April Curriculum Update
Northeastern Local School District
STAR Empowerment Progressions
April/May STAR Goals:
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Continue targeted instruction based on individual student needs from the Record Book/Core Progress and/or State Standards Reports.
- Generate a Screening Report, Growth Report, and Growth Proficiency Chart and participate in data team reviews to compare results to beginning of year reports and determine progress made.
- Save and/or print EOY reports that you may want for next year.
- Utilize Performance Tasks for differentiated instruction and preparation and practice for the state test.
- Use information from STAR and other classroom measures and observations to complete a self-evaluation of core instruction.
- Use information from STAR and other classroom measures and observations to guide decisions about summer programs and the next school year.
Updated Extended Response Tutorial
The tutorial video for Extended Response Items on the computer-based tests has been updated. The updated item type includes a Math Editor button. The Math Editor Button allows users to use equations and other computations in their response on Extended Response Items on the mathematics tests by clicking on a pop-up window. Previously students would have entered their work by typing on the keyboard only; this update allows students to use either method to enter their response. To view the updated tutorial click here.
Spring Testing FAQs Updated
Frequently Asked Questions have updated. School administrators, teachers and parents will find answers to questions about Ohio’s State Tests here.
- What are the components for the English language arts assessments?
- What can districts do to prepare for the upcoming assessments?
- Will state tests offer partial credit for certain questions?
- What are the requirements for students to retake the state end-of-course exams?
- What are the minimum remediation-free scores for meeting the requirements of the College Admissions Test graduation option?
What's the "Big Idea"?
From Achieve the Core...
Use the Big Idea & Culminating Task module in the Lesson Planning Tool to analyze central ideas through text-based evidence, decide exactly what students need to take away from the text, and determine the best methods to assess their learning at the end of a unit.
Find more information about developing the text-dependent questions you’ll need for your culminating task here.
5 Tips and Tricks for Google Drive in the Classroom
We've put together five of our favorite tips and tricks to help teachers and students get the most out of the powerful (and free!) Google Drive suite of productivity apps!
13 apps that promote higher-order thinking standards
These mobile apps go way beyond games
Mobile devices are becoming increasingly common in schools because they cost so much less than computers—especially since so many students are willing to bring their own devices to school.
While mobile devices, tablets in particular, have been commonly used to reinforce math and reading skills through the use of games, they can also be used to promote the development of higher level skills and knowledge included in the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS*S): creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; and critical thinking and problem solving. Here are a handful of high-quality apps that reinforce these skills and promote others.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2016/03/31/13-apps-that-promote-higher-order-thinking-standards/
Introducing the Student Success Resource Library
Resources are available for identified students who need additional help to graduate from high school and prepare for success in life.
Developed by the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Education Research Center and Battelle for Kids, the new online Student Success Resource Library provides effective, proven practices to engage students and keep them on the path to graduation. New resources are added throughout the year.
Access templates, links, videos and research-based practices that you can start using today to:
- Identify students at risk of dropping out;
- Intervene and keep these students in school; and
- Offer advising to ensure students successfully transition to careers after high school.
The goal is not only for students to graduate but also to be working in or preparing for the jobs of their dreams. Many of the resources support implementing a strategic and sustainable policy as early as the middle school grades.
From the Teaching Channel...
Across the country, teachers are actively making changes in their classroom practices to reflect the expectations of the Common Core State Standards. To say the roll-out of the Standards has been flawless would be untrue. In the years since the introduction of Common Core, there has been controversy and confusion over the Standards, their implementation, and how they impact the ways educators do their jobs.
You may have questions about Common Core, and you deserve answers from those who understand the realities of implementing the Common Core in a real classroom setting: your fellow educators.
Teaching Channel is working with Student Achievement Partners to get the answers you’ve been looking for. From April 10-16th, eight educators — a combination of Tch Laureates and Core Advocates from Student Achievement Partners — will be answering your Common Core questions on the Q&A board here at Teaching Channel. (For instructions on how to participate, skip down to the bottom of this post.) These educators boast years of experience, have a wide variety of content knowledge, and work tirelessly both in and outside the classroom. Click on the title above to take a moment to acquaint yourself with our panel of educators, and get an idea of who can answer your Common Core questions.
From Renaissance Learning...
Until recently, our profession talked about reform through the lens of school effectiveness. Seemingly overnight, those conversations have transitioned to “educator effectiveness.” The reason for this subtle transition is simple—research shows 8% of the variability in student achievement can be attributed to schools, while the classroom and teacher can account for at least four times as much.
If this research is true, how can schools help teachers be the best they can possibly be? In our newest blog post, I highlight the research of John Hattie. Hattie’s Visible Learning says teachers are most effective when they become evaluators of their own learning—and offers several strategies and programs that can have a big impact.
Free eBooks available to all preK to grade 3 classrooms
Scholastic BookFlix, a collection of paired fiction and nonfiction eBooks that promote foundational reading skills, such as vocabulary and fluency, is available at no charge to all pre-kindergarten through grade 3 Ohio classrooms through INFOhio. This year, Scholastic has added five new fiction/nonfiction book pairs for a total of 120 pairs. The new titles are:
- One Zillion Valentines and Valentine’s Day;
- Emily’s First 100 Days of School and 100th Day of School;
- John, Paul, George & Ben and Benjamin Franklin;
- Fletcher and the Falling Leaves and How Do You Know It’s Fall?; and
- How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? and Back-to-School Safety (both titles also are available in Spanish).
Children can choose to have the books read to them or, as their reading skills improve, read them on their own. Each book pair also includes comprehension games to test a student’s ability to understand words used in the stories, distinguish fact from fiction and put story events in order.
Find tips for using BookFlix to improve foundational literacy skills with INFOhio’s Beginning Reader’s Resources publication. Email support@infohio.org with questions about using BookFlix.
$martPath offers free interactive grades 1-6 lessons on finance and economics
Kelly Rebernak
Email: kellyrebernak@nelsd.org
Website: http://www.nelsd.org/TeachingandLearning.aspx
Location: 1414 Bowman Road, Springfield, OH, United States
Phone: (937) 325-7615