Participants will dive into the Shared Reading block of the Bookworms curriculum through a dynamic and interactive experience. Together, we’ll explore this engaging block's structure, routines, and purpose. Through modeling and hands-on practice, participants will experience Shared Reading from the students’ perspective and leave with a deeper understanding of how to implement this block and spark student engagement.
Through hands-on lesson planning and discussion, educators will discover strategies to seamlessly integrate these elements into daily instruction, enhancing student engagement and understanding. Participants will leave with practical tools to reinforce fluency, build robust vocabularies, and deepen comprehension, ensuring all students develop into confident, skilled readers.
Early Literacy Coach, Menominee Intermediate School District
I am an early literacy coach in Michigan. I have experience teaching students in elementary and middle school. I have been a community coach with Open Up Resources for a year and a half to support the Bookworms community.
Planning to the margins sounds like a great idea – until you are trying to do it with your own students! As more and more students with exceptional support needs (linguistically, behaviorally, socially, and academically) join general education classes, the need for UDL increases. Yet these varying needs can be taxing and exhausting for any educator, and the idea of executing UDL with a fixed curriculum can be especially daunting. In this session, participants will experience UDL in action while learning easy-to-implement strategies at various grade levels, subjects, and curriculum.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to: · Define Universal Design for Learning and name key components · Identify examples of UDL in action · Set goals for implementing more UDL in their own classes to support a range of learners
Want to understand what makes an EL Module lesson powerful? Step into your students’ shoes. In this immersive session, participants will experience a real EL Education lesson from the 6-8 Modules—just as students would. After the try-on, we’ll step back to unpack the planning moves, instructional practices, and equity-centered strategies behind the lesson. Whether you're a classroom teacher or a coach, this session will deepen your understanding of what high-quality implementation looks and feels like—and how to bring it to life in your own context.
Teacher Leader in Residence - K-8 Lang Arts, Open Up Resources
As a Teacher Leader in Residence, Julie Eckhardt, brings to Open Up Resources more than 39 years of experience in the field of education. She began her career as an elementary teacher gaining 33 years of classroom experience. Serving as an adjunct instructor for Iowa Wesleyan College... Read More →
Want to understand what makes an EL Module lesson powerful? Step into your students’ shoes. In this immersive session, participants will experience a real EL Education lesson from the K–5 Modules—just as students would. After the try-on, we’ll step back to unpack the planning moves, instructional practices, and equity-centered strategies behind the lesson. Whether you're a classroom teacher or a coach, this session will deepen your understanding of what high-quality implementation looks and feels like—and how to bring it to life in your own context.
Every classroom has diverse learners, each bringing unique strengths and challenges. In this session, participants will explore strategies for making the EL Curriculum more accessible and responsive to all students. Through discussion and practical application, we will examine ways to differentiate instruction, scaffold learning, and foster an inclusive environment where every student can thrive. Walk away with actionable strategies to ensure equitable learning experiences that honor and support all learners.
I have a passion for education and supporting all students within the classroom. You can talk to me about resources to support students, recent books that you’ve read, travel, and dogs! Looking forward to meeting you all!
This interactive 90-minute session is designed to support educators in transitioning from the 2017 EL Education Modules to the new enhanced 2025 Curriculum. Participants will be introduced to key updates and changes within the revised curriculum, ensuring a smooth and informed shift for teachers at all levels. The session will provide a comprehensive overview of the new modules, focusing on what’s different, what’s improved, and how these changes enhance student learning experiences.
Objectives: • Understand Key Changes: Review the major updates and improvements in the 2025 EL Education Modules compared to the 2017 version.. • Accessing EL Support: Learn about the support that EL Education will provide during this transition, including professional development opportunities
In "Do More with Less: 1:1 Coaching Hacks to Maximize Impact," you'll learn practical strategies for scaling coaching with minimal resources—no fancy tech required! This session will feature powerful "hacks," such as how to build a simple, yet effective "coach-match" process that pairs teachers with the right coaches, determine the ideal length of engagement (from short cycles to unlimited coaching), and document all work in 30-minute sessions using tools you already have. You’ll leave with actionable strategies and the confidence to level up your coaching impact and immediately implement what you've learned in your school or district.
Unpack key principles of the Science of Reading and examine how they align with the Bookworms K–5 curriculum. We’ll explore the progression of reading skills, from phonemic awareness and phonics to fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Participants will uncover how Bookworms supports this development through intentional, research-based instructional practices. Together, we’ll connect theory to practice, clarifying what effective reading instruction looks like in a Bookworms classroom.
Literacy Specialist: Academics, Equity & Social Justice, Open Up Resources
Iysha is currently coaching novice and veteran educators implementing OUR ELA curricula. Serving as a Literacy and Professional Learning Specialist at Open Up Resources, Iysha ensures access to high-quality curriculum, materials, and professional learning experiences with a passion... Read More →
In this interactive session, educators will explore how fostering rich student discourse can deepen comprehension and elevate student writing outcomes. Supporting effective communication and collaboration among students during shared reading and interactive read-alouds promotes critical thinking, deepens understanding, and encourages students to think about a text through multiple lenses. This session will highlight evidence-based strategies aligned to the science of reading and writing, designed to encourage meaningful peer discussions, scaffolded feedback, and accountable talk that ultimately has a positive impact on student writing. By the end of the session, participants will be equipped with strategies to create an environment where students actively engage with each other’s ideas and opinions, leading to stronger writers and a more dynamic classroom experience.
Unlock the intricacies of writing aspects and standards across K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 grade bands. The session also highlights the Painted Essay, valuable classroom strategies, and effective feedback processes. A key focus will be analyzing writing expectations by grade band to determine what students need to know and be able to do to complete standards-aligned writing tasks successfully.
Open Up Resources Community Coach, Open Up Resources
This is my 3rd year serving as an Open Up Resources Community Coach. I have just completed my 13th year of teaching in Chattanooga, TN. My experience in teaching has been 1st grade for 8 years, and 2nd grade for 5 years.
In this foundational session, participants will get oriented to the structure, purpose, and key instructional practices of the EL K–5 Language Arts curriculum. We'll explore how the Module Lessons, Skills Block, and ALL Block work together to support student growth in reading, writing, knowledge-building, and character. Through guided exploration and planning tools, you'll leave with a clear sense of how to confidently launch the curriculum, navigate the lesson structure, and prioritize what matters most in your first weeks of teaching.
Teacher Leader in Residence - K-8 Lang Arts, Open Up Resources
As a Teacher Leader in Residence, Julie Eckhardt, brings to Open Up Resources more than 39 years of experience in the field of education. She began her career as an elementary teacher gaining 33 years of classroom experience. Serving as an adjunct instructor for Iowa Wesleyan College... Read More →
This interactive session is designed for educators and instructional leaders committed to deepening their implementation of the EL Education Curriculum while ensuring all students thrive. Participants will explore advanced strategies for aligning instructional practices with the curriculum’s core principles, fostering student engagement, and creating learning environments that support learner needs. Through collaborative discussions and hands-on activities, attendees will gain practical tools to enhance lesson delivery, differentiate instruction, integrate meaningful assessments, and provide targeted support for multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and those needing enrichment. Whether you are refining your approach or overcoming implementation challenges, this session will provide actionable insights to elevate student achievement and classroom impact.
In this session, participants will explore maximizing the impact of Bookworms Differentiated Instruction (DI). We’ll unpack the structure and purpose of DI lessons and examine practical ways to use Bookworms DI data to inform student groupings and guide instruction. Join us for an experience focused on increasing teacher efficiency and delivering targeted, meaningful instruction that drives student growth.
Join us for a dynamic session focused on genre-based writing strategies for teaching K-5 students, specifically designed for the Bookworms program. We’ll look at SSRD and how to leverage AI to enhance differentiating teacher models. Discover innovative techniques to inspire young writers and elevate your teaching practices!
Early Literacy Coach, Menominee Intermediate School District
I am an early literacy coach in Michigan. I have experience teaching students in elementary and middle school. I have been a community coach with Open Up Resources for a year and a half to support the Bookworms community.
This session delves into the transformative 4 T's framework: Topic, Targets, Texts, and Task. Discover how these essential components work together to create meaningful and impactful instruction while upholding the principles of integrity in teaching. We will explore practical strategies for effectively implementing this framework in your classroom, emphasizing the importance of clear objectives and providing access through appropriate scaffolds. Equip yourself with the tools to foster an enriching learning environment that empowers students and enhances their educational experience.
In this session, participants will explore how EL Education’s curriculum is intentionally designed—from the big ideas of a module to the daily learning targets of each lesson. We’ll unpack how unit progressions build toward meaningful performance tasks and how assessments are woven throughout to support and monitor student growth. Participants will engage with planning tools and curriculum maps to strengthen the long-range vision and ensure that day-to-day instruction stays aligned with the curriculum’s knowledge, literacy, and character goals.
I have a passion for education and supporting all students within the classroom. You can talk to me about resources to support students, recent books that you’ve read, travel, and dogs! Looking forward to meeting you all!
This session provides targeted support for educators implementing the EL Education Curriculum. Participants will deepen their understanding of its structure, explore best practices for lesson planning and differentiation, and develop strategies to enhance student engagement and learning. The session will also address challenges, offer solutions tailored to classroom needs, and guide educators in using assessments to inform instruction. Designed for teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders, this interactive session includes model lessons, coaching conversations, and planning time, ensuring participants leave with practical strategies and resources for effective implementation.
Language shapes how we think, teach, and engage with students. In this session, participants will explore the impact of words on learning environments, student identity, and equity. Through reflection and discussion, we will examine how intentional shifts in language can foster more inclusive, asset-based mindsets that empower educators and students. Walk away with practical strategies to reframe communication and create a more positive and supportive learning culture.
Teacher Leader in Residence Lead, Math, Open Up Resources
Cathy is a joyful educator with over 20 years of experience in elementary and middle school classrooms. Now serving as the Teacher Leader in Residence Lead for Math at Open Up Resources, she loves supporting educators and leaders through meaningful professional learning and coaching—always... Read More →
In "Do More with Less: 1:1 Coaching Hacks to Maximize Impact," you'll learn practical strategies for scaling coaching with minimal resources—no fancy tech required! This session will feature powerful "hacks," such as how to build a simple, yet effective "coach-match" process that pairs teachers with the right coaches, determine the ideal length of engagement (from short cycles to unlimited coaching), and document all work in 30-minute sessions using tools you already have. You’ll leave with actionable strategies and the confidence to level up your coaching impact and immediately implement what you've learned in your school or district.
Work through a session to understand how super sentences are built and the actual structure of compound, complex sentences. When the understanding is secured, learn to support students with strategies to integrate the question answers and vocabulary into writing super sentences. Finally, leverage grammar instruction and challenge students to apply their sentence composing knowledge to their super sentence writing.
Early Literacy Coach, Menominee Intermediate School District
I am an early literacy coach in Michigan. I have experience teaching students in elementary and middle school. I have been a community coach with Open Up Resources for a year and a half to support the Bookworms community.
Join an international expert on co-teaching and a national expert on literacy as they share concrete, practical, and engaging strategies for helping all learners succeed using the Bookworms curriculum! Using a new curriculum can be difficult enough – adding a partner can make it easier or add to the complexities. By modeling various co-teaching approaches, the presenters will explicitly address roles and responsibilities, co-planning, co-instruction, and co-assessment. Both experts have special education backgrounds and are able to provide techniques to support a range of student needs – to include specific literacy skills as well as behavioral or social needs.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to: • Define co-teaching and pinpoint its critical components • Name and describe the various co-instructional approaches • Identify ways that co-teachers can use regrouping approaches to differentiate for varying literacy needs using the Bookworms curriculum
Join this session to review the process of navigating the successful implementation of High-Quality Instructional Materials. Hear from a District team’s experience with strategic planning, valuable lessons learned, and inspiring highlights.
Literacy Specialist: Academics, Equity & Social Justice, Open Up Resources
Iysha is currently coaching novice and veteran educators implementing OUR ELA curricula. Serving as a Literacy and Professional Learning Specialist at Open Up Resources, Iysha ensures access to high-quality curriculum, materials, and professional learning experiences with a passion... Read More →
In this session, participants will explore how the Skills Block supports foundational literacy development for all learners. We will dive into the structure, key instructional shifts, and best practices for implementation within the EL Curriculum. Through hands-on activities and discussion, educators will gain strategies to strengthen phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary instruction. Walk away with practical tools to enhance student engagement and ensure reading success in your classroom.
Promoting productive and equitable conversation, mastery of skills, and student engagement is a top priority in the EL Education K-8 Language Arts Curriculum. Prepare to take a deep dive into scaffolds embedded throughout the curriculum. Participants will apply learned scaffolds and differentiation strategies to provide in-the-moment and pre-planned support and scaffolds for multilingual learners.
I have a passion for education and supporting all students within the classroom. You can talk to me about resources to support students, recent books that you’ve read, travel, and dogs! Looking forward to meeting you all!
This session explores expanding our understanding of student learning, moving beyond the traditional classroom to embrace the rich learning environments within our schools and communities. We begin by recognizing that children thrive when connected to their communities, fostering connectivity, positive development, and essential life skills. Every adult in a school, from nutrition staff to bus drivers, plays a vital role in a student's life, often serving as mentors and coaches. Deep partnerships with students, families, community leaders, and other stakeholders are crucial for achieving our shared educational goals. This requires a broader vision of the school community, one that embraces the various adults within and surrounding our schools.
Participants will explore strategies for expanding the concept of student educators in helping to create optimal learning environments. These strategies are critical for creating strong instructional communities that fully wraparound students and build upon their assets and connections. We will also explore how to provide non-instructional staff with relevant professional development and support. Learning opportunities on topics like student development and strategies for connecting to students can equip these individuals to support students effectively, bridging the gap between classroom learning and the broader school experience. This approach reinforces that everyone contributes to student growth.
In this session, we will explore the creation of anchor charts and graphic organizers, emphasizing their daily implementation to enhance student learning. Participants will see practical examples and discover how these tools can effectively support instruction and boost comprehension.
This session, presented virtually, will bring the most experienced Bookworms leadership team in the whole country to you! Bookworms author Sharon Walpole will host the meeting, but the Seaford Leadership Team will take the stage. They will share their strategies for initial teacher training, building principal understanding, and providing ongoing coaching for teachers and leaders. And the proof is in the pudding – they will show their student achievement data over time. After they share their story, they will take your questions.
Unpack a performance task for their grade level. Participants will then view the community page for that particular module to create ways to enrich the performance tasks to enhance student engagement and build community partners.
Open Up Resources Community Coach, Open Up Resources
This is my 3rd year serving as an Open Up Resources Community Coach. I have just completed my 13th year of teaching in Chattanooga, TN. My experience in teaching has been 1st grade for 8 years, and 2nd grade for 5 years.
The Additional Language and Literacy (ALL) Block is a crucial component of the EL Curriculum, providing opportunities for students to deepen comprehension, build knowledge, and develop language skills. In this session, participants will explore strategies for effectively managing ALL Block to ensure meaningful, student-centered learning experiences. We will discuss routines, differentiation strategies, and ways to foster independence while meeting the diverse needs of all learners. Walk away with practical tools to streamline instruction, maximize engagement, and create a well-structured learning environment.
Teacher Leader in Residence - K-8 Lang Arts, Open Up Resources
As a Teacher Leader in Residence, Julie Eckhardt, brings to Open Up Resources more than 39 years of experience in the field of education. She began her career as an elementary teacher gaining 33 years of classroom experience. Serving as an adjunct instructor for Iowa Wesleyan College... Read More →
This session is ideal for classroom teachers, instructional leaders, curriculum designers, and school administrators interested in learning more about EL Education’s innovative products that support a diverse range of learners and enhance the overall teaching experience. By the end of the session, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to leverage EL Education’s new products to create more inclusive, effective, and enriching learning experiences for their students, while also benefiting from enhanced teaching tools and support.
Join us for an enlightening session that explores how to leverage students’ culture as a joyful vehicle for learning (Ladson-Billings, 1995) to enhance English Language Arts curricula featuring diverse authors. Pursue joy as we share our experiences designing culturally responsive curriculum content. This session will highlight an exclusive Open Up Resources 3rd Grade Module
In this session, participants will explore the structure and purpose of the Bookworms ELA Block. We’ll break down the instructional routines, examine the research behind the design, and discuss how the block supports all learners through its intentional practices. We'll explore how interactive read-alouds and rich text-based conversations cultivate both a love of reading and deeper comprehension. The session will also dive into Bookworms’ unique approach to genre-based writing and grammar, which moves beyond traditional methods by emphasizing modeling, purpose-driven writing, and authentic language development through sentence composing. Be prepared to engage, collaborate, and walk away with a clearer understanding of the purpose and practices that make the Bookworms ELA Block impactful.
In this interactive session, we will explore strategies for seamlessly integrating grammar instruction into the respond together component, text connections, written responses, and genre-based writing to create a cohesive and effective writing experience. Participants will learn how to weave together these essential components, ensuring that grammar lessons not only support writing skills but also enrich students' ability to respond thoughtfully to texts and express their ideas clearly. By blending explicit grammar instruction with collaborative respond-together activities and independent writing tasks, educators will gain practical tools for fostering student engagement and improving writing proficiency across all stages of the writing process.
Join us for an inspiring discussion on how to build a comprehensive approach that supports both language mechanics and creative expression in the classroom.
Discover how Language Dives can unlock deeper understanding and elevate student voice across all content areas. In this interactive session, we’ll explore how to plan and facilitate purposeful Language Dives that build academic language, support multilingual learners, and empower all students to engage with complex texts and ideas. Walk away with practical strategies and tools to bring Language Dives to life.
I have a passion for education and supporting all students within the classroom. You can talk to me about resources to support students, recent books that you’ve read, travel, and dogs! Looking forward to meeting you all!
This professional learning session is designed for district and school leaders, instructional coaches, and implementation teams seeking to lead the successful adoption of the EL Education Language Arts Curriculum. Participants will analyze key conditions for success and change management strategies essential for high-quality implementation. Through collaborative discussions, leaders will share insights and experiences in supporting student outcomes across the Three Dimensions of Student Achievement: Mastery of Knowledge and Skills, Character, and High-Quality Student Work. The session will also explore aspirations, partnership benefits, challenges, and the evolution of curriculum implementation over time, equipping leaders and coaches with the tools to foster sustainable and impactful change in their schools and districts.
This is a hands-on workshop where we will start with the Culminating Task of Module 1 reading the objective and rubric then do the same for ELA and SR. In the end, we’ll connect scaffolds based on students' levels in DI. Attendees will leave this session with a better understanding of how all areas of BW connect as well as having Module 1 planning ready for the new year!
Join this session tailored to instructional leaders. We'll explore strategies for creating supportive structures in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and enhancing teacher planning processes. Discover practical ways to nurture teachers, foster collaboration, and provide the essential support they need to thrive in their professional growth journey and positively impact student success.
In this session, participants will explore how EL Education’s curriculum is intentionally designed—from the big ideas of a module to the daily learning targets of each lesson. We’ll unpack how unit progressions build toward meaningful performance tasks and how assessments are woven throughout to support and monitor student growth. Participants will engage with planning tools and curriculum maps to strengthen the long-range vision and ensure that day-to-day instruction stays aligned with the curriculum’s knowledge, literacy, and character goals.
Teacher Leader in Residence - K-8 Lang Arts, Open Up Resources
As a Teacher Leader in Residence, Julie Eckhardt, brings to Open Up Resources more than 39 years of experience in the field of education. She began her career as an elementary teacher gaining 33 years of classroom experience. Serving as an adjunct instructor for Iowa Wesleyan College... Read More →
In this session, participants will learn about the importance of scaffolding and how it can be used in their classrooms. They will explore different scaffolding techniques and strategies and practice using them in various learning contexts, such as providing access points to qualitatively complex texts. Participants will leave this session with a deeper understanding of scaffolding and a toolkit of strategies that they can use to support their students' learning.
Data is a powerful tool for informing instruction and meeting the diverse needs of students. In this session, participants will explore strategies for analyzing and leveraging data within the EL Curriculum to drive decision-making and enhance student learning. Through discussion and hands-on practice, educators will learn how to use formative and summative assessments to identify trends, adjust instruction, and provide targeted support. Walk away with actionable insights to create a data-informed classroom that fosters student growth and success.
This engaging professional learning session explores how EL Education designs transformative experiences aimed at building the capacity of educators, instructional leaders, and school communities. By partnering with EL Education, schools experience a shift toward deeper student engagement, stronger instructional practices, and meaningful academic growth. Educators leave our sessions feeling inspired, equipped, and ready to cultivate rigorous and joyful learning environments.
Ready to transform teaching and learning in your school community? Let’s partner for impact!
If you work with multilingual learners or in dual-language schools, esta sesión es para tí! Together, we will define translanguaging and learn how it differs from traditional language practices and beliefs. We’ll share and experience specific strategies for translanguaging that can be used across K–8 ELA and mathematics content, and with any curriculum, to support multilinguals and honor their native languages.
Professional Learning Manager, Math, Open Up Resources
Ally is a former K–8 mathematics teacher & instructional coach and served in multilingual classrooms in Denver and Aurora, CO. She used Open Up Resources 6–8 Math curriculum, teaching in some settings in both Spanish and English. Ally has also supported schools and communities... Read More →
