Bronco Chronicles
Volume 17, Week 1/9/17 - 1/12/17
Welcome Back!
Gooood evening #Broncostrong Faculty and staff. The nineteenth week has been NICE! It feels great to be back at work with such great people and to get to interact with the kiddos once again. I hope everyone had a wonderfully blessed Christmas break because you deserved it.
We know the spring semester is chalked full of teaching the content at a feverish pace, testing (STAAR, TELPAS), UIL activities, the Valentine Dance, a possible field trip and even an awards ceremony, so put your game face on......IT IS SHOW TIME!
JAR OF AWESOME
1. Mr. Moore does a great job creating the announcements. He really is awesome and we appreciate him helping keep the campus "in the know"!
2. The BISD maintenance department is awesome. They have helped get so many areas in the school organized!
3. Shout out to Coach Walker for organizing her Acts of Kindness Project before Christmas Break....you ROCK!
How People Think and How They Can Think Better
Please watch this when you have time and email Mrs. Etzel the answer to question #1 and then chose question 2 or 3 and send her that answer as well.
1. What does the research suggest as to why it is harder to convert from a loss frame to a gain frame?
2. What from the video resonates with you in your private and professional life? Please explain.
3. How can the ideas from this video be applied to education and the pursuit of a school trying to create THE BEST SCHOOL EVER?
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR BEING HONEST AND FOR PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE IN A WAY THAT MIGHT MAKE YOU FEEL VULNERABLE. This feedback will help me grow as an administrator and my hope is that it will help you grow professionally and personally. With that said, our school will move in the right direction.
I will compile these answers, but your names will not be included. Throughout the semester, your feedback will be used to help this campus in its growth to serve the kids and the community we serve.
Upcoming Events / Dates to Remember
1. Martin Luther King Jr. Day - 1/16/17
2. CORE Value winners will be announced on 1/16 - please make sure your class watches to the announcements
3. School Board Meeting - 1/16/17 @ 6:30-----Let's show our school board how much we appreciate them!
4. CEIC (Campus Education Improvement Committee) Meeting - 1/19 @4pm.
5. Girls BBALL takes on Cisco at home - 1/19/17 beginning at 5:30
6. Boys/ BBALL @ Cisco - 1/19/17 beginning at 5:30
7. Inauguration Day - 1/20/17
Reminders and Important Information
1. GRADEBOOK CHANGES: if you have made a gradebook change this year, the Report of Incomplete Grade or Grade Change form must be filled out by the teacher, signed by me and kept on file. Sally has the forms. From this point forward, please fill this out first and have me sign it before entering the change into Skyward.
2. ALL CHROMEBOOK CARTS ARE READY TO GO!!!! Green - 8th, Blue - 7th and Red is split and first come first serve. I shared the instructions with you via Google Doc.
3. If you need help with creating your word walls, don't hesitate to ask.
WORD WALLS
• provide an approach to meaningful teaching of vocabulary
with an emphasis on student engagement and higher level
thinking skills;
• build vocabulary, thereby improving reading comprehension
and writing style;
• reinforce understanding of subject-specific terminology with a
focus on students internalizing key concepts;
• help students improve spelling and awareness of spelling
patterns;
• provide visual cues for students;
• encourage increased student independence when reading
and writing.
Word Walls in Math
A math word wall gives the students a
reference point of what is expected from the
question. Often students have a difficult time
deciphering the question. Once they know
what the question is asking they are more
likely able to perform the basic calculation.
Create a math word wall and select the words
suitable for the grade level you are teaching.
You may also wish to add words as you
explain each of the individual math key
words.
Science Word Wall
A word wall has many uses in the science
classroom. It is ideal for reinforcing vocabulary
and connections between concepts. In this article,
the author describes an interactive way to use the
word wall to create food webs. In addition, an
enrichment activity using the word wall as a game
that students play at the end of class is also
featured. Once students are comfortable with the
vocabulary introduced through the word wall,
they can engage in a culminating activity that
allows them to work in pairs to make as many
connections as possible among the words. You’ll
be amazed at how many different combinations
the groups develop and the various ways that the
webs evolve.
THE RESEARCH BEHIND THE INSRUCTIONAL STRATEGY / SCAFFOLD
"Students' comprehension will increase by 33 percentile points when vocabulary instruction focuses on specific words important to the content they are reading as opposed to words from high-frequency lists [teaching frequently-occurring words out of context. To illustrate, ... consider students A and B, who have been asked to read and understand new content. Student B, who has not received systematic vocabulary instruction, scores at the 50th percentile. Student A, who has received such instruction, scores at the 83rd percentile."
"In summary, the case for direct vocabulary instruction is strong. From a number of perspectives, the research indicates that wide reading probably is not sufficient in itself to ensure that students will develop the necessary vocabulary and consequently the necessary academic background knowledge to do well in school. In contrast, direct vocabulary instruction has an impressive track record of improving students' background knowledge and the comprehension of academic content."
Marzano, Robert J. Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement: Research on What Works in Schools. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2004. (pages 68 and 69) ISBN 0-87120-972-1