Spotlight on Strategies
Robert Marzano’s research supports the use of non-linguistic representations to bolster student comprehension of material. An example of this is time-sequence patterns, which give students a chance to organize events in a specific order.
Putting events in a sequence is also an important skill that students will use throughout their lives. Get in Line helps students understand the order in which events happen, which will assist in long-term retention of the information.
Watch the video below to see the strategy in action or download the directions here.
Create Digital Portfolios Using SeeSaw
Seesaw empowers students of any age to independently document what they are learning at school. Students capture learning with photos and videos of their work, or by adding digital creations. When students add to their Seesaw journal, content is uploaded, organized by student, and immediately accessible to teachers from any device.
Seesaw makes it easy for students and teachers to review progress over time and demonstrate growth. Teachers can browse work from the entire class, or for a single student and use folders to organize work by subject area or project. Items can be flagged for follow up or to review at parent-teacher conferences.
Student work can be shared with classmates, parents, or published to a class blog. Seesaw gives students a real audience for their work and offers parents a personalized window into their child's learning.
With support for QR code sign in for younger learners and email/Google account sign in for older students, Seesaw works in any K-12 classroom.
Visit the website, teacher resources page or watch the short video below for more information.
ImagineNation Matters
ImagineNation Matters "virtual tour" modules are like storybooks come to life, in which upper elementary students can explore the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, experience the human drama of the Underground Railroad, or traverse the history of Mackinac Island. Each module is in the form of a story that involves protagonists of the approximate age of the student participants.
As the students turn the pages of their virtual storybook, they are prompted with questions to consider. The students' comments are responded to by University of Michigan student mentors, who speak in the voices of the characters in the stories. These mentored conversations continue throughout the tour, offering students a chance to develop writing and research skills while they experience important moments in our state's history (and have fun, too!)
Click here to find out more about the ImagineNation Matters story modules for 2015. You'll also find descriptive information about each module, including a downloadable document that lists relevant Michigan curricular standards and benchmarks, and directions on how to view the actual modules and the teacher resources.
M-STEP Math Updates
The Equation Builder used last year in the Spring 2015 online administration of the M-STEP mathematics test has been replaced with a new and improved Keypad Input. The Keypad Input allows for the entry of numbers, expressions, equations, etc., but does not perform any actual computations. Students can also enter numbers using their keyboard, but alpha characters cannot be entered.
- The Keypad Input buttons will vary according to required components of an item. Any necessary variable will be included on the Keypad.
- Computations are to be performed using the online calculator associated with items that are calculator-permitted.
- Some items will have both the Keypad Input and a calculator. Other items will have either the Keypad Input or the calculator. Some items will have neither.
Grades 6–8 have both non-calculator and calculator-permitted items. The mathematics Sample Items Sets are partitioned into sections to reflect this. The calculator used by students in grade 6 is a basic calculator, while students in grades 7 and 8 use a scientific calculator.
Students in grades 3–5 are not permitted to use a calculator on any portion of the mathematics test.