Which of our state’s national parks has a Road to Nowhere? Where is Torpedo Junction and how did it get its name? In which park can you walk in the footsteps of Revolutionary War patriots? North Carolina is home to ten national park units stretching from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Cape Hatteras shores. These parks offer diverse opportunities to spark students’ desire to learn more about the rich science and history of our state. Discover how park resources, including informational texts and supplemental materials, can enhance literacy skills. Learn ways your students can experience our parks both physically and virtually. As the National Park Service celebrates its 100-year birthday this year, partner with national park rangers and literacy experts to create lessons that will engage student learning in your classroom.

Canvas, North Carolina’s Learning Management System (LMS), is your place for one-stop learning and course management. Canvas is a trusted, open source LMS which provides a new way of teaching, learning, and thinking. Create modules, lessons, assessments, discussions, and portfolios. Have your grade book, course information, feedback, and student analytics all in one place. Come be a part of the education revolution—it’s Canvas Time, North Carolina!

Open to teachers in their first, second, or third year of teaching, this program supports motivated beginning teachers by strengthening their knowledge base and classroom expertise. Through experiential learning, teachers will explore pedagogical concerns including differentiated instruction, brain-compatible teaching, assessment, the effect of poverty on achievement and behavior, and classroom management. Come prepared to build professional competence and confidence, improve student achievement, and reinforce your commitment to this critically important profession.

Literacy instruction is as difficult as it is essential. This program will provide early grades teachers with a complement of research-based tools and strategies to help answer some of their more burning questions: How do I teach close reading to students who don’t yet know the alphabet? What level of writing can I attain from children who are still learning to spell? How do I simultaneously provide enrichment for advanced readers and remediation for delayed readers? How can I integrate reading and writing instruction into all other subject areas? Finally, what does this instruction look like in the classroom and how are student engagement and learning measured in this process?

Preference will be given to teachers in Grades K–3.

Develop your teaching tool kit to support the reading initiatives in North Carolina’s Read to Achieve legislation. Join us as we examine best practices for developing a welcoming and enriching reading and writing environment for the early childhood classroom. Open to teachers in grades K–3, this program will focus on developing strategies that link foundational skills to comprehension in the classroom. Set the stage for comprehension at the listening level for kindergarten students and transition instruction to thinking beyond the text as students move through the early grades.

Educational research and experienced teachers recognize that most school-aged students learn by doing. Teachers who build kinesthetic movement into their instruction report that their students are less disruptive and more engaged. Research supports that physical activity improves memory retention, comprehension, and self-regulation in students of all grade or achievement levels. Learn how you can transform a typical desk-and-chair classroom into an active classroom. Design and create your own movement-enhanced lessons with low-cost materials for use in the pre-K–12, differentiated, and exceptional classrooms.

Extreme weather events offer multiple opportunities to create engaging lessons across grade levels and the curriculum. Real-time media coverage of devastating storms like Katrina creates the ideal catalyst for motivating student interest in science, math, literacy, technology, and social studies lessons. Hear accounts from Outer Banks residents who have experienced hurricanes firsthand and see evidence of damage caused by recent storms. Partner with science, literacy, and digital learning experts to explore how extreme weather events are the perfect curriculum storm for creating lessons that will enhance K–12 instruction.

Computer science drives job growth and innovation throughout our economy and society. According to Code.org: computing occupations make up two-thirds of all projected new jobs in STEM fields, making Computer Science one of the most in-demand college degrees. Most students, however, do not have the opportunity to learn coding. You can help change this. Learn how to code, integrate coding into your curriculum, basics in robotics, and inspire students to learn more about computer science.

Many schools and districts have embraced the concept of Genius Hour by intentionally designing time during the school week for students to explore personal topics of interest and significance. From this Genius Hour work, many students’ passion and expertise grow in ways that are not likely to happen in traditional school structures. Just as our students need opportunities to explore and create, teachers need this time as well. Join us for Genius Hour for Teachers, a program designed for teachers to explore concepts, theories, tools, and strategies related to digital teaching and learning. Each participant will choose a focus or direction for this Genius Hour work. Explore structures and strategies, discuss potential strengths and limitations of various approaches to digital teaching and learning, engage in and reflect on what you’ve learned with your peers, and create plans and processes to implement digital teaching and learning in your classroom.

Elementary teachers may find that “fitting it all in” is impossible! Using informational text and technologies, elementary teachers will discover that not only is it possible to “fit it all in” it is fun! Examine the North Carolina Essential Standards and make connections to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, ELA and Writing Standards. Investigate text sets and the role they play in integrating multiple contents. Create engaging cross-curricular instructional units with culminating projects for assessments.