DTAL Conference 2026

This 40-minute session is designed for elementary teachers (grades 3–5) who want to save time while increasing impact. Learn how to use NotebookLM to quickly turn science and social studies content into engaging literacy tasks that build comprehension, vocabulary, and independence—helping you stretch your limited content time. Participants will create differentiated, ready-to-use activities aligned to the Virginia SOLs and our district’s curriculum. This approach supports future-ready learners by increasing access and maintaining rigor. Teachers will leave with practical tools—and a finished resource—they can implement right away in the fall.

Pre-K classrooms are full of energy, curiosity, and, sometimes, big emotions. Behaviors that challenge us are often a child’s way of communicating needs they can’t yet express with words. In this session, we’ll explore practical, developmentally appropriate strategies to support young learners through their big feelings. Participants will gain tools to recognize the “why” behind behaviors, respond with empathy and consistency, and create calm, supportive learning environments. Together, we’ll shift the focus from managing behavior to building relationships, resilience, and regulation skills that set children up for long-term success.

This session empowers educators to move "Beyond the Red Pen" by integrating MagicSchool AI to foster personalized, high-impact student revision. Aligned with the VBCPS Strategic Plan goal of cultivating Future Ready Learners, we will explore how AI-driven feedback loops promote critical thinking and agency in the writing process.

Participants will learn to use MagicSchool to generate rubric-aligned feedback and differentiated scaffolds that help students take ownership of their growth. This session targets grades 3–5 across all literacy-heavy disciplines, providing practical strategies to bridge the gap between initial drafts and polished, professional-grade communication.

This interactive session will guide teachers in creating engaging learning stations that bring the STREAMin3 curriculum, literacy, and math to life through meaningful, hands-on, and developmentally appropriate activities. Participants will explore strategies to support learning within stations, including modeling language, asking open-ended questions, and encouraging thinking through play, while balancing structure and flexibility to keep students engaged. Teachers will also learn how to extend and adapt activities based on children’s interests, leaving with practical tools to create fun, purposeful, and instructionally rich learning experiences for preschool learners.

Every classroom has a tone. Let’s make yours one that strengthens connection and sparks learning. In this engaging, high-impact session, we’ll explore essential practices that help young learners build self-regulation through predictable routines, purposeful play, and smooth, manageable transitions. This is more than classroom management. It’s about creating a culture where social-emotional growth flourishes. You’ll discover simple, effective strategies to minimize disruptions, boost confidence, and lead with intention. Walk away with practical tools and a clear plan to create a nurturing environment where both you and your students feel engaged, connected, and ready to learn.

Our presentation will focus on using visuals in the classroom to support SEL practices, language comprehension, scheduling, behavioral expectations, and expressive language for both speaking and non-speaking students. Visuals will be available for participants to use in their classrooms, along with videos of teaching practices to help demonstrate how and when to use the visuals. Examples will be provided for both special and general education teachers. There will also be a short section on how to use a communication device with non-speaking students.

Our presentation was originally created to support first-year special education teachers who were struggling to create and use appropriate visuals during instruction. After presenting to teachers in our school, we realized that this presentation would be beneficial to many teachers, including both veteran and new educators.

This presentation is appropriate for special education teachers in grades 2–5 self-contained classrooms, ECSE–1st grade teachers at all levels, and general education teachers in PreK–1.

Join us to explore NotebookLM, an AI-powered tool that allows you to transform your existing unit materials into dynamic learning experiences and instructional resources. Unlike general AI tools, NotebookLM is designed to work only with the specific sources you provide like your instructional PDFs, Google Slideshows, and links to web resources including videos. You will also strengthen your skills as critical thinkers by evaluating AI-generated resources for accuracy and alignment.