FHSD Elem Math/Science Updates
December 20, 2017
Upcoming Dates to Note
November 29-December 22: 2nd through 5th Grade Math Mid-Year Benchmark
December 13-21: Grade 1 Topic 6 Math Performance Task
December 21: early release/last day before Christmas Break
January 3: meeting/work day
January 4: students' first day back
January 10-19: Grade 3 Topic 8 Math Performance Task
January 15: NO SCHOOL - MLK Jr Day
January 18-25: Grade 4 Math Topic 10 Performance Task
Elementary Assessment Calendar At-A-Glance Document:
Benchmark Date Extended
Articles of Interest
Productive Struggle
The traditional method of teaching math–showing students how to do a procedure, then assigning problems that require them to use that exact procedure—leads to adults who don't know how to approach problems that don't look like those in their math book. Former NCTM President, Cathy Seeley, describes an alternative teaching method (upside-down teaching) in which teachers give students a problem they may not know how to solve and have them work and discuss together to come up with a problem-solving approach and solution. Thus, students improve their problem-solving skills as they learn key math content.
Crystallizing Your Lesson Plan (in one sentence)
In this Cult of Pedagogy article, Norman Eng describes how he wrestled with the burden of writing full lesson plans every day, for every class, five days a week. “There’s no way to know what’ll happen Friday when so much changes on Monday,” he says. And who has time to write all those lesson plans in advance? After a while, he defaulted to jotting notes on what he wanted to teach each day of the week and amending his plans as needed.
Dr. Sherri Lorton
Email: sherri.lorton@fhsdschools.org
Location: Francis Howell High School, Missouri 94, Saint Charles, MO, United States
Phone: 636.851.5328
Twitter: @sherrilorton