NM PED 2026 Literacy and Humanities Summer Conference

In this interactive session, you will explore Making Thinking Visible (MTV) Making Meaning Maps through a hands-on opportunity to create a "culture of thinking." Based on the work of researchers Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church of Harvard’s Project Zero, this engaging process utilizes all four domains of language to reach every learner.

You will engage in the process of creating Making Meaning Maps around the central topic of MLSS. You will discover how these routines can be used to explore any subject area and how to successfully bring this practice into your own classroom, regardless of the grade level you teach. By the end of the session, you will understand how to use Making Meaning Maps to deepen student comprehension and foster a more reflective, collaborative learning environment.

In this session, you will explore the evolution of digital citizenship and how it must now align with the growing expectations of AI literacy. You will take a deep dive into New Mexico's AI Guidance Document, gaining a clear understanding of the state's framework for responsible and effective AI use in schools.

Throughout the workshop, you will interact with your peers and the presenter to discuss practical ways to integrate AI tools into your core curriculum. You will focus specifically on ensuring these tools are aligned with High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) to maintain academic rigor. You will leave with a modernized perspective on digital citizenship and a strategic plan for using AI to enhance, rather than replace, high-quality teaching and learning in your classroom.

This session reviews the critical connection between High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) and structured literacy practices while aligning with Multi-Layered System of Support (MLSS) strategies in lesson planning. Participants will explore the specific components of HQIM and understand why these materials are essential for effectively implementing the science of reading.

Through a practical lens, attendees will learn how the MLSS framework can be seamlessly integrated within core literacy instruction to provide tiered support without compromising the integrity of the curriculum. The session provides a clear roadmap for using high-quality resources to meet the diverse needs of all learners, ensuring that instructional materials serve as a strong foundation for equitable and evidence-aligned literacy outcomes. Educators will leave with actionable insights on how to leverage their curriculum to strengthen both Tier 1 instruction and targeted interventions.

This session explores how place-based outdoor learning strengthens literacy and humanities instruction. Participants will engage in a guided experience demonstrating how observation, journaling, and inquiry deepen comprehension, writing, vocabulary, and critical thinking by connecting students to their local environment.

Grounded in equity-centered strategies, this session offers practical tools for inclusive implementation across grade levels, showing how the natural world can serve as a primary text for learning. Educators will learn how to facilitate sensory-rich writing exercises and site-specific inquiries that help students build background knowledge and develop a stronger sense of place. Attendees will leave with a clear framework for taking the curriculum outdoors to foster deeper student engagement and more authentic literacy connections

Only 27% of students in the United States perform at or above proficiency in writing. The gaps along lines of race, income, disability status, and English learner status are significant, persistent, and largely ignored. This session makes the case that explicit, systematic foundational instruction is more than just good pedagogy; it is the equity intervention that writing education has been missing.

In this session, you will examine who implicit writing instruction fails and why. You will then build a practical toolkit focused on transcription automaticity and sentence-level instruction, giving every student in your classroom genuine access to composition. You will leave with the strategies necessary to bridge proficiency gaps and ensure that foundational writing skills become a gateway to student voice and success rather than a barrier.

Our schools represent a diverse range of cultures, ethnicities, languages, and values. As an educator, it is paramount that you understand the importance of respecting, embracing, and amplifying your students’ unique perspectives and lived experiences. Culturally responsive teaching bridges gaps in understanding, promotes equity, and creates learning environments where all students can thrive. By affirming student identities and fostering meaningful connections between learning and their lives, you can empower your students to succeed both personally and academically.

In this session, you will learn the core principles of culturally responsive teaching and how to integrate them into your daily lessons and routines. You will explore strategies for creating an inclusive and respectful environment where every student feels seen, heard, and valued. You will gain insights into how culture and identity shape the way students learn, communicate, and engage with the world, leaving with a toolkit of practical ways to leverage these insights to enhance learning outcomes for every student in your classroom.

This session will explore the benefits of dance for social and emotional growth, its connection to language and literacy, and practical strategies for classroom implementation. The core focus of the workshop is integrating dances from Latin America and beyond into general education to connect movement to any subject area.

Through an interactive and experiential approach, participants will examine how rhythmic movement and choreography can serve as a bridge to academic content, enhancing students’ understanding of rhythm, syntax, and cultural storytelling. Attendees will leave with practical, classroom-ready strategies to incorporate dance into their daily instruction, fostering a more kinesthetic and inclusive learning environment that supports both well-being and academic achievement.