Curriculum Contemplations
One-Stop Shop for Content & Pedagogical Information - Feb
The Power of "Yet"...
There is a high school in Chicago where students had to pass a certain number of courses to graduate, and if they didn't pass a course, they got the grade "Not Yet." This is a fantastic practice, because if you get a failing grade, you think, I'm nothing, I'm nowhere. But if you get the grade "Not Yet", you understand that you're on a learning curve. It gives you a path into the future.
Click on the link below to watch a 10-min TED talk by Carol Dweck, a pioneering researcher in the field of motivation, why people succeed (or don't) and how to foster success.
MATHEMATICAL MUSINGS
Comparing Fractions
Understanding requires knowledge, but goes beyond it. Understanding depends on richly integrated and connected knowledge. This means that understanding goes beyond merely possessing a set of skills or a collection of facts in isolation; rather, understanding requires that our knowledge be woven together in a way that connects one idea to another.
Sadly, in mathematics, we’ve been teaching fractions without understanding for years. Take comparing fractions. The go-to method for comparing fractions with unlike denominators is to find a common denominator. That’s a great strategy, but completely unnecessary in many cases. Worse, many educators even skip that strategy in favor of short-cuts like cross multiplying. In this series of blog posts from Donna Boucher, she shares five different strategies for comparing fractions. *At the end of each post is a link to the next post / strategy.
Compare and Connect Discussions in the Mathematics Classroom
SCIENTIFIC SOLILOQUIES
Falling Into Understanding
F or centuries, scientists wondered why objects fall to Earth. Aristotle’s reasoning dominated mainstream thought for centuries; it was not until Galileo and Newton that Aristotle’s ideas were challenged (see sidebar for more information on these scientists’ conceptions of gravity). In the lesson described in this article from the January issue of Science Scope, seventh-grade students explore falling objects and try to explain why objects fall. Using a local university’s extensive exhibit on Galileo (see Resources at end of article), they were also able to incorporate the history of science and the nature of science into students’ investigations with pictures, stories, videos, and simulations.
Asksmithsonian.com
AskSmithsonian houses hundreds of short video clips covering a variety of topics, from medical to weather to technology.
Clips that align to the current unit of focus might be helpful as "hooks", or it could be a fun way to kill a couple of hours over the weekend. :)
SOCIAL STUDIES STATEMENTS
James Madison Legacy Project
Do you teach social studies or civic education to students in grades 6-12? Interested in receiving free professional development hours? Join us for a FREE Summer Institute and learn how to engage and inspire your 6th – 12th grade students in civic education! This year we are partnering with New Mexico to create a collaborative interstate opportunity for teachers.
COMMUNAL CONVERSATIONS
ELL ESSENTIALS
The annual Arizona English Language Learner Assessment (AZELLA) begins February 6th. We do a lot to prepare our students for reading and writing exams, but the AZELLA is much more than that!! I hope you will take some time to help them master the “art of the AZELLA,” not just their English.
Here are some ways to help with the parts of this exam that are unique to the AZELLA. The ideas below come from our own SEI teachers in Sunnyside as they used the Practice AZELLA test available on the ADE website.
PARENT PARTNERSHIPS
Many research studies support what teachers instinctively know: Students do better academically and socially when schools build positive relationships with their families.
Here are several studies that explore the critical school-home connection:
TECH TOOLS YOU CAN USE
6 Creative Ways to Use the New Jumble Feature on Kahoot
Many of you are already playing Kahoot, a wildly popular assessment game using any device plus a projector in your classroom. This post was written two (!) years ago about how all students would love Kahoot. There are now over 13.9 MILLION public Kahoots created! Very recently, the makers of Kahoot have recently come up with another game within Kahoot called Jumble.Teacher Spotlight: Ms. Mary Othon
Teaching & Learning Department
Tammi Baushka - Literacy Program Specialist
Rebecca Ridge - Literacy Program Specialist
Julia Lindberg - LAD Program Specialist
Kristel Foster - LAD Program Specialist
Maggie Hackett - Math & Science Coordinator
Donna Rishor - Math Program Specialist
Frank McCormick - Instructional Technology Coordinator
Email: margaretha@susd12.org
Website: susd12.org
Location: 2238 East Grant Road, Tucson, AZ, United States
Phone: (520)545-2000