Bring the excitement of literacy and STEM to children as you discover how to incorporate STEM Imagination Guides in your classroom!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. discover this new resource and the potential for community partnerships by utilizing the STEM Imagination Guides; 2. walk away with book suggestions, guided questions, and expanded learning resources to support literacy development, enhance relationships, and make connections with local libraries; and 3. discuss the importance of incorporating nature and STEM into their early childhood classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Roberts (University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Lincoln, NE), Jackie Steffen (University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Cedar County: Hartington, NE)

Explore simple cause-and-effect relationships with forces and motion through hands-on investigations with a toy dog named Newton and a toy car.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how the right picture books can set the stage for STEM learning; 2. Receive a STEM lesson plan that you can use in your classroom; and 3. Explore how the three dimensions (DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs) can be integrated to create meaningful learning experiences in the K–5 classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Morgan (Picture-Perfect Science: West Chester, OH), Suzy Jungmann (Lufkin High School: Lufkin, TX), Rebecca Walker (Tays Junior High School: Katy, TX), Amy Rush (Lufkin Middle School: Lufkin, TX)

Become a Tinkering Teacher by participating in a hands-on STEM lesson derived from a classic fairytale. Learn how to detect STEM opportunities within your favorite pieces of children's literature to create rigorous novel engineering lessons of your very own.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. participate in a model STEM lesson derived from a problem found within children's literature. This model experience enables attendees to learn how to see science in every piece of material they choose to use in their classroom. Science is indeed everywhere and awaiting us to make the connections; 2. learn how to utilize and develop lessons using the 5E instructional model; 3. take away methods for preparing 5E lessons from their favorite children's literature; 4. utilize tips shared in the training session to identify science phenomena or concepts embedded in the literature; 5. recognize the significance of inquiry and facilitating collaborative discussion to further depth of knowledge; and 6. recognize the added benefit of journaling: differentiating instruction and strengthening 21st-century writing and communication skills.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Oden (Southern Arkansas University: Magnolia, AR), Angela Stanford (Southern Arkansas University: Magnolia, AR)

Participants will explore forces with common objects in a carefully designed sequence using conversation to uncover conceptual understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to: 1. sequence instruction to explore forces; 2. use conversations to make thinking visible and drive instruction; and 3. make diverse classrooms equitable and inclusive.

SPEAKERS:
Deanna Buckley (The University of Texas at Austin: Austin, TX)

Want to engage students in inquiry lessons, but don’t know where to start? Join us for hands-on experiences to take back to your classroom!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Participate in a three-phase inquiry; 2. Obtain resources and materials for designing an inquiry; and 3. See how to link phenomena, inquiry, and the three dimensions of NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Bay (Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy: North Windham, CT), Kim Lewis (Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy: North Windham, CT)

In this session, participants will learn about the S.W.I.R.L. strategy and how effective implementation in a three-dimensional science classroom can enhance literacy outcomes for English Language Learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
By the end of the session, participants will be able to: 1. support language development in the science classroom; 2. incorporate research-based practices for ELL students in the science classroom; and 3. utilize productive language strategies in inquiry-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Danielle Armstrong (DeKalb County School District: Stone Mountain, GA), Kassidy Moore (DeKalb County School District: Stone Mountain, GA)

Teaching science through art makes learning more meaningful! Learn how our elementary specials team collaborates with classroom teachers to support science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how to use the arts to make science standards more meaningful to students who may otherwise not be engaged; 2. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a simple green screen project to see how to put pedagogy first when teaching science through art; and 3. Teachers will leave with templates to help facilitate their collaborative efforts between elementary science teachers and specials/support staff.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Wuest (A. D. Henderson University School: Boca Raton, FL), Jennifer O'Sullivan (A. D. Henderson University School: Boca Raton, FL)

Participants will engage with a lesson sequence for elementary-aged students designed to support science practices and connections between precipitation and river flow using real-world data.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Young learners (e.g., the fourth graders we engaged in the Streams of Data project) have and can develop thinking skills that can enable them to think critically with and about real-world, professionally collected data in order to understand connections between phenomena such as river flow and precipitation; 2. There are appropriate instructional scaffolds that can be applied to the use of datasets that are available online from sources (e.g., USGS, NOAA, and others) to provide students with a foundation for making meaning of events and phenomena in local and/or regional contexts; and 3. Varied instructional resources—including real-world data (i.e., that are professionally collected or gathered by students), hands-on models, and media-focused elements (e.g., still images, videos)—can be combined with students’ own experiences to generate meaningful understanding of real-world events and phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Ed Robeck (American Geosciences Institute: Alexandria, VA), Amy Busey (EDC Center for Children and Technology: New York, NY), Lindsay Mossa (American Geosciences Institute: Alexandria, MD)

Come experience how one California district is leveraging an opportunity to bring equitable STEM experiences to all preK–12 students.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How one district approaches integrated STEM; 2. What an integrated STEM unit feels like; and 3. How one district supports and builds accountability for equitable STEM instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Reynolds (Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC): Boston, MA), Dean Reese (Tracy Unified School District: Tracy, CA)

This session provides educators with strategies and resources to use scientific investigation to motivate students to read to obtain information, academic discourse, and write explanations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science educators will: 1. take away strategies for how to use scientific investigation to motivate students to read, engage in discourse, and write; 2. learn how to use over 340 investigations as effective reading strategies to engage students in active science learning; and 3. have access to a set of strategies to effectively teach students how to use the ideas and concepts of science presented in the Framework and 3-D science standards.

SPEAKERS:
Brett Moulding (Partnership for Effective Science Teaching and Learning: Ogden, UT), Juan-Carlos Aguilar (Georgia Dept. of Education: Brookhaven, GA)

Investigate fostering scientific understanding and practice skills in our youngest learners. Take away topics of inquiry and tools for planning experiments and documenting student thinking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will come away with strategies to: 1. plan investigations to integrate science into their early childhood curriculum; 2. build scientific practice skills in our youngest learners; and 3. reveal and document student understanding through lab notebooks.

SPEAKERS:
Katie Morrison (University Child Development School: Seattle, WA), Deb Chickadel (University Child Development School: Seattle, WA)

Participants will dive into makerspace as a means to create an inclusive classroom with student choice for many outcomes, including sensemaking and assessments.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore key elements of makerspace activities; 2. View makerspace challenges as a means to provide student choice and voice in how they make sense of a phenomena, a solution to a problem, and core ideas; and 3. Explore ways to use makerspace activities where student choose a means to demonstrate their understanding of a core ideas as a means of assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Michele Detwiler (Gary Adult High School: Tampa, FL)

This engaging, evidence-based session answers the question, “How can we get families involved in their child’s education?” Science & Literacy bags provide unique experiences for families.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Participants learn about the science & literacy bags that encourage all students to describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena integrated with strategic science literacy skills; 2. Using the science & literacy bags, participants experience the science investigations integrated with science literacy skills along with management tips for successful implementation; and 3. Participants walk away with science & literacy bag ideas that promote powerful family, school, and community connections.

SPEAKERS:
Sandy Handrick (Educational Consultant: Leander, TX)

Learn effective strategies for engaging multilingual learners and culturally diverse students in collaborative phenomenon-based sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Examine the principles for equitable engagement co-developed by NSTA and WIDA, and discuss how these relate to national reform efforts, but more importantly, how they are applied in science classrooms for multilingual students; 2. Examine suggested classroom norms that support collaboration and equitable engagement among linguistically diverse students and their peers—participants will engage in group discussion about equitable science teaching practices describing the data practices they currently use and which practices they would like to expand upon within their science teaching; 3. Learn new ideas about language and some new approaches to support multilingual students’ deep engagement in sensemaking; and 4. Map WIDA’s Teacher Discourse Moves and Student Discourse Moves onto the sensemaking process to support the exploration and transformation of science understanding.

SPEAKERS:
David Crowther (University of Nevada, Reno: Reno, NV)

Educators will enhance their student science inquiry and literacy skills using melting blocks, questioning strategies, claims, evidence, and reasoning in a lively demonstration.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will: 1. enhance their inquiry questioning strategy; 2. have a deeper understanding of how energy flows; and 3. receive organizers to help them teach students about energy.

SPEAKERS:
Teresa LeSage-Clements (University of Houston-Victoria: Victoria, TX)

We use data to do science; data literacy is its own set of skills. Young learners benefit when we integrate data, literacy, and science together.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Identify how data literacy is a critical aspect of literacy and science literacy in the 21st century; 2. Explore strategies and resources to use to authentically integrate data into K–5 science instruction; and 3. Develop a plan for next steps to elevate data as an aspect of meaningful connections between literacy and science.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Hunter-Thomson (Dataspire Education & Evaluation, LLC)

Light reflects, refracts, and can be used for communications, but do we really understand some of the weird things it does? Come “see the light”!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Light can bend as it travels through objects; 2. Light has properties of particles, like grains of sand; and 3. Light has properties of waves.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Matsler (University of Texas Arlington: No City, No State), Cathy Barthelemy (STEMexperts: Keller, TX)

Makerspace is an engaging teaching pedagogy where students participate in sensemaking to solve real-world problems through innovation, creativity, and collaboration.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Makerspaces are versatile and encourage student engagement; 2. Makerspaces teach students crucial 21st-century life skills; and 3. Hands-on exploratory learning leads to increased retention and understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Courtney Graf (Student: Shippensburg, PA)