Middle Level Essentials Conference
and
Ninth Grade Academy Conference

April 22-23, 2010 • Las Vegas, Nevada
JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort

Featured Speakers

Kristina Doubet
Differentiated Instruction

Workshop 1
Thursday 9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m., Friday 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Laying a Firm Foundation: Classroom Community and Management in the Differentiated Classroom
This session will provide teachers and administrators with practical strategies that will enable them to help students redefine "fair" and develop a healthy sense of classroom community. You will understand how to direct logistics such as assigning, monitoring and collecting multiple tasks, monitoring noise levels, arranging furniture, and ensure productive group work.

Workshop 2 Thursday & Friday 12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Tailoring Instruction to Meet a Variety of Student Needs
This session explores the steps one must take in order to effectively tailor sound curriculum to meet the needs of the wide range of learners represented in today's diverse classrooms. We will examine how to develop learning targets that encompass but go beyond "the standards", design formative assessments to gauge student mastery of learning goals, implement formative assessments, and use results to drive instruction.

Workshop 3 Thursday & Friday 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Low Prep Strategies for Meeting Students' Readiness, Interest, and Learning Profile Needs
Participants in this session will explore several "quick" ideas for differentiating instruction in large middle school classrooms: 1) pre-, during, and post-reading strategies for textbooks; 2) Sternberg's Triarchic approach to learning profile differentiation, and 3) learning menus and contracts.

Janet Allen
Literacy Across the Content Areas

Workshop 1
Thursday 9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m., Friday 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Nonfiction Writing: It's More Than the Five-Paragraph Essay
High-stakes assessments have fostered a great emphasis on the five-paragraph essay. But, nonfiction writing is about more than writing essays. Join us as we explore a wide variety of ways we can teach and support nonfiction writing. From fact files to accident reports, you will leave with many ways students can use nonfiction writing to demonstrate learning across content areas.

Workshop 2 Thursday & Friday 12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Making a Difference! Choosing Effective Tools for Teaching Content Literacy
Our schools are filled with graphic organizers, teacher resource materials, post-its and chart paper. But, what would really make a difference in a student's ability to comprehend complex content? What tools and strategies would students need in order to analyze and synthesize that content and demonstrate their learning? Join us as Janet models the use of her "Top Ten" list of instructional tools and strategies that really do make a difference.

Workshop 3 Thursday & Friday 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Inside Words: Developing a Comprehensive Vocabulary Program
If you have struggled to find a way to teach vocabulary, this session is for you. Janet Allen will share four components of comprehensive vocabulary programs: developing word consciousness for content learning; teaching individual words; modeling strategies for independent word learning; and, increasing volume and diversity of students' reading. Instructional strategies will be modeled using a wide variety of nonfiction and fiction texts. Join us as explore effective instructional strategies for helping our students learn the "insider" vocabulary they need for reading, writing and communication.

Dennis Chandler
Effective Classroom Assessment: Linking Assessment with Instruction

Workshop 1 Thursday Only 9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Comprehensive Assessment Systems: The Big Picture of Assessment
Assessment is a process for collecting information. From the national, state, district, school, and classroom levels, how does assessment impact teacher decision-making and student achievement? What does this mean in a standards-based classroom environment? This session will provide insight into:

• Understanding the value of a comprehensive assessment system and how its components relate to teacher practice
• Determining the importance of breaking down standards into student-friendly learning targets

Workshop 2 Thursday Only 12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Focus on Classroom Assessment: Gathering Sound Information about Student Learning
For student achievement to improve, it is critical for teachers to understand the different types of assessment and the various assessment methods in order to gather information to adjust instruction. The goal is to use the most effective assessment type and method based on the learning targets. Attendees will explore the benefits of:

• Making distinctions between assessment of and assessment for learning
• Recognizing the strengths and limitations of various assessment methods
• Aligning assessments to specific learning targets and to use them appropriately

Workshop 3 Thursday Only 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m
Formative Assessment Strategies: Keys to Student Success
Research supports the use formative assessment strategies as a means of engaging students and moving them forward in their learning. Formative assessment is a process not an event. Because it cannot be separated from instruction, formative assessment provides the information necessary to adjust learning in the timeliest manner. Participants will explore the core strategies:

• Clarifying learning intentions and sharing criteria for success
• Engineering effective classroom discussions, questions, and learning tasks that elicit evidence of learning
• Provide feedback that moves students forward
• Activating students as the owners of their own learning
• Activating students as instructional resources for each other

Molly Lawrence
Science

Workshop 1 Friday Only 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Using Big Ideas to Prioritize Instruction and Build Deeper Understandings in the Science Classroom
Details, details, details! The standards are often loaded with information, much of which we don't have time to address and have difficulty ensuring students have learned in an already overburdened curriculum. In this session, we will explore how planning around big ideas can assist us in prioritizing too much information in ways that allow us to build coherent units and curricula that lead to rich learning for all students in our science classes. Together, we will explore how working with big ideas helps us as teachers make decisions about what is most important, encourages the engagement of all learners (even those who believe science is not for them), shifts our approaches as teachers in a high-stakes testing environment, and allows for learners to make powerful connections between their lives, science, and the real world. Learn to make details powerful and compelling by improving your ability to contextualize information within a big idea.

Workshop 2 Friday Only 12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Assessing for Deep Understanding in the Science Classroom
Once you've prioritized your instruction around big ideas, how do you assess in ways that address the goals of the state as well as your own goals for learning that is influential later in life? How do you assess in ways that help you see deep understandings that transfers beyond the classroom? In this session, participants will find ways to leverage formative assessments, performance assessments, and self-assessments to create a classroom culture in which deep and transferable understanding is as important as students' understanding of information for high-stakes exams. We will explore ways to move your classroom beyond one in which you consistently assess for the right answer toward one in which students are able to show how they can use information to generate ideas, make meaning and solve problems. Leave with some specific ideas for designing and utilizing assessments in ways that turn your classroom into a learning-rich environment in which students excel on the tests and beyond.

Workshop 3 Friday Only 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
The Power of Positioning Students as Scientists in an Era of High-Stakes Testing
Participants in this session will learn how to design instruction in ways that improve the quality of learning for all students by positioning students as scientists in the classroom. We will explore various ways to shift instructional approaches from teacher telling and student practicing toward students engaging in rich learning experiences from which deep and transferable understandings are constructed, enhancing performance on high-stakes assessments. Participants will engage in activities aligned with this approach, generate specific strategies relevant to their own classrooms, and consider the power of positioning students as scientists in terms of their needs in a high-stakes testing climate as well as the needs of the learners and adolescents with whom they work.

Todd Williamson
Technology

Workshop 1
Thursday 9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m., Friday 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Getting the Most Out of Your Interactive Whiteboard, Document Camera and other Hardware
Classrooms today are exploding with tools that are designed to help teachers teach and students learn. While the "Wow Factor" of these tools is good for an initial boost in learning, the challenge comes when these tools are taken for granted. Come join us for a straight-forward discussion of whose hands should be on these tools for the greatest impact on learning.

Workshop 2 Thursday & Friday 12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Creation, Collaboration, and Communication: Getting the Most from Students in a Networked World
Many teachers struggle with the rationale behind integrating technology into the regular education classroom. Too often, technology is used as an add-on to the already overwhelming curriculum. Join in a discussion about how to get the most out of your students through the use of technology to allow them to create, collaborate, and communicate with audiences and learners around the world.

Workshop 3 Thursday & Friday 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Free, Web-Based Tools to Support Student Learning
We're trying to get the most out of our students. We want them to create, collaborate, and communicate. These sound like great ideas, but your district is on a tight budget. Look no further than this session to point you in the direction of numerous FREE online tools that will help you get your students Creating, Collaborating, and Communicating around Curricular topics.

Bill Hanlon
Math

Workshop 1
Thursday 9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m., Friday 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
The Backward Assessment Model (BAM)
BAM uses the expertise of the school staff rather than outside consultants to increase stability, consistency, and balance in the delivery of instruction and assessment of student knowledge. In this session learn how using BAM can

• use testing to drive instruction
• use research-based professional development to increase student achievement in math
• have the flexibility to customize the scheduling and delivery method of professional development
• facilitate the communication of best practices in meeting academic standards
• provide professional development of leaders as teachers share knowledge, understanding, skills, experiences, and resources with each other
• enhance staff retention as new teachers bond with experienced teachers and experienced teachers learn new methods

Workshop 2 Thursday & Friday 12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Using Research to Help Young Adolescents Succeed in Math
Help your students study more effectively and efficiently by putting into practice what research on young adolescents shows is key to their learning. Learn how to

• strengthen your relationships with students
• connect with your students living in poverty
• successfully tap into students' prior knowledge and experiences
• teach students to assimilate knowledge from their note taking, homework, quizzes, and tests.

Workshop 3 Thursday & Friday 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Success on Math Tests
Increase your students' level of comfort with the requirements of standardized math tests in middle school math and algebra. Learn specific strategies to incorporate in your daily lessons that help students to easily recall the material they have studied.