Tired of students mindlessly copying slide decks or trying to write down every word you say? In this session, you will learn strategies to engage students in learning key concepts and information without relying on teacher talk. This will include questioning strategies, student discourse structures and methods of student-centered learning. Examples will have a social studies focus, but all content areas are welcome!
This session is intended for Middle and High School Social Studies teachers, but all contents are welcome!
Students often struggle to make the jump from summarizing and paraphrasing documents to thinking deeply about the connections between sources in Social Studies. This session will offer practical, engaging strategies to bridge the divide between rephrasing and real analysis while encouraging student discourse about primary and secondary sources. No prerequisites required.
This session is intended for Elementary and Secondary Social Studies teachers. This session would benefit new teachers with less than 3 years of experience.
Instructional Specialist in Social Studies, Newport News Public Schools
I am a veteran educator in history and the social sciences, with several years experience in special education. Before coming to Newport News Public Schools, I taught for two years in our nation's capital as a special education teacher. I am passionate about making historical learning... Read More →
Wednesday August 12, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT C150
Limited Capacityfull Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
This session will explore evidence-based instructional strategies designed to improve reading fluency in elementary learners. Participants will learn how to implement fluency practices such as repeated reading, partner reading, modeled reading, and phrasing activities to support student growth and engagement. Attendees will leave with practical ideas, classroom-ready resources, and strategies for monitoring fluency progress.
This session would benefit educators who teach Grades K-5
How can students better understand complex concepts before and during instruction? In this session, participants will explore how to use virtual reality through ClassVR and Eduverse to help learners visually experience abstract, unfamiliar, and complex concepts across content areas. Educators will focus on strategies that use VR to strengthen conceptual understanding, vocabulary development, and content connections in support of direct instruction. Participants will leave with practical lesson structures and examples for embedding VR as a purposeful instructional tool. Please bring a laptop; no prior VR experience is required.
This session would benefit educators who teach Grades 3–12 across all content areas, especially those who want to strengthen student understanding through visual and immersive learning experiences.
