Assistant DCL. She enjoys reading, biking, camping, and baking. She loves helping others and being outside.

Connect with Jennifer!  

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Ashley Pearson

Fairytale Mock Trials in the English Classroom

Session Information:

Engage your students in argument writing by presenting and teaching them all about Mock Trials.I will discuss the whole process with you!

About Ashley:  

Ashley has been teaching for 4 years on the beautiful Southern Oregon coast. She spent her first three years teaching English for all grades at the middle school before transitioning to the high school this past year. She now teaches 9th and 11th grade English, plus a dual credit College Writing class.

Ashley is a huge fan of reading, and tries to read as many books as possible each year. Her favorite genre is Young Adult fiction – this works out well for recommending and having conversations about books with her students. She is very close with her family, and has a nephew who is the light of her life. Outside of reading she loves to watch movies, go for walks on the beaches in her town, and watch the sunset into the ocean. Ashley has also started online school this year and is working towards her Master’s in English.

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Katherine King

Using Dialectical Journals to Engage Student Reading and Teach Themes

Session Information:

When assigning reading independently, I usually also assign dialectical journals along the way. Having students “keep an eye out” for meaningful

quotes or lines help to focus their thoughts. Using Google Slides to record the dialectical journal, properly cite the quotes, and then use them to find themes has the students involved and engaged in the reading. 

About Katherine:  

Katherine lives in Villanova, PA where she attended Villanova University with an English degree. She has been teaching for over 25 years and loves encouraging her students to love reading literature by being creative and innovative along with knowledgeable. She mainly teaches (freshman) Honors and College prep classes, (juniors) British Literature, and (seniors) Modern Writers classes. She teaches at an all girls private academy and loves every second of being a teacher.

On her free time, she has three sons (21, 18 13) who can keep her busy. She loves taking pictures of sporting events and special moments in the family. She devotes a lot of her free time designing new lessons and keeping up with what is innovative to keep her students interested. Lastly, she loves to read and spends the summers at the beach doing just that.

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Kristina Pihanich

Teaching Theme

Session Information:

I have really solidified my approach to teaching theme to my students the last few years. I start by showing some engaging clips, short stories, etc. And have students brainstorm topics/subjects and give them the formula for a theme statement. I tried helping them create less cliché themes statements that are specific to a text. Join me in my session, and learn this process!

About Kristina:  

Kristina Pihanich is a high school English teacher from South Carolina. She is finishing her eighth year teaching and has taught everything from ninth grade inclusion to AP English. Currently, she teaches English 2 Honors, AP Literature, and AP Language, but the majority of her career has been spent teaching reluctant learners.

Kristina is married and has two children. Kristina is a strong advocate for foster care and adoption. She has one adopted daughter and has been a foster parent to many children. She even cohosts a podcast called What They’re Worth. She loves adventuring with her family and getting crafty with her Cricut machine. She has a passion for crafting meaningful and engaging lessons.

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Jamie Edwards

Writing Argument Writing Prompts Without Introducing Personal Bias

Session Information:

Sometimes writing an argument prompt is not easy. As teachers, we try not to persuade our students to write to either side but to choose their own. Learn how to write engaging argument writing prompts without personal bias in this session!

About Jamie:  

Over the past 29 years, Jamie has taught English and ELA in just about every grade, ranging from 6th through college. During that time, she has lived and taught in Florida and South Carolina. For the majority of her career, Jamie has primarily taught 8th grade ELA. She received a Bachelor’s degree in English/Secondary Education from Oakland City University and a Master’s degree in English/Secondary Education from The Citadel Military College. She also received her National Board Certification in the area of English Language Arts in 2002 and her re-certification in 2012. Currently, she resides in Greenwood, SC.

When not teaching, Jamie spends her time reading (book nerd and proud), working with various pet rescue groups, and hanging out with her husband. They are the proud parents of six rescue furbabies – 4 cats, also known as the furry overlords, and 2 completely spoiled rotten dogs (Teddy and Petey) who have their human servants wrapped around their little paws.

Connect with Jamie!  

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Kristy MacKenzie

Podcasts in the ELA Classroom 

Session Information:

Learn how to incorporate podcasts into your ELA classroom with these engaging activities and resources for your students.

About Kristy:  

Kristy has been teaching Grade 7 and 8 for over 13 years in Ontario, Canada. She has also had the privilege of being a school librarian twice in her career.

When Kristy is not teaching you can find her browsing local thrift stores and Little Free Libraries looking for her next great read.

Connect with Kristy!  

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Sara Fuller

KEYNOTE SPEAKER & AUTHOR

Anti-Racist Anti-Bias Classroom 

Session Information:

Let’s look critically at digital pedagogy through Culturally Sustaining and ABAR lenses

About Sara:  

Sara Fuller is a former middle and high school teacher who is now an assistant professor of English in the Cleveland, Ohio area. She has just completed her 12th year of teaching. She is also pursuing a PHD in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Educational Technology. Sara is currently researching culturally sustaining practices in online learning environments.

Sara loves photography, crafting, and watching too much TV. Her cat, Titus Andronicus, likes to “help” her with her lesson planning, grading, and writing. She is passionate about social justice issues especially those surrounding race and disability/accessibility in education. Sara is also adopted and proud of it!

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Gae Polisner

KEYNOTE SPEAKER & AUTHOR

 Mental Health Literature in the Secondary Classroom

Session Information:

Students are especially overwhelmed with anxiety and grief after a year of endless loss and isolation. Join Gae to hear about one simple way we can all readily help: by steering readers to books that might speak to them, and allow them to step into story to see how to cope. Make sure to join Gae for one of her live sessions. Attendees will receive more information on this the week before the conference.

About Gae:  

Gae is an author by calling, and an attorney by trade. She has appeared in classrooms around the country, both virtually and — pre (and hopefully post!)Covid — in person. She also teach creative writing and novel writing workshops for kids and adults!

When Gae isn’t writing, she can be found 8 months a year in the pool or, better yet, in the open waters of Long Island. She’s an avid open water swimmer and has completed a 10K. When she’s not swimming, she’s listening to her husband and sons make music — both sons are talented singer/songwriters following distinct paths in music! 

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Danielle Hall

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

 A Safe Back-to-School for LGBTQ+ Students & Allies

Session Information:

Before we ever have a chance to speak to our LGBTQ+ students, they are deciding whether we’re a “safe person” for them. As we envision our classroom community and space for Back-to-School, let’s develop strategies for mindful classroom décor, intentional communication, and representation in the curriculum and classroom library. This session will zoom in on the visual and verbal cues of the first day.

About Danielle:  

Danielle Hall has been teaching English and ESL since 2009 and has taught in Oregon, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, France, and Germany. She currently focuses on creating games and resources to foster critical thinking, collaboration, and representation in the ELA curriculum. She’s also written two puzzle books for kids.

Danielle loves hiking, reading, and passionately analyzing TV plotlines. She lives with her wife on the Oregon Coast (for now) with their dog and cat. They have a room in their house full of books, and it makes Danielle incredibly happy that YA Lit is finally becoming more inclusive. Now, Queer girls can be the protags in dystopian lit and murder mysteries, and it’s amaaazing! It breaks her heart that Sara Ramirez left Grey’s, but it’s fine… she’s working through it.

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Christina Schneider

SPOTLIGHT SPEAKER

The 3-Sentence Writing Technique 

Session Information:

At the start of every school year, I begin with short stories and basic essay writing skills. Rather than have my students write entire paragraphs at once, they only write three sentences. This strategy helps me focus on writing instruction while also providing timely and effective feedback to my students. Learn all about this strategy!

About Christina:  

Christina, The Daring English Teacher, is a full-time high school English teacher, wife, and mother. With more than a decade of teaching experience, she focuses on providing engaging, robust, and differentiated learning experiences to her students and the educational community. She has experience teaching English to all high school grade levels, including honors, inclusion, and ESL classes. In addition to teaching high school English, she is also the journalism and yearbook advisor.

Some of Christina’s hobbies include spending time with her family, going to spin class, lifting weights, and baking.

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Danielle Knight

Digital Collaboration

Session Information:

Collaborating in the classroom is so important.

About Danielle:  

Danielle is

When she

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Cambridge Gamble

Cultivating Positivity 

Session Information:

Teaching students to find their “why” is critical to their process and their success. Learn how to successful teach your students to find their “why” in their learning.

About Cambridge:  

Cambridge Gamble, Mr. G. (as his students’ call him) is a third year, Sixth Grade English Teacher in Easley, South Carolina. He received his Bachelors of Arts in Elementary Education (History Minor) from Clemson University. He is currently pursuing a Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning from Clemson University.

Cambridge is the son of the Rev. Dr. Norman and Dr. La-Dine Williams-Gamble. He has 3 siblings, Ti-Esha, Na-Dya, and Malcom and is the proud uncle of two boys; Landon and Tihler. It is his belief that it is essential to promote greatness in academic achievement and personal development in a safe environment that prepares students for high school and beyond. Understanding the importance of fostering a community that is dedicated to learning, he has actively engaged and served in various capacities on several school-based committees. In the classroom, the ideals of respect, responsibility, accountability, love and empathy for one another are fostered. Teaching opens the minds to the windows of possibilities beyond the individual’s physical surroundings. He believes that the classroom is a laboratory for students to learn and practice their talents; to discover what is just beyond the horizons of their mental or physical boundaries; and to prepare for an ever-changing world. During his spare time, Cambridge loves fashion, horror movies, bowling, reading, Serena Williams, Beyonce, Normani, and anything sports related; especially Clemson football.

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C'Nee Miller

ELL’s in the Virtual Classroom

Session Information:

I want to show teachers how I have transitioned my “normal” classroom to be online friendly. I will provide the resources and activities I use online to keep my students engaged.

About C’Nee:  

C’Nee is a native Houstonian currently residing as an expatriate in Kuwait. She is completing her 7th year as a Secondary English teacher with a specialization in English for Secondary Learners. C’Nee spent 4 years as a Secondary English teacher in Houston ISD, her 1st semester was in a magnet English class however, she fell in love with teaching language learners during the 2nd semester of her 1st year when she was moved to cover an ESL classroom. She became a well respected leader for the other ESL teachers and teachers on campus who were not officially WSL teachers looked to her for advice on how to assist their ELL’s in classes outside of English. Personal goals led her to teach English at a bilingual school in Kuwait and she has been enjoying the experience for 3 years. There is no official return date but she is planning to move into a leadership role out of the classroom soon.

C’Nee enjoys traveling, art, cooking and spending time with her family and friends. During the pandemic she was not able to travel, she began an online show with her friend to educate others on living abroad and life as an expat in Kuwait. She is the oldest daughter of four siblings. C’Nee enjoys creating art just as much as she enjoys viewing others people’s work, you can often find her creating something extraordinary to be enjoyed by herself and her friends. She believes in transcending education beyond the classroom and there are many teachable moments in each day. For C’Nee the day isn’t complete until she’s learned something new.

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Meghann Westberry

Open Mindsets

Session Information:

Students have it so tough. Facing a pandemic, virtual, hybrid, back in person or no school at all. This has been tough mentally. Some have just chosen to give up because perhaps they have not been taught open mindset or even know what it is. Through transparency, some pointer, advice and a plan, changing the way that we approach challenges in education and even life; with a change in our perception of live filled with opportunity and optimism can open so many doors to help these students with becoming their best self.

About Meghann:  

Meghann Westberry is going on her 9th year of education. Spending 11 years in Real Estate Advertising and also formerly teaching group fitness part time, Meghann switched her career so she could be a mom to her children, since Advertising prevented a normal family life. Originally wishing to be a teacher when she started college, she changed her mind for Communications. Starting a Lateral Entry program in NC and teaching 3rd grade, then spending time as a Teachers Assistant, aiding in 1st, Kindergarten, and Special Needs. Meghann’s time in NC was just the start. Upon a major life shift and an up coming marriage, Meghann qualified for licensure in South Carolina. Working on her Masters in Education, she obtained a position as a 5th grade ELA/Social Studies in Norway, SC. After a year she was transferred to Elloree Elementary in Elloree, SC. This is where Meghann hopes to call home for the rest of her teaching career, continuing in ELA/Social Studies, spreading the art and beauty of language, reading and writing. Keeping the love of reading in children’s minds and hearts, and reminding all students that education is power. Meghann reminds her students, if they focus on their education, it won’t be easy, but if they do their personal best, they could achieve their goals and dreams.

Meghann wants people to know that she is living her dreams being an educator to the future of our country. She teaches her students how important it is to be educated. When one is educated about our world and who we are and where we come from, we can make educated decisions about our world in order to fulfill the unity we wish to achieve. Married to her high school sweetheart, with 4 kids, 4 chickens, 2 dogs and 2 cats. They live on a farm in rural Bowman, SC. An active member of Prospect Southern Methodist Church, she is always ready to sing Praise to the Lord. Meghann loves to cook and bake with her kids, playing in the yard with her dogs, walks with her husband, dates to Charleston, decorating her home, Meghann loves beautiful things, her family is one of a beautiful and entertaining bunch.

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Lauralee Moss

Grammar Engagement 

Session Information:

Grammar can empower students in many areas of ELA. Learn how to build grammar into your ELA lessons that are engaging and exciting.

About Lauralee:  

Lauralee has taught high school English in Illinois for over a decade. In 2018, her first book, The English Grammar Workbook, was published. She blogs at LanguageArtsClassroom.com and showcases her reading material on her Instagram.

Lauralee is passionate about language and sharing language with high school students. She earned her master’s degree in education and leadership in 2008 and began a new master’s program in English literature in 2020. She’s most comfortable at home in her library with her husband, three kids, and puppy.

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Scott Cameron

Whole Novel Activities

Session Information:

I am going to share a unique approach to teaching the novel which makes life easier for me and more fun for my students. I got bored covering a novel chapter by chapter, so I decided to allow my students to read an entire novel independently which allows me to teach topic by topic instead. In one unit, I cover topics like family, fear, love, faith, etc. This makes it easy to assign each student a passage related to the topic or to do group activities like posters and presentations. I would show some student work like posters, one-pagers, and mind maps. This whole-novel approach makes it easy to practice thesis statements or body paragraphs and cover CCSS.

About Scott:  

Scott Cameron lives in New Jersey and has been teaching mostly seniors in AP Literature and Composition for 15 years. He uses a unique whole-novel approach that makes it easy to lesson plan and create fun activities and allows students the freedom to create their own reading schedule.

A husband and father of two daughters and a son, Scott likes to fish and built an outdoor fireplace after browsing the internet and watching YouTube videos. In the summer, he manages a swim club and is a Red Cross lifeguard instructor. He recently started playing soccer in a men’s league.

Connect with Scott!  

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Carolyn Wahl

Student-Led Book Clubs

Session Information:

Many will agree that when students choose the books they read, they are more likely to read more. While inspired by the idea of literature circles, book clubs are more appropriate for middle and high school students. Students read a choice book, complete an organizer to help the organize their thoughts for what to present, then share out in a small group. Book clubs provide an opportunity for students to discuss their book in an academically meaningful way.

About Carolyn:  

Carolyn of Middle School Café currently resides in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. Working for the second largest district in the state, her current teaching assignment is 8th grade ELA – her favorite grade to teach! She has just wrapped up her 27th year teaching. As an advocate for Reader’s Workshop, she firmly believes that if you can get the right book into the hands of students, you can create lifelong readers!

As and ELA teacher, it is no surprise that Carolyn is an avid reader. Her favorite genre is Historical fiction which combines her two loves: history and reading! If she has some free time, and is not reading, you can mostly likely find Carolyn in the kitchen baking. Her family always gets very excited when the Kitchen Aide comes out!

Connect with Carolyn!  

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Heather Andera

Digging Deeper Than Comprehension

Session Information:

We often read a book and ask students to comprehend. However, to master the standards, we need to have students inference, analyze, make connections, recognize word choice, determine literary elements like mood and tone. I have several great ways to do this that can be quick and fun for students and teachers!

About Heather:  

Heather has been teaching 8-12 English in South Dakota for the last 10 years. She recently opened her TPT store, The Open Book Teacher, which focuses on high school novel studies as well as writing tools for 8-12 students.

Heather is married and has a three-year old daughter who keeps her on her toes. in her free time, she is likes to read, format new materials for her store, and work on her small novel that has been a work in progress for way too long!

Connect with Heather!  

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Amy Mezni

Tips to Help Students with Undiagnosed Vision Processing Disorders 

Session Information:

Learn strategies and tips to helps students with vision disorders.

About Amy:  

Over twenty plus years, my educational career has spanned four continents and two states, as well as eight grade levels! I started my career dreaming of primary grades, interning in international schools while studying abroad. However, it was during my student teaching in Fairfax County, Virginia that I fell in love with upper elementary and middle school. I taught everything from second grade through high school, but I always worked my way back to those crazy middle school years.

Kyla Jeter

Starting a School News Show

Session Information:

Learn how to incorporate a news show into your school, and have your students learn presenting techniques, segments, and other engaging activities to bring life to your students’ school day!

About Kyla:  

Kyla Jeter is a Technology Integration Specialist (TIS) in Spartanburg School District 7 at Pine Street Elementary School in upstate South Carolina. She primarily provides classroom technology integration support to classroom teachers in grades 5K-5th grade. This is her 15th year in education and her 5th year serving as a Technology Coach. She enjoys working with teachers and students alike to bring the world into the classroom and enhancing learning with technology. Prior to this position, Kyla taught 2nd grade for 10 years. She holds a B.S Degree in Early Childhood Education from Winthrop University and a M.A.T Degree in Educational Technology from Webster University.

She’s a self-proclaimed EdTech enthusiast and newbie blogger! She is also a Google Certified Trainer, a Google Certified Educator Level 1 and Level 2, and a Seesaw Ambassador. In her spare time, Kyla enjoys cooking, shopping, and being a “Boy Mom” and football coach’s wife.

Connect with Kyla!  

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Samantha Heil

Nonfiction in the ELA Classroom

Session Information:

About Samantha:  

Samantha Heil is an English Language Arts teacher in Maryland. She has 13 years of experience teaching both Social Studies and ELA in a variety of settings. Samantha is passionate about literacy and loves to find creative ways to engage readers and writers. Through her blog, Samantha in Secondary, Samantha has found a network of ELA teachers to share strategies, lesson ideas, and plenty of Young Adult Literature recommendations. Samantha is a wife and toddler mama who lives in Maryland. In her spare time, she loves to write, cook, practice yoga, and read plenty of YA. Samantha is passionate about literacy and loves to share strategies and book recommendations on her blog, Samantha in Secondary. Summer is her favorite season and she can often be found at the beach or by the pool with a good book (when she isn’t chasing her kid).

Connect with Samantha!  

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Angie Kratzer

Session Information:

About Angie:  

I have enjoyed 23 years in education, including 19 in the high school English classroom and three years as a 6-12 ELA curriculum specialist for the third largest school district in North Carolina. I have taught all levels of English 9, 10, 11, and 12; AP English Language & Composition; Newspaper Journalism; and Creative Writing. In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I have served as Department Chair, SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) Accreditation Committee Chair, and Writing Lead Teacher. In my district role, I developed curriculum documents, developed a system-wide writing benchmark process, created and facilitated professional development for teachers and administrators, and coached middle and high school ELA teachers. In addition, I have served on the North Carolina Writing Advisory Committee, been a reader for the AP English Language & Composition exam, and scored the SAT writing component. I have spent several summers teaching English as a Second Language in Europe and can speak basic Hungarian and French. In June of 2013, I left teaching to raise our adopted son and devote more time to writing.

Connect with Angie!  

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Diana Firestone

BOSS Method for Educators

Session Information:

This session will walk through repeatable habits and exercises focused on critical thinking and reflection to use in ELA courses that build a solid foundation for first-time college bound students. During the session we will walk through the early stages of the Plan Your Life Project and learn ways to implement parts of the project into existing curriculum.

About:  

Diana is a first-generation college student in her family and is currently working on building a membership for other first-time college students to join where they can be coached on the skills needed to thrive in college. This also includes professional development for educators looking to level up high school student’s experience with career exploration through reflective writing and student-centered interactive lesson plans. She’s a facilitator by nature, which means she loves helping others on their paths so they get to experience their lightbulb moment. When she’s not in the classroom, she’s always reading and writing poetry, traveling anywhere there is a cheap flight, and snuggling up on the couch with her furr-babies, Des & BB8.

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Sarene Adessian

Stations stations stations in writing! I have started using stations through every step of the writing process, and it’s done WONDERS for my students progress. 

Session Information:

As a writing teacher, I’ve often noticed the biggest obstacle for my students is the feeling of being overwhelmed. From the “I don’t know how to start,” to the “is this enough?” And the “I can’t find any mistakes” (during peer review). I now use centers when we begin writing for brainstorming, the writing process, and edits. For example, when writing, they have a station for thesis statements, where they work with each other only on formulating a  strong thesis. Then during review, there is a station when the focus only on correcting pronoun usage, or dead word removal. It’s truly done wonders for their writing skills. 

Collaborative writing stations! 

Session Information:

I have found that writing  as a collaborative activity allows for transparent scaffolding that is easy for students to grasp, differentiation among writing levels, and a safe environment for the strong writers to thrive and those who need extra help to be supported. My students have been loving these writing activities, and they now ask for pods. I use them for writing and editing, and there are so many different pairings that can be applied. 

About:  

Sarene Adessian is an avid reader and writer with a longstanding enthusiasm for old libraries, dusty books, and a nice crackling fireplace! She resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and three children (three boys, all 5 and under!). She appreciates nature, and especially enjoys stories where literature entwines with nature (ex. Henry David Thoreau), and often takes her boys hiking and picnic-ing. She is also working on a series of writing/grammar workbooks to modernize the curriculum in those content areas. 

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Kim Crouch

Bring Writing Alive with Book Creator

Session Information:

In this session, learn how to incorporate Book Creator into your classroom in a variety of ways to enhance the writing process.

About:  

Kim is a middle school English teacher on Long Island, NY, and she has been in the classroom for 21 years. In addition, Kim runs her online business, English, Oh My!, focusing on helping English Language Arts teachers across the globe.

When she is not chasing her son around the lacrosse field, Kim and her family enjoy traveling and spending time on their boat.

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Shante' Smith

Picture Books for Propulsion

Session Information:

Using Picture Books in the secondary classroom. How do perceived children’s books prepare, pummel, and propel secondary students into deeper learning – Using the Read-Aloud.

About:  

Coming soon!

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Kyla Jeter

(Not So) True Crime & Bed By Nine:  Podcasting in the ELA Classroom

Session Information:

In this session, you’ll learn how you can use podcasting in the ELA classroom to tap into popular culture, boost student engagement, & spark critical thinking among students!  You’ll be provided with a “Beginners Guide” to setting up your own student-led podcast and a list of helpful resources to get started podcasting in your classroom as soon as tomorrow!

About:  

She’s a self-proclaimed EdTech enthusiast and newbie blogger! She is also a Google Certified Trainer, a Google Certified Educator Level 1 and Level 2, and a Seesaw Ambassador. In her spare time, Kyla enjoys cooking, shopping, and being a “Boy Mom” and football coach’s wife.

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Katherine King

Gallery Walks

Session Information:

Gallery walks are terrific, but using them in different ways gives more opportunities to you with your students. I discuss some alternate/expanded ideas on how to engage with Gallery Walks. Have students walk, discuss, and leave data on the statements then having them present their findings always is engaging. Another way is having students find interesting, meaningful quotes from a work they are reading and write and illustrate it on paper and hang for a Gallery Walk. This activity leads to a great discussion on theme and grouping of similar points in the novel. Get those students up and moving!

About:  

Kate King loves being a mom of three boys (22, 20, 14) and watching sports. She is the one on the sidelines shouting encouragement and taking great photos. She is a voracious reader and loves crime podcasts. Kate is lucky enough to spend the summers down at the Jersey shore with her family.

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Jamie Edwards

Make Grading Essay Easier & Quicker!

Session Information:

Coming Soon!

About:  

Over the past 29 years, Jamie has taught English and ELA in just about every grade, ranging from 6th through college. During that time, she has lived and taught in Florida and South Carolina. For the majority of her career, Jamie has primarily taught 8th grade ELA. She received a Bachelor’s degree in English/Secondary Education from Oakland City University and a Master’s degree in English/Secondary Education from The Citadel Military College. She also received her National Board Certification in the area of English Language Arts in 2002 and her re-certification in 2012. Currently, she resides in Greenwood, SC.

When not teaching, Jamie spends her time reading (book nerd and proud), working with various pet rescue groups, and hanging out with her husband. They are the proud parents of six rescue furbabies – 4 cats, also known as the furry overlords, and 2 completely spoiled rotten dogs (Teddy and Petey) who have their human servants wrapped around their little paws.

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Heather Andera

I was thinking about focusing on ELD or my Hunger Games unit where we play the Hunger Games

Session Information:

ELD I would probably do something with making an interactive word wall and using sight words to help build social vocabulary and having “inclusion day.” In our school, we tend to “forget” about our ELL’s so I have an inclusion day every two weeks where I plan an activity for a different class period in a rotation that socially includes our ELL students. If I do the Hunger Games Unit it will be about how we play the Hunger Games while we read them. So, for example, they decorate shoe boxes with the districts industry they draw in mind.

About:  

Heather is a wife and mother. Her four year old keeps her on her toys and inspires her to create new and exciting things by modifying elementary activities to be rigorous enough for middle and high school students. Beyond teaching and making amazing products for her TPT store, Heather also enjoys being outside, fishing and hiking.

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Dr. Erica McDonald

Tapping In Before Burning Out – Using multiple forms of texts to engage students 

Session Information:

I use art, music and poetry to discuss topics that impact student’s current life and future. In doing so, I create the next generation of change makers. 

About:  

Dr. Erica Washington McDonald was born into the family of Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee University and Sarah Meriwether Nutter, founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She was reared in a middle-class family who believed in giving back to the community. Therefore, she has founded Treasurechest Learning Systems, a non- profit organization that works with youth in the Metro Atlanta and Tuskegee, Alabama area. Their mission is to help teens follow their dreams.

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Deyetta Johnson

BodyCharacters. They’re my favorite tool to teach with!

Session Information:

I use the body characters as a tool to teach and review. I’m doing The Great Gatsby currently. I have each full body character on my board in the front of the class. Each time we finish a chapter or need to review, I use the characters. I place them in “love triangles”, or next to the character they’re in conflict with. Visuals are my favorite! 

About:  

Deyetta currently teaches high school ELA and Mythology.

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Danielle MacNee

Taking your co-teaching to the next level- ways to differentiate instruction for all!  

Session Information:

Co-teaching is hard. There are so many things to balance. Not only do you need to create a strong and supportive relationship with your co-teacher but you also need to make sure that ALL students are challenged at their level. My presentation would break down how to modify and accommodate work for your high achievers as well as your struggling students. 

About:  

Danielle loves to read and spend time with her family. Her favorite place in the world is the beach. When she is not reading at the beach she is cooking. She loves to learn new style of cooking and is constantly exploring new flavors. Danielle resides in the Sacramento area where she is able to spend time with family and friends.

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Daina Petronis

3 Strategies to Help Students Master Thesis Statements

Session Information:

When students are able to master their thesis statement, they are one step closer to a thoughtful, well-rounded essay.  If you want to teach your students how to write powerful, eloquent, and captivating thesis statements, then you’ll love the activities in this session!

About:  

When Daina isn’t developing resources or sharing educational research, she enjoys spending time with her family and her rescue dog Reggie. Daina is a fan of live music, vintage markets, good coffee, and international culture. She enjoys having a few books on the go and is currently reading All About Love by bell hooks, Home Coming by Yaa Gyasi, and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C. Bogle.

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Crystal Ceresani

The Thesis Statement as the Road Map to Argumentative Writing 

Session Information:

Thesis statements can be intimidating to students and can lead to a lack of confidence in their writing abilities. In this session, I’ll guide teachers through an easy way of teaching argumentative writing that keeps the thesis statement at the core and eliminates the fear of teaching it. We will dig into the components of writing an argumentative essay and get some tools and strategies to implement next year with the students. It’ll recharge the teacher’s love for teaching argumentative writing and will help them ignite confidence in their students. 

The session will focus on using the thesis statement as the centerpiece for an essay. It’ll make an analogy for the thesis statement as a road map, meaning it’s the guide to writing, organizing, and finding evidence for an argumentative essay. In the session, teachers will be provided with a strategy to teach the thesis statement, the completion of the graphic organizer, and the writing of the essay. 

About:  

Coming soon!

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Yadennis Walantas

Using social media to kick up student buy in 

Session Information:

Social media can be a force of good for teachers, instead of a headache. I’m here to tell you that social media can be used as a secret weapon for engagement and rigor. Students can make Instagram campaigns to create social awareness about issues they care about, create twitter storms about books they think don’t get talked about enough, or even create TikTok videos tracking character development. Social media can be a teacher’s best resource for kicking up student buy in and increasing rigor in a way that students today can relate to. 

About:  

Yaddy is a proud first generation American, and first person with a doctorate in her family. She has three cats, a two year old daughter, and a husband who is in the Army. She loves running marathons, kicking her students’ butts at Harry Potter trivia, and nerding out over film analysis. 

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Stacey Wassif

Hybrid Socratic Seminar

Session Information:

A hybrid Socratic Seminar is actually two Socratic Seminars happening simultaneously. One group does a live discussion while the other is doing an online discussion, and then the roles are reversed. This is a great way to incorporate technology in class discussion, as well as bring in shy voices! 

About:  

Stacey has a 6-year-old son and and a 3-year-old girl who both love reading, just like her. She’s also married to a special education teacher – education is her family’s priority! When Stacey isn’t teaching and working on making secondary ELA resources, she loves going beach camping and cooking. 

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Missy Davis

Teaching Grammar Demystified: A Step-by-Step Process That Actually Works!

Session Information:

This presentation would focus on how to make grammar instruction meaningful and relevant through selecting outstanding mentor sentences, using sentence frames, using engaging writing prompts, and using hands-on activities. This method of grammar instruction has worked for my own students. It’s allowed them to connect grammar to their own writing. They’ve become more fluent writers with a stronger grasp of language since I started teaching grammar this way. 

About:  

Missy is passionate about giving students tools to become better writers because writers have a louder voice in our world. A few of her favorite authors are C.S. Lewis, John Green, and Nicole Krauss; she’d rather be outside than inside, and she enjoys spending time with her 3 kids and her husband. 

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Interested in presenting at the 2022 Virtual ELA Success Summit?

Darrian Tanner

3 Strategies to Help Students Master Thesis Statements

Session Information:

When students are able to master their thesis statement, they are one step closer to a thoughtful, well-rounded essay.  If you want to teach your students how to write powerful, eloquent, and captivating thesis statements, then you’ll love the activities in this session!

About:  

When Daina isn’t developing resources or sharing educational research, she enjoys spending time with her family and her rescue dog Reggie.  Daina is a fan of live music, vintage markets, good coffee, and international culture.  She enjoys having a few books on the go and is currently reading All About Love by bell hooks, Home Coming by Yaa Gyasi, and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C. Bogle.

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Amanda Zieba

YouTube and Your Readers

Session Information:

This presentation will outline the benefits of using video in your classroom (even though we really wish our students would spend less time on YouTube!) and how to effectively create, structure and implement video use in your classroom. Special attention will be given to First Chapter Friday videos and strategies to increase student engagement/motivation/enthusiasm for reading.

About:

Amanda is an all around word nerd, with a passion for reading, writing and teaching. When she isn’t doing those things, she is usually at a ball field (with a book in tow) watching her husband coach or sons compete. Amanda believes a good story can change lives, that ice cream is always necessary and that relishing in simple joys is the key to happy life. Amanda is a proud Wisconsinite and fuels her work with caramel lattes. 

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Amy Mezni

 Increase Student Learning with Hexagonal Thinking

Session Information:

If you want to increase student engagement and achievement at the same time, hexagonal thinking is for you! Students can work alone or in groups to make connections between different elements in the novels. These activities are quick to organize and can be used for both formative and summative assessments. 

About:  

When Amy isn’t thinking about teaching, she is hanging out with her “farm” – 2 dogs, 7 cats, and 14 chickens. Family time is important to Amy, and she is blessed to have her grandpa live with her and her brother’s family nearby. Her family is slowly working on landscaping their acre property, so she can often be found outside or buying plants.

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Brigitta Goerres

Reading Comprehension Success!

Session Information:

As teachers we ask, “How can I improve my students’ achievement in reading comprehension?” Students ask, “How can I get better at reading comprehension?” This session describes how to categorize reading comprehension questions into 5 reading skill categories allowing teachers and students to determine which skills require improvement and how to unpack each skill and determine the alignment to curriculum outcomes. Focus will be for grades 6 to 9

About:  

Brigitta is a life long learner and is passionate about collaboration with educators to share and learn the most effective and beneficial ways to ensure our students are experiencing the  best learning environments. Outside of education, Brigitta’s biggest passion is her family. She has two children who are now successful adults. She and her husband love travelling with family and experiencing as much each day as possible.

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Christine Taylor-Butler

The Teacher Who Changed My Life

Session Information:

Coming Soon!

About:  

The mother of 2 amazing young ladies, Christine lives in Kansas City with fellow nerd, Ken. Her hobbies include ballroom dancing, home remodeling, and traveling. Her work has taken her all over the world, including teaching science experiments to children in Ireland as part of World Science Fiction, handling owls and raptors at a Castle in Scotland, and exploring museums in London. Most recently, Christine was the keynote speaker for the World Fantasy Convention in Montreal, Canada.

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Comfort Agboola

Student Led Documentaries

Session Information:

Over the past two years, yes during the pandemic, I’ve instructed students how to conduct research on various topics including the Chicago Renaissance and then take that information and create scripts. From these scripts students create video voiceover slides on Canva to make their own mini documentaries.

About:  

Teaching her dolls in her living room on the Southside of Chicago, Comfort Agboola always knew she wanted to be a teacher. She grew up the youngest of two and always enjoyed dreaming creative adventures. Comfort still loves adventures and creativity frequenting museums, parks, and traveling. This is not to be overshadowed by a deep family bond and strong cultural connections to family near and far. With roots in Nigeria and Shelby, Mississippi, she is very much focused on racial and social justice. Comfort Agboola is a passionate advocate for the advancement of Black people, women and other historically marginalized populations. 

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C’Nee Miller

Stations for Assessments (Formative & Summative)

Session Information:

As an ELL teacher collaboration is a big part of my classroom experience, and I want to share how I use station activities to help my students improve their skills and are assessed throughout and at the end. 

About:  

Coming Soon

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Heather Lyon

Using Controversial Literature in the Classroom

Session Information:

Controversial literature can be a great way to boost engagement in the classroom, but it’s also a little scary–especially in today’s political climate. I’d discuss some ways to include controversial literature into your classroom, tips for covering your butt and keeping your job, and some activities you can do to make the most of these types of novels.

About:  

Heather loves nothing more than reading a great book while sipping coffee on the couch. However, if she’s forced to put down her book, you’ll find her at the gym or running a trail, walking her greyhound, or trying a new craft beer with her husband.

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Lyndsey Gresehover

Tract App-Screen Time Everyone Can Enjoy!

Session Information:

Lyndsey from Lit with Lyns will be providing  everything you need to know in order to use Tract Learning in the classroom. This online, project-based learning program is an innovative tool that can be easily implemented into any unit of study. Participants will also receive a promo code to join FREE for a lifetime!

About:  

When Lyndsey isn’t teaching middle school or developing her own resources for her Teachers Pay Teachers store and her website, Lit with Lyns, you can usually find Lyndsey at a baseball field. Both her sons play travel baseball, and her oldest son also plays high school baseball.

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Samantha Heil

Creative Ways to Grow Your Classroom Library + Implement More Choice Reading

Session Information:

A presentation with actionable strategies for growing your classroom library and techniques to implement more choice reading activities in the classroom. 

About:  

Samantha is a wife and toddler mama from Maryland. Reading and talking about books brings her to life. She occasionally writes as well and has even published a YA novel called MIXTAPE: Volume One as half of the author-duo E. S. Rosalynn. In her spare time, Samantha enjoys the beach, coffee, yoga, and uninterrupted Target runs. You can find more from her at her blog, Samantha in Secondary.

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Jessica Pilgreen

Top 10 Class Tools to Up Your Game

Session Information:

10 online tools from Classtools.net. These includes arcade game generator, fling the teacher, QR code treasure hunt generator, medieval storyboard generator, hexagon notes generator, newspaper headline generator, cloze test maker, tarsia puzzle maker, and the essay visualization tool.

About:  

Dr. Jessica Pilgreen lives in Trenton, Illinois, with her husband, her daughter, and their two dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, drinking coffee, creative writing, spending time with family, and all things Halloween.

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Kara Rubino

Using page goals to manage independent reading 

Session Information:

I believe independent reading is a critical part of an ELA classroom routine but managing independent reading, keeping fun, AND holding students accountable can be a huge challenge. Page goals are the perfect simple and sustainable routine that do all three things! It is truly the “glue” that holds my independent reading system together, and I know it can work in other classrooms, too! 

About:  

Kara loves to write about all things reading. The idea for Kara’s blog began as a simple bulletin board in her classroom several years ago. She hung pictures of herself reading with her dog, Riley, to grab students’ attention and advertise books, and that bulletin board has now blossomed into a blog and community of teachers who want to help their students fall in love with reading. Kara is passionate about sharing quality book titles with other educators so they, too, can recommend incredible books that will keep students coming back for more all year long! 

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Laura Daly

Creative Classrooms with Rigor

Session Information:

How to use creative activities that include art without sacrificing rigor. I will share how I keep creative lessons standards-based and will use activities like one-pagers and social media literary analysis as examples. 

About:  

Laura is a mom to two adorable little boys, and she’s married to a middle school teacher. She loves true crime stories, chocolate, warm weather, reading, and binging a good show. Laura also loves being creative, especially when it comes to creating resources for her Teachers Pay Teachers store or building Lego sets with her boys. During the warmer months in the Midwest, Laura enjoys being outside and going to the beach. 

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Lesa Smith

Using Poetry to Develop Literacy Skills

Session Information:

This presentation provides ways to incorporate more poetry into your English classroom. Explore another form of creative writing and take the fear out of poetry for you as the teacher and for your students too! Poetry creation and analysis can complement texts you’re already studying while having students better develop their literacy skills. From SEL to reading comprehension and close reading to summary writing and even grammar instruction, poetry can offer so many opportunities for additional learning. PLUS, it incorporates all sorts of amazing poetry from the classics to living poets! This presentation includes TONS of activities you can take-away and use in your classroom with ease throughout your school year.

About:  

Lesa loves London Fog lattes, a great movie or docuseries, and time spent with her young daughter (an absolute joy of her life!). In the last two years, Lesa has made reading a priority in her life once again; there’s nothing better than devouring a good book – usually as an audiobook! She’s always looking for the next read so please feel free to connect on Instagram to share your recommendations!

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Lisa Spangler

Next Level Writing  (Leveled writing)

Session Information:

The idea is that all students work at their own pace on their own writing needs.  The most basic level is for sentence writing and the “next level” is paragraph writing and so on.  It’s a kind of workshop model but thoroughly differentiated.  

About:  

Who is Mrs. Spangler?  She is a Wife and Mom with two sons who are now both college students.  She loves visiting Disney, going to Estate Sales, and is a wannabe furniture flipper!  

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Darrian Tanner

Discourse & Collaboration: Bringing Community Back to the Classroom

Session Information:

Coming Soon!

About Darrian:  

Darrian Tanner currently lives in Florida where she is on her 10th year of teaching 10th grade ELA. She has been teaching in the public school system for 12 years. Darrian is also an Instructional Mentor on her campus which gives her the privilege of coaching both 1st and 2nd year teachers. She is a graduate from the College of Education at Michigan State University.

Darrian is an author as well. She published her 4th book in April 2021.

Connect with Darrian!  

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