WCSS2019

How can we continue to improve the standing of social studies in elementary and secondary education, increase student engagement and critical and creative thinking, and reinforce the essential role that the social studies play in developing the citizens of tomorrow? By always focusing on a simple four word question – why does it matter?  Part preaching to the choir and part lighting a fire, this session will offer a rationale  and strategies for making changes in both content and student displays of learning by focusing on tying class curriculum to the present and increasing relevance to the lives of students. Come with an open mind and ideas to share!

Ready to play? We are! Come join this session as we experience that power that games have to create meaningful and memorable moments. Participants will get to play abbreviated versions of the games and leave with plenty of new ideas. What are you waiting for? Come join in the fun! 

We know that a close understanding of students is crucial to their success. However, class sizes and demands on our time have never been greater. As educators we know they must individualize the educational experience and that civil discourse has never been more important, but time seems forever short. Psychology offers tremendous opportunity to merge these demands in meaningful ways. In this session we will explore different strategies you can use to help students process psychology in ways that allow you to efficiently & effectively get to know & assess your students. While the context and sample materials will be based in psychology, methodology can be used in a variety of classes!

A high school social studies teacher and an instructional coach endeavor to convert a Title 1 Social Studies curriculum to incorporate historical thinking skills, instructional technology, and the new WI Social Studies inquiry based standards. The goal is to develop assessments that push students to think critically, solve problems, and develop historical inquiry skills. This session will demonstrate how these teachers developed primary source analysis skills that better reflected student abilities by using tools such as Britannica LaunchPacs, Reading Like a Historian, and Google Tools for Education.

Come learn strategies today to level up engagement tomorrow. Together we will look at the blueprints of engagement with gamification. Using this easy and powerful framework you will make some game changing upgrades to your instruction. 

It often seems students have lost the "desire to inquire." Help develop these skills in your classroom by implementing inquiry based learning into your lessons. This student centered, collaborative and hands-on approach helps exercise the higher level reasoning and thinking skills the students needed. This approach often allows for personalized learning too. No matter the subject area, this session will provide you with approaches to tackle this in your classroom.

Want to add some new tools to your teaching toolbox, and find out how to repurpose some old tools?  Join this fast paced session that offers high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech ideas to integrate into your class - tomorrow!  See some new platforms and experience a twist on old techniques to enhance instruction, foster critical and creative thinking, and increase engagement. Plus ... we should have a good time!