Page 10 - MovingForward_Agora PD Conference DRAFT.pages

Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Student’s Learning
Presented By: Kelly Quackenbush, Lauren Wilson
Target Audience: All Staff

This sessions is based on Peter H. Johnston's book of the same title. We will discover how teachers
can create an intellectual environment that produces competent, caring, and secure students by using
our most powerful tool: language. We will demonstrate how the things we say (and don't say) have
shocking consequences on what students learn, the thinkers they become, and their educational future.

category: growth mindset / grit time: 10:00 / 11:00 room: 208

Differentiated Instruction Strategies for the K-5 Virtual Classroom
Presented By: Amanda Geiman
Target Audience: Elementary School, Middle School, Special Education

Do you ever wonder “How am I going to meet the needs of all my students?” “How can I do this in a
virtual environment?” The reality is that all your students’ needs are different. As cyber school
teachers, we need to think out of the box to ensure our strategies are effective to meet each student’s
needs. Join me in exploring various ways to differentiate instruction and assessment in a virtual
classroom. We will learn about choice boards, tiered assignments, differentiated breakout rooms,
student designed assessment, small group pullouts with a specialist, and many more techniques!

category: instructional strategies / planning time: 8:00 / 9:00 room: 213

Disciplinary Literacy: Teach Your Students to Critically Read - and Enjoy! - YOUR
Subject Matter
Presented By: Allison Read, Pamela Maio
Target Audience: Middle School, High School

Disciplinary literacy: Reading comprehension is a skill that extends beyond the Language Arts
classroom. Imagine if your students enjoyed reading from the point of view of a historian, a scientist, a
linguist, an artist, or a mathematician. This strategy encourages students to engage in what they read
and understand the specific subject from the vantage point of a subject matter expert. Participants in
this session will be provided with a framework for increasing disciplinary literacy within their course
through suggested reading, questioning techniques and other instructional strategies. This course is
best suited for non-Language Arts instructors.

category: instructional strategies / planning time: 10:00 / 11:00 room: 204

Agora Cyber Charter School !10