Putting the Pieces Together: The 2021 Virtual Conference Preview

Calling All PreK-12 Teachers, School Staff and Parents

In my previous blog, I provided some useful tips for Share My Lesson 2021 Virtual Conference attendees to get the most out of each of their sessions this year. And although thousands of you have already registered for one or more of the 40+ free, for-credit webinars we’re featuring this year, I wanted to do a thematic breakdown of this year’s presentations, talking about why each of these is so important, and briefly preview some of the high-quality, free content we’ll be bringing to Virtual Conference this year. So before we kick off next week (March 23-25), let's take a look!

Anti-Bias and Culturally Responsive Teaching

To promote diversity, equity and inclusion in our classrooms and schools, we must highlight the need for anti-bias education and culturally responsive teaching in our curricula. Whether it’s helping students understand the racial justice protests of 2020, talking to children and adults about sensitive topics like immigration and racial literacy, or exploring the barriers experienced by LGBTQ+ identifying people in schools, we have innovative content for you to explore. Check out a sample below, then head over to the topic page and register for more.

• Racial Equity and Student Behavior: Remote, Hybrid or In-Person, Education Civil Rights Alliance
  
   
• LGBTQ+ Identity in the School Community: Confronting Barriers to Acceptance, AFT Identity Affirming Classroom Team
  
   
• Teaching Migration with a Social Justice Lens, Re-Imagining Migration
  
   
• Anti-Racism Resources for the Classroom, WE Schools
  
   

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Civic Engagement, Current Events and Social Studies

2020 was a year for the books, and not always for the right reasons. Aside from living through a pandemic and watching the world change from at-home quarantine, we had a historic election with a rise in political violence and opposing views on how we define history. The questions that came to us last year, and leading up to this conference, centered on a main concern: How can we help students examine history and current events through a critical lens, and how can we help them be more civically minded and engaged?

We partnered with multiple organizations to compile this group of webinars that seek to answer these questions, and you’ll find exciting content like:

• Keynote: Roadmap for Excellence in History and Civics for All Learners, iCivics and Dr. Danielle Allen, Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center
  
   
• Media Literacy for Today’s World: Lessons Learned from Nazi Propaganda, Echoes & Reflections
  
   
• The Intersection of Civic Engagement, Digital Citizenship and Social Media, iCivics, Common Sense, Nearpod and LAUSD
  
   

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Classroom Management, Restorative Practices and Support for ALL Students

One of the main themes in this year’s conference is how to best serve students from all different walks of life, backgrounds, languages and needs. Be sure to join U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona’s keynote presentation on how to support all our students. If you haven’t yet, register below, and view other webinars in this category here.

• Keynote: Priorities to Support Our Students: A Conversation with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona
  
   
• ELL Support in Grades 6-12: Modifying Primary Sources for Social Studies, Close Up Foundation
  
   
• Shakespeare to Malcolm X: Helping ALL Students Grapple with Race and Complex Texts, Folger Shakespeare Library
  
   

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Distance Learning, Reopening Schools and Learning Recovery

When asked, students, educators, school staff and parents will have dozens of stories (if not more) to tell you about the transition to and from distance learning during the past year. At last year’s conference, we were able to adjust our offerings to include cutting-edge content working to shed light on how some of these new practices would work. This year is no exception, and we’ve curated content to continue the tradition of equipping our community with advice, strategies and information on the best ways to adjust to preK-12 education during the pandemic. Check out some of these webinars below and read more about what this category has for Share My Lesson users here.

• Keynote: The State of Public Education 2021, Randi Weingarten, AFT President
  
   
• What ELL Educators Need to Know as Schools Reopen, Colorín Colorado
  
   
• Supporting K-12 Students for Success during Transition Times, Barbara Blackburn

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Instructional Strategies for the Arts, ELA and STEM

How can we best engage our students in the arts, English language arts and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in this newfound world of distance and hybrid learning? We’ve partnered with expert teachers like Stacy Vocasek and Sari Beth Rosenberg, and organizations like TeachRock and Science Friday, to bring you innovative content to engage your students in the dynamic and evolving classroom. Find a sample of these webinars below and learn more and register for others here.

• Collaborative Strategies for Effective Group Work in K-12, Stacy Vocasek
  
   
• 7 Principles for Deconstructing Classroom Instruction: Moving Forward with Lessons Learned, Sari Beth Rosenberg
  
   
• Dolores Huerta: Teaching a Civil Rights Icon through Art, Music and Poetry, Teach Rock
  
   
• Toxic Past, Green Futures: Environmental Justice and Justice-Centered Phenomena in STEM Grades 6-12, Science Friday
  
   
• Teaching Anti-Racism and Social Justice with Nickelodeon & Noggin's Rhymes Through Times
  
   

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Mental Health, SEL and Trauma-Sensitive Practices

Educators and school staff have adapted to grueling new routines in the last year to keep their students and schools going. Students have been separated from their schools, their friends and their normal social environments. Parents have had to juggle work, school and more while trying to keep their children engaged during pandemic life. We like to throw around the label “resiliency,” but not everyone has the option to feel like they’re making it work. We’ve partnered with leading organizations to provide a wide-spanning selection of mental health, social-emotional learning and trauma-sensitive content for this year’s conference, and we hope you find ways to use these meaningful sessions at school, at home and elsewhere. Review a sample of our offerings below.

• Turnaround for Children Presents the Student Well-Being Index
  
   
• Looking Forward: Leading Our Students and Families through Healing and Learning, Amber Chandler
  
   
• Societal Trauma and Social Fatigue: Trauma-Informed Care Strategies for You and Your Students, Cara-Leigh Battaglia
  
   

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Now, before you log in to your Share My Lesson 2021 Virtual Conference sessions next week, remember to review some of our most popular tips and how professional development credits work for users. You can now even receive CTLE credits for those of you in New York state. If you haven’t registered for any sessions yet, or you’re looking for a convenient way to register for more than one, check out this registration link with every 2021 session listed for you here. Of the webinars running next week from March 23-25, which are you most excited about? Start a discussion or let us know in the comments below!

Already registered for everything you need? Check out our resource collections below that highlight some of the topics mentioned above.

• Anti-Racism Resources for Racial Literacy
• Teaching about Race and Racism: Lesson Plans and Resources
• Classroom Management Strategies
• Mental Health Awareness Resources
• Social Emotional Learning Resources
• Trauma-Informed Resources
• Reopening Schools Community
• Coronavirus Lesson Plans and Resources
• Restorative Practices
• English Language Learners (ELL) Lesson Plans and Resources
• Special Education
• Foundations of Democracy and Government
• Civic Education and Election Resources