Wilson Ranger Post
October 23, 2015
Teacher of the Year Nominations Due THIS FRIDAY!
Please consider nominating a collegue who possesses...
A tremendous concern for learners and the ability to engage and inspire them
The capacity and willingness to work cooperatively with colleagues and different groups in the community
A drive to initiate activities that transform instruction for all learners
The desire to stay informed about current educational trends and practices and the aptitude to incorporate what is learned into the classroom
The ability and willingness to make meaningful contributions to education
The implementation of innovative, creative ideas and technology in a future-ready learning environment
Criteria:
Be certified to teach in Texas public schools
Have been employed in Coppell schools for a minimum of 3 years (the teacher may be in his/her 3rd year with CISD); an adjustment will be made for Lee since it’s the second year after reopening)
Be a classroom educator (This includes PE, art, music, special education, literacy, etc.)
Plan to continue employment in Coppell ISD through the 2016-2017 school year
- Be willing to collaborate and communicate their innovative instructional strategies and educational story to others
Free Must Have Apps for Elementary Math (from TCEA)
Arithmetic Invaders Express: Grade K-2 Math Facts – Defend the solar system by solving counting, addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems.
Cloud Math Free - With animation and great sound effects, Cloud Math presents a set of problems to the player. For each of the problems, several "avatars" with possible answers bounce into view. The player's goal is, of course, to choose a correct answer. Difficulty level is easily controlled by a choice of operations, number ranges, number of answers to choose from, the number of problems in a set, and an option for a Fail-Safe mode. In this free version, there are problems with addition and subtraction operations on numbers up to 50.
Counting Bills & Coins - Count, match, and make change with coins up to quarters and bills up to $20. Practice money skills in five unique activities.
Counting Money - In practice mode, the user must answer the question correctly in order to proceed to the next question. The user presses the check button after each attempt to check the answer. In quiz mode, the user has one opportunity to answer the question correctly. There are two difficulty types, beginner and normal.
Dial-a-Fraction - As you move the two dials, denominator and numerator, the picture adjusts instantly to show the fraction you have created.
Dominoes Easy Match - The player simply matches numerals to corresponding sets of dots. Built-in instructional audio supports the learner with both identification of numerals and counting.
Fill the Cup - Four math games allow children to experience math concepts through manipulation.
Interactive Telling Time Lite - Learn to set the time via Interactive clocks with movable hour and minute hand! Learn the concept of day and night. Learn how to use AM/PM, 12-hour, and 24-hour clock notation.
Kids Learning – My First Numbers Counting Game – An introduction to numbers 1 to 20. Add your own voice and photos.
Lobster Diver HD – This app, designed for grades 3-8, is great for reading numbers, understanding fractions, reading a number line, and comparing and ordering fractions.
Math Flash Cards * - This app allows the user to practice simple basic multiplication facts or extend the user’s ability to work out complex multiplication problems up to three digit numbers. Users can control the number of digits used to generate the problems. Users can also control the number of questions given during one session. If a wrong answer is given by the user, the correct answer is shown before the next problem is given. Sound feedback is provided to the user for correct and incorrect answers.
Mathical - Mathical was developed by teachers for practice of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts; fractions of shapes and place value. The games within the app have adjustable difficulty to suit differing abilities for ages 5 - 10.
Math Puppy – This app features both Bingo and Challenge modes. Its animated math calculator and subtraction module are included in the free app; other modules may be purchased.
A Montessori Approach to Math – Hundred Board Lite – Students must drag numbers from 1 to 100 into their correct order on the board. Even numbers and odd numbers are also available.
Multiplication Genius x19 Free - Encourage your students to master 9, 12, and 19 Times Tables! Number Frames – This app helps students structure numbers to five, ten, twenty, and one hundred.Students use the frames to count, represent, compare, and compute with numbers in a particular range.
Pick-a-Path - Help Okta the octopus reach the target (maximum, minimum, or a specific value) by choosing a path from the top of the maze to the bottom. Seven levels with seven puzzles will test your skills with powers of ten, negative numbers, fractions, decimals, and more. How many starfish can you earn?
Pizza Fractions 1 - In a chef's pizzeria, your child masters the concept of naming simple fractions using pizza picture examples. Designed for grade levels 2-6, Pizza Fractions provides introductory practice with fractions in an approachable, game-like environment.
Teaching Number Lines - Little Monkey Apps Number Lines aims to students to visualize numbers for rote counting and ordering and to see the physical position of a number linking patterns and relationships. Unlike counters, which model counting, a number line also models measurement, which is why the number line begins with zero as you would see on a ruler. Students are also exposed to different vocabulary for addition and subtraction, such as step forward or jump back to physically suggest the movement of the frog along the number line. This free version includes ads.
Telling Time Free - Instead of giving the user multiple choices, Telling Time Free lets the user input the time by the hour, ten minute, and minute. The user inputs the digital time based on the analog time. There are two game modes, Practice and Quiz.
Tell Time – Little Matchups Game - Little Matchups is an exciting interactive matching game that helps your child rapidly learn how to tell time by matching analog and digital clocks.
Virtual Manipulatives! – Excellent app for introducing fractions.
Veteran's Day at Wilson
Logistics:
On Nov. 10th at 2:15 we will practice in the gym.
Each grade level is responsible for two lines of our Veteran's Day Poem. Please have your learners memorize their two lines for the program.
Don’t forget to send the link to get Veterans to sign up, or send home a hard copy.
We will provide breakfast that day. Ask your social studies vertical team member what your grade level is responsible for providing.
Book News from Dr. Lovey
The Book Fair is Coming! The Book Fair is Coming! (And, just in time for pay day, which is a good thing for me.) This fall’s theme is “monsters”. A few books in the fair that caught my eye are:
The adventures of Beekle: the unimaginary friend. This 2015 Caldecott Award recipient is by the very funny Dan Santat. Beekle, a courageous imaginary friend sets off on a journey to the big city to find his own real child.
The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt, sequel to the 2015 Bluebonnet Award winner, The Day the Crayons Came Home. Just as hilarious as the first book, Duncan must find all the crayon and return them to the crayon box. Watch out for the one that the dog ate, then puked back up.
Woof by Spencer Quinn. When birdie and bowser start digging into a mysterious theft, danger comes straight for Birdie, and rescue dog Bowser knows it’s up to him to save his precious girl, (even if he’s a little clueless about how to get it done!) This middle-grade novel was just chosen to be part of the 2015 Bluebonnet Award Master list.
Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot by Dav Pilkey. The good captain is back – nuff said.
Bad Kitty does NOT like Dogs by Nick Bruel. All Kitty ever wants is a nap, but Puppy wants to play! Can they compromise? Spoiler Alert: there are STICKERS!!
Nightmares! By Jason Segel. Just placed on the 2016 Bluebonnet Master List, this one will keep readers up at night. What happens when your nightmares escape your dreams and slip out into your waking world??
Be sure to download the Scholastic Book Fair APP. Scan book covers to find book trailers, and other goodies, and to create your own wish list. I’ll be showing our learners how to do just that!
See you at the Book Fair. November 2-6.
Istation Updates
In response to concerns expressed by districts around the state (including Coppell), Istation released updated tier targets for 4th - 8th grade at the end of last week. Based on our preliminary research and comparison, we have found these targets to be much more closely in line with the other data points we have for learners. Below you will find the email that Isation sent to account administrators as well as the reforming information form their website.
These changes have already taken effect in the Isation system, meaning all data points in their system have be updated to reflect the new targets. To be clear, this is not effecting Istation scores, only Istation tier placements Istation has determined based on metrics.
A few points of clarification:
- The Istation targets on the CISD Literacy targets page will be changed to reflect this most resent data as soon as possible. (you will know the updates have been completed when the date stamp at the bottom of the page is updated)
- At this time there is no need to retroactively change the data in Eduphoria.
More than anything, the most important thing to remember is that Istation is just one data source in our RtI2 decision making process. Regardless of the tier that Istation reports for a learner, their work does not supersede the great problem solving efforts taking place in the RtI2 meetings.
As always, please let us know if we can help provide any further clarity.
Istation Email
Thank you for your message. Istation continuously strives to provide quality assessments and reporting. It is our professional responsibility to present the most accurate, reliable, and valid assessment of student performance. This responsibility has led us to a recent review of the best available data relative to the students using the ISIP Early and Advanced Reading assessments. Due to our consistent monitoring, the influx of users has shown a more demographically diverse population. Therefore, the norms used to establish Instructional Tiers were reexamined in order to ensure that the customer has the most accurate, reliable, and valid assessment data.
For more information about our recent renorming, please visit https://secure.istation.com/Home/Renorming.
Should you have additional questions or would like to discuss further, please contact us at renorming@istation.com.
Renorming Information
At the beginning of the school year, Istation was alerted to the concern that the data set used to determine the August 2015 ISIP AR norms may have been biased. In cooperation and collaboration with our educational partners, Istation was able to augment the original data set to create a more representative sample. We are grateful to our partners for their support, which have enabled us to ensure that the ISIP AR norms fall in line with the most current education practices.
Istation has recently updated the norming ISIP Advanced Reading assessments to ensure that our reading assessments fall in line with the most current education practices. We were able to do this by augmenting the original data set with a more representative sample that was obtained and prepared in collaboration with our educational partners. This update to ISIP Advanced Reading affects students in Grades 4 through 8.
Norming establishes the Instructional Tier Goals used to determine Instructional Tiers. Consistent with other reading assessments, Istation has defined a three-tier normative grouping based on ability scores associated with the 20th and 40th percentiles. Students with an ability score above the 40th percentile for their grade are placed into Tier 1. Students with an ability score at or below the 20th percentile are placed into Tier 3.
The students’ ISIP Ability Scores will remain the same. The only metric changing is Tier placement. To track progress from the previous school year, educators can compare scores (rather than comparing Tiers) to ensure consistent measurement and an accurate representation of a student’s progress.
Extended Time
At the end of last week we learned from Istation that there is a way to disable the timed assessments, providing an opportunity for extended time to those learners who are in need of that accommodation. While this accommodation is not available for the learning portion of the software, it is available for the ISIP assessments.
This accommodation cannot be managed from the educator and must be managed from Istation directly. Istation asked that we compile a list of learners in need of this accommodation and then email this information to them directly.
We are in the process of communicating this information with central office, so they can communicate with Istation.
OCTOBER IS NATIONAL DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH
Reading Rockets is a great website and resource tool for parents and educators -- helpful hints and ideas for reading. Below is a link to one of their articles on Dyslexia basics. How much of this information did you know?
#cisdss
Elementary Social Studies educators will begin exploring Social Studies/ELA integration models this week for possible consideration for Coppell ISD.
November is National Native American Heritage Month. Please encourage your educators to share any opportunities they have had to celebrate the accomplishments and heritage of Native Americans in the United States. #cisdss
November 11th is Veterans Day, as we honor military veterans in this country. #cisdss
Math Pumpkin Challenge
Cici's
3rd Grade Program
Thanks to all of our teachers for all you do!!!
RtI Need to Knows
- Interventions?
- Progress Monitoring?
- Math?
- Reading?
- Length of time?
- What do I need for the RtI meetings?
We are putting together an after school session for November 4th. Please email any burning questions to Mary with RtI NEED TO KNOWS in the subject line, and we will make sure they are addressed in the sessions.
Digital Genius PD Information
UPCOMING WILSON PD:
Consider registering for these upcoming Professional Development sessions:
GT Nuts and Bolts
October 29, 2015 at 3:30 PM to October 29, 2015 at 4:30 PM
The following credit is given when the course is completed:
Flex Hours, 1 Credits
Texas SBEC CPE, 1 Credits
Note: a survey is required at the end of this course to receive credit.
http://eduphoria.coppellisd.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=7272
Schoology: Basics and Beyond
Whether you have begun experimenting with Schoology or are just beginning your journey, this workshop will allow you to design your own path to discovery. Stops along the way include, but are not limited to, Schoology basics, discussion boards, calendars, and rubrics. “Come and Go” sessions were offered during each planning period on Tuesday, October 27th. The November 5th sessions are repeat sessions for those unable to attend on October 27th. Please sign up according to the planning period that you would like to attend. Session will meet in A201.
See Eduphoria to register for the specific time you want to attend.
RtI Need to Knows
November 4, 2015 at 3:30 PM to November 4, 2015 at 4:30 PM, To be determined
The following credit is given when the course is completed:
Flex Hours, 1 Credits
Texas SBEC CPE, 1 Credits
Note: a survey is required at the end of this course to receive credit.
http://eduphoria.coppellisd.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=7321
Reader's Notebook
November 10, 2015 at 3:30 PM to November 10, 2015 at 4:30 PM, To be determined
The following credit is given when the course is completed:
Flex Hours, 1 Credits
Texas SBEC CPE, 1 Credits
Note: a survey is required at the end of this course to receive credit.
http://eduphoria.coppellisd.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=7273
Legos in the Classroom - Rescheduled
November 17, 2015 at 3:30 PM to November 17, 2015 at 4:30 PM
The following credit is given when the course is completed:
Flex Hours, 1 Credits
Texas SBEC CPE, 1 Credits
Note: a survey is required at the end of this course to receive credit.
http://eduphoria.coppellisd.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=7320