The Battle of the Books: Question Writing Workshop is a workshop that will help participants craft questions specifically for the 2025-2026 competition season. For each book completed the participants will receive 1 CTLE credit.

Artificial intelligence is often presented as an inevitable force that will transform education and society. But what if much of what we hear about AI is more marketing than reality? In this asynchronous book study, educators will engage with The AI Con by Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender to critically examine the narratives, assumptions, and power structures shaping today's AI landscape.

Through guided reading, reflection activities, and discussion prompts, participants will explore issues related to AI hype, corporate power, data privacy, surveillance, labor, equity, and media literacy. Educators will consider how AI technologies impact schools, students, and society while developing tools to question claims and evaluate emerging technologies more critically.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify common misconceptions and exaggerated claims about AI technologies.
• Examine connections among AI, corporate power, data collection, surveillance, and labor.
• Apply media literacy and critical thinking skills to evaluate AI-related messaging and products.
• Reflect on the implications of AI adoption in educational settings and broader society.
• Develop strategies for fostering informed and responsible conversations about AI with students and colleagues.

This course is ideal for educators interested in exploring AI from a critical perspective. No prior experience with AI is required. Participates will need to purchase the book.

From the authors of the bestselling Fact vs. Fiction, this book offers easy-to-implement lessons to engage students in becoming media literacy "digital detectives,” looking for clues, questioning motives, uncovering patterns, developing theories and, ultimately, delivering a verdict. The current news landscape is driven by clicks, with every social media influencer, trained and citizen journalists chasing the same goal: a viral story. In this environment, where the race to be first on the scene with the most sensational story often overshadows the need for accuracy, traditional strategies for determining information credibility are no longer enough. Rather than simply helping students become savvy information consumers, today's educators must provide learners with the skills to be digital detectives - information interrogators who are armed with a variety of tools for dissecting news stories and determining what's real and what isn't in our "post-truth world.”

Join this book study to take a look at resources, protocols, and techniques to help learners navigate a world in which information can be both a force for good and a tool used to influence and manipulate. We will look at resources and examples to support the work of facilitating engaging, relevant, and fun opportunities in both face-to-face and digital learning environments. Connect the social emotional learning and information literacy.

Note: You will receive digital access to this book throughout the Book Study. This course is completely asynchronous with weekly assignments due. Frontline requires times.

Take your booktalking to the next level! In this online professional development you will learn how you to select books, present them, and increase circulation. We will go over several techniques from stand and deliver, collaboration with students, choose your own booktalk, edtech to increase interactivity, and so much more.

NOTE: There are no in-person workdays. Frontline requires times and dates. All coursework is due on July 31st.

This is a four-part series on understanding the FBA, BIP and PM process as it relates to the NYS Part 200 regulations.   Part 1: Understanding the Behavior Pathway  Build fluency with the theoretical foundations on which FBAs and BIPs are based (i.e., the behavioral pathway)  Part 2: Conducting the Functional Behavior Assessment  Understand and develop the skills necessary to complete the FBA; learn the components of the Competing Behavior Pathway (CBP) from which to develop the BIP  Part 3: Using the Competing Behavior Pathway to Develop the Behavior Intervention Plan  Identify interventions based upon the Competing Behavior Pathway  Part 4: Implementation and Progress Monitoring of the Behavior Intervention Plan  Develop the skills necessary to 1) ensure the BIP is implemented with fidelity and 2) progress monitor a student's response to the plan with regard to changes in both the problem and replacement/desired behaviors. 

Individual attendance is welcome, however it is highly encouraged for participants to attend as part of their district or building-level FBA/BIP team. Districts that send a team will benefit from shared learning and opportunities for collaborative FBA/BIP planning.

Going Deeper in AI: The Intersection of Media Literacy & AI

Artificial intelligence is transforming how information is created, shared, and consumed. In this asynchronous professional learning experience, educators will explore the critical connection between AI and media literacy, developing the skills needed to help students navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape.

Participants will examine how AI-generated content impacts information credibility, bias, misinformation, and digital citizenship. Through self-paced learning activities, real-world examples, and reflective practice, educators will deepen their understanding of AI tools while strengthening strategies for teaching students to critically evaluate media in all its forms.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the relationship between AI, media literacy, and digital citizenship.
• Identify potential biases, inaccuracies, and ethical concerns in AI-generated content.
• Evaluate the credibility and reliability of information created or influenced by AI.
• Apply media literacy frameworks to AI-powered tools and resources.
• Design learning experiences that help students become critical consumers and responsible creators in an AI-driven world.

This course is ideal for educators seeking to move beyond basic AI tool use and develop a deeper understanding of how AI is shaping information, communication, and learning.

It's time to get a move on! Motion is part of our daily lives-riding in a car, playing a sport, even dropping a coin. The Smithsonian Science Education Center presents Energy, Forces, and Motion, an STCMS™ curriculum unit designed from the ground up to align to the Next Generation Science Standards. Science and engineering practices, teachable core ideas, and crosscutting concepts are integrated into every lesson. The unit relates Newtonian physics to objects that roll, fall, and collide. Join us as we plan investigations and design solutions to explore energy, forces, and motion!

One hour lunch on your own.

Overview: Maximize the School Library Systems resources available to the O²CM region. This webinar will explore a variety of digital tools and provide strategies for effectively using them in educational environments.

Featured Resources:

• Digital Theatre+: Live and recorded theatre performances.
• Feature Films: Cinematic works for educational use.
• Legends of Learning & Basecamp: Game-based educational tools.
• LitCharts+: Literature guides and analysis.
• Newsbank Collections: Extensive news archives and specialized resources covering diverse perspectives.
• Teaching Books, Teen Health & Wellness, Noodletools: Enhance learning with multimedia, health education, and research tools.
• Sooth.fyi

Learning Outcomes: Integrate these resources into your curriculum, optimize usage, and improve educational outcomes with digital tools.

Who Should Attend: Educators, librarians, and administrators in the O²CM region looking to expand their digital resource toolkit.

Join Us: Gain insights into effectively utilizing these tools to benefit your educational setting. Discover tips and tricks for enhancing resource engagement and impact.

Students of all ages have an innate curiosity about our solar system and the broader universe. Space Systems Exploration taps into this curiosity by helping students clarify what they already know about space. Then, starting with the Sun-Earth-Moon system, it challenges them to perform a series of investigations through which they extend and enrich this knowledge. This unit addresses the 3 dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for grades 6 through 8.

One hour lunch on your own.

Lunch provided.

Complements Day 2, but may be taken independently

Lunch provided.

Complements Day 1, but may be taken independently.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Stop Land from Washing Away? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 engineering and earth and space science standards.

In this module, students:

-Gather information to better understand a land-change situation and define a problem to solve

-Make observations to provide evidence to explain if wind and water can change the shape of the land

-Obtain additional evidence from a construction site and from a nonfiction text to support their explanation of land change over different time scales

-Test and compare models of four methods used to prevent or reduce erosion

-Apply their understanding of wind- and water-induced erosion to a new engineering problem related to land change at a beach setting

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Find the Best Place for a Plant to Grow? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 life science and engineering standards.

In this module, students:

-Figure out why a radish seed sprouted inside a backpack.

-Define the problem that a tomato plant needs to be pollinated to produce tomatoes.

-Design a tool that can be used to pollinate tomato plants.

-Figure out how an acorn was planted in a pot on a third-floor balcony.

-Find the best place to plant plants in a schoolyard.

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Change Solids and Liquids? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 engineering and physical science standards.

In this module, students:

-Construct an explanation for how an artist made a sculpture from marine debris.

-Use observations to describe patterns of behavior in solids and liquids.

-Construct an explanation about what happens to crayon wax when heated and cooled.

-Design a solution for changing melted crayons into crayons they can use.

-Compare a variety of materials to make a prediction about which ones will make the best filling for a boo-boo pack.

-Analyze data from tests of their selected boo-boo pack materials to determine if they work as intended after being frozen.

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Map Land and Water on Earth? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a new curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 earth and space science standards.

In this module, students:

-Compare maps from different cultures and historical periods.

-Observe patterns that can be used to categorize the shapes and kinds of land and water on Earth.

-Conduct an investigation into the observable properties of solid and liquid water.

-Obtain information about where solid water can be found on Earth.

-Use what they have learned about patterns as evidence to describe the types of land and water one could expect to find in a particular place on Earth.

-Develop and compare maps of the land and water in a particular place on Earth.

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

How Do Living Things Stay Safe and Grow? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a new curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 1 life science and engineering standards.

In this module, students:

-Record and use observations of adult plants and animals as evidence that offspring are very similar to, but not exactly like, their parents.

-Obtain information from text, images, video, and a simulation to determine how patterns of behavior help offspring survive.

-Explore how external parts of plants and animals help them survive, grow, and meet their needs. Mimic external parts of plants and animals in designing a solution to a human problem.

-Apply their skills and knowledge using data as evidence to construct an argument and participate in argumentation with peers.

-Apply their knowledge and skills of animal behaviors and plant and animal external parts to design solutions to real-world human problems.

How Can We Predict When the Sky Will Be Dark? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 1 earth and space science and physical science standards.

In this module, students:

-Use observations of real and photographed objects as evidence to explain that a girl can see objects outside because light from the Sun is shining on them.

-Use sunrise and sunset data as well as data from text to identify times of the year when the sky will be dark.

-Explain observed phenomena of the Sun and the Moon using observations of the Sun and Moon's position in the sky.

-Use a model Moon to explain that the Moon appears to change shape because we see different amounts of the part with light shining on it.

-Use observations to describe the effect of a light source on the visibility of objects to solve the problem of kids having to walk to school in the dark.

How Can We Send a Message Using Sound? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 1 engineering and physical science standards.

In this module, students:

-Ask questions and use a modeling activity to better understand a problem.

-Use prior experiences and a reading to research ways that people communicate over different distances.

-Conduct investigations to test their ideas about how they can make sound.

-Use evidence from investigations and research to explain what causes sound.

-Design, build, and test sound-making devices to solve two problems.

How Can We Light Our Way in the Dark? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 1 physical science, life science, and engineering standards.

In this module, students:

-Investigate interactions between a beam of light and transparent, translucent, and opaque materials, including the formation of shadows and reflection of light

-Identify cause-and-effect relationships as they explain their observations

-Obtain information about animal structures that use light to help the animal survive

-Obtain information about the parts of lighthouses that make the buildings stable and send signals to protect humans

-Design stable solutions to visibility problems, including biomimicry in the design

Educators will learn explicit, sentence-level instructional routines that help students organize ideas, communicate with precision, and develop increasingly sophisticated written responses. Participants will practice high-impact strategies such as sentence expansion, sentence combining, note-taking, summarization, outlining, and paragraph development while exploring how these routines deepen comprehension of complex disciplinary texts. Throughout the day, teachers will see how TWR strategies can be embedded into existing lessons-not added as separate writing instruction-to support rigorous learning in every classroom.

This workshop is designed for educators in grades 3-12, including general education teachers, special education teachers, ENL/ELL teachers, instructional coaches, interventionists, and world language teachers who want practical, research-based strategies to improve student literacy across the curriculum.

*Participants will need to order their own copy of The Writing Revolution book prior to the workshop.

-Use models to carry out investigations and determine the causes of weather phenomena

-Use observations to construct evidence-based explanations of weather-related phenomena caused by different combinations of weather variables (e.g., wind, precipitation, sunlight, and temperature)

-Record and analyze data to identify patterns of the variability in temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and weather-related hazards associated with particular locations and times

-Develop questions based on weather forecast data to anticipate potential problems storms may cause for objects and living things

-Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information from multiple sources to develop plans to mitigate weather-related risks of injury and damage to humans and property

-Use observations to explain how pushes and pulls change an object's motion.

-Carry out an investigation to evaluate the effectiveness of different objects to push a ball into a goal.

-Carry out an investigation to compare the effect of collisions with different materials on an object's motion.

-Design and test a wall for a hockey game that keeps the ball in the game space and allows the ball to score a goal after a collision with the side wall.

-Develop and test a model to figure out what caused a ball to change its direction of motion inside a mini golf feature.

-Plan and carry out an investigation to explain how a playground surface may have become too hot to play on

-Research existing solutions to similar problems and analyze the shapes of these structures to inform their own designs

-Design, build, and test model shade devices that could solve the problem

-Obtain information about how engineers solve problems and compare the process to how the students approached the playground problem

-Research, design, build, and compare portable shade devices as possible solutions to a new problem

-Plan and carry out investigations to answer questions about what plants need to live.

-Use evidence from observations and text to support an argument about what caterpillars need to live and grow.

-Develop and use models to show how caterpillars' webs help them get what they need to live and grow.

-Communicate a solution that reduces the impact of a sidewalk on a tree's ability to get what it needs.

-Develop and use a model to determine which plan to build a play area is best for the system of living things on a piece of land.

It's time to get a move on! Motion is part of our daily lives-riding in a car, playing a sport, even dropping a coin. The Smithsonian Science Education Center presents Energy, Forces, and Motion, an STCMS™ curriculum unit designed from the ground up to align to the Next Generation Science Standards. Science and engineering practices, teachable core ideas, and crosscutting concepts are integrated into every lesson. The unit relates Newtonian physics to objects that roll, fall, and collide. Join us as we plan investigations and design solutions to explore energy, forces, and motion!

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Change Solids and Liquids? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 engineering and physical science standards.

In this module, students:

-Construct an explanation for how an artist made a sculpture from marine debris.

-Use observations to describe patterns of behavior in solids and liquids.

-Construct an explanation about what happens to crayon wax when heated and cooled.

-Design a solution for changing melted crayons into crayons they can use.

-Compare a variety of materials to make a prediction about which ones will make the best filling for a boo-boo pack.

-Analyze data from tests of their selected boo-boo pack materials to determine if they work as intended after being frozen.

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

The goal of a Community of Practice is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, professional dialogue, and data analysis. This group will meet four times to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

Part of this Community of Practice will be to:

-Continue building a community of Algebra I teachers across the CNY region.

-Utilize NYS assessment data interactively, allowing participants to analyze trends, patterns, and learning gaps together, and discuss instructional strategies.

-Looking at the questions from the June 2026 regents.

-Create and share materials, strategies, and best practices that foster a hands on and active learning for students

-Identify and describe techniques for differentiating instruction for below and above grade-level students.

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

The goal of a Community of Practice is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, professional dialogue, and data analysis. This group will meet five times to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

Part of this Community of Practice will be to:

-Continue building a community of Math Intervention teachers across the CNY region.

-Utilize NYS assessment data interactively, allowing participants to analyze trends, patterns, and learning gaps together, and discuss instructional strategies.

-Create and share materials, strategies, and best practices that foster a hands on and active learning for students

-Identify and describe techniques for differentiating instruction for below and above grade-level students.

The Elementary and Middle School Intervention Community of Practice groups will meet together for part of the day.

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

The goal of a Community of Practice is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, professional dialogue, and data analysis. This group will meet five times to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

Part of this Community of Practice will be to:

-Continue building a community of Math Intervention teachers across the CNY region.

-Utilize NYS assessment data interactively, allowing participants to analyze trends, patterns, and learning gaps together, and discuss instructional strategies.

-Create and share materials, strategies, and best practices that foster a hands on and active learning for students

-Identify and describe techniques for differentiating instruction for below and above grade-level students.

The Secondary and Elementary Intervention Community of Practice groups will meet together for part of the day.

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Stop Land from Washing Away? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 engineering and earth and space science standards.

In this module, students:

-Gather information to better understand a land-change situation and define a problem to solve

-Make observations to provide evidence to explain if wind and water can change the shape of the land

-Obtain additional evidence from a construction site and from a nonfiction text to support their explanation of land change over different time scales

-Test and compare models of four methods used to prevent or reduce erosion

-Apply their understanding of wind- and water-induced erosion to a new engineering problem related to land change at a beach setting

One hour lunch on your own.

The goal of a Community of Practice is to improve the skills and knowledge of educators through collaborative study, best-practice exchange, professional dialogue, and data analysis. This group will meet four times to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students through the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards.

Part of this Community of Practice will be to:

-Continue building a community of Geometry teachers across the CNY region.

-Utilize NYS assessment data interactively, allowing participants to analyze trends, patterns, and learning gaps together, and discuss instructional strategies.

-Looking at the questions from the June 2026 regents.

-Create and share materials, strategies, and best practices that foster a hands on and active learning for students

-Identify and describe techniques for differentiating instruction for below and above grade-level students.

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

-Use models to carry out investigations and determine the causes of weather phenomena

-Use observations to construct evidence-based explanations of weather-related phenomena caused by different combinations of weather variables (e.g., wind, precipitation, sunlight, and temperature)

-Record and analyze data to identify patterns of the variability in temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and weather-related hazards associated with particular locations and times

-Develop questions based on weather forecast data to anticipate potential problems storms may cause for objects and living things

-Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information from multiple sources to develop plans to mitigate weather-related risks of injury and damage to humans and property

-Use observations to explain how pushes and pulls change an object's motion.

-Carry out an investigation to evaluate the effectiveness of different objects to push a ball into a goal.

-Carry out an investigation to compare the effect of collisions with different materials on an object's motion.

-Design and test a wall for a hockey game that keeps the ball in the game space and allows the ball to score a goal after a collision with the side wall.

-Develop and test a model to figure out what caused a ball to change its direction of motion inside a mini golf feature.

Session Overview: Embracing the New Era of Smithsonian Science Kits

In this professional learning session, participants will explore the shift to problem-based and phenomenon-driven learning within the Smithsonian Science Kit. This session will highlight the key differences between the 1st and 2nd edition units, showcasing how the new approach enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.

Participants will also dive into the exciting updates that make the 2nd edition Smithsonian units more accessible and comprehensive than ever before, including:

✅ A New Digital Platform - Streamlined access to resources and interactive learning tools.

✅ Enhanced Assessments - Improved ways to track student understanding and growth.

✅ Updated Family Letters - Strengthening home-school connections with clear communication.

✅ Expanded Accessibility Features - Ensuring all students, including those with diverse learning needs, can fully engage in the learning experience.

✅ Improved Investigations - Designed to address previous material preparation and management concerns, making hands-on learning more efficient and classroom-friendly.

Join us to discover how these innovative updates will transform your teaching and empower students through meaningful, hands-on scientific discovery!

One hour lunch on your own.

How Can We Find the Best Place for a Plant to Grow? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 life science and engineering standards.

In this module, students:

-Figure out why a radish seed sprouted inside a backpack.

-Define the problem that a tomato plant needs to be pollinated to produce tomatoes.

-Design a tool that can be used to pollinate tomato plants.

-Figure out how an acorn was planted in a pot on a third-floor balcony.

-Find the best place to plant plants in a schoolyard.

One hour lunch on your own.

Around the world, microplastic pollution is found in our lakes and oceans. These tiny pieces of pollution can cause a huge problem for our ecosystems and communities. Our society is constantly looking for ethical, global, ecological, and civic solutions to environmental challenges like microplastic pollution.

Join us on October 15th, as we dive into this topic with New York Sea Grant to learn about authentic learning opportunities that can inspire your students to design their own solutions to this problem. You will learn how ongoing research projects at Rochester Institute of Technology and Cornell University can be brought to your classrooms with new technologies that capture and collect plastic pollution. We will explore solutions to the microplastics issue, and make connections to the NY Portrait of a Graduate.

Participants will spend the day on a learning track focused on one of the three paths to reduce plastic pollution: prevention, interception, and collection. On each track, participants will get hands-on experience with interactive lesson plans and activities, like building 3D printed robots, designing trash capture devices, or creating outreach campaign materials.

This is your chance to become part of a community dedicated to transforming classrooms into hubs for real-world environmental change. This workshop will also launch a year long community of practice on this topic.

How Can We Map Land and Water on Earth? is part of Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, a new curriculum series by the Smithsonian Science Education Center. It is designed to address a bundle of grade 2 earth and space science standards.

In this module, students:

-Compare maps from different cultures and historical periods.

-Observe patterns that can be used to categorize the shapes and kinds of land and water on Earth.

-Conduct an investigation into the observable properties of solid and liquid water.

-Obtain information about where solid water can be found on Earth.

-Use what they have learned about patterns as evidence to describe the types of land and water one could expect to find in a particular place on Earth.

-Develop and compare maps of the land and water in a particular place on Earth.

One hour lunch on your own.