Benton School District
Curriculum Newsletter
January 2015
Introducing Google Classroom
In August 2014, Google Classroom was launched in schools all over the world. Benton Schools began using Google Classroom the first week of school in all 9th grade Social Studies classes, and it has rapidly spread in our district since then. This fall Tamme Adams, the instructional facilitators, and Technology Facilitator Natalie Tanner all trained other teachers on Google Classroom. Training is still ongoing and will be offered again in January and February.
Many teachers have enjoyed the ease with which Google Classroom allows them to collect, grade, and return assignments. Students have loved the educational games that they can play. Google Classroom has proved to be especially helpful when dealing with makeup work. “I like how she gives us the links that we can just click on our computers and go to,” said 6th grader Hannah Grace Fritz. “I like how she can tell us exactly what to do and we can play games,” added Haley McFalls.
“It’s a wonderful way to get all your materials in one place and get your kids anywhere you want them to go. You always have that homebase. This is where you go; this is where you’ll find anything you need today,” said Jacqueline Daugherty, 6th grade math teacher at Benton Middle School.
If you would like to learn more about starting Google Classroom, contact any of your instructional facilitators.
Secondary Math
Coach Davis and Mr. Bevill have been using Monopoly for their last assessment in their senior year math classes for a few years now. It started when they were teaching Transitions to College Math. The last unit they covered dealt with interest rate, taxes, trading stocks, among other items. Mr. Bevill and Coach Davis decided that a fun way for them to experience these concepts was through the board game Monopoly. They have tweaked the assessment over the years and their current version has the students not using any of the monopoly money. The students instead use a spreadsheet system that they have to keep track of all of their expenditures and income. They also have to take out a mortgage on any property that they purchase. Then, they have to determine what their monthly payments are for the next several turns. Students can also use a loan system to pay off large amounts of rent that they owe to other players.
Students love the fact that their assessment is something different than the same problem asked in three or 4 different ways. Also, having students do these types of activities helps them to connect what they are learning in the classroom to its application in their future lives. On the surface it is just a modified board game, but as one student put it, “It helps you to see that you shouldn’t just buy stuff because you want it now; you need to make sure you can afford it and not go bankrupt.” When students start making these connections to their future financial situations it will have a positive impact on their future stability as well as the communities.
An Old Proverb Meets Modern Day Technology
We’ve all heard the proverb “Two heads are better than one,” meaning two people working together have a better chance of solving a problem than one person working alone. Collaboration is a key component to the success of an educator. Our teachers enjoy each opportunity to share classroom experiences, ask questions, offer ideas, and problem solve with grade-level peers. Often times this is difficult for elementary teachers who are not located in the same building. We took this outside the walls of each elementary campus, as we converged on the Professional Development Center in December for district grade-level PLC’s (Professional Learning Community). Many meaningful conversations and ideas were spawned.
Furthermore, a set of Grade Level Folders (kindergarten thru fifth) were created on Google Drive with the hopes of ongoing collaboration between teachers of the same grade who are separated by campus. Google Drive gives endless sharing opportunities when it comes to communication. Teachers can electronically comment, share, & edit lesson ideas, websites, spreadsheets, documents, and much more.
Benton School District
Email: Kneathery@bentonschools.org
Website: bentonschools.org
Location: 207 W Conway St, Benton, AR, United States
Phone: 501-778-4861