BUILD THINKING CLASSROOMS: Increase Your Students' MATH Success (Grades 1-5) Presented by Amy Stark Outstanding Math Teacher, Author, and National Presenter

Specifically Designed for Grades 1-5: Classroom Teachers, Math Specialists, Math Coaches, Title I Staff, Resource Specialists, Special Education Staff, Interventionists, Instructional Assistants, and Administrators

• The best Thinking Classroom instructional techniques and tasks to strengthen your existing grades 1-5 math program – no matter what curriculum you teach
• Key steps and proven strategies to organize, build, and enhance highly effective Thinking Classrooms in math
• Dozens of practical, easy-to-incorporate math tasks perfect for all your math students – from those who struggle to your most capable
• Useful tips to work smarter, not harder … You'll receive an extensive Thinking Classroom digital resource handbook filled with outstanding ideas, tasks, and student samples you can use immediately

Practical Ideas and Strategies

Have you been interested in building or enhancing a Thinking Classroom? We know when math experiences are engaging and encourage all students to think, the results are great. In this NEW seminar by Amy Stark, you'll learn a wealth of outstanding Thinking Classroom ideas and resources, including how to:

• Build or enhance highly effective Thinking Classrooms to maximize student engagement and learning in grades 1-5 math
• Group students and where those groups will work
• Find tasks that are considered "rich" and how to best present these tasks
• Get students doing deep thinking and problem solving in math

In this fast-paced seminar, Amy will share the best ideas and techniques that have proven successful in her teaching and coaching work to build Thinking Classrooms. Amy's collection of rich tasks, activities, strategies, and tools are easy to incorporate in any classroom and with any existing math curriculum. For practical ways to build Thinking Classrooms to increase math success, this is a seminar you won't want to miss!

Ten Key Benefits of Attending

1. Strengthen Math Learning
   Learn practical ways to create a highly effective and engaging Thinking Classroom – using any math curriculum … Explore a collection of rich tasks, activities, strategies, and easy-to-incorporate tools for strengthening grades 1-5 math learning
2. Create a Thinking-Rich Environment for Collaborative Problem Solving
   Establish a thinking environment where students engage in shared problem-solving experiences in small groups … Discover how to set up workspaces and randomize work groups to productively engage your students in math tasks
3. Learn How to Thin Slice Curricular and Non-Curricular Math Tasks
   Discover how to organize math problems, presenting "low floor" first, while increasing the difficulty of the problems to come … Learn what to do if a group completes all the problems planned
4. Maximize the Success of All Your Math Students
   Gain dozens of ideas designed to strengthen the mathematics skills of all your students … Learn proven ways to increase students' motivation, effort, and self-efficacy in math
5. Strengthen Students' Confidence in Math Using Rich Thinking Tasks
   Learn how to structure mathematical tasks so students will persist, persevere, learn from mistakes, and embrace challenges
6. Unlock the Power of Effective Discourse
   Learn proven Thinking Classroom methods to greatly enhance mathematical discussions, questioning, and peer feedback … Leave with numerous practical strategies to strengthen student discourse and learning in math
7. Explore Proven Examples of Exemplary Thinking Classrooms
   How to arrange your classroom, including vertical non-permanent surfaces, to maximize student engagement, participation, and learning … Proven techniques and examples from exemplary math Thinking Classrooms
8. Integrate Mathematics Literature in Your Thinking Classroom
   Learn impactful ways you can easily use stories as springboards for more engaging math tasks … Discover practical techniques that will enrich your students' mathematical learning using math literature
9. The Best FREE Resources to Enrich Your Math Thinking Classroom
   Discover FREE classroom-tested resources readily available to supplement your existing curriculum while greatly enhancing a Thinking Classroom … Explore a host of rich low-floor, high-ceiling, wide-wall activities that encourage rigorous exploration
10. Receive an Extensive Thinking Classrooms Digital Resource Handbook
    You will receive a valuable digital resource handbook packed with ready-to-use tasks, activities, techniques, materials, and resources geared for immediate use to build a Thinking Classroom to increase students' math success in grades 1-5

Outstanding Strategies You Can Use Immediately

Here's what you'll learn:

• The best, practical ways to make Thinking Classroom a powerful teaching approach for your diverse learners using your existing math curriculum
• How to effectively organize your math block from start to finish within a Thinking Classroom
• See examples of exemplary Thinking Classrooms … Visualize how to modify and arrange your physical environment with vertical workspaces for all your groups
• Highly engaging tasks that encourage critical thinking and reinforce mathematical concepts
• Subtle, yet powerful shifts you can make in crafting and addressing student questions to promote deeper thinking and learning in math
• Easy-to-incorporate strategies to modify number sense routines so they become thinking tasks
• Engaging activities that strengthen math discussion and get students sharing and justifying their reasoning
• Specific and realistic ways to easily turn your textbook curricular tasks into thin-sliced thinking tasks
• Ways to extend each activity to challenge and meet the needs of all your students
• Effective ways to implement and manage partner and triad group tasks so all students are active participants in the math experience
• Dozens of rich tasks designed to strengthen rigorous mathematical thinking, flexibility, and problem solving in your grades 1-5 students

A Message From Your Seminar Leader

Dear Colleague:

Like you, I grapple daily with the challenge of presenting my math curriculum in a manner that not only captivates my students, but also stimulates critical thinking rather than rote memorization. When I was first introduced to the concept of Thinking Classrooms, it appeared to be just what I was looking for. However, this discovery led to a plethora of questions, including:

• Where do I start?
• How can I best structure my classroom and math sessions to promote greater student engagement and thinking?
• How can I ensure active participation within each group?
• How do I seamlessly integrate this approach while meeting all my standards?

I've crafted this seminar to address these questions and many more, while offering practical resources and solutions for seamlessly integrating a Thinking Classroom framework into your math instruction. The best part – you can immediately incorporate all the strategies and ideas I will share into your existing math program, and you can trust they'll yield results. Each activity, concept, and lesson I present has proven successful in my own classroom and in those of the teachers with whom I work.

In addition to receiving my comprehensive digital resource handbook, you'll gain a wealth of practical ideas for building and enhancing Thinking Classrooms. We'll examine how to get started, see real-world examples from exemplary Thinking Classrooms, and you'll acquire the tools and strategies needed to make yours a highly effective Thinking Classroom. My goal is to give you the best, most practical and successful techniques.

Be prepared to step into your students' shoes as I demonstrate these engaging, use-tomorrow activities and approaches. I look forward to sharing a wealth of practical ideas and teaching strategies you'll be excited to use to build your own Thinking Classroom to greatly enhance mathematical learning.

Sincerely,
Amy Stark

P.S. You will leave feeling inspired, excited, and prepared to build or enhance your own Thinking Classroom to strengthen your students' engagement and learning in math.

Who Should Attend

Grades 1-5: Classroom Teachers, Math Specialists, Math Coaches, Title I Staff, Resource Specialists, Special Education Staff, Interventionists, Instructional Assistants, and Administrators

About BER Live Online Events

With the current health challenges, all BER in-person PD events are currently being presented in a Live Online format:

• Outstanding Instructors
  All programs are led by outstanding BER national trainers
• Extensive Resource Handbooks
  You'll have access to an extensive digital Resource Handbook before, during and after your seminar
• Highly Interactive
  You'll be able to ask questions in real time and interact with the instructor and other participants
• Program Guarantee
  As we have for 48 years, we guarantee the high quality of our programs. If you are not satisfied, we'll give you a 100% refund.

Special Benefits of Attending

Extensive Thinking Classrooms Digital Resource Handbook
You will receive an extensive digital resource handbook specifically designed for this seminar. Included in the handbook are:

• The best, highly practical ways to build or enhance a Thinking Classroom to increase student success in math
• Dozens of rich tasks that engage students in reasoning and strengthen their conceptual understanding
• Practical methods to create thin-sliced thinking tasks from your existing math curriculum
• Strategies to increase student involvement, interest, and achievement in math
• Activities that greatly enhance active participation, while strengthening problem-solving and discourse between group members

For in-person seminars, registrants will also receive a printed copy of the resource handbook as long as their registration is received in the BER office at least 15 calendar days before the event.

Share Ideas
This seminar provides a wonderful opportunity for participants to meet and share ideas with other educators interested in building or enhancing Thinking Classrooms to increase student engagement and success in math.

Consultation Available
Amy Stark will be available for consultation regarding your questions and the unique needs of your own math program.

Semester Credit Option
Up to four graduate level professional development credits are available with an additional fee and completion of follow-up practicum activities. Details for direct enrollment with University of Massachusetts Global, a nonprofit affiliate, will be available at this program.

Meet Inservice Requirements
Participants of both the Live Online Seminar and those completing the Recorded Version online can receive a certificate of participation that may be used to verify five continuing education hours. State CEUs are available for both versions of the course. For specific details, visit www.ber.org/ceus.

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