EMIS Instructional Buzz
January Edition
In this Edition:
Our MPowerment strategy of the month, details about our Instructional strategy contest going on now through the end of January, and some cool new tools! Let me know if you have questions! Have a great month!
Upcoming Dates
January 15: No School
January 17: ELA EOQ's
January 18: Math EOQ's
January 22: Required Teacher Workday with District PD
M-Powerment Strategy of the Month: M-5: Differentiation & Personalization
- Use guided reading and math groups and strategies
- Provide lesson content in multiple modes
- Survey students to determine their learning styles and plan lessons/groups based on results
- Use digital resources that personalize instruction (TenMarks, Newsela, iReady, etc.)
- Incorporate elements of choice and student voice in learning activities
- Differentiate by content, process, product by readiness, level, interest
- Regroup frequently to meet individual needs
- Collaborate with parents to get to know a student's preferred and successful learning methods
- Use choice boards for projects and assignments
- Incorporate school specialists and instructional assistants to provide more 1:1 learning
- Use stations and small groups to allow for more choice
- Follow and understand IEPs to provide scaffolded support for learners
- Provide tiered instructional resources (leveled readings, Blendspaces with different resources, etc.)
- Plan enrichment and early finisher activities
NewsELA: Updates
There is a group of ancient civilization articles perfect for 6th graders. Check out the link here. Also, check out the new feature, Powerwords, here.
Google Sites
Now supports HTML embed codes! Click here for details.
Google Expeditions
Want to take your kids on a virtual field trip? We have some Google Expedition kits now available within the district. Check out the list of available expeditions here and let me know if you want to schedule one!
PlayPosit Chrome Extension
You can now add on a Playposit Chrome extension that allows you to grab a video from Discovery, Learnzillion, Youtube, or anywhere else and send it straight to Playposit making it even easier to utilize this product. Check it out!
12 Days of Strategies Contest
Before Christmas, I shared 12 new strategies in our 12 Days of Christmas. Each time you use one between NOW and January 31, note it here, and you will be entered to win an amazing Rocketbook Notebook (click here to see a quick video about why you need one)! Good luck!
New Macbooks (Students and Teachers)
As per Dr. Smith's email, we will be doing a Refresh of all the MacBook Airs across the district -- THIS MEANS YOUR MACHINE!!!
To prepare for this transition, we need to prepare ourselves by backing up files to move to the new machines. Please start backing up your files now to save time for us later.
Google Drive / iCloud
Google Drive - Free, but files need to be uploaded as Word/PPT/Excel Files to be able to be retrieved
Flash Drive
Portable Hard Drive
Homework Gap
This video is a great example of why we do what we do here in Mooresville with technology. Check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqkAlwGsxwE&feature=youtu.be