2025 KEEN Conference

Join us for an interactive session designed to add excitement and zest to your ELA instruction! Discover innovative strategies to engage students and foster a love for reading, regardless of your curriculum. We’ll explore the power of Book Trailer Tuesdays, where you’ll learn how to introduce new titles using captivating video clips. Dive into First Chapter Fridays, an engaging way to hook students by reading the opening chapters of new books.
You’ll also uncover the benefits of Article of the Week to spark discussions, experience the joy of Book Tastings, and implement Notice and Note strategies that encourage students to slow down and interact with texts through signposts. These dynamic approaches will not only elevate your reading instruction, add rigor, but also cultivate lifelong readers and learners. Come ready to share ideas and walk away with practical tools to transform your ELA classroom!

Integrating a Makerspace in the classroom can spice up teaching and learning by blending creativity, collaboration, and hands-on problem-solving. This session will engage primary and intermediate educators in creating their own "recipe" for a Makerspace Classroom that brings together the "ingredients" of standards, essential questions, community connections, collaborative learning and much more. If you want to encourage innovation and invigorate students, a Makerspace is the zest your lessons need. Come ready to roll up your sleeves, sift, stir and bake up some ideas to take back and enjoy with your class.

Participants will master a classroom magic trick, compose and play their very own song and so
much more. This session aims to bring the Zest back into each classroom by allowing participants
to play to their own individual strengths. Teachers at each table will also collaborate, create,
brainstorm and share things they already do or how they anticipate applying the ideas shared,
allowing time for tables to rotate around and take advantage of all the ideas in the room.