I-SS MS ELA Newsletter
May 5, 2017
Resources
NCWiseOwl
It's mission is to ensure that all of our public students have access to a collection of online resources for use in research projects and homework assignments, without regard to the economic status of their local school system. NCWiseOwl has three major strengths as an educational resource:
- Quality: NCWiseOwl's subscription databases provide access to articles from thousands of magazines, from online encyclopedias and reference sources, and from a variety of other sources that are only available to paying customers.
- Economy: By purchasing databases at the state level we are able to achieve an economy-of-scale that saves taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars over the cost of individual school systems purchasing the same resources.
- Safety: Using NCWiseOwl for online research places students in a safer, advertising-free environment with age-appropriate information and tools that assist students with the research process.
Whole-Class Conversations for Read-Aloud Closure From Choice Literacy
5 Ways to Engage Middle School Readers
From We Are Teachers
Offering more independence can help motivate reluctant readers in a big way. I’m a big proponent of student choice in the classroom. Kids have so few opportunities for autonomy in school—at least all the schools where I’ve worked—that any increase in sovereignty yields major payoff in terms of engagement and buy-in.Writing
Writing Papers and Research Reports the Google Way
@jmattmiller
6 Smart Ways To Organizing Writing Content
Following are six ways to do this effectively. If your students can understand and apply these organizational strategies, they will be far along the road to successful writing.
End of Year Activities Tips
Top 12 End of Year Activities-From Teacher Hub
Ah, the end of the year. Everyone’s tired and losing focus. Some tests are behind you (state tests, AP exams), some may be ahead of you, and probably no one – you or your students – is really at their best. So what’s a teacher to do? Choose a goal to make the last month of school an effective one. Here are some time-honored end of the year activities.
Goal: Review What We’ve Learned
You’ve got one last chance to review your material before exams (or the great mind-eraser of summer vacation).
Edutopia: 6 Engaging End-of-Year Projects
I don't know about your students, but so many of mine, coupled with Senioritis, were done after state testing. (The well had run dry, no blood from a turnip -- all those sayings applied!) With just a few precious weeks left in the school year, what do you do to keep the kids energized and on board with learning?
One thing I knew for sure when it came to my high school students: They had to feel as if they weren't actually doing work. (Yep, I had to trick them.)
Elena Aguilar: How to Stay Charged During the Final Weeks of School
Technology Tips
Flippity
8 Examples of Transforming Lessons Through the SAMR Cycle From Emerging Ed Tech
@EmergingEdTech
Examples of Applying the SAMR Model can Help Teachers Understand and Embrace it.
The SAMR Model for integrating technology into teaching, developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, has gained a good deal of exposure in recent years. “SAMR” is an acronym that stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. The SAMR model provides a technique for moving through degrees of technology adoption to find more meaningful uses of technology in teaching and move away from simply using “tech for tech’s sake”.
Professional Development Opportunity
Journalism Education Fellowship provides tuition-free, graduate-level course in teaching design
N.C. Scholastic Media Association will offer a short-term summer course for North Carolina journalism teachers and journalism/media advisers. Please help us spread the word.
Journalism teachers and publication/media advisers can receive three hours of graduate credit — free of charge. The course, "Teaching Design in the Secondary School," will be offered July 9-15. The course will be taught in the School of Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Current journalism teachers and publication/online media advisers -- and those who may soon find themselves teaching journalism -- are encouraged to apply.
NCSMA’s Journalism Education Fellowship Program allows teachers to enroll in a short-term summer course. N.C. journalism teachers and media advisers can apply for free in-state tuition, free lodging and free books on a first-come, first-served basis. (These fellowships are valued at $1,230 each.)
The course in teaching design will be taught by Professor Terence Oliver, visual communication faculty at UNC-CH.
NCSMA offers this free in-state tuition opportunity through its NCSMA Teacher Fellows Program. To inquire about fellowships covering tuition, residence hall accommodations and books, contact Monica Hill at 1-888-562-6276 or ncsma@unc.edu. Act soon. Fellowship application deadline is May 15.
For more information, go to ncsma.unc.edu
Expand Your Professional Learning Network
Eric Curtis
From Kim Busch, ELA Teacher at LMS
Control Alt Achieve-Transforming Education with Technology
I began following Eric Curts, Technology Integration Specialist, because of his work with special needs students and the awesome tips and adaptations he suggested for inclusion classes. His resources are great for any classroom or ability level and are curated in an easy to follow process
This is an example of a post from this week for ELA.
He also posts resources by subject area and updates them monthly.
*Google Slide Presentation with multiple resources and how they can be integrated into classes and content.
Caitlyn Tucker
Alice Keeler
Alice Keeler holds a Masters in Educational Media Design and Technology and is a Google Certified Teacher, New Media Consortium K12 Ambassador, Microsoft Innovative Educator and LEC Admin & Online and Blended certified educator. She is Co-Author of the books 50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom and 50 Things To Go Further With Google Classroom, A Student-Centered Approach.
Assessments
Edudemic: Every Teacher’s Guide to Assessment
Every Teacher's Guide to Assessment
Assessments 101
It’s not a stretch to say that assessment is a hot button issue in education; however, you’d be hard pressed to find an educator who doesn’t see the value in measuring student progress. Assessments themselves have been vilified, when, in fact, it’s why assessments are given and how the data is used that is really the issue.Quick Survey
Teacher Input Needed
Kelly Cooper and Sherrard Martin would like your input for next year about how I-SS can serve you as you teach students and attend professional development.
Please submit this survey by next Friday, May 5. (It's about 4 questions long, so it should only take you about 4 minutes, maximum!)
As always, please don't hesitate to contact any of the ELA/math coaches, Kelly or Sherrard if you need anything or we can answer any questions for you.
Thank you so much!