Middle Grades Literacy
ELA and Reading for the Week of April 27th 2020
Featured in this month's newsletter
- We Appreciate You
- Reading: Achieve3000 LevelSet Post Assessment Information
- Digital English Course Updates
- DBQ Resources to check out
- #PascoCountySpeaks
- Current Pasco Literacy Job Openings
- Certification Exam Fees Waived
- What We're Reading and Watching
- Virtual Tweeting Challenge/Opportunity
- SEL Activities for April
- NIE
- Office Hours
If you have information or a highlight you'd like me to share in an upcoming newsletter (or you're interested in being a guest columnist!), don't hesitate to reach out via email.
Quote of the Week
“Trust me on this: There’s a good chance that, years from now, you will feel a bit sentimental for these weeks spent in social isolation. We’re built for challenging times. We are writing the stories we will tell our children and grandchildren. Driving down a suburban street waving to elementary school children may not have the historical gravity of landing on Omaha Beach or working on a wartime assembly line. But when the children of the pandemic are old and gray, they will reminisce about the time their teachers paraded past their house because all the schools were closed. It will be a warm memory, even though so many people got sick, lost their jobs, and were afraid. They don’t have the vocabulary today to describe it, but the lessons will stick and become clearer in the retelling. It’s about social cohesion, love and loyalty, and how good people step up when we need them to.”
Robert Pondiscio in “The Lessons That Last in the Time of Pandemic” in Education
Gadfly, April 8, 2020, https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/lessons-last-time-pandemic.Reading: Achieve3000 Upcoming Professional Development
We are excited to share some optional, live online Achieve3000® Professional Learning Sessions! We look forward to delivering top-quality professional learning customized to meet your academic goals. Please review the session details below and use the link within the session overview to register.
Date: 4/21/2020
Time: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Topic: Engaging Readers—Engaging Minds
Tools for Engaging with Text—Using the embedded tools to support close reading
Preparing for Your Session:
- Use this link to register prior to the session.
- After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar as well as an option to add this training to our personal calendar.
- One-on-one access to computers with internet connections is required.
Date: 4/22/2020
Time: 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
Topic: Student Self-efficacy: Using the My Lessons and the Student Lexile Tracker
Hattie’s Impact for self-efficacy is 0.92 – more than double the 0.40 of a year’s growth!
Preparing for Your Session:
- Use this link to register prior to the session.
- After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar as well as an option to add this training to our personal calendar.
- One-on-one access to computers with internet connections is required.
Date: 4/23/2020
Time: 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Topic: Data: Interpreting the Story & Next Steps
2 Key reports for monitoring progress and performance
Preparing for Your Session:
- Use this link to register prior to the session.
- After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar as well as an option to add this training to our personal calendar.
- One-on-one access to computers with internet connections is required.
We look forward to working with you to accelerate learning for all students!
Reading: Achieve3000 Tips and Resources
DBQ's are here for all until July 1st!
We have access to DBQ online until July 1st. You might have seen the DBQ icon pop up on your myPascoConnect dashboard. You can feel free to peruse the resources by logging in as you normally do to Microsoft365. This is an optional resource that we wanted to make available. Feel free to use it as you plan enrichment activities or begin planning forward.
Getting Started Resources
Student Instructions for DBQ Online (We've attached a PDF copy of this, along with an instructor Getting Started Guide.)
Webinars
We are currently doing daily webinars. Here is a link to sign up.
Below are the instructions for how you and your students will log into DBQ Online. You will be using your district's Classlink/Launchpad portal to login.
Your district's Classlink/Launchpad URL is: https://mypascoconnect.pasco.k12.fl.us
(Bookmark this for later and send to your students!)Now you're ready to set up classes and create assignments. Click the link to watch a 5-minute video to learn how to get started with DBQ Online.
We are currently doing daily webinars. Here is a link to sign up.
Certification Exam Fees Waived
The Department of Education has waived testing fees for exams at this time. The Department of Human Resources and Educator Quality wanted to share the below information from the testing website. We encourage anyone needing or interested in taking an exam take advantage of this waiver. You will need to use the code FTCESpring2020. Dates are filling up fast so be sure to register as soon as possible if you need to take an exam.
Effective April 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE) candidates may register for FTCE exams free of charge. This offer applies to all examinations provided for in State Board Rule 6A – 4.0021, Florida Administrative Code. Vouchers will remain valid for up to one year from the date of registration. However, test site availability through April 16th, 2020 is currently limited due to COVID-19-related closures in Florida and nationally due to federal and local safety guidelines.
As testing sites open, Florida examinees will be scheduled for testing on a first-come, first-served basis. Beginning April 1, 2020, you may visit www.fl.nesinc.com to register for free examinations through midnight, July 31, 2020. Please note that any FTCE registrations made prior to April 1, 2020 are subject to current fees, however, examinees who have paid these fees may cancel registrations up to 24 hours prior to their scheduled test time and receive a full refund.
For more information regarding the temporary fee waiver for FTCE exams, visit the FTCE fee waiver FAQs page.
Update: TEDx Pasco County Schools
TEDxPascoCountySchools Update:
As you know, our sixth annual TEDx Pasco County Schools Event was scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 2, 2020 at the Center for the Arts at River Ridge. Since Governor DeSantis has issued a statewide safer at home order and schools are currently scheduled to remain closed through May 1st, we have made the decision to cancel our local event. Our first priority is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students and their families. As a result, we canceled our TEDx license for this year, so we will need to notify students that were selected to represent their school in this showcase of speeches. Due to TEDx rules and regulations, we are prohibited to use the TEDx or TEDxPascoCountySchools logo in any publication of student speeches on any online platform (including social media platforms).
We will communicate additional strategies and ways for our students to have their voices heard through a new forum, using #PascoStudentsSpeak and will keep the topic, “A Change You Want to See in the World,” so students that have already prepared can participate. Please be on the lookout for additional information next week.
What We're Reading and Watching
Doug Fisher Introduces, "30 Days To Improve Instruction"
Check out this video on engaging students in Collaborative Conversations in the classroom
Tim Shanahan doesn't miss a beat with answering all kinds of literacy questions
If you Tweet something out about Literacy and the message Tim Shanahan is sharing in this photo you will receive a virtual prize! Be sure to include #PascoLiteracy or @herncas22 or @TressaLima
Tips and Best Practices for Virtual Learning
SEL Activities for April
SEL/Compassionate Schools
Hello teachers! Here is a great article that gives 4 tips for teachers who are shifting to distance learning. Our SEL team is holding virtual office hours for anybody who would like to join. They are:
Mondays 1:00-2:00 https://zoom.us/j/487197439
Wednesdays 10:00-11:00 https://zoom.us/j/610730998
Thursdays 2:00-3:00 https://zoom.us/j/278267800
Please feel free to join us during any of the sessions to chat, check in, or if we can provide you support in any other way. As always, if you need us outside of those hours, just drop us an email. We’re here to support you!
Gradebook Tips Sheet
Included here Gradebook Pro Tips.pdf are some helpful tips to assist you in as you grade and respond to student learning.
Focus for the Week: Compassion, Grace and Flexibility
As we move in to week three of Distance Learning there are so many lessons we have all learned through this experience. Most importantly, we have learned that the human connection is more important than ever and that each of us faces different circumstances and situations during this time. While it is incredibly important that our students continue to pursue high levels of learning at all times, we also realize and recognize that working with students in this manner is very different and takes a lot of adjustment and getting used to. We trust you to make decisions that work best for you and your students. We trust students and families to prioritize learning time, subjects and assignments based on what is manageable and feasible. Included in this week's newsletter you will see additional information on what Compassion, Grace and Flexibility mean in Pasco County Schools during this time. Please reach out if you need assistance, we are here for you!
Academic Integrity
Regrettably, some students will make a poor decision to submit work that does not reflect their original thoughts and understanding of the course content. Plagiarism and cheating may take several forms, and teachers can use measures (including Unicheck, a plagiarism detection software) to identify work that has been published or submitted before. Subsequent violations will adhere to the Pasco County Schools Student Code of Conduct. Please consult your administration.
Contact Us
Cassie Hernandez
Literacy 6-8
Email: crhernan@pasco.k12.fl.us
Twitter: @herncas22
Tressa Lima
Literacy 9-12
Email: tlima@pasco.k12.fl.us
Twitter: @TressaLima