This interactive session introduces secondary teachers to the key practices of Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) and how they can be implemented in real classrooms to increase student engagement, collaboration, and deep mathematical thinking. Participants will experience BTC strategies firsthand, including thinking tasks, vertical non-permanent surfaces, and random grouping, and will leave with practical tools they can immediately apply in their own classrooms. Participants will need access to lesson plans (digital or paper).
This session is for invited ELA and Social Studies teachers who use Newsela. Participants will learn about using Newsela as part of an advanced instructional strategy to complement planned curriculum. Participants should sign up for Part 1 AND Part 2.
This session is for high school science teachers. Participants should sign up for Part 1 and Part 2. This workshop will help teachers investigate ways to effectively infuse literacy into science lessons with Gizmos. Participants explore the use of the Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning Framework to construct scientific explanations through experimentation, data analysis, and argumentation. The instructor demonstrates lessons that use argumentation to support scientific investigations.
This session, designed for grades 6-12 teachers, explores how strategic questioning can elicit student thinking and deepen engagement in reading and writing. Participants will examine approaches that promote sustained, student-led discourse and move learners toward independence. The session highlights methods for building autonomy and strengthening academic conversations. Educators will leave with actionable strategies and tools to enhance discourse in their classrooms.
This session is for invited ELA and Social Studies teachers who use Newsela. Participants will learn about using Newsela as part of an advanced instructional strategy to complement planned curriculum. Participants should sign up for Part 1 AND Part 2.
This session is for high school science teachers. Participants should sign up for Part 1 and Part 2. This workshop will help teachers investigate ways to effectively infuse literacy into science lessons with Gizmos. Participants explore the use of the Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning Framework to construct scientific explanations through experimentation, data analysis, and argumentation. The instructor demonstrates lessons that use argumentation to support scientific investigations.
This session explores how teaching word parts can help students improve fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension across all subject areas. Participants will learn simple, practical strategies to help students break down complex words, read more smoothly, and better understand academic texts.
This session will introduce practical ways secondary teachers can use Canvas Outcomes and the Learning Mastery Gradebook to track student growth, monitor skill development, and gather meaningful data to inform instruction (both for teachers as well as options for students). Participants will learn how to create and align outcomes to assignments and rubrics, explore ways to share mastery data with students, and leave with strategies they can apply in their own Canvas courses. Please bring a laptop or device for hands-on exploration in Canvas. Bringing an existing assessment, rubric, or upcoming assignment is recommended so participants can begin aligning Outcomes directly to their own course materials.
This workshop for CMS teachers centers on what it feels like to learn math when reading, focus, organization, or processing speed are real barriers. Instead of focusing on deficits, the session highlights strength-based design choices that support students with ADHD, dyslexia, autism, and other learning differences. Teachers explore clear routines, visual and multimodal strategies, and problem-based structures that help students see themselves as capable mathematical thinkers. The emphasis is on joy, dignity, and access at grade level.
Every science classroom brings together diverse ways of seeing, thinking, and communicating about the world. This session explores how Amplify Science can open doors for students with ADHD, dyslexia, autism, and other learning differences through strength-based, multimodal design. Teachers look at how hands-on investigations, collaborative sense-making, and visual storylines help neurodivergent learners build confidence and agency in authentic scientific work. The focus is on curiosity, access, and belonging, so every student can discover the scientist within themselves.
Secondary classrooms often face increasing pressures related to engagement, behavior, motivation, and disconnection. This session explores a practical alternative to compliance-centered instruction by focusing on the design of participation itself. Drawing from the Dignity Connectors framework, participants will examine how classroom structures can foster belonging, agency, discussion, collaboration, and meaningful contribution while maintaining clarity and rigor. Educators will leave with adaptable participation strategies that support stronger relationships, deeper thinking, and more equitable engagement across diverse learning environments.
Participants will learn how the quality and specificity of their MagicSchool Student Room directions directly shapes what students experience and produce. Teachers often set up rooms with vague prompts and are disappointed by results — this session addresses that gap. Participants will know the components of a high-quality Student Room prompt (persona, constraints, feedback style, guardrails, purpose); understand how to test and iterate their prompts before assigning to students; and be able to revise or build at least one Student Room prompt using a structured framework.
What? We are learning to define small group instruction and explore effective systems, strategies, and resources to differentiate for various learners in the secondary classroom. Why? Effective small group instruction is essential for meeting diverse student needs and tailoring teaching to where students are, grounded in the mission, vision, and portrait of a graduate in Colonial School District. How? By viewing examples, reflecting on prior instructional experiences and engaging in peer discourse, we will identify classroom management procedures and develop resources to successfully facilitate small group instruction. Please bring a laptop.
This interactive session introduces secondary teachers to the key practices of Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) and how they can be implemented in real classrooms to increase student engagement, collaboration, and deep mathematical thinking. Participants will experience BTC strategies firsthand, including thinking tasks, vertical non-permanent surfaces, and random grouping, and will leave with practical tools they can immediately apply in their own classrooms. Participants will need access to lesson plans (digital or paper).
Participants will learn why AI-generated leveled texts can undermine long-term reading growth — and how to use MagicSchool AI to build scaffolds that bring students up to grade-level text rather than bringing the text down to students. This matters because students can't grow into grade-level reading if they're never expected to grapple with it. Participants will know the research distinction between text leveling and scaffolded access; understand how to use MagicSchool tools (Text Leveler vs. scaffolding tools like vocabulary support, annotation guides, and discussion prompts) intentionally; and be able to design at least one scaffold for a current text they use in their classroom.
What? We are learning to define small group instruction and explore effective systems, strategies, and resources to differentiate for various learners in the secondary classroom. Why? Effective small group instruction is essential for meeting diverse student needs and tailoring teaching to where students are, grounded in the mission, vision, and portrait of a graduate in Colonial School District. How? By viewing examples, reflecting on prior instructional experiences and engaging in peer discourse, we will identify classroom management procedures and develop resources to successfully facilitate small group instruction. Please bring a laptop.
This session will explore how executive functioning challenges commonly present in middle and high school students and how these difficulties impact academic performance, independence, and participation across the school day. Participants will gain practical strategies to support skills such as organization, time management, task initiation, planning, self-monitoring, and emotional regulation. This presentation is designed for secondary educators looking to better understand EF needs and implement supports into their everyday classroom routines.
Secondary classrooms often face increasing pressures related to engagement, behavior, motivation, and disconnection. This session explores a practical alternative to compliance-centered instruction by focusing on the design of participation itself. Drawing from the Dignity Connectors framework, participants will examine how classroom structures can foster belonging, agency, discussion, collaboration, and meaningful contribution while maintaining clarity and rigor. Educators will leave with adaptable participation strategies that support stronger relationships, deeper thinking, and more equitable engagement across diverse learning environments.
This session explores how teaching word parts can help students improve fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension across all subject areas. Participants will learn simple, practical strategies to help students break down complex words, read more smoothly, and better understand academic texts.
Participants will learn how to do two things simultaneously — use AI tools to strengthen their own instructional practice and weave AI literacy mindsets and skills into existing content-area lessons. This matters because students need adults who can both model thoughtful AI use and teach them to engage with AI critically and ethically — not as a separate unit, but embedded in the work they're already doing. Participants will know key AI literacy concepts appropriate for secondary students (bias, transparency, human judgment, prompt quality, appropriate vs. inappropriate use); understand how to identify natural entry points for AI literacy within their existing curriculum without adding new content; and be able to draft one lesson moment or discussion hook that builds student AI literacy within their subject area.
Executive functioning challenges can quietly block student success, even when conceptual understanding is strong. This session, designed for CMS teachers, helps teachers recognize where math classrooms unintentionally overload working memory, organization, and task initiation. Participants learn how to design lessons that externalize steps, reduce decision fatigue, and support planning without removing rigor. The focus is on making thinking visible so students can focus their energy on reasoning, not survival.
This interactive program is designed to support educators in developing strategies to foster meaningful civil dialogue in their classrooms. Throughout the session, participants will ideate, converse, and model civil dialogue strategies that can be used in any classroom regardless of discipline. Educators will collaborate with peers, explore classroom-ready instructional strategies, and consider approaches for helping students engage thoughtfully with diverse perspectives.
Teachers will explore vertical alignment from Grades 8–12, focusing on the progression from foundational concepts to advanced mathematics. Through discussion and skill tracing, educators will examine how earlier learning supports success in Algebra and higher-level courses. Participants will reflect on effective approaches for remediation while maintaining grade-level expectations, as well as strategies for enriching student learning. The session emphasizes collaborative dialogue to support coherence and readiness for postsecondary pathways.
