Lunch is provided. Please indictate any dietary restrictions at the time of registration.

Program 

8:30  Registration and Publishers Displays

9:00  Keynote: Guilt-free Teaching in a Crowded Curriculum (Les Assestine & Rod Peturson, Authors & Consultants)

10:30 to 12:00 Breakout 1

·         Inside and Outside the Story (Bob Barton)

·         Creating the Physically Literate Student (Julie Anderson)

·         Keeping the Sense of Wonder Alive (Rod Peturson & Les Asselstine)

·         Your Place and Time! (Sybille Parry and Byron Stevenson)

12:00  Lunch  (provided) and Publishers Displays

1:00 to 2:30 Breakout 2

·         Differentiating MATH through OPEN tasks (Lindsay Sirois)

·         A Vision for Arts Education (Mervi Salvo)

·         Good Books Matter (Larry Swartz)

·         Wiki Anyone? (Byron Stevenson and Astrid DeCairos)

Program Details

Inside and Outside the Story (Bob Barton)

This practical session will help participants experience drama expectations by working inside and outside a text using strategies that promote questioning, storytelling and role playing.

·         Bob Barton has been an educator for over 40 years and is renowned for his work with story. He is the author of a number of books including Telling Stories Your Way, Poetry Goes to School and Story Works as well as  the folktale collection The Bear Goes North.  Bob currently teaches additional qualification courses at OISE/UofT and performs in schools through Prologue to the Performing Arts.

Creating the Physically Literate Student (Julie Anderson)

Individuals who are physically literate have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to lead healthy lifestyles for themselves and assist others in acquiring this ability as well. Skills learned in health and physical education can help students develop the commitment, capacity and comprehension in order to lead healthy active lives. This session will provide teachers with strategies that help students develop the skills and knowledge needed to enjoy being active throughout their lives as well as the personal movement competence needed to participate.

·         Julie Anderson is an Educator, life-long learner and advocate: these words describe the work of Julie Anderson.  Working as a Health and Physical Education Consultant, Julie’s main focus is implementing a Healthy School approach in all York Region communities and advocating for all elementary school students to have opportunities to be physically active during the instructional day.  It is her belief that health and well-being are essential for people to reach their full potential.

Keeping the Sense of Wonder Alive (Rod Peturson & Les Asselstine)

How can you help your science and technology activities become the most enjoyable and engaging part of your week? This workshop will explore practical strategies and ideas for making sure that both you and your students look forward to this part of your program - whether you are teaching in a straight or a combined grade classroom . . . and how you can cultivate a sense of wonder in your students.

·         Les and Rod have authored many professional books and curriculum resources throughout their careers, including the most widely used elementary science and social studies programs in Canada. One of their latest programs - Reading for Real - is a series of seventy-two non-fiction books designed to support guided reading strategies. Their most recent publication, developed in partnership with the Ontario Association of Junior Educators, is a series of teacher resources entitled “Essentially Science and Technology”, directed at helping teachers in grades four to six straight and combined grade classrooms.

Your Place and Time! (Sybille Parry and Byron Stevenson)

See how the junior social studies program can utilize real world, authentic learning to promote critical/historical thinking skills. Explore activities that encourage students to examine evidence to make decisions about their world. Participants will also explore resources that promote a global perspective and active citizenship. You can bring your social studies curriculum to life using primary sources and peer-reviewed lessons.

·         Sybille Parry has been a teacher for 20 years, and a teacher-librarian for 10. She integrates media literacy into the library program, and maximizes teacher collaboration for student success. She has been involved in the social justice project, Be the Change, for 3 years, sponsored by the Ontario Library Association, which blends the Ontario curriculum with action for positive social change.

·         Byron Stevenson is a Social Studies Instruction Leader with the TDSB. He is an avid user of ICT and he strives to integrate critical thinking activities in his lessons. He has written Africentric curriculum for the TDSB and he has taught students in the intermediate and junior divisions.

Differentiating MATH through OPEN tasks (Lindsay Sirois)

This workshop will explore DI in the juniormath classroom.  What does it look like, sound like and feel like for both the teacher and student?  Also included - practical methods of assessment for learning and descriptive feedback.

·         Lindsay Sirois is a Student Achievement Officer for the Literacy Numeracy Secretariat, working in Toronto schools and with the Numeracy committee.

A Vision for Arts Education: An Introduction to the Revised Elementary Arts Curriculum (Mervi Salo)

The 2009 revised elementary Arts document is here with exciting changes! There is an increased emphasis on CREATING in, through, and about the arts. There is inclusion of the cognitive and affective domains, connections between art and culture, social justice, anti discrimination, and global issues. Two artistic processes (creative process and critical analysis process) are defined and integral to the revisions. Changes in format include direct links between the overall expectations and specific expectations, inclusion of teacher prompts and more. This workshop is a blend of quick activities, presentation, discussion and interaction (including implementation resources).

·         Mervi Salo was the Ministry of Education’s Education Officer for The Arts (Dance, Drama, Music, and Visual Arts), and project lead for the review and revision of the 2009 Arts curriculum policy document. She is the past president of an Arts provincial professional association. She has many years experience as a teacher, in both Peel DSB and Toronto DSB. She is currently an Arts Instructional Leader (consultant) in the Toronto DSB, and a frequent speaker at conferences. She is conducting research through U of T that is focused on the change process as it relates to the implementation of the Ontario arts policy document revisions. She is also a reviewer/editor for a provincial Arts writing project, and a consultant for a provincial webcast project.

Good Books Matter (Larry Swartz)

This session will offer participants a framework for choosing and using literature in the junior classroom. Novel titles appropriate for this level will be highlighted, along with strategies for responding orally to texts. Handout provided.

·         Larry Swartz is an instructor at OISE/U of T. He is the author of a number of teacher resources including LITERACY TECHNIQUES, THE NEW DRAMATHEMES, THE PICTURE BOOK EXPERIENCE, THE POETRY EXPERIENCE and THE NOVEL EXPERIENCE

Wiki Anyone? (Byron Stevenson and Astrid DeCairos)

Take a moment during this hands-on session to catch up on new educational technologies that can offer differentiated learning activities. Use wiki and Smartboard technologies to facilitate critical thinking and understanding in your social studies and language program. Explore a combined junior social studies unit and see how you can use images, websites and wikis to promote student learning.

·         Byron Stevenson is a Social Studies Instruction Leader with the TDSB. He is an avid user of ICT and he strives to integrate critical thinking activities in his lessons. He has written Africentric curriculum for the TDSB and he has taught students in the intermediate and junior divisions.

·         Astrid DeCairos is an experienced classroom teacher and teacher librarian. She has been a member of the TDSB ICT learning community for several years and she has presented workshops on different software programs and learning strategies. She faciliates programs with teachers to highlight critical thinking and literacy skills. Astrid enjoys the arts and she is an environmental leader within the school.