PETERBOROUGH, N.H., Oct. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Early education teachers likely already know the struggles of "fitting everything in" to the school day. From instructional requirements to meeting the needs of diverse learners, and still creating an engaging and organized classroom learning environment—teachers are constantly being pulled in different directions as they try to successfully balance all of the requirements.
National education expert Kim Adsit's new two-day seminar, Fitting It All In: Teach Smarter, Not Harder, from Staff Development for Educators (SDE), presents innovative and easy-to-implement strategies to help boost the effectiveness of classroom instruction and management. The seminar is designed specifically for kindergarten and first grade teachers to address their needs.
Using a "make every minute count" approach, Adsit helps teachers navigate their way through teaching new skills, developing an easy eight-step process for lesson planning, and tools and activities that will leave students begging for more. Kim has also peppered the seminar with valuable formative assessment strategies across the content areas to help measure student success, as well as provide insights to differentiating instruction.
"If you've been looking for better ways fit everything in to your class, this is the program for you," enthuses SDE Program Planner Kim Breton, who designed the event. "Kim devotes ample time to literacy and math, and award-winning ideas for setting up the classroom to maximize learning and minimize behavior disruption."
Adsit is an award-winning kindergarten teacher with more than 30 years of classroom experience, as well as an author of several books and online teacher resource materials.
Fitting It All In begins with Adsit tackling reading and writing through strategies for building foundational skills and expectation-setting. Whole-, small-group-, and individual activities, including those for effective mini-lessons and centers, will be highlighted. Kim also provides ideas for anchor and modeling charts, conferencing strategies, writing folders, games, songs, and activities.
"One of Kim's specialties is to really show you how to build groups of learners that actively and effectively support each other, while minimizing disruptions," explains Breton. "Her ideas for setting up the classroom to maximize learning and minimize behavior issues are fantastic."
The second day of the program features quick and easy rubrics and tools to measure student progress, as well as template for teacher-facing and student-facing assessments. Adsit demonstrates ways to perform, manage, and employ assessments without lettering them consume instruction so that the teacher has time to plan and provide differentiated instruction. Math, especially number sense, mental math, fluency, and deep understanding, is also highlighted.
"Kim's a rock star," Breton says confidently. "Two days with her give you all of the tips and tricks for classroom management, centers, assessments, and more! You'll head back to your classroom with a toolbox full of resources that meet all of your students' needs."
The seminar is designed for new and veteran teachers alike.
Staff Development for Educators is America's leading provider of professional development for PreK through Grade 12 educators. SDE believes that educators have the most important job in the world. That's Through Onsite PD, PD Events, Web-based PD, and PD Resources, the company empowers teachers and administrators across the country with ongoing professional development that is not only research-based, innovative, and rigorous, but also practical, motivating, and fun. All SDE training is presented by the nation's top authors and educational experts, with the goal of creating extraordinary classrooms that prepare students for the evolving demands of the 21st century.
All SDE events include a free resource book of handouts, lesson ideas, reproducibles, and more, and a free 30-day membership at TeachingMadeEasier.com. With the paid registration of a staff member, SDE extends free tuition to a principal from the same building, and also offers group discounts for groups of 10+ and 20+.
Fitting it All In: Teach Smarter, Not Harder will be offered in San Antonio, TX on November 10-11, 2014 Houston, TX on November 12-13, 2014 Manchester, NH on December 16-17, 2014, Baton Rouge, LA on January 12-13, 2015, Mobile, AL on January 14-15, 2015, St. Louis, MO on January 26-27, 2015, Springfield, IL on January 28-29, 2015, and Atlanta, GA on February 12-13, 2015. Educators interested registering for this seminar, or learning about more about SDE's national conferences, upcoming SDE events, or other professional development opportunities, can visit www.SDE.com, call 1-800-462-1478, or email customersatisfaction@sde.com.