Mathematics Update
www.esc11.net/math
DON'T MISS OUT ON THESE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES!
STAAR Interactive Journal Grades 5-8
Join us on June 9, 2016 Register Now!
These TEKS-based Mathematics interactive journals are designed to incorporate all of the major topics throughout Grades 5-8. The journals are organized around the information that students need for understanding, but leave room for teacher autonomy in choosing what students will include within the document. Practice cards, puzzles, and notes are included in this one-of-a-kind packet. Teachers will receive a blackline master of each journal. Participants will be required to review and sign the Rules of Use before participating in this training.Elementary Con June 23-24, 2016
$75 for ESC Region 11 teachers
$100 for out of region teachers
Administrators attend free with a team of 4 teachers.
STAARting with the TEKS: Math Academies for the Digital Age
MATH ACADEMIES TO BEGIN THIS SUMMER
Math Academies
SB 934 establishes mathematics achievement academies for teachers who provide mathematics instruction to students at the kindergarten or first, second, or third grade level. The Texas Legislature has appropriated funding to pay stipends to eligible teachers who successfully complete academies. The agency is required to grant priority for academy participation and stipend eligibility to teachers employed at campuses at which 50% or more of the students enrolled are educationally disadvantaged (eligible to participate in the national free or reduced-price lunch program). A list of priority campuses by ESC region is posted at www.tea.texas.gov/Curriculum/Academies.
The agency does not anticipate that funding will be sufficient to allow all teachers at all priority campuses to attend an academy this summer. Consequently, additional prioritization will occur to allow teachers from as many priority campuses as possible to attend academies. In the coming weeks ESC staff will contact district administrators with instructions regarding registration of teachers for the summer 2016 academies.
Additional information regarding the academies will be posted at www.tea.texas.gov/Curriculum/Academies as it becomes available.
For questions regarding the academies, please contact the Laura Carson, Coordinator of Teaching and Learning, by telephone at (817) 740-7573 or by email at lcarson@esc11.net
Launch of the Texas SUCCESS website
The Texas SUCCESS website is now available. This site provides educators, parents, and students with information, resources, and access to the Texas SUCCESS provider websites. These online reading and mathematics resources are available at no cost for all Texas students in grades for which accelerated instruction is required. For more information, visit texassuccess.org.
Calculator Exam Policies
It is that time of year, and Texas Instruments (TI) is ready with ideas and tips to help your students succeed on their upcoming high-stakes exams.
Review the exam calculator policies
TX calculator policy requires that all students must have access to handheld graphing calculators to use when taking high school math exams.
Similarly, the SAT® Calculator Policy suggests that students “... bring and use a calculator, especially one with which [they] are familiar. We recommend the use of a scientific or graphing calculator,” and the ACT® Calculator Policy permits the use of graphing calculators like the TI-84 Plus CE and the TI-Nspire™ CX handhelds (without Computer Algebra System (CAS) capabilities).
To help you take advantage of those provisions, TI provides free resources for you and your students, including:
Check out these step-by-step tutorials
TI and award-winning training providers Atomic Learning™, HotMath and WatchMe Ware have teamed up to create a library of video tutorials on test-approved TI graphing calculators.
Browse test preparation tools for educators
Find everything from practice questions from The Princeton Review® for high-stakes exams to easy-to-follow, illustrated instructions on preparing your students’ TI graphing calculators for the tests.
April's Bright Ideas--Celebrating Spring!
What's New
Resources for YOU!
Pre-K–Grade 2 Interactive: Geoboards
Celebrate Spring by recreating the shapes you see in nature.
Grades 3–5 Interactive: Turtle Pond
Get into the Spring spirit as you guide a turtle to the pond using computer commands.
Grades 6–8 Lesson: Tree Talk
Earth Day is April 22—find out the ages of your schoolyard trees.
Grades 9–12 Lesson: Rates and Taxes
Tax Day is April 18—do your students understand the basics?
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6 Ways to Support your Child’s Mathematical Development
How can you help your own child with maths? Giving them a positive view of themselves, and their potential? How can you help them with homework in productive ways, and give them the sort of praise that will help them grow and learn in the future? Here are 6 ideas from Stanford professor Jo Boaler for parents/guardians to try, and links to many more resources.
Mathematics Awareness Month April 2016
MAM is sponsored by the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM), which has selected "The Future of Prediction" as the theme for MAM 2016.
Yogi Berra, paraphrasing Niels Bohr, said "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." Throughout Mathematics Awareness Month 2016, we will explore how mathematics and statistics are the future of prediction, providing insights and driving innovation. During the month, we will be asking the question, "What's next?" and exploring how mathematicians and statisticians contribute to the future. So, visit the website and join the quest to help us predict future timeline entries. The JPBM's goal for MAM 2016 is to show how mathematics and statistics provide the tools to make accurate predictions possible.
At www.mathaware.org, you can find activities, related resources, and how to order the theme poster.
Keep Calm and Java On / Oracle Academy – Summer 2016
The Texas Regional Collaboratives (TRC) at UT Austin, in partnership with Oracle Academy, is offering a series of courses for Texas teachers interested in teaching computer science. This series of professional development experiences will prepare participants to teach courses such as Computer Science I, Computer Science II, or AP Computer Science. Since the AP Computer Science course is based on the Java programming language, this will be the focus of the technical training component.
Important – Application Notes
- § Application Deadline – April 29, 2016
- § Notification to applicants of acceptance or waitlist will occur by May 3, 2016.
- § Registration information will be sent directly to eligible participants.