Presenters
Tim Clue
Keynote/Administrative Training
Tim Clue is a top motivational speaker for those in education; a speaker who can help our school teachers relax, laugh and remember the joy of why they are teachers.
Tim managed to carve out a comedy career on the national circuit, working with many well-known comics such as Jerry Seinfeld, Steven Wright and Larry Miller. And Tim’s standup can be heard alongside those and others on XM/Sirius Satellite Radio’s comedy channels.
In 2005, his stage play “Leaving Iowa” premiered at Jeff Daniels’ Purple Rose Theatre Company during which it received a nomination for American Theatre Critics’ award for Best New Play in the country, was soon thereafter published and is currently performed in theaters all over the U.S. and Canada.
So it turns out that comedy, improv, writing, directing and teaching are not such strange bedfellows. Tim has synthesized his calling as a thought leader in motivational speaking, reinventing conferences one funny experience at a time. As he often says, “If you want them to hear it, tell them. If you want them to remember, make them laugh.”
Tim has been privileged to speak before such notables as former President George H.W. Bush and economist Paul Krugman and continues to expand his role as a speaker and facilitator, magnifying the art of connection and extolling the virtues—and what Tim feels is the necessity—of finding Comfort in Discomfort.
Keynote Location: Grand Theater
Administrative Training: Cedar
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Kim Adsit
Kim Adsit is an international teacher/presenter who brings her 30 years of Kindergarten experience to bear on helping other teachers become better teachers. Kim also spends her time developing curriculum and strategies that incorporate child-centered activities where she emphasizes the fun of kindergarten by tapping into the curiosity of young children. Kim and her daughter Megan host a blog (kindergals.blogspot.com) where they share their everyday experiences as classroom teachers. Kim has been selected as a Teacher of the Year, an Expert Teacher, and she serves as a teacher mentor. She has a Specialist Degree in Early Childhood Education as well as an At-Risk Endorsement.
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Adam Peterson
Adam Peterson is an award-winning educator from Illinois and an internationally recognized speaker. After spending more than a decade as a kindergarten teacher, Adam now uses his knowledge and talents to inspire, educate, and motivate other teachers to create classrooms that encourage creativity, play, and hands-on learning. As a featured speaker at TEDxNormal 2019, Adam shared his message of making the world a brighter place through his Make Someone’s Day Yellow talk and his #betheyellow campaign and is on a constant mission to bring this to schools and communities. Being a believer that family comes first, Adam spends every free second he has with his beautiful wife, Trisha, and their two amazing children. Check out his website: adampetersoneducation.com.
Session Locations: Magnolia Ballroom
Session 1: Dice, Cards, and Dominoes
Ready to have your kiddos learning when they think they are playing? Trying to figure out a cheap, easy way to create games? Do you want to have games with only a few rules so that your kiddos can play independently? In this session, Kim and Adam will share a plethora of easy games that use only cards, dice, and dominoes. She will show you how you can teach the same game format to all everyone and easily change the standard to meet the needs of all of your individual learners.
Session 2: The Science Box
Ready to pump up your science time? Kim and Adam will share how a simple box is a game changer! They will share how to set the stage for an interactive science time in their weekly schedule that will support your literacy standards! They will also share some of their simple science experiments that will develop kids that “think” like scientists.
Session 3: Routines Rule
Every heard the saying, “you can’t teach a class you can’t manage?” Kim and Adam will share how they manage their classrooms through effective modeling of procedures and routines. Come learn their favorite songs and rituals that keep their classrooms running smoothly. You will leave with a plethora of classroom management tips for the daily challenges of kindergarten teachers.
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Brooke Brown
Brooke Brown is a National Board Certified Early Childhood Teacher with 18 years of teaching experience in Kindergarten through third grade. She is currently a Gifted Resource Coordinator for early childhood students, teaching Gifted and Talented, math and literacy enrichment, and STEM. Brooke is a former district Teacher of the Year and has a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership. She creates original teaching resources as the owner of Teach Outside the Box®, is a product developer for hand2mind, and is the inventor of STEM Bins®. Brooke is passionate about STEM, coding and robotics, Makerspaces, hands-on literacy, and purposeful play for elementary students. She lives in Norman, Oklahoma with her husband, Andy, and two children, Ellie and Beau. Learn more about Brooke on teachoutsidethebox.com
Sessions Location: Magnolia 6/7
Session 1: Code, Play, Create: Unplugged Coding and Robotics for Beginners
Wondering how to teach the foundations of coding to young students? Start here! This session will feature introductory coding lessons, unplugged coding activities, coding apps, robotics, and more that are just right for little learners.
Session 2: Simple Strategies for Hands - On Literacy
Looking for the coolest, most engaging tools to add some multi-sensory magic to your small group reading instruction and literacy centers?! During this session, we’ll explore hands-on, innovative strategies to support the Science of Reading and take your ELA instruction to the next level! Participants will be given access to a toolkit of digital literacy resources to use right away.
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Tammy Daniel
Tammy Daniel is a reading specialist and national literacy consultant. She has twenty-eight years of experience in education, working as a classroom teacher, reading interventionist, and literacy coach. She understands the obstacles teachers are facing with meeting the needs of each student and knows the joy that comes when students become proficient and avid readers. That joy drove Tammy to step out of her classroom and enter the classrooms of others to offer support, knowledge, and resources to help her fellow teachers who are challenged with students with reading difficulties. Tammy has spent the past nine years working directly with teachers and administrators on implementing effective literacy instruction based on evidence-based practices. She is a National LETRS Trainer and a Board Member for The Reading League Oklahoma Chapter. Tammy’s diverse background in early childhood, elementary, and middle school education inspires her commitment to helping all students learn to read and read well. The dedicated work of fellow teachers inspires her, and it is her passionate mission to empower educators as they work together to diminish illiteracy in America.
Sessions Location: Redbud
Session 1: The Power of Pictures to Build Oral Language
Words have great power. Words allow us to express knowledge, ideas, and feelings. Unfortunately, many of our students have insufficient language proficiency, limiting their ability to receive information and express their ideas. This session will focus on building oral language and rich vocabulary using pictures. Don't be fooled by the idea of pictures because the activities we will learn in this session are engaging and relevant for all grade levels.
Session 2: Making Vocabulary Stick
What does it mean to know a word? How are words stored in the brain? How should we be teaching vocabulary? This interactive, engaging session will answer these questions and more. Participants will learn a simple instructional routine for introducing new words that engages all areas of the brain, making vocabulary stick.
Session 3: The Skill, Will and Thrill of Writing
Considering its complexity, writing may be one of the most challenging academic tasks for teachers to teach and students to learn. Learning to write is a developmental process involving an array of interwoven skills. This session will focus on the crucial elements of early writing instruction and provide hands-on activities teachers can use to build students' foundational writing skills. We want our students to become skilled, willed, and thrilled to write.
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Shannon Cunningham Lanning
Shannon is an Early Literacy Support Specialist and national speaker. She loves to share ideas that make classrooms a safe place for students to learn, grow, and have fun with all sorts of "shannonigans"! Visit her blog, Primary Shannonigans, for some great teaching ideas!
Sessions Location: Magnolia Room 4/5
Session 1: Teaching Phonological Awareness: The Why, What, Who, & How!
Did you know that students’ phonological awareness skills can be a strong predictor of future reading success? Shannon will introduce you to the science and research so that you have a firm understanding of how phonological awareness skills support orthographic mapping for our young readers. You will leave this session with the confidence to teach systematic phonological awareness lessons in both whole and small groups, along with instructional ideas and routines to keep students engaged.
Session 2: Cultivating Critical Thinkers
Students must become critical thinkers across a variety of genres in literature. Shannon shows you how to create opportunities for every student to master and show their critical thinking abilities. From making inferences to identifying and retelling, these tips will ensure your learners make critical thinking progress in no time!
Session 3: Dance, Raps, and Chants!
Come ready to move and have some fun! Shannon will teach and lead you in simple, but engaging songs and dances to incorporate across all subjects of learning. No singing talent required to participate!
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Brian Mendler
Brian Mendler has extensive experience working with challenging students in general ed, self-contained, and inclusion settings. He provides staff development training for K-12 educators throughout the world with the focus on how to be successful with even the most difficult students. He trains tens of thousands of educators every year and is a highly regarded dynamic speaker. Educators love his seminars, because he is able to provide strategies that work immediately for today’s youth.
Mr. Mendler has recently authored a book titled, Watch Your Mouth, Non Negotiables for Success with Toughest Kids. The book provides educators with easy to use strategies for preventing and responding to difficult, disruptive, defiant and unmotivated behavior. He has also authored That One Kid and co-authored books, Turning Tough Parents into Strong Partners, Strategies for Successful Classroom Management, Power Struggles 2nd Edition, and the best seller Discipline With Dignity 4th Edition.
Please follow Brian on social media:
Twitter and Instagram @brianmendler
Facebook: /brianmendlerfanpage
Podcast: The Brian Mendler Show (wherever you get your podcasts). Over 500,000 downloads!
Sessions Location: Oak
Session 1, 2, & 3 (session repeat):
Engaging, Motivating, and Managing Hard to Reach and Disruptive Students...A Trauma Sensitive Approach
This session is loaded with strategies, techniques, and ideas designed to prevent motivation and discipline problems in the most difficult classrooms. Discover and practice specific strategies and techniques designed to change attitudes and ignite a passion for success. This high-energy session teaches specifically how to defuse power struggles with any student, in any situation, at any time with our proven step-by-step process. Discover two words guaranteed to stop mouthy kids in their tracks. This practical, informative session will transform the lives of your most disruptive students.
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Hilary Statum
Hilary (Florence) Statum is a Kindergarten Teacher and National Presenter from Middle Tennessee. She has over 16 years of teaching experience in kindergarten, transitional-first, fourth, and fifth grades. Hilary holds her Master’s degree in Instructional Leadership from David Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from both her graduate and undergraduate level courses.
Hilary frequently travels around the United States as a featured speaker. Some of her favorite topics include the Science of Reading, Simple STEM for the Primary Classroom, Flexible Seating, Classroom Culture, Pairing High-Interest Books with Standards-Driven Activities, Magical Math, Raising Observation Scores, Classroom Organization, and Learning Inspired by Play. She is a published author of the book, Solar System for Kids. Connect with Hilary by visiting her blog Pencils to Pigtails.
Sessions Location: Pine
Session 1: #TeacherHacks: Top Tips
Discover the ah-ha moments of classroom teachers just like you! This session is jam-packed with top teacher tips from effective parent communication tools to classroom management techniques that work. First year teachers and veteran teachers alike will benefit from a wide variety of tips ranging from what to do with early finishers to how to run centers like a pro. Return to your classroom with a renewed sense of energy and a toolkit full of classroom tested and approved strategies!
Session 2: Science of Reading 101
Are you overwhelmed when it comes to the Science of Reading? Hilary is in the trenches with you and will share about her classroom experience implementing Science of Reading strategies. You will gather engaging strategies to transform your small group instruction while learning what you are already doing that works! Discover low prep differentiated activities to keep children working independently while you meet with each group of students. Learn how to use supplies you already have on hand to surprise your students and get them excited to work on essential phonics, phonemic awareness, and spelling skills. Return to the classroom with helpful freebies, new activities, and confidence in your ability to rock the Science of Reading!
Session 3: Wake Up Writing!
Why start your morning with writing? Hilary shares the research behind beginning your day with time for students to write. In this energizing session, you will learn strategies from improving handwriting to crafting well thought out sentences. Gather ideas for getting your students excited to write! Discover both nonfiction and fiction books to integrate reading and writing. Tackle best practices for teaching students to write opinion and informational text. Head back to school with whole class journal templates, writing practice pages, and tons of ideas to wake up writing!
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Deanna Byrd & Misty Madbull
Sessions Location: Magnolia 2/3
Session 1, 2, & 3 (session repeat):
Thinking Outside the Diamond: Considerations for Incorporating Traditional Choctaw Methodology in the Classroom
Deanna and Misty represent the Choctaw Nation Historic Preservation Department. This presentation will give a brief overview of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Historic Preservation Department as a resource to educators, the new Chahta History Literacy Project in development, and considerations for incorporating Choctaw culture, values, and lessons into every classroom.
