National Conference on Differentiated Instruction

Explore practical and thought provoking ideas you can use to increase and decrease complexity in your assignments and assessments while meeting the standards. Whether you're just getting your feet wet, or you're an experienced 'swimmer' looking for great new ideas, you'll learn all the "how to's" and "why we do's" during this engaging and interactive session. Plus, you'll take a research based look at what grades really mean in the differentiated classroom.

Starting anything new can be stressful—for you and your students. This session will help you make sense of RTI and understand all of its components at a deeper level. You'll examine your role within a multi-tier model, learn about progress monitoring, explore possible assessments, discover how to connect differentiated instruction strategies to RTI, and more.

Singapore Math is a unique curriculum that focuses on building students' mathematical foundation in number sense, place value, problem solving, mental math, and computation. By starting with the concrete, then moving to the pictorial, and finishing with the abstract, Singapore Math adds great depth to your instruction and improves students' mastery of basic math concepts. Join Char to see how you can put this powerful differentiated approach to work in your classroom.

Starting in elementary school, students must develop a strong foundation in mathematics. But what exactly does "strong foundation" mean? And what should students know and be able to do to be successful all through school? Learn five key elements plus the teaching practices that give students a stronger foundation for mathematical reasoning and problem solving.

Have you heard the buzz about differentiated instruction? Are you eager to try it, but need to make certain that it meets all your learners' needs? Then join Maria for a practical and insightful look at differentiated instruction in early childhood.

Repetitive and rote learning experiences inadequately prepare our students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. This session will demonstrate how artful teachers can facilitate learners' construction of knowledge through elaborative questioning, novel experiences, and authentic production.

A shared, essential element of both Response to Intervention (RTI) and Differentiated Instruction is high quality, evidence-based instruction that is matched to students' learning needs, as identified through screening and classroom assessments. Learn new ideas for the expert-driven, responsive, student-centered instruction that RTI requires.

Jump-start your social studies curriculum with dynamic activities and strategies that will leave your students wanting more! Peggy shares proven, brain-based approaches that are guaranteed to make history come alive. You'll see students' test scores (and excitement) soar. And, you'll discover ways to prepare and organize your instruction that moves social studies to the front burner, where it belongs!

The sizable increase in the rate of dropouts is a matter of deep concern. Gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics that undermines school success. And, learn dozens of classroom intervention strategies for helping your students overcome their circumstances to prevent school failure. This session is designed to help you constructively and successfully address the pressing issues that face you and your students each day.

Whole group instruction in the differentiated classroom? You bet! Betty shares practical whole group strategies you can use to keep your students engaged and learning. You'll learn strategies for differentiating questions. And, you'll explore ways to flexibly group in a whole group setting.

Sometimes, differentiated instruction can take time to master. Bruce shows you how to hit the ground running with engaging, ready to use activities and strategies! Plus, learn how to confidently differentiate your instruction in several subject areas the day you return to your classroom.

Discover how digital pictures can enhance learning! Joni demonstrates how to use a digital camera to draw out students' creativity, meet curricular objectives, and engage all learners.

Learn how to create effective writing mini-lessons that integrate Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. These highly kinesthetic lessons will support all learners in the general education classroom, including those with special needs.

Take advantage of fun, hands-on activities to get your students excited about the wonders of science! Help them make sense and meaning of basic science concepts with experiments that foster good questioning and a desire to investigate.

The era of closed door teaching is ending. Discover why it is important to embrace and foster a collaborative school environment. Learn dozens of proven team-building strategies designed to help you strengthen your team, improve communication, and set aside time for effective collaboration.

Teach your students how to use daybooks as authors do: to collect, brainstorm, create, reflect, figure out, write, and remember. Karen demonstrates how you can virtually eliminate worksheets and workbooks by encouraging students to create personal textbooks for observing, learning, and thinking—in and out of the classroom.

Create excitement as you guide your students in an investigation of the properties of matter, using rocks and soils, rock cycle patterns, and rock formations and composition. Learn hands on activities that develop science and math process skills by linking earth science to math strategies.

Until recently, teachers could manage their differentiated groups and decide which children were ready for the next level, without the benefit of scientifically based assessment. With the advent of Response to Intervention, this is no longer recommended. Learn why you should assess all of your students with tools that measure foundational skills, and discover how these tools can transform your teaching.

Join Lynne to examine the phonological influences on inventive spelling, as students manipulate our language through identifying, producing, counting, blending, segmenting, and deleting sounds. You'll discover activities, songs, games, and new strategies for developing the phonemic awareness skills necessary for strategic reading and writing.

Learn how to structure daily lessons in a way that reveals which of your students "got it" and which did not. Kathryn demonstrates how to create and use student-friendly learning objectives in every lesson.

Learn why theory is not enough. Discover how to integrate differentiated instruction into your own practices, and understand how to avoid the ten common pitfalls that create frustrations for both teacher and student.

Boost literacy achievement for every student by differentiating your literacy instruction! Discover specific ways to tier your literacy instruction as well as deliver effective interventions that meet the needs of both advanced and struggling students in your classroom.

Even if school systems sometimes make it tough, everyone can learn—and anyone can learn anything! Discover eight research-based teaching tools that work for all subjects.

Differentiating by readiness using tiered lessons is a practical, easy way to meet the varying needs of your students. Join Joni to discover how to create tiered lessons you can put to use right away in every subject area.

Come explore current research on teaching reading and writing to adolescents. Learn strategies for teaching literacy within the content areas and increase your knowledge of effective instructional practices that boost comprehension.

Discover how to group and regroup your learners to meet their unique instructional needs. Linda shares a variety of classroom proven strategies for grouping your students to achieve diverse instructional goals and objectives.

Does it seem as if the same few students are always acting out in the classroom? Learn about a unique model for promoting positive behavior called the Lightning Club. Explore the ins-and-outs of this differentiated and tiered, behavioral intervention approach, which offers strategies for understanding and teaching your "hardest-to-reach" students.

Discover how to put daybooks to work in your classroom, and learn how to sustain them throughout the school year. Karen shows how students can use daybooks to organize their thoughts, record learning, do self assessment, and reflect on their own thinking—across subject areas.

Take an innovative approach to social studies using maps. Learn how to engage your students with landform maps, political maps, 3D maps, and much more! You'll explore map questions that encourage higher level thinking and problem-solving skills. Plus, take advantage of Sherri's scoring guide handouts.

Engage your students as never before! Learn how to scaffold small- and large-group activities for explicitly teaching speaking and listening skills. Lynne shares numerous techniques for assessing, monitoring, and improving students' oral-language skills that complement your curriculum—without increasing your workload.

What is "total school cluster grouping?" It's a great way to differentiate your instruction to meet the needs of all students! It gives you a structure for adjusting the curriculum and instruction, and allows students with similar academic needs to work together. Come learn how to implement an effective model that maximizes learning for all students.

From planning and arranging the classroom environment to managing and assessing students' progress, Amy shows you how to find success with differentiated learning in any classroom setting! Learn the action steps you need to take to ensure that every student is learning, regardless of interests, learning styles, or readiness levels.

Effective RTI requires general and special education teachers to work together to develop a systemic plan that meets the needs of struggling students. Learn how SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) goals can make it possible for collaborative teams to do the "right work" when it comes to raising achievement.

Not sure how to teach the classics to students whose reading skills are so diverse? It's easier than you think! Katherine demonstrates how to equip your students with the tools and skills needed to read, understand, and appreciate any piece of literature.

Meet the needs of all your students according to their individual skill levels. Discover powerful and effective differentiated instruction strategies for teaching whole class experiences, small group explorations, independent projects, and more.

When it comes to professional growth and development, no two teachers are alike. Discover how to maximize your staffs' strengths through individualized motivation, personalized communication, and differentiated supervision. And, learn how to cultivate the teaching qualities that are most apt to raise student achievement.

Learn how to set up, implement, and maintain an effective IAT. You'll observe the IAT process in action. And, you'll gain effective problem-solving and trouble shooting strategies to aid in the facilitation of a successful IAT.

Is there data to suggest that practice tests are effective? Find out the answer in the hands-on session where Karen will model several authentic projects that have enticed her students to read and write more often. Learn how a classroom atmosphere that encourages thinking, talking, and investigating leads to better student writing, comprehension, and test scores!

All students can reach high academic levels when teachers create different pathways for learning. Jim shares dozens of classroom-tested strategies, adaptations, and tools for helping struggling students achieve success. Best of all, these strategies support Response to Intervention.

Laughter in the classroom can be a powerful technique for getting and keeping students' attention. And when tension is reduced, retention goes way up! Learn strategies for creating a classroom environment that's filled with the joy, fun, and, most importantly, learning.

Dr. Ban Har Yeap focuses on the important role that math plays in developing beneficial, life-long thinking skills and habits. Discover how the skills and habits developed within the context of mathematics are useful in multiple areas outside of math.

Join Maria for a fun, differentiated way to transform science and math lessons into a wonder-filled world of discovery and learning. Learn how to incorporate nonfiction, poems, and song lyrics to support science and math standards—and empower your students to think more creatively. Please bring scissors.

Take your differentiation to a brand new level! Learn how to add depth and complexity to increase rigor and deepen students' understanding of content.

Picture books provide a powerful means to start a conversation, to understand students' interests, and to celebrate their differences! Join Joni as she explores how to use children's literature to create a climate that supports your differentiated classroom.

Help every student master the same content, regardless of readiness or skill level. Tiering is the key! Bruce offers several proven tiered instruction approaches for your differentiated classroom. Learn how to present curriculum in ways that will help all your students be successful!

Excite your students and turn them into scavenger hunters and detectives while shopping! Help your students learn how to use reading and writing strategies as they manipulate informational text from everyday shopping experiences with packaging and labels, shopping flyer ads, and in store poster advertisements.

Gain insight into some common challenges of creating diagnostic and prescriptive learning environments. Susan helps you think outside the box about placement decisions, intervention instruction, and student behavior. Plus, you'll gain clear and explicit ideas for creating learning environments that support RTI.

Let assessment be the driving force behind your instruction—without it taking over! Lynne shares stress reducing, timesaving tips for screening, progress monitoring, and documenting results. Plus, learn how to use information to make meaningful decisions about scaffolding, flexible grouping, and fair grading practices.

Does your students' attention span seem to be getting shorter and shorter? You can get their attention and hold it, simply by turning learning into an adventure. Discover easy and inexpensive techniques for making standards-based instruction come alive in your classroom.

What can students learn from wikispaces and blogs in the Language Arts classroom? You'd be surprised! In this hands-on session, you'll learn how to jump on the latest technology bandwagon that's getting students across the country excited about reading and writing. Whether you decide on a wikispace or a blog for your classroom, you'll provide a secure place for your students to practice their communication skills and have meaningful conversations about the books of their choosing.

Dramatic advances in our understanding of the human brain and cognition are beginning to influence classroom experiences and lesson content. In this session, you'll gain an understanding of how the brain learns and discover how to use that knowledge to improve your teaching practice. Plus, you'll walk away with practical strategies for incorporating brain-based learning in your classroom.

Understand the plight of students from low socio economic backgrounds. Placing special emphasis on preventing school failure, Jim suggests ways schools can change to meet at-risk students' needs. Get ready to receive realistic intervention strategies for helping your students overcome difficult circumstances.

In the differentiated classroom, students need opportunities to work in various instructional formats. Discover practical strategies for managing both large and small groups of students. And, explore a variety of activities that respond to the learning needs of every student.

Visualization is fundamental to learning in general, and to mathematics learning in particular. Through short activities, you will see that there are several aspects to the mental process of visualization. And, you'll learn how you can help your students develop each of these aspects.

Looking for a FUN way to include more fluency building "practice reading" in your instruction? Join Maria to celebrate the joy and simplicity of adding a "performance- based" reading literacy center to your activities. It's guaranteed to build competent, confident readers!

Discover how the latest brain-based research can help you motivate your gifted students who are underperforming or disengaged. Explore a menu of effective learning techniques and strategies for enhancing cognitive and meta cognitive development. And, learn important brain-learning basics that meet the needs of your gifted and talented students.

Everybody loves a good story! Discover what digital storytelling is and how it can be used for engaging learners as well as develop literacy and technology skills. Joni helps you understand the basics and shares tools that can be used to create digital stories.

Join Bruce as he demonstrates why his famous multiple intelligences learning centers provide the perfect environment for differentiating instruction. You'll learn how to set up these powerful learning centers, how to differentiate within them, and how to incorporate state standards.

Capture the imagination of your students as you travel around the world on a social studies adventure trip! Discover engaging hands on activities and strategies you can use to introduce basic map skills. Plus, explore how to use your favorite children's literature to tap into your students' natural curiosity about the wonders of the world around them. Please bring markers, a glue stick, and scissors.

Learn what progress monitoring is, why you should use it, how you can fit it into your day, and how it can actually save you time. Join Susan for 75 minutes that will answer the question, "Why do we need to do this?"

The inability to process visual information efficiently has proven to be a significant inhibitor of academic success. Lynne will show how to recognize behaviors in motor skills that are seemingly unrelated to learning problems, and she'll share activities and exercises designed to change the physiological conditions in the brain that are contributing to the difficulty.

Inspire and energize yourself, your students, and your entire school with the knowledge and strategies from this lively presentation. Peggy shares quick and easy 10-minute activities that are based on neuroscience and quantum physics. These simple strategies will improve creativity, morale, focus, and performance. Plus, learn how to attract the success and fulfillment you want as an educator!

Games are an excellent way to teach content and create community among students. Danny takes an in-depth look at integrating a game-format approach to learning. You'll discover how games can increase student interest, boost motivation, and encourage participation.

Gain winning solutions for supporting ESL students whose language acquisition is in the emergent stages. Linda shares the best, research-based strategies for helping English language learners master the most essential elements of literacy.