Practical PD for Grades 3–6
Organise and Optimise Your 100-Minute Language Arts Block
Outcome: Build a predictable, sustainable weekly block that fits whole-group instruction, small-group teaching, independent practice, and conferencing.
Summary of the session
Learn how to pace the week, launch routines, and keep evidence of learning visible. We will map a model block, plan a first-week rollout that builds independence, set up RISE centres with clear expectations, and streamline conference notes tied to success criteria.
Audience: Grades 3–6 teachers, literacy leads, instructional coaches
Time: Keynote 45–60 minutes; Workshop 90 minutes; Half-day 3 hours; Full-day 5–6 hours; Virtual 60–90 minutes
Teaching Language Arts to Junior Students: Simple, High-Impact Shifts
Outcome: Modernise ELA with clear routines and needs-based support that improve outcomes without adding workload.
Summary of the session
Shift from levelling as the driver to responsive grouping, tighten mini-lessons with explicit success criteria, and design independent tasks that generate usable evidence.
Audience: Grades 4–6 teachers, combined-grade teachers
Time: Keynote 45–60 minutes; Workshop 90 minutes; Virtual 60–90 minutes
Use More Voice and Choice in Your Writing Program
Outcome: Offer student choice while maintaining rigour through explicit teaching, feedback cycles, and clear success criteria.
Summary of the session
Build a writing routine that blends short instruction, meaningful practice, and efficient conferencing. We will use genre-agnostic prompts, bump-it-up exemplars, and simple publishing pathways to increase quality and motivation without losing structure.
Audience: Grades 3–6 teachers, literacy leads
Time: Workshop 90 minutes; Half-day 3 hours; Virtual 60–90 minutes
Make Centres Work in Your Junior Classroom
Outcome: Run purposeful, accountable centre rotations that align with instruction and produce evidence of learning.
Summary of the session
Define roles and timing, design tasks that reinforce explicit teaching, and collect evidence from independent work with minimal marking. We will troubleshoot noise, transitions, and off-task behaviour and provide rotation plans for single and combined grades.
Audience: Grades 3–6 teachers, instructional coaches
Time: Workshop 90 minutes; Half-day 3 hours; Virtual 60–90 minutes
Teaching Combined Grades: Working the Continuum of Learning
Outcome: Plan, teach, and assess along a continuum so two grades learn together without doubling workload.
Summary of the session
Bundle expectations into shared arcs, craft whole-group lessons with tiered tasks and common success criteria, and schedule needs-based small-group instruction. We will streamline assessment, conferencing, and reporting using shared tools across both grades.
Audience: Grades 3/4, 4/5, 5/6 teachers, administrators
Time: Keynote 45–60 minutes; Workshop 90 minutes; Half-day 3 hours
Supporting Guided Inquiry in Science and Social Studies
Outcome: Lead purposeful inquiry that integrates reading, writing, and hands-on investigation with clear checkpoints.
Summary of the session
Plan an inquiry arc with driving questions, embed content-area reading and note-making, and assess products, conversations, and observations fairly. We will manage groups, materials, and timelines using Canadian-specific contexts and safety reminders.
Audience: Grades 3–6 teachers, curriculum leads
Time: Workshop 90 minutes; Half-day 3 hours; Virtual 60–90 minutes
Make Assessment Easier: Triangulation of Data
Outcome: Collect and use observations, conversations, and products to guide instruction and communicate progress clearly.
Summary of the session
Design tasks that yield useful evidence, capture observation and conference notes efficiently, and calibrate judgments with success criteria and exemplars. We will turn evidence into next steps students understand and can act on.
Audience: Grades 3–6 teachers, instructional coaches, administrators
Time: Keynote 45–60 minutes; Workshop 90 minutes; Virtual 60–90 minutes
How to Use AI in the Classroom
Outcome: Save preparation time and improve differentiation with safe, responsible AI workflows.
Summary of the session
Create lesson outlines, rubrics, question sets, and feedback stems while protecting privacy and professional judgement. We will practise prompt patterns for differentiation, build guardrails for bias and academic honesty, and review classroom-ready examples.
Audience: All staff teaching Grades 3–6, coaches, administrators
Time: Workshop 90 minutes; Virtual 60–90 minutes