Diary of Dawson -Staff Edition
November 2 Theme: What is Universal Design for Learning?
Dawson Wrap Weekly Wrap Up:
I want to thank you for all SIP committee notes. I plan on spending time this weekend reviewing them and catching up on all your hard work last year. As the plan for our next three-year SIP, I am asking you to think about if these goals need to be continued/updated and what new goal (s) we could support, as SIMCO will begin this process in January.
Kevin was thrilled with the 10 Top Picks wall and breakfast on Monday. I want to thank Carrie for making the plaque for this special dedication. The students were very excited to "clap" him out on Wednesday. What a fantastic community we have here at Dawson.
Family math night was a huge success! The children and parents were engaged throughout the night and I heard many complaints from parents. Thanks to everyone for making this annual tradition meaningful. A special thank you to Lori for organizing this night and the PTA for their monetary donation. I will post pictures in my parent Diary of Dawson November Edition which will be sent out on Monday.
Sincerely,
Melissa
Dawson Dates:
- 11/6 - District Wide PD - I will update you as soon as I get timely information.
- 11/6 - PTA Meeting 7:00 in the cafe
- 11/9 - Report Card Portal Opens up to families
- 11/12 - No school
- 11/13 - Staff Meeting in the Art room (agenda will out on 11/9)
- 11/13 - Picture Retakes
- 11/14 - SIMCO from 4-5 in the Art room
- 11/15 - High Assembly - Respect and Veterans Day @ 2:30 in the gym
Universal Design of Learning vs. Differentiated Learning
Fast forward to today and think about how this idea of universally designing education and learning can benefit every kind of learner. But exactly is UDL? Check out this short video clip (2 minutes) of Dr. Katie Novak, UDL guru, giving a simple explanation. Dr. Novak will be providing PD to all Holden elementary schools during the March PD here at Dawson. We will get her book and provide opportunities for additional PD online.
Webinar: One hour in depth look at UDL
Assessment Resources
Plicker: This can be used as a formative assessment tool. Students hold up unique answer cards and the iPad can scan answers quickly and collect the data,
Bright Loop: record keeping website, create, store and review anecdotal records from conferences and small group lessons. Click on the link to view how it works!
Useful websites:
Montana AGATE, this site provides news and training on gifted and talented education for the state of Montana.
Dr. Carol Dweck, this website gives more information on the differences between a growth or a fixed mindset. It has resources for parents, teachers, coaches, and more about how to build a growth mindset in students.
Ian Byrd is a leading innovator on gifted education. He has a wonderful webpage with resources and tips on how to add complexity to tasks to challenge all students. He also has resources on introversion and how it can affect many of your gifted students.
National Association for Gifted Children has many resources for parents, administrators, teachers, and more on the myths of gifted education, and how to teach to high potential.
Read Works, this website has Common Core supported reading passages for K-8 reading. Search by topic, grade level, skill, or reading strategies. This can be used to find appropriate reading passages for your higher level readers.
K-5 Math Teaching Resources: This site provides an extensive collection of FREE resources, math games, and hands-on math activities that are aligned with the Common Core. They include math printables that can be utilized in centers, small groups, or whole group.
Daily 5 Literacy Block manage student chosen literacy centers while meeting with small groups and individual students.
Technology for Engagement and Differentiation
Flipgrid: Flipgrid is an interactive online video platform.
KidRex: KidRex is a kid-friendly search engine! Ideal for reports and projects, kids can search this site to find appropriate websites for their report!
PBS Learning Media: free content website, K-12, video, interactive games, lessons, free
Popplet app and website for creating graphic organizers. Students can draw, use text and pictures to organize their thoughts.
Class Dojo: classroom management website and app, reward behavior using avatars plus print or e-mail reports for parents.
Toontastic: the basic level of the story making app is free. Students choose characters and set up a story via a story arc to create an engaging movie. Excellent for teaching how to utilize narrative writing! Upgrade to get additional settings and characters!
Tellagami: students create a Gami to perform. Limited to your imagination, students can have the Gami give a weather report, read a story, and more. This website provides a bunch of ideas about how the Tellagami app can be used in your classroom (free last I checked).
Nearpod: interactive presentation website, import slides from PowerPoint or Google Slides, add interactive elements such as quizzes, polls or drawing activities, share with mobile devices, free with paid upgrade options.