Participants will engage in dynamic, hands-on science and technology activities, merging STEM concepts with popular children's books. Discover how interactive STEM and literacy activities can support and encourage the development of STEM career pathways in young learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will connect impactful STEM activities with children’s literature. They will be shown ways to strengthen equitable learning outcomes and foster excitement for career exploration. Educators will have the opportunity to explore lessons and will leave with materials for their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Clint Coleman (Louisiana Board of Regents: New Orleans, LA)

In this interactive lesson, participants become health advocates, analyzing and interpreting scientific research to propose effective solutions for barriers to prenatal care access.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this interactive session, participants will use scientific research to uncover how socioeconomic factors and policies impact healthcare while developing a deeper appreciation for the intersection of science and society and the role of scientific knowledge in addressing societal needs.

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Burkart (Estrella Mountain Community College: Avondale, AZ)

This hands-on session explores innovative techniques to incorporate data visualization tools into science curriculum. From artistic graphs to creative infographics, participants will learn fun ways to unleash the power of data, fostering critical thinking and inquiry-based learning among students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will gain confidence in designing data visualizations activities that ignite curiosity and deepen understanding of scientific concepts, and walk away with a toolkit of resources that can be modified to fit a wide range of classes and topics.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Slack (I.S. 223 Montauk Intermediate School: Brooklyn, NY)

An NGSS classroom promises Science for All, but sometimes students have different needs. See how classroom teachers build a culture of choice, create differentiated literacy and assessment products, and help students meet differentiated goals for 3D learning within an inclusive classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with ideas and routines for fostering a differentiated classroom culture, samples of high-quality, scaffolded guides for scientific readings and assessments, and strategies to allow students to set their own goals for meeting or exceeding standards.

SPEAKERS:
Barbara McIntyre (Michigan Technological University: Midland, MI), Chris Geerer (Mi-STAR: Rochester, MI)

Remix CER to drive inquiry-based learning with the Question, Evidence, Claim, Reasoning (QECR) approach! Use science skills, like analyzing data and arguing with evidence, to solve a mystery in a sample lesson, and access more samples, student work, tools, and resources to design your own lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
A comprehensive toolkit including digital sample lessons, student samples, editable templates, and tips and tricks for QECR lessons that integrate phenomena, SEPs, science ideas, and students’ ideas and critical thinking in engaging and hands-on ways.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Jack (Humble ISD: Humble, TX), Elissa Griffin (Humble ISD: Kingwood, TX)

Reading and writing skills are best developed when students are able to practice these skills across all content areas. Come hear from an experienced science and special education teacher about how to easily add literacy activities to your science curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with multiple examples of in class activities that can help students develop reading comprehension and writing skills within the science content areas. These activities are easy to implement, are low cost, and supported by current research.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Zito (Miller School of Albemarle: Charlottesville, VA)

Have you always wanted to try project-based learning… but you aren’t sure how to start? Join the News Literacy Project as we walk attendees through the PBL design process to create an extension for our FREE news and media literacy educator resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Presenters will engage educators in the development of a PBL experience for their students. Attendees will receive a demonstration of “Be Health Informed,” one of NLP’s STEM Checkology® lessons, and explore creating a PBL extension. Attendees will leave with a PBL planning template and project ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Brittney Smith (The University of South Carolina: Cincinnati, OH)

Introduce basic energy concepts early on with hands-on lessons delivered through songs, stories, games, & chants to teach energy buzz words and science concepts. Teach and learn while having fun!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to teach energy, efficiency, and conservation to young students through the guise of entertaining games and activities.

SPEAKERS:
Kimberly Swan (The NEED Project: Manassas, VA)

This session will provide a conceptual framework for transdisciplinary learning and share a template for designing project-based learning tasks, in which students assume a role to create a product for an authentic audience and in response to a real-life question or problem.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how to create a transdisciplinary task that can be tailored to meet diverse students' interests and needs, utilized in practice with students, and shared with colleagues in their school building.

SPEAKERS:
Stefanie Holloway (Greater Oregon STEM Hub: La Grande, OR)

We see tradebooks and read-alouds as a powerful support for elementary science. In this session we will share 100+ trade books that align to the NGSS and provide our evaluation tools so you can better choose your own resources. This session is great for educators developing their own materials, too.

TAKEAWAYS:
Children’s meaning making in elementary science can be enhanced by engagement with high-quality literacy. We have identified over 100 high quality read aloud books that align to the science standards and elevate both science and math and the tools for educators to select their own materials.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Starr (Michigan Mathematics and Science Leadership Network: Plymouth, MI), Miranda Fitzgerald (University of North Carolina Charlotte: Mint Hill, NC)

This session will explore how formative assessment tasks can reveal students’ 3D learning as well as students’ ability to use language to demonstrate their learning. Come learn how students’ use of language can be an asset for making sense of science learning and literacy growth for all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will come away with new knowledge about how 3D assessments can elicit important information about students’ 3D learning as well as students’ ability to use language to demonstrate their learning. This knowledge is highly valuable for using assessment to support ongoing learning.

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Damelin (The Concord Consortium: Bolton, MA), Christopher Harris (WestEd: Menlo Park, CA), David McKinney (Senior Research Associate: Albany, CA)

Building from a set of high-quality read-alouds we engage in discussion to explore, even more deeply, the representations authors and illustrators use to represent various relationships. Leveraging the ideas of a part of and a part from we will explore relationships.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will use and collaboratively revise a scaffolded discussion tool, created by Learning in Places educators, to help others discern relational representations in children’s texts and create learning plans to engage children in discussions about them.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Starr (Michigan Mathematics and Science Leadership Network: Plymouth, MI)

Merge reading and engineering with STEM activities inspired by classic read-alouds, saving time and increasing engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover three engaging read-alouds and three complimentary STEM activities that encourage curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Terra Tarango (Van Andel Education Institute: Grand Rapids, MI)

Introducing Sprocket: Powered by Educurious! Sprocket is a free platform with OER project-based learning science courses for educators everywhere. Created by researchers, experts, and educators, Sprocket is now part of Educurious. Join us for a guided tour of Sprocket’s courses and online community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Sprocket is the world’s only OER platform providing access to evidence-based, full-year, project-based learning courses at no cost. Participants will learn how to navigate Sprocket, access the curriculum, and connect with an online community of colleagues and collaborators.

SPEAKERS:
Adrian Baez-Alicea (Educurious Partners: Portland, OR), Hanna Jaramillo (Educurious Partners: Kirkland, WA)

Personal narratives bring topics to life. With a booklet available as a free download, engage critical thinking skills with astronaut personal narratives. Compare and contrast rocket designs and basic data. Based on learning that takes place, design a rocket with at least 1 innovative feature.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will examine a set of rockets and data on performance. They will select a feature to design to improve performance and explain why they made the design changes they chose. Through this, they learn how to engage students with engineering design principles.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Boulden (Warner University: Frostproof, FL)

STEM4Real aims to reduce absenteeism by involving students in solving real-world environmental issues through multidisciplinary projects that elevate high school senior's passion projects with the community and align their vision to service learning and environmental issues that drive the learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understanding that integrating service learning with environmental issues can significantly enhance student engagement and reduce absenteeism. By involving high school seniors in real-world projects that require civic engagement, educators can make learning more relevant and impactful.

SPEAKERS:
Neotha Williams (STEM4Real: Addis, LA), Jennifer Munoz (STEM4Real: Carlsbad, CA)

This session will provide a conceptual framework for transdisciplinary learning and share a template for designing project-based learning tasks, in which students assume a STEM-related career role to create a product for an authentic audience and in response to a real-life question or problem.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how to create a transdisciplinary task that can be brought back to their schools, utilized in practice with students, and shared with colleagues in their school building.

SPEAKERS:
Stefanie Holloway (Greater Oregon STEM Hub: La Grande, OR)

In this session, participants will explore the principles behind Eduprotocols and how these frameworks can be adapted to various subjects and grade levels. Through hands-on activities, attendees will discover practical techniques for integrating EduProtocols into their teaching practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with several templates that can be used immediately to increase student engagement, foster deeper learning, and promote inquiry.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Simmons (Klahowya Secondary School: Bremerton, WA)

Numerous elementary classrooms have already embraced stations to engage with small groups of students in ELA or math. This approach is equally applicable to science classes, including hands-on investigations. Let's explore how you can implement this method in your classroom in just 25 minutes a day.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, learn how to deliver a comprehensive science lesson with just 25 minutes of daily class time. Stations facilitate focused tasks for small groups, enabling teachers to provide personalized support. In 10 days a full lesson can be completed, including hands-on investigations!

SPEAKERS:
Krissy Johnson (Midwest City-Del City ISD #52: Midwest City, OK)

Participants will receive a worm culture to interact with, record observations, and conduct research to determine and list facts about the worms. They will then use the results of this research to write a nuanced claim about the worm culture, using facts as evidence to explain their reasoning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about hands-on activities that engage students in science and research, and strategies to improve evidence-based writing in the science classroom including a CER checklist, scaffolding techniques for struggling writers, vocabulary banks, sentence frames, and peer feedback.

SPEAKERS:
Maureen Barclay (Captain Shreve High School: Shreveport, LA), Amy Douglas Kendrick (Jena High School: Jena, LA)

In this workshop, you’ll discover nature-themed elementary storybooks and their free book guides. We’ll learn while having fun with activities that meet NGSS, Math, ELA, and Art standards. These engaging activities will increase science vocabulary and literacy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to use engaging storybooks and activities centered on nature and birds to boost their diverse students’ science vocabulary, increase their connection to nature and science, and teach integrated STEAM content.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Licher (Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Blacksburg, VA)

Learn to effectively integrate ideas from the science of reading and sense-making in science. This session will introduce a framework for aligning 5E lessons with a reading comprehension checklist and engage participants in strategies that support sense-making, reading comprehension, and writing.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants learn to integrate the science of reading in sense-making lessons. Participants learn how to use phenomena to frame integrated lessons, when to introduce vocabulary, and how to use sentence anagrams, graphic organizers, sorts, and paragraph frames to support comprehension and writing.

SPEAKERS:
Megan Black (Granite School District: Park City, UT)

How can K-5 teachers directly address and utilize ELA and Math while students are deeply immersed in science learning? Join us to explore how phenomena-based teaching and learning authentically lends itself to content integration and take away tools to implement this approach in your own context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain ideas about how ELA, math and science play a mutually supportive role in figuring out scientific phenomena, and will take away a three-step process to be able to apply these ideas to their own context.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Stenger (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Santa Rosa, CA), Rebecca Abbott (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

Make the literacy connection to science with fairy tales. Join us as we explore activities that integrate multiple content areas with an emphasis on writing across the curriculum. You will even have a chance to engineer a house for a pig.

TAKEAWAYS:
This workshop has been designed to show educators: -how to become advocates of literacy for elementary science and engineering -to provide connections between science and literacy and -to learn strategies for actively engaging all learners.

SPEAKERS:
John Hutchens (Ruth Patrick Science Education Center: Aiken, SC)

The National Center for Science Education has developed a free tool called DataWISE that can be used by students to critically examine data-based claims. Participants will practice using the tool as they engage in activities to teach critical data literacy skills (aligned to NGSS SEPs and CCCs).

TAKEAWAYS:
The goal of this session is for participants to move past functional data literacy to critical data literacy so that students can learn to evaluate data-based claims for various types of bias, intent, and misleading presentations of data in addition to basic strategies for understanding data.

SPEAKERS:
Blake Touchet (National Center for Science Education: ABBEVILLE, LA)

Are students struggling to master academic language in Science? Get students listening, speaking, reading, and writing using academic language. Participants will engage in a science-focused Talk Read Talk Write using vocabulary/visuals within the 5E model to support Emergent Bilingual/all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to incorporate Nancy Motley’s Talk Read Talk Write approach within the 5E Model, how to incorporate vocabulary-focused structured conversations based on visuals, and how to differentiate for students to improve Science Literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Gibson (Seidlitz Education: Plano, TX)

Innovative strategies and practical approaches to integrate real-world problems into classroom activities for kindergarten to 2nd-grade educators. Discover how to cultivate critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity in young learners as they tackle authentic challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Gabriella Lamothe (Teacher: Atlanta, GA)

Discover the seamless integration of science and literacy by fostering a love for nature and enhancing student learning. Gain practical strategies for engaging young learners and promoting environmental awareness in the classroom while incorporating nature studies and sustainability themes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will leave the session equipped with a toolkit of practical ideas, lessons, and resources to seamlessly integrate environmental science and literacy instruction, fostering a deeper understanding of the natural world and nurturing a lifelong passion for conservation.

SPEAKERS:
Alexis Tharpe (ODU Research Foundation TCEP: Norfolk, VA 23508, VA), Venicia Ferrell (Research Assistant Professor: Norfolk, VA)

Participants will explore hands-on stations as they use inquiry analysis tools to dive into phenomena, primary sources, and discovery boxes about the coast. Participants will share, engage, and connect with multiple strategies and PreK-2 resources to use to analyze coastal phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
Inquiry-based teaching focuses on moving students beyond general curiosity into the realms of critical thinking and understanding. We must encourage our students to ask questions and support them through the investigation process, understanding when to begin and how to structure an inquiry activity.

SPEAKERS:
Noelle Carter (Chief Curriculum Officer: Orem, UT), Betsy Glisson (Studies Weekly: Dublin, GA)

Learning and practicing data literacy skills creates a literacy-science crosswalk. Using the Checkology® lesson “Making Sense of Data,” and with the support of NLP experts, participants will develop a cross-curricular lesson.

TAKEAWAYS:
Presenters will support attendees as they develop an ELA and STEM cross-curricular lesson extension. Presenters will give attendees a live lesson demonstration and facilitate a QFT (question, formulation, technique) session to crowd-source the development of the lesson extension.

SPEAKERS:
Brittney Smith (The University of South Carolina: Cincinnati, OH)

Teachers use Claim Evidence Reasoning (CER) to support students’ construction of explanations using common science discourse. In this workshop, teachers will experience how to use evidence-reasoning-claim to make sense of a phenomenon and then CER to write a scientific explanation of the phenomenon.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain an understanding of how to use CER as ERC during sense-making activities. A small shift in a popular strategy will help teachers facilitate deeper sense-making with their students. Leave with materials and techniques to apply this strategy to multiple grade levels and phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Meredith Schwendemann (Clemson University: Greenwood, SC), Brooke Whitworth (Clemson University: Clemson, SC), Megan Hodge (Mississippi Department of Education: Poplarville, MS)

Engage students in conversations about climate change & inspire them to take action. Children's books are a catalyst for discussions and deepening students' grasp of climate change. We will focus on equitable classroom methods, strategies to integrate reading & science standards, and lift up hope.

TAKEAWAYS:
Integration approaches for science and reading; access to read aloud guides for all children’s books suggestions; equitable classroom strategies; multiple perspectives on climate change; highlighting indigenous authors; inspire student agency and hope.

SPEAKERS:
Luke Matlack (Educational Service District 105: Yakima, WA), Carissa Haug (North Central Educational Service District: Wenatchee, WA), Lorianne Donovan (Educational Service District 123: Richland, WA)

Learn how to use low-cost materials to effectively teach biology students how to use a cladogram model to interpret and test predictions of evolutionary relationships.

TAKEAWAYS:
Identify key features of cladograms and learn to create a cladogram model using pipe cleaners and using plastic pony beads given provided different character states.

SPEAKERS:
Mark Little (Broomfield High School-Retired: Arvada, CO)

Participants will use cell phone adapters and microscopes to capture photos/videos of microbes present in pond water, then Screen Mirror them via Apple TV. Participants will record observations of organisms, briefly research them, and develop a CER style writing to justify their identification.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about hands-on activities that engage students in science and research, and strategies to improve evidence-based writing in the science classroom including a CER checklist, scaffolding techniques for struggling writers, vocabulary banks, sentence frames, and peer feedback.

SPEAKERS:
Maureen Barclay (Captain Shreve High School: Shreveport, LA), Amy Douglas Kendrick (Jena High School: Jena, LA)

Students will explore the wonders of STEM skills using various genres of books! A cross-disciplinary approach to learning STEM is also an excellent way to build students' literacy skills. Participants will engage in hands-on activities that incorporate science and literacy skills into their lesson.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to incorporate more reading, writing and creativity into STEM lessons/activities which will support and build students’ literacy cross disciplines.

SPEAKERS:
Katrin Smith (East Baton Rouge Parish School System: Baton Rouge, LA), Nikita LaCour (Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy: Ventress, LA), Rochelle Darville (West St. John High School: gonzales, LA)