NM PED 2026 Literacy and Humanities Summer Conference

In this session, discover how explicitly teaching decoding and word parts can transform the way students read, spell, and write. When students understand phonics, morphology, and word origins, complex academic words become less intimidating and far more meaningful.

Grounded in structured literacy, this engaging session will show how morphology can be woven into everyday instruction to boost reading, spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension across grade levels and content areas. Participants will explore how breaking down words into prefixes, suffixes, and roots provides a "key" that unlocks the meaning of thousands of related words. Walk away inspired and equipped with knowledge and practical ideas that make word learning powerful, purposeful, and fun.

This session highlights the successful implementation of Reading Apprenticeship and Disciplinary Literacy at Raton High School (grades 7–12). Participants will examine leadership moves, instructional shifts, student impact, and replicable practices that contributed to measurable improvement.

This session is intentionally designed to be highly interactive so participants can actively engage with the strategies and leadership practices shared. Rather than a traditional presentation format, attendees will participate in structured reflection, collaborative discussion, and analysis of real instructional artifacts from Raton High School.

Join this high-energy, practical session designed to equip you with research-based Smart Literacy Centers that truly work. You will discover how to bring joy back to reading and writing by creating centers that are rigorous, meaningful, and easy to maintain. Imagine setting up centers that you do not have to change for nine weeks while your students engage in complex literacy tasks that build real, lasting skills.

In this session, you will learn how these centers support all five components of reading, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. You will explore how to align these tasks seamlessly with State Standards, Content Area Standards, and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge levels using materials you already have. These strategies are simple to implement, highly effective, and sustainable. By moving beyond worksheets toward hands-on, purposeful tasks, you will help your students strengthen deep literacy skills and stay engaged in their learning. You will walk away inspired and ready to launch Smart Literacy Centers that make a meaningful difference in your classroom.