Wilson Ranger Post
February 22, 2015
...And that is the other side of the Story...
Have you ever had one of those moments…? Oh, I am sure that you have. You are standing there minding your own business, being the wonderful teacher that you were hired to be. And then it happens. You see a parent walking quite briskly headed straight for you. She seems to have a scowl on her face but you can’t make out who she is. You think..uh oh…somebody is u p s e t! It is at that moment that you realize…she is one of your parents. You begin to brace yourself for a shouting angry parent. The first words from her mouth are loud, accusatory, defensive and even obscene. You finally convince her to take the conversation to a more private setting. You try to explain what is going on with her child, but…”what do you mean he isn’t turning in his work? What do you mean he may not understand? what do you mean he can’t seem to focus? What do you mean he threw the first punch?” It seems that no matter how you try to comfort or reassure the parent, she still seems to be so emotionally charged that the meeting is not fruitful.
So how can we win in this scenarios? Well, I may not be able to give you the slick words to turn that ship around but I would like to offer some perspective. Just understanding another's perspective or knowing background details may very well alter the direction of your conversation. In such instances as the situation describe previously, the parent is emotionally charged because that take it personally. You may think, “well good, it is personal, their children should be personal, they should take it seriously.” What I mean to say is that they take it personally in the sense that they feel the child’s behavior, ability, output, and even social standing is a reflection of their behavior, ability, output, and social standing. If they child is not smart then obviously the parent is not as well…if the child can’t interact with others then obviously the parent must be socially awkward…if the behavior is poor then the parent is lacking in parenting skills. It is precisely in these situations the mindset of many parents shifts from the child to themselves. Oh it may feel as though they are protecting their child, however, underneath that boisterous exterior is a human seeking approval themselves through their child.
So what? What can we do with this info? First, I would like you to simply understand that perhaps parent is frustrated with you and the child, but consider that perhaps they too are disappointed themselves in how their child is behaving even though they may not have direct impact on the child’s decisions. You may even consider reassuring them and thanking them for all their hard work as a parent. Remind them that this is a partnership…childhood can be tough…how great it is that her child can learn these lessons now while the cost is small and there is a team of support available. I can’t promise that this will solve the issue alone, but at least you will then be at a place to collaborate and function as a team in the best interest of the learner.
Spice Up Your Spelling Homework from Renee and Christina
*Word ladders that connect to the spelling rule. (ea pattern)
team
cream
dream
meat
seat
read
bead
*Use Scrabble tiles to spell your words.
*Trace your spelling words with your finger in sand or shaving cream.
*Listen to the word, echoes the word, spells the word orally naming letters in succession, writes the word naming each letter, reads the word he wrote.
*Popsicle Stick Spelling – write each sound on a Popsicle stick say break word apart on each Popsicle stick then spell word. Example: b on one stick, oa on one stick, and t on last stick. (You can do this based on the rule you are teaching)
*Sky Writing spelling words – learners will hold out their dominant arm and cross the other over it and touch shoulder. Spell words in the air.
*Create a crossword puzzle using the words.
*Use graph paper or go to www.puzzlemaker.com to create a word search using all of your spelling words. Find the hidden words.
*Have a parent scramble your spelling words. The learner unscrambles them.
*Write each word twice on 2 small cards and play Memory Match with a partner. After making a match, write the word.
Visit www.spellingcity.com
*Choose a way to sort your words.
*Write each word once. See how many small words you can find within each spelling word.
*Write each of your spelling words. Next to each word write a rhyming word. Your rhyming words can be nonsense words, but make them follow the same spelling pattern.
Texas Gateway Announced by the Commissioner of Education
Commissioner of Education Mike Morath announced the launch of the Texas Gateway (www.texasgateway.org), a free online resource library for educators and parents provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
The Texas Gateway not only builds upon the success of TEA’s online learning community Project Share but also expands access to resources—such as videos, interactives, formative assessments, professional development courses, and other classroom support materials—designed to strengthen classroom instruction to help every student succeed.
"The Texas Gateway reflects many months of work and collaboration with our educators who asked TEA for an avenue that promotes a Texas-specific approach to online resources," said Commissioner Morath. "And while teachers will no doubt find the resources on this site to be valuable tools, items found on the Texas Gateway are also available to parents, students, and all Texans at no cost."
Commissioner Morath noted that the Texas Gateway provides open access to instructional resources that align with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the state standards that describe what students should know and be able to do at every grade level. A majority of the current resources focus on middle school and high school subjects in English language arts and reading, math, science, and social studies. Each resource contains a lesson or series of lessons that introduce a new idea or skill and then give the learner opportunities to practice and apply what he or she has learned.
While Project Share relied heavily on the use of usernames and passwords, the Texas Gateway does not. Visitors to the Gateway are able to search and use resources by grade level, subject, TEKS, and keywords. Upon identifying resources that may be helpful in supporting students, parents and teachers can voluntarily create and manage personal accounts to save lists of resources. The saved lists can then be easily shared with other teachers, parents, and students.
Educators may also search and self-enroll in online professional development courses. Science Safety Training for High School and Career and Technical Education (CTE) 101 are the first two courses to go live in the new system. Other popular courses such as Science Safety Training for Middle School, Science Safety Training for Elementary School, professional development for CTE courses acceptable as math or science credits, and English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) Academies will go live during the spring semester. The self-paced courses allow educators to earn continuing professional education (CPE) credits as they complete interactive lessons designed specifically for Texas educators.
The list of resources and courses, which were developed in response to teacher feedback and requests, will continue to grow, and with the transition to the Texas Gateway, resources and courses will be easily shared with education service centers (ESCs) and districts through integration with local online learning solutions. Over the next few months, TEA will work with ESCs and school districts to share content and to gather feedback on future goals for the Texas Gateway.
Did I hear a Niner In There??? Are you calling from a Walkie Talkie???
RtI Reminders from Intervention Services
RtI2 Reminders:
- Elementary educators should be doing running records with learners in tier 2 and tier 3 on a regular basis.
- When giving an Istation assessment it should be in a quality testing environment (not out in the hall on a bean bag chair)
- Updated information and resources are being continually added to the RtI2 Folder in the Intervention Services-Public Google Folder.
Mathematics from Mary Kemper
Elementary Mathematics: Thank you to everyone promoting the Math City Challenge! Be sure to check out this week's one on the Math in a Minute newsletter:https://tackk.com/eb5p70?utm_campaign=Share&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email
4th Nine Weeks Stop Collaborate and Listen for grades 4 & 5 is March 1st. Please sign up in Eduphoria so the Coaches can be sure to have enough materials for you!http://eduphoria.coppellisd.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=7501
K-12 Mathematics: Mark your calendars for the next #CISDchat on Twitter when Mathematics takes over - March 1 (7:00-8:00 pm)!
Science with Linda Cook
Discovery Education trainers at elementary campuses for support with our digital text. Tentative date for Wilson is March 3rd.
Social Studies Scope and Sequence Documents
Please take the time to look through your grade level S&S and provide feedback here:
Kindergarten Feedback Form HERE
1st Grade Feedback Form HERE
2nd Grade Feedback Form HERE
3rd Grade Feedback Form HERE
4th Grade Feedback Form HERE
5th Grade Feedback Form HERE