NM PED 2026 Literacy and Humanities Summer Conference

Secondary literacy is a leadership priority. In this session, you will examine why a focused approach to adolescent literacy is critical for student success and how to strategically support educators in implementing evidence-based reading and writing practices.

With particular attention to the AIM Pathways to Proficient Reading for Secondary, you will explore the frameworks necessary to drive school-wide improvement. You will leave with practical leadership actions to strengthen implementation and ensure literacy is embedded across all content areas. By focusing on sustainable systems and professional support, you will gain the tools needed to make literacy a foundational pillar of your school or district’s academic strategy.

In this interactive session, you will explore the powerful intersection of nature-based learning and the Science of Reading. You will discover how to transition phonics instruction from the desk to the dirt by utilizing sensory-rich environments to make abstract letter-sound relationships concrete.

Through hands-on demonstration, you will learn specific outdoor strategies including Nature Alphabet Hunts, Syllable Stomps, and the use of natural writing tools. These activities boost phonemic awareness and decoding skills while fostering a deep connection to the environment. You will leave with a practical toolkit for implementing high-impact, movement-based literacy activities in any outdoor space to ensure your students stay engaged while building foundational reading skills.

New Mexico’s MLSS framework makes one truth unavoidable: if Layer 1 instruction is weak, every other layer becomes remediation instead of opportunity. In a post–Yazzie/Martinez landscape, the state has affirmed that students are entitled to culturally and linguistically responsive, grade-level instruction. Layer 1 is where that promise lives or fails. In this session, you will focus on two critical design decisions: intentional text selection and grade-appropriate assignments that preserve cognitive demand.

You will examine how to select texts that reflect New Mexico communities, land, and languages while aligning to NMPED standards and supporting multilingual learners. You will also analyze common Layer 1 pitfalls, such as over-scaffolded texts and low-level tasks that unintentionally track students. Using New Mexico-centered examples, including land-based literature and borderlands narratives, you will practice redesigning assignments to increase cognitive demand while maintaining accessibility. This session positions Layer 1 as enrichment-first design, helping you raise both the floor and the ceiling in your classroom. You will leave with planning protocols, assignment redesign templates, and New Mexico-aligned examples ready for immediate implementation.