Lissette Rosario didn’t mince words: “I needed this,” she said at the conclusion of a workshop on getting young students involved in class discussions.

The 1st-grade instructional assistant at PS 359 in the Bronx had just learned about using simple manipulatives such as a paper microphone or a box with conversation prompts to get the words flowing. “The strategies resonated with me because sometimes I find myself struggling to get students to speak with each other and engage in discussion,” she said.

Rosario was one of 450 early childhood educators who had the chance to hone their skills and network with fellow educators at the ninth annual UFT conference on early childhood education at UFT headquarters in Manhattan on March 5. The theme of this year’s conference was “Open a World of Possible.”

“We want our children to imagine a world without boundaries,” Karen Alford, the UFT vice president for elementary education, said in her greeting to the attendees who came from all five boroughs. “We open a world of possible when we integrate art, music and dance, and we open a world of possible when we work with parents.”

During the morning plenary, Abe Levine, the first UFT vice president for elementary schools, received the first Abe Levine Trailblazer Award. “He was one of the founding fathers of this union,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in introducing the award. “He is long retired, but still goes to schools and reads to children.”

Levine said he accepted the award “not for myself, but for the teachers who taught me what early childhood education is all about.”

Hedy Chang, the founder and director of Attendance Works, gave the keynote address on recognizing chronic absences in the early grades. City Comptroller Scott Stringer and City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland also greeted the group.

Conference participants were able to attend their choice of 15 workshops to learn new approaches that touched on everything from how children learn through play to adapting instruction for students who are not functioning at grade level.

“I’m learning a lot,” said Ognell Sargeant, who is in her first year as a pre-K teacher at PS/MS 29 in the Bronx after several years teaching 1st and 3rd grades.

Sargeant took a workshop on weaving the unit of study into all subjects. For example, teaching about water in math, science and even social studies. “I’m learning how to get it all together to become effective — not to overload the students but give them the right skill, something they can grasp and keep,” she said.

Maria Jimenez, a pre-K teacher at PS 274 in Brooklyn, said the workshop on teaching math to English language learners gave her new ideas to take to the classroom. “Songs and visuals are a wonderful way to dramatize the lesson,” she said.

Darlene Jones Hardwick, a 2nd-grade teacher in an integrated co-teaching class at PS 345 in Brooklyn, said the workshop on sparking conversation would help her reach students with different learning styles.

“We have children who don’t like to talk so we match them with children who like to talk a lot,” she said. “I can foster conversation with these strategies — and I’m going to be the good listener.”

See more photos of the conference in the gallery »