LEARN Curriculum Network
October 13, 2020 Update
Greetings Colleagues,
Thank you to those that were able to join us last Friday at our October 9th Regional Curriculum Network Meeting. We were joined by 3 representatives from the state department, each of whom shared resources that districts can access to support teaching and learning. Please see below for more details and a link to our Curriculum Network Hub which will provides anytime access to the resources shared with our group.
Next Meeting Date & Time
Our next meeting is scheduled for October 23rd at10:00am. We hope you can make it and please reach out if you have an agenda items you would like to add or a resource you'd like to share. In the meantime, please enjoy the current highlights from our network and a few other materials which may help during this busy time.
Best,
Sue
Dr. Sue Iwanicki
Director of Curriculum & Instruction
LEARN
44 Hatchetts Hill Old Lyme, CT 06371
(203) 859-2838 (mobile)
State Department Resources
The Governor's Summer K-12 Challenges in Reading and Math have been Extended!
- Summer Reading Challenge has been extended until November 9th.
- Summer Math Challenge has 3 options this year--
- 1) Summer Passport in partnership with CCLM (Grades K-5)
- 2) MetaMetrics (Grades 1-8)
- 3) Khan Academy (Grades 9-12) Submit form by November 9, 2020
- December 2020: Connecticut State Board of Education will review
- Spring 2021: Mandated curricula will be available to districts
- Fall 2022: All high schools must offer this course as a full-year elective
SketchUp Pro is Free for ALL CT School
- 3-D Computer Aided Design software
- Offers a wide range of drawing applications such as architectural, interior design, landscape architecture, civil and mechanical engineering, film and video game design.
There was truly a wide variety of resources offered. To download their full slide show, click on the download link below OR follow this link to bookmark the Curriculum Network share folder with this resource title "October 2020" as well as other documents shared by our members.
Teachers Juggling the Concurrent Classroom with some Students Physically Attending Class
Last week, Blended Learning Coach Caitlin Tucker found more and more teachers juggling the concurrent classroom with some students physically attending class and others joining remotely via video conferencing. Trying to balance the demands of teaching in two learning landscapes simultaneously had been shared as a real struggle. To help support teachers, she created a post for teachers who may not have experience with blended learning models but need support designing lessons for the concurrent classroom. Check out her Oct 7th suggestions by clicking here.
Oct 9th Curriculum Network Member Share Highlights
Practices Around Absences
- Many schools telling families that if the student is absent for a day or so, they should rest and monitor as opposed to joining virtual cohort.
- Flexibility important-- if the student can participate let them
- Coding it in PowerSchool has been difficult, most adding codes (eg. absent/virtual, tardy/virtual)
Actions to Reduce Teacher Stress/Save Time
- Give educator plenty of collaboration time (Wednesdays or other)
- Provide materials that take some of the work off their plates, such as:
- Pre-recording Math Minilessons: coaches in at least one district are recording the math minilessons for teachers, saving teachers time.
- Using Building Subs Creatively: another district shared that they have building subs that meet with remote students to ensure engagement and understanding OR help out with recording as is needed.
Moves to Care for Teachers
- It was suggested that we should have a Hearts of Teachers, just like hearts for first responders
- Some districts have used Second Step which has many free COVID resources, including materials for SEL for Adults Resilience During Crisis Module
Using Connecticut English Learner Proficiency (CELP) Standards to Assess Language Growth
USING CELP STANDARDS TO ASSESS LANGUAGE GROWTH ACCESS & ADVOCACY FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS
Oct 28th or November 11th 9:00am - 2:00pm- Presented by CREC & LEARN
- Build a shared understanding of the purpose of assessing language growth, Become familiar with the ELP growth targets
- Learn how to use the CELP standards to equitably assess growth, and
- Increase your capacity to advocate for equitable access and assessment of our ELs
Click on the attached flyer for registration link and locations.
Sensible Assessment Practices: How to Virtually Assess K-3 Literacy Skills- THIS THURSDAY!
Sensible Assessment Practices: How to Virtually Assess K-3 Literacy Skills
Thursday, October 15, 2020, from 3:00 p.m. - 4:00
Join CSDE’s live pop-up professional learning to assist Connecticut teachers in virtually assessing students’ literacy skills. CSDE’s literacy partner, Hill for Literacy, will provide tips, protocols, and documents to support the virtual administration of the DIBELS 8th Edition. This Webinar will be recorded and posted to the CSDE Literacy/English Language Arts Webpage.
Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2449154864406872080.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Using Human-Centered Strategies to Adapt Science Lessons for Remote Learning
This year, Jenny Pinto will be leading our Science Roundtable. The first virtual session is tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct 14th. If you would like someone from your district to attend that is not able to make it, please have them reach out to Jenny at jpinto@learn.k12.ct.us
Support for Coaching Being Offered by Learning Forward Connecticut
TEAM is Happening Virtually this Year!
Sessions fill up quickly, so please be sure to make your reservations as soon as possible. Ellen has all of the dates and times and can be reached at edalton@learn.k12.ct.us