Secondary ELA & Social Studies PL: Full Schedule

8:00am EST

Arrival and Check-In

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:00am - 8:15am EST

Commons

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:00am - 8:15am EST
Commons Deep Run High School 4801 Twin Hickory Rd Glen Allen, VA 23059

All Teachers

8:15am EST

AI Teacher Assistant Tools

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:15am - 9:45am EST

209

Explore nine recommended AI tools designed specifically for teachers. Learn how these tools can save time on daily tasks, personalize instruction, and elevate lessons and activities in impactful ways.

Speakers

ILC

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:15am - 9:45am EST
209

All Teachers

8:15am EST

AI Tools for Students LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:15am - 9:45am EST

211

Dive into approved AI tools for students, crafted to boost engagement, enhance learning, and foster creativity.

Speakers

ILC

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:15am - 9:45am EST
211

All Teachers

8:15am EST

From Student to Citizen: Literacy Skills for Social Studies and English FILLING

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:15am - 9:45am EST

201

Literacy is not limited to our English classrooms. The skills that students develop through reading and writing nonfiction texts can help them become productive citizens. This session will walk through the basics of supporting students before, during, and after reading a nonfiction text. Throughout the session, you will be able to follow along using your own text and leave with a planned nonfiction lesson. The resources and strategies in this session can be applied to either a Social Studies or English classroom.

Speakers

Katie Evans and Meranda Merritt

Literacy Coaches

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:15am - 9:45am EST
201

All Teachers

8:15am EST

Implementing Quad Text Sets FILLING

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:15am - 9:45am EST

212

This session will introduce participants to the concept of a Quad Text Set. A Quad Text Set is intended to support a science or social studies topic by introducing key vocabulary and building students’ background knowledge. Participants will use the QTS planning template to build their own QTS for use in the classroom.

Speakers

Jalysa Taylor

Rolfe MS

Reading Specialist

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:15am - 9:45am EST
212

All Teachers

8:15am EST

Introduction to AI LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:15am - 9:45am EST

207

Discover the fundamentals of AI in education, including what it is, how it works, principles for responsible and ethical use, tips for better prompting, and an overview of recommended tools.

Speakers

ILC

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:15am - 9:45am EST
207

All Teachers

9:50am EST

AI Teacher Assistant Tools FULL

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

209

Speakers

ILC

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
209

All Teachers

9:50am EST

AI Tools for Students LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

211

Dive into approved AI tools for students, crafted to boost engagement, enhance learning, and foster creativity.

Speakers

ILC

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
211

All Teachers

9:50am EST

Deep Dive into Valentine Resources and Materials FILLING

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

215

Join education staff at the Valentine to learn about Richmond resources, primary sources and learning materials you can bring into your classroom. We will explore monuments, consider letters as a way of mapping lives during the Revolutionary War and explore how literacy and history can complement each other creatively! Come away with an understanding of the Valentine archive materials and how you can use these primary sources to supplement your lesson plans.

Speakers

Valentine Museum Education Staff

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
215

All Teachers

9:50am EST

Empowering MLL Students with Minimal Instructional Adjustments FILLING

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

220

This session will share practical, low-effort strategies to enhance MLL students' engagement and success. Participants will learn how to implement small changes in their teaching style to make IDM skills and content more accessible and easier to grasp.

Speakers

Janee Downs and Kaitlin Waldron

Freeman HS

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
220

All Teachers

9:50am EST

From Student to Citizen: Literacy Skills for Social Studies and English FILLING

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

201

Speakers

Katie Evans and Meranda Merritt

Literacy Coaches

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
201

All Teachers

9:50am EST

Implementing Quad Text Sets FILLING

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

212

Speakers

Jalysa Taylor

Rolfe MS

Reading Specialist

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
212

All Teachers

9:50am EST

Introduction to AI LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

207

Discover the fundamentals of AI in education, including what it is, how it works, principles for responsible and ethical use, tips for better prompting, and an overview of recommended tools.

Speakers

ILC

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
207

All Teachers

9:50am EST

NEWSELA Writing LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

224

This session will focus on using NEWSELA writing to reinforce writing skills in support of IDM success.

Speakers

Cory Swatling

Wilder MS

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
224

All Teachers

9:50am EST

On the Air: Creating Podcasts as Engaging Assessments FULL

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

221

This session will teach the essentials of creating an in-class podcast project, integrating fun, interactive, and multimedia lessons.

Speakers

Alyson Carroll and Kasi Farmer

Glen Allen HS

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
221

All Teachers

9:50am EST

Streetlaw Mini Moot Court LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

214

This session will explore the concept of a moot court, a role-play of an appeals court or Supreme Court hearing. Participants will learn how to engage students in preparing and presenting arguments on legal questions, such as the constitutionality of a law or the interpretation of a federal statute. Moot courts are an effective strategy for focusing student attention on underlying legal principles and concepts of justice.

Speakers

Matt Gorsuch

Moody MS

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
214

All Teachers

9:50am EST

Unlocking the Language of Social Studies Through Vocabulary Study FILLING

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST

213

This session will equip participants with practical strategies for selecting and teaching social studies vocabulary, demonstrate how to implement research-based practices like the Frayer Model and Concept Maps in the classroom, and provide tools to help students become more confident and independent learners of academic and content-specific language.

Speakers

Kenya Gray

Tucker HS

Tuesday February 18, 2025 9:50am - 11:20am EST
213

All Teachers

11:25am EST

Lunch (on your own) FILLING

Tuesday February 18, 2025 11:25am - 12:35pm EST

TBA

Tuesday February 18, 2025 11:25am - 12:35pm EST
TBA Deep Run High School 4801 Twin Hickory Rd Glen Allen, VA 23059

All Teachers

12:40pm EST

2 Mini-Sessions: Professional Development Opportunities for School Teachers Offered by VCU, 2025-2026 and Empower Educators to Explore the Potential of Artificial Intelligence

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST

221

Brian will share the 2 PD opportunities we have scheduled for: (1) National Endowment for the Humanities, July 2025, and (2) VCU Teachers Institute, June 2026; as well as a possible third opportunity (3) that may be coming from the Library of Congress in 2026. Each of these opportunities will include stipends for teachers as well as the opportunity to earn CEU credits. (45 minutes) Navigate AI in education by learning essential AI concepts, techniques, tools, and practical applications. AI can support personalized learning, automate daily tasks, and provide insights for data-driven decision making. (45 minutes)
AI Course

Speakers

Brian J. Daughtery

Ph.D. Professor of History VCU

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST
221

All Teachers

12:40pm EST

AI Teacher Assistant Tools FILLING

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST

209

Speakers

ILC

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST
209

All Teachers

12:40pm EST

AI Tools for Students LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST

211

Dive into approved AI tools for students, crafted to boost engagement, enhance learning, and foster creativity.

Speakers

ILC

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST
211

All Teachers

12:40pm EST

Deep Dive into Valentine Resources and Materials LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST

204

Speakers

Valentine Museum Education Staff

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST
204

All Teachers

12:40pm EST

Empowering MLL Students with Minimal Instructional Adjustments LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST

220

Speakers

Janee Downs and Kaitlin Waldron

Freeman HS

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST
220

All Teachers

12:40pm EST

Newsela–Differentiation (Rooms 201, 206, 208) LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST

201

Leverage Newsela’s instructional features to automatically adjust content to meet each student’s unique learning needs. Plus, learn how to create intentional teacher decisions aligned to the science of reading and the guidelines of UDL.
Zoom Link for Session

Speakers

Aiesha Wright

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST
201

All Teachers

12:40pm EST

Poe Museum FILLING

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST

212

Incorporate the "Master of the Macabre," Edgar Allan Poe into your classroom, forevermore! Join the Poe Museum in an overview of their cross-curricular educational offerings. This discussion will present new ways to incorporate Poe into your classroom to build students’ critical thinking, literary, and historical analysis skills though placed based learning field trips and downloadable resources.

Speakers

Meg Luffman

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST
212

All Teachers

12:40pm EST

Read, Write, Connect with Paired Texts FULL

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST

226

This session will focus on growing your students' writing abilities through a strategic paired-text approach. The session will provide teachers with a blueprint for supporting students’ paired-text written responses. Areas of focus include standards-based backward planning for writing instruction, providing constructive feedback, best practices for modeling writing, and more.

Speakers

Elizabeth Hathaway

Temeca Maddox

April Smith

Literacy Coaches

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST
226

All Teachers

12:40pm EST

Reenact, Relive, and Remember: How Students Become the Stories They Study LIMITED

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST

217

This engaging session will demonstrate how teachers can transform traditional research projects into immersive learning experiences where students become historical figures. Participants will discover how to guide students through researching primary and secondary sources, developing historical perspectives, and embodying their chosen figures through presentations, reenactments, or first-person narratives. The session will provide practical strategies for structuring projects, assessing student work, and managing classroom dynamics to ensure historical accuracy and engagement.

Speakers

Brian Hilton

HVA

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST
217

All Teachers

12:40pm EST

Virginia Museum of History and Culture FULL

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:40pm - 2:10pm EST

215

Presented by the Virginia Museum for History and Culture, this session will focus on preparing students for writing tasks that involve analyzing historical texts and artifacts. Participants will learn various techniques to make sources more accessible to students, enhancing their ability to understand and engage with the material.

Speakers