Session A
10:30- 11:50 A.M.

A4. Start With A Plan: Teaching ELLs Through Effective Lesson Planning
Are you required to write daily language objectives but feel nervous about the prospect? Do you worry about teaching language and content at the same time? Come learn how to create lesson plans with clear language objectives, appropriate scaffolding, and opportunities for interaction – techniques that will help ELL students thrive in your class. Participants will use knowledge of their own content area to work through a process of writing language objectives which are clearly connected to the content standards. Also different types of scaffolds and learning strategies that can be used to promote interaction in middle and high school classes will be presented and practiced. Also the new Massachusetts standards for ELLs, called WIDA, will be introduced and used in the lesson planning process. This session will help you feel better prepared to plan lessons that reach all students, regardless of their English proficiency.
Stephanie Garrone, Boston College
Fulton Hall 235

A5. The Emotional, Intellectual, and Physical Dimensions of Classroom Organization: How to Promote a Healthy Classroom Climate

Setting up a classroom for the first time is both one of the most exciting and most overwhelming tasks for the new teacher. You must consider not only what supplies to buy and how to organize the physical layout, but also how to develop rules, routines, and policies that define the classroom culture from day one. In this session, you will explore the physical, emotional, and intellectual dimensions of classroom organization. By the end of the session, you will have ideas on how to develop a classroom code of conduct with students as well as on how to identify rules and routines for smooth classroom operation.  You will also be given various samples of classroom management tools to use or adapt in your classroom.

Robert Rametti, Boston Public Schools

Fulton Hall 230

A6. Research 2.0: Problem Solving in the 21st Century
Are you ready to lead your students in the dynamic, interactive Web 2.0 world?  In this session, you will learn about the evolving field of online research, with concentration on efficiency, meaning, and collaboration for student learners. Together, we will cover access to quality information, from subscription databases to free online resources; the importance of web evaluation; and tips for expanding search skills for teachers and students. You will also have a chance to explore a variety of resources that will enhance the creativity, communication and critical thinking skills in your classrooms. Be prepared to transform learning and teaching as you explore the opportunities and challenges of 21st century education!
Erin Broderick & Cheryl Kosmo, Newton Public Schools
Fulton Hall 250

Session B
1:00 - 2:20 P.M.

B4. Jumping In Head First: Learning How to Strategize the First Days of School
The first days and weeks of school are so important--they set the tone for the entire school year.  Making the most of this vital time can feel like a daunting task, especially for beginning teachers.  In this session, participants will learn about the importance of organization and teaching style, ways to establish routines and behavior expectations, build class community, assess students skills and dive right into the curriculum.  Participants and the presenter will share their best ideas and practices to make the school year start off right!
Paula Bowles, Boston Public Schools
Fulton Hall 230

B5. Never Let Them See You Sweat:  Subtle Management Strategies for the Secondary Classroom
Are you worried about the unruly mob you'll face in the fall?  Have you woken up in a cold sweat wondering what you've gotten yourself into? You are not alone! Invariably, when asked about their fears as they enter the profession, many beginning teachers cite classroom management as their greatest area of concern. However, with a bit of preparation and few tricks, you can have the well-ordered classroom that you've dreamed of and get the peace of mind that you need to sleep soundly at night! In this session you will learn how effective planning combined with subtle management techniques can help you to create a safe, respectful, and engaging learning environment. Participants will have the opportunity to share their fears, ask questions, and to work cooperatively with their peers and the presenter to prepare themselves for the challenges of managing a secondary classroom.
Derek Vandegrift, Waltham Public Schools
Fulton Hall 235

B6. 21st Century Assessment: How to Make Technology Work for You and Your Students
There is an increasing emphasis on teacher use of summative and formative student assessments that to provide valuable data. This can be a burden on new teachers in particular, as it is difficult to keep up with the rigors of lesson planning, instruction, and piles of work to correct, while also being a practitioner of data-informed instruction. Traditional paper and pencil assessment is also demanding for many students. They need to maintain focus, attention, and energy; even when burdened with so many distractions. Technology offers a number of tools that can help alleviate this burden on teachers and students alike. This session will provide an overview of several of these tools including Poll Everywhere, Google Forms, Turn It In, and more!
Adam Steiner, Dracut Public Schools & Boston College
Fulton Hall 250

Session C
2:30 - 3:50 P.M.

C4. Jumping In Head First: Learning How to Strategize the First Days of School
The first days and weeks of school are so important--they set the tone for the entire school year.  Making the most of this vital time can feel like a daunting task, especially for beginning teachers.  In this session, participants will learn about the importance of organization and teaching style, ways to establish routines and behavior expectations, build class community, assess students skills and dive right into the curriculum.  Participants and the presenter will share their best ideas and practices to make the school year start off right!
Paula Bowles, Boston Public Schools
Fulton Hall 230

C5. Responding to Mental Health Needs in the Classroom
As if a room full of thirty students is not stressful enough, many of our students are now arriving to class with major mental health issues and emotional stress. What can you do as a teacher to identify a potential problem? Who can you turn to for help? How can you effectively manage a classroom that contains emotionally stressed students? We will discuss routes to finding assistance in these cases, learn tips to creating a less stressful classroom environment (helpful for all students), when to call for help in the classroom, and how to take care of yourself. It will be an informative but relaxing session where you can learn some fun and quick tips.
Erin Munroe, Whitman Hanson Regional School District
Fulton Hall 235

C6. Research 2.0 : Problem Solving in the 21st Century
Are you ready to lead your students in the dynamic, interactive Web 2.0 world?  In this session, teachers will learn about the evolving field of online research, with concentration on efficiency, meaning, and collaboration for student learners. We will discuss access to quality information, including subscription databases to free online resources, the importance of web evaluation, and tips for expanding search skills for teachers and students. You will also have a chance to explore a variety of resources that will enhance the creativity, communication and critical thinking skills in your classroom. Be prepared to transform learning and teaching as you explore the opportunities and challenges of 21st century education!
Erin Broderick & Cheryl Kosmo, Newton Public Schools
Fulton Hall 250

Session D
9:00 - 10:20 A.M.

D4. Never Let Them See You Sweat:  Subtle Management Strategies for the Secondary Classroom
Are you worried about the unruly mob you'll face in the fall?  Have you woken up in a cold sweat wondering what you've gotten yourself into? You are not alone! Invariably, when asked about their fears as they enter the profession, many beginning teachers cite classroom management as their greatest area of concern. However, with a bit of preparation and few tricks, you can have the well-ordered classroom that you've dreamed of and get the peace of mind that you need to sleep soundly at night! In this session you will learn how effective planning combined with subtle management techniques can help you to create a safe, respectful, and engaging learning environment. Participants will have the opportunity to share their fears, ask questions, and to work cooperatively with their peers and the presenter to prepare themselves for the challenges of managing a secondary classroom.
Derek Vandegrift, Waltham Public Schools
Fulton Hall 235

D5. Communicating with Families: Strategies for Suburban Teachers
The teacher-student relationship does not exist inside of a vacuum; rather it is part of a larger web of relationships that make up an educational community. One of the most important of these relationships is that between teacher, student and family. Indeed, student achievement is strongly tied to this relationship. In an age where communication has become nearly instantaneous, it appears even easier to maintain strong partnerships with families in order to build up our students. However, this ability to communicate so rapidly demands a clarification of how to best manage this relationship. Is there such a thing as too much communication between teachers and families? What are reasonable expectations for teachers in terms of how much and how often they provide information on student progress? How can teachers prevent miscommunications with families? In this session, we will attempt to answer these questions and more.
William Miskinis, Littleton Public Schools
Fulton Hall 230

D6. Finding, Evaluating and Using Educational Apps - iPad Applications for Secondary Teachers
Every day more educational apps for the iPad are being released. The quality and effectiveness of these apps varies greatly. This workshop will help you learn how to find educational apps, evaluate apps for their effectiveness in your classroom and how you can use apps in project based learning. We will review apps for use in the flipped classroom, interactive presentation and practice apps, project piece apps as well as some cool research apps.
Jamie Lightfoot, Newton Public Schools
Fulton Hall 250

Session E
10:30 - 11:50 A.M.

E4. The Emotional, Intellectual, and Physical Dimensions of Classroom Organization: How to Promote a Healthy Classroom Climate
Setting up a classroom for the first time is both one of the most exciting and most overwhelming tasks for the new teacher. You must consider not only what supplies to buy and how to organize the physical layout, but also how to develop rules, routines, and policies that define the classroom culture from day one. In this session, you will explore the physical, emotional, and intellectual dimensions of classroom organization. By the end of the session, you will have ideas on how to develop a classroom code of conduct with students as well as on how to identify rules and routines for smooth classroom operation. You will also be given various samples of classroom management tools to use or adapt in your classroom.
Robert Rametti, Boston Public Schools
Fulton Hall 230

E5. Crucifix In My Classroom: Tips for Teaching in a Catholic Junior/Senior 
High School

You love teaching in a Catholic junior/senior high school but you are not quite sure if your class gives students a Catholic experience. You may even feel ill prepared to handle faith based questions from your students. Learn effective ways you can promote the Catholic identity of your students without having to get an advanced degree in Catholic Theology.

Kristin Barstow Melley, Roche Center for Catholic Education at Boston College

Fulton Hall 235

E6. 21st Century Assessment: How to Make Technology Work for You and Your Students
There is an increasing emphasis on teacher use of summative and formative assessments that evaluate students and also provide teachers with valuable data. This can be a burden on new teachers in particular ‰ÛÒ to keep up with the rigors of lesson planning, instruction, and piles of work to correct - while also being a practitioner of data-informed instruction. Traditional paper and pencil assessment is also demanding of students, to maintain focus and attention and energy when burdened with so many distractions. However, technology offers a number of tools that can help alleviate this burden on teachers and students alike. This session will provide an overview of several of these tools including Poll Everywhere, Google Forms, Turn It In and more!
Adam Steiner, Dracut Public Schools & Boston College
Fulton Hall 250

Session F
1:00 - 2:20 P.M.

F4. Blocking “Writers’ Block” Before It Happens: A Step-by-Step Approach to Teaching the Expository Essay

Guiding students through the essay writing process can be just as daunting for teachers as it is for students.  Many students hear the word “essay” and panic. Crafting thesis statements, overcoming writers’ block, and anxiety over how to organize paragraphs plague students and teachers in classrooms of all grade levels. In this session, you will participate in the essay writing process, utilizing techniques such as power writing, question floods, and color-coding to create two drafts of a response to literature. By the end of the workshop, you will have a collection of essay writing techniques to use or adapt in your classrooms this fall!

Robert Rametti, Boston Public Schools
Fulton Hall 230

F5. Staying Alive: A Time Management Survival Guide
All too often, new teachers become overwhelmed by the burdens of a new school, new classes, and new content material. Without effective strategies, teachers can cave under the weight of all those papers, meetings, extra-help sessions, and lesson plans. This session will focus on effective strategies for coping with the very real time responsibilities of new teachers. We will focus primarily on three areas: lesson planning, assessment practices, and realistic self-expectations. Aside from creating a list of strategies for dealing with all facets of time management, new teachers will develop a “self contract” which will outline realistic, manageable expectations for their first three years of teaching.
Jay McGillen, Danvers Public Schools
Fulton Hall 235

F6. iPad Applications for Secondary Teachers
The age of the personal computer is being quickly eclipsed by the age of the tablet. Increasingly, teachers and students are turning to iPads as the new frontier in technology as districts have begun to purchase class sets of these devices for schools. This session will help you understand and introduce to you the best apps for use in a high school classroom with your students. We will explore the options that the Apple AppStore has for educators and students as well as discuss how to integrate this new technology into instruction.
Jamie Lightfoot, Newton Public Schools
Fulton Hall 250

Session G
2:30 - 3:50 P.M.

G4. Using Technology Resources in the Secondary Social Studies Classroom
There are so many technological resources out there for use in education. Teachers, especially new teachers, can get overwhelmed by the availability of technology and the uncertainly of how to integrate it into their lessons. In this session, participants will learn about some easy to use and efficient technology resources that can be easily adapted into a secondary social studies classroom. Resources include, glogster, toondoo, wordle, google docs, twitter, facebook, and more!
Jennifer Scharf-Orlinski, Arlington Public Schools
Fulton Hall 250

G5. Staying Alive: A Time Management Survival Guide
All too often, new teachers become overwhelmed by the burdens of a new school, new classes, and new content material. Without effective strategies, teachers can cave under the weight of all those papers, meetings, extra-help sessions, and lesson plans. This session will focus on effective strategies for coping with the very real time responsibilities of new teachers. We will focus primarily on three areas: lesson planning, assessment practices, and realistic self-expectations. Aside from creating a list of strategies for dealing with all facets of time management, new teachers will develop a “self contract” which will outline realistic, manageable expectations for their first three years of teaching.
Jay McGillen, Danvers Public Schools
Fulton Hall 235



G6. Building a Bridge: Strategies for Communicating with Families in the Urban Setting

One of the hardest parts of being a new teacher is learning how to communicate with urban families. Often times, teachers wrongly assume that urban families do not want to be involved but the reality is they do not know how to be involved. Often barriers including language, work schedules, and cultural differences keep parents and guardians at a distance from their child’s school. This session is designed to teach you how to overcome these barriers. This interactive presentation will include role-playing session on how to deal with guardians, resources on involving urban families in school, and tips of the trade on communicating.
Robert Rametti, Boston Public Schools
Fulton Hall 230