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Middle School Teachers (Grades 6 - 8) [clear filter]
Monday, July 17
 

8:15am EDT

Ugh! Not Poetry!
Do you dread having to teach poetry to students when you yourself hate it? I spent years of my career having to fake liking poetry when it came time to teach it. My students and I suffered through until I decided enough was enough. Learn how I overcame my aversion so you can, too.

Speakers
avatar for Sara Ritchie

Sara Ritchie

6th Grade ELA, Ralph Chandler Middle
I am in my 23rd year of teaching middle school and the current English department for RCMS. Most of my career has been spent teaching English, but I have also taught 6th grade social studies. I am married to my high school sweetheart, and we have three great kids. This year, I was... Read More →


Monday July 17, 2023 8:15am - 9:15am EDT
513

8:30am EDT

Rigor: The Secret Sauce
An appropriate level of challenge - or rigor - just may be the "secret sauce" to student achievement and engagement. Come experience practical, student-centered, UDL-ified strategies for building students' content vocabulary and incorporating peer to peer academic discussion in the classroom.

Speakers

Monday July 17, 2023 8:30am - 10:30am EDT
508

8:30am EDT

First-Class Conversations (in 15 minutes or less)
Academic conversations improve students’ confidence and competence. But with limited class time, how can teachers engage every student in meaningful discussions? This session will explore strategies that can be done in 15 minutes or less. Access to a laptop or iPad is required. Access to past or upcoming lesson plans are required.

Speakers

Monday July 17, 2023 8:30am - 10:30am EDT
509

9:30am EDT

9:30am EDT

Analysis in the ELA: Rethinking the TDA Task
In this session, participants can expect to learn how the state crafts actual TDA prompts which are linked to standard indicators and how that same thought process can transform content delivery and questioning in daily ELA instruction. Scoring feedback from recent testing events, many high-quality resources, and the I do-we do-you do learning model will be utilized.

Speakers
avatar for Sarah Evanson-Atkinson

Sarah Evanson-Atkinson

Instructional support, Ralph Chandler Middle
I have just completed my 22nd year in education - 15 years as a middle school english teacher and 7 years as an Instructional Coach at Ralph Chandler Middle School.  I love this work and I am always looking for ways to make best practice "easier", "simpler", and more streamlined... Read More →



Monday July 17, 2023 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
512

9:30am EDT

Combating the Chaos: Classroom Organization and Management
Organizing and managing your classroom starts way before school ever begins. In this session, we'll talk about what you should be doing now to ensure a peaceful start to the new year.

Speakers
avatar for Michelle Meloon

Michelle Meloon

Instructional Coach, Hillcrest Middle School


Monday July 17, 2023 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
519

9:30am EDT

Book Clubs in the Middle School Classroom
Book clubs are a great way to build a community of readers. This session is designed to help teachers establish book clubs in their classroom.

Speakers
avatar for Sara Ritchie

Sara Ritchie

6th Grade ELA, Ralph Chandler Middle
I am in my 23rd year of teaching middle school and the current English department for RCMS. Most of my career has been spent teaching English, but I have also taught 6th grade social studies. I am married to my high school sweetheart, and we have three great kids. This year, I was... Read More →


Monday July 17, 2023 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
513

10:45am EDT

10:45am EDT

Combating the Chaos: Classroom Organization and Management
Organizing and managing your classroom starts way before school ever begins. In this session, we'll talk about what you should be doing now to ensure a peaceful start to the new year.

Speakers
avatar for Michelle Meloon

Michelle Meloon

Instructional Coach, Hillcrest Middle School


Monday July 17, 2023 10:45am - 11:45am EDT
519

10:45am EDT

Educate with Edulastic: The better way to creating standards-based assessments
Join us as we explore Edulastic, a web-based platform that helps teachers assess and monitor students as they work towards mastery of standards. We have been using Edulastic in our classrooms for 3 years and have enjoyed the auto-grading feature and instantaneous data results and analytics. Edulastic assessments support all subjects and have a variety of attributes designed to make your teaching more impactful.


Monday July 17, 2023 10:45am - 11:45am EDT
508

10:45am EDT

Building A Reading Community Within Your School
Literacy skills are necessary for success in all content areas, but connecting literature in other areas can sometimes feel forced. Shared reading experiences build positive social and academic associations that can bridge gaps in learning and cross social barriers benefiting the entire school. Come learn ways to create a community of readers within your school where relationships are strengthened, SEL is consistently addressed, and disciplinary reading skills are easily reinforced.

Speakers

Monday July 17, 2023 10:45am - 11:45am EDT
513

10:45am EDT

Tools to Assess and Support Historical Thinking Skills (Grades 4 - 8)
**This session is for upper elementary and middle school teachers.** Imagine a student and teacher knowing exactly what success looks like, where they are in their learning, and what learning they still need in order to grow. Learning progressions can make this a reality! Participants will learn what progressions are, why they are important, and preview Historical Thinking progressions co-developed by the SCDE Office of Personalized Learning and Office of Assessment and Standards.

Speakers

Monday July 17, 2023 10:45am - 12:45pm EDT
514

10:45am EDT

Comprehensible (and Engaging!) Input
Comprehensible Input is about meeting your students where they are and making language accessible to them, but what does that really look like in the classroom? Come participate in CI games, storytelling, readings, projects, and more that you can apply to any language classroom.

Speakers

Monday July 17, 2023 10:45am - 12:45pm EDT
504

12:30pm EDT

Building A Reading Community Within Your School
Literacy skills are necessary for success in all content areas, but connecting literature in other areas can sometimes feel forced. Shared reading experiences build positive social and academic associations that can bridge gaps in learning and cross social barriers benefiting the entire school. Come learn ways to create a community of readers within your school where relationships are strengthened, SEL is consistently addressed, and disciplinary reading skills are easily reinforced.

Speakers

Monday July 17, 2023 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
513

12:30pm EDT

Simplifying Secondary Classroom Management: A Strategic Approach
Using a secret sauce of trauma-informed practice, more than 20 years of classroom anecdotes, and well-documented best practice of some of the most influential voices in the business, we will explore effective classroom management techniques for adolescent learning environments. Attendees can expect to actively simulate strategies on more complicated people than our students and leave with specific, proactive techniques (beyond a directive to "build relationships") for immediate implementation in the classroom.

Speakers
avatar for Sarah Evanson-Atkinson

Sarah Evanson-Atkinson

Instructional support, Ralph Chandler Middle
I have just completed my 22nd year in education - 15 years as a middle school english teacher and 7 years as an Instructional Coach at Ralph Chandler Middle School.  I love this work and I am always looking for ways to make best practice "easier", "simpler", and more streamlined... Read More →



Monday July 17, 2023 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
519

1:45pm EDT

Simplifying Secondary Classroom Management: A Strategic Approach
Using a secret sauce of trauma-informed practice, more than 20 years of classroom anecdotes, and well-documented best practice of some of the most influential voices in the business, we will explore effective classroom management techniques for adolescent learning environments. Attendees can expect to actively simulate strategies on more complicated people than our students and leave with specific, proactive techniques (beyond a directive to "build relationships") for immediate implementation in the classroom.

Speakers
avatar for Sarah Evanson-Atkinson

Sarah Evanson-Atkinson

Instructional support, Ralph Chandler Middle
I have just completed my 22nd year in education - 15 years as a middle school english teacher and 7 years as an Instructional Coach at Ralph Chandler Middle School.  I love this work and I am always looking for ways to make best practice "easier", "simpler", and more streamlined... Read More →



Monday July 17, 2023 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
519

1:45pm EDT

Planning for Inquiry in the Middle School Science Classroom
Map your way to success with the new middle level Science Standards! In this session, teachers will learn about multiple lesson planning frameworks developed for the middle school science classroom and effective strategies for incorporating inquiry into every lesson.

Speakers
avatar for Kaitlin Wilbanks

Kaitlin Wilbanks

Science Department Chair, Ralph Chandler Middle
Middle School Science Teacher for 7+ Years. Science Department Chair for 5+ Years. GCS Curriculum Writer & Map Designer. I have presented previous PD Sessions on Tech Tools in the Science Classroom, One-Pagers, and the NGSS and Scientific Phenomena.


Monday July 17, 2023 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
515

3:00pm EDT

Exploring the 2023 6th Grade Science Standards
Dive into the new 6th Grade Science Standards and the NGSS Framework! This session will cover the new Units and their Standards, Important Topics, Key Terms, & Suggested Pacing. Teachers will also be introduced to activities and tools in the new textbook that were highly effective in other middle grade levels. *You will need to bring a computer for this session.*

Speakers
avatar for Kaitlin Wilbanks

Kaitlin Wilbanks

Science Department Chair, Ralph Chandler Middle
Middle School Science Teacher for 7+ Years. Science Department Chair for 5+ Years. GCS Curriculum Writer & Map Designer. I have presented previous PD Sessions on Tech Tools in the Science Classroom, One-Pagers, and the NGSS and Scientific Phenomena.


Monday July 17, 2023 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
515

3:00pm EDT

Introduction to Gizmos
This session is designed for teachers new to using Gizmos. We will help you become familiar with the platform and discover how it can be used with new SC science standards.


Monday July 17, 2023 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
510

3:00pm EDT

Harnessing the Power of Disciplinary Literacy
Teachers will learn how to merge and connect reading, writing, listening, speaking, and critical thinking in lesson plans to expand rigor and understanding. This session is for all content areas.

Speakers
avatar for Ingrid Huggins

Ingrid Huggins

Academic Specialist Disciplinary Literacy, Greenville County Schools
I've been in education for 25 years, and I'm certified in all core subjects. Most of my experience has been in the middle school. My passion is transforming classes through the use of disciplinary literacy. I believe that disciplinary literacy can help students develop deep conceptual... Read More →


Monday July 17, 2023 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
504

3:00pm EDT

Leading Students to Critical Literacy in a Digital Age
Using the text "What Students Need from Us to Fight Fake News" as our guide, we will look at specific strategies to build student competence and confidence in the ability to discern fact from "information pollution" in a digitally dependent world. Being a critical consumer of information, reader, and thinker is more complex than ever, and the stakes have never been higher for literacy educators to lead. Several copies of the text will be gifted to attendees at the close of the session.

Speakers
avatar for Sarah Evanson-Atkinson

Sarah Evanson-Atkinson

Instructional support, Ralph Chandler Middle
I have just completed my 22nd year in education - 15 years as a middle school english teacher and 7 years as an Instructional Coach at Ralph Chandler Middle School.  I love this work and I am always looking for ways to make best practice "easier", "simpler", and more streamlined... Read More →



Monday July 17, 2023 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
519
 
Tuesday, July 18
 

8:15am EDT

Exploring the 2023 6th Grade Science Standards
Dive into the new 6th Grade Science Standards and the NGSS Framework! This session will cover the new Units and their Standards, Important Topics, Key Terms, & Suggested Pacing. Teachers will also be introduced to activities and tools in the new textbook that were highly effective in other middle grade levels. *You will need to bring a computer for this session.*

Speakers
avatar for Kaitlin Wilbanks

Kaitlin Wilbanks

Science Department Chair, Ralph Chandler Middle
Middle School Science Teacher for 7+ Years. Science Department Chair for 5+ Years. GCS Curriculum Writer & Map Designer. I have presented previous PD Sessions on Tech Tools in the Science Classroom, One-Pagers, and the NGSS and Scientific Phenomena.


Tuesday July 18, 2023 8:15am - 9:15am EDT
515

8:30am EDT

World Languages - Grade 6-8 Resource Planning
In this session, middle level world language teachers will work in collaborative groups to plan and build unit specific resource banks to correspond with GCS World Language curriculum.

Speakers

Tuesday July 18, 2023 8:30am - 10:30am EDT
508

9:30am EDT

Planning for Inquiry in the Middle School Science Classroom
Map your way to success with the new middle level Science Standards! In this session, teachers will learn about multiple lesson planning frameworks developed for the middle school science classroom and effective strategies for incorporating inquiry into every lesson.

Speakers
avatar for Kaitlin Wilbanks

Kaitlin Wilbanks

Science Department Chair, Ralph Chandler Middle
Middle School Science Teacher for 7+ Years. Science Department Chair for 5+ Years. GCS Curriculum Writer & Map Designer. I have presented previous PD Sessions on Tech Tools in the Science Classroom, One-Pagers, and the NGSS and Scientific Phenomena.


Tuesday July 18, 2023 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
515

10:45am EDT

Middle School Genetics Support
Learners in this session will have the opportunity to grapple with standards relating to genetics and heredity based on the changes to the SC College & Career Readiness Science standards. The session will include content refreshers to connect middle school genetics/ heredity standards to high school biology standards to support end of course exam scores, time for teachers to ask questions, support in pacing, and ideas/ suggestions for lab experiences.

Speakers
avatar for Michael Bailey

Michael Bailey

Instructional Coach/ Science Teacher, Greenville County Schools
Education:Ed.D. Educational Practice & Innovation S.T.E.M. (in progress) // University of South Carolina - ColumbiaM.A.T. in Science // North Greenville UniversityB.S. in Biology // North Greenville UniversityA.S. (Biology/ Pre-Pharmacy major) // University of South Carolina - LancasterCurrent... Read More →



Tuesday July 18, 2023 10:45am - 12:45pm EDT
515

12:00pm EDT

Harnessing the Power of Disciplinary Literacy
Teachers will learn how to merge and connect reading, writing, listening, speaking, and critical thinking in lesson plans to expand rigor and understanding. This session is for all content areas.

Speakers
avatar for Ingrid Huggins

Ingrid Huggins

Academic Specialist Disciplinary Literacy, Greenville County Schools
I've been in education for 25 years, and I'm certified in all core subjects. Most of my experience has been in the middle school. My passion is transforming classes through the use of disciplinary literacy. I believe that disciplinary literacy can help students develop deep conceptual... Read More →


Tuesday July 18, 2023 12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT
519

1:45pm EDT

Teaching Geography in Middle and High School
This session will guide teachers through an understanding of geography as a discipline, a better understanding of what it looks like in the standards, and specific resources and strategies for teaching middle and high school students how to DO geography.

Speakers
avatar for Michael Mewborne

Michael Mewborne

Director, South Carolina Geographic Alliance
Geography has a place in every classroom. We all live in the world, so we all need to learn more about the world. We all exist in space, so we all need to learn how to think spatially.  Research interests include gaming in education, food geographies, and geography education.  Let... Read More →


Tuesday July 18, 2023 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
813

1:45pm EDT

2:00pm EDT

From Surviving to Thriving: Implementing NGSS in your science classroom.
**Teachers will need to bring their GCS device and the teacher edition of the textbook.** Teachers will be able to walk through the new science standards using the kits, online textbook and additional resources. Teachers will leave with plans, activities and strategies to do in their first 2 units of study. Teachers will learn to work with inquiry and labs and support their craft with best practices.

Speakers
avatar for Mackenzie Graves

Mackenzie Graves

Secondary Science Teacher
An expert in science education, Mackenzie Graves is an emerging leader in the field of Dyslexia and multi-sensory education. She uses her combined 11 years of K- A.P. experience to motivate and empower students.  G&T, ML, and 2E students thrive in a rigorous, multi-sensory environment... Read More →


Tuesday July 18, 2023 2:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
514

2:00pm EDT

First-Class Conversations (in 15 minutes or less)
Academic conversations improve students’ confidence and competence. But with limited class time, how can teachers engage every student in meaningful discussions? This session will explore strategies that can be done in 15 minutes or less. Access to a laptop or iPad is required. Access to past or upcoming lesson plans are required.

Speakers

Tuesday July 18, 2023 2:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
511
 


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