Elementary Math Update
December 2015
In this issue...
- NCDPI Updates
- Testing Updates (Cycle Assessments and more)
- Tidbits from the "twitosphere"
- Problems of the Month
- Professional Development Update
NCDPI Updates
Testing Updates and Notices
Cycle assessments are constantly being revised and edited. Many eyes look at the assessments yet many mistakes are missed. As we find them we update the assessments. We try not to make any changes after a test is scheduled to start. Cycle 3 assessments are not due to be given until January. Some schools have taken Cycle 3 assessments for pre-assessment data. This is only an option for Non-Beacon schools. The tests were recently edited for errors and updated. One test had to be recopied and renamed as a result of the errors. This will impact schools who have taken the assessment already. Please know that the Cycle 3 assessments may have different names and numbers. An updated spreadsheet and PDFs can be found using this link:
The NCDPI mid-year assessments for k-2 are posted and available for all schools. These assessments:
- are a great source of data around k-2 progress
- will take time to analyze
- are not mandatory
- may be used in the place of cycle 3 assessments
- have about 10 tasks
- must be printed by the school
What's happening on Twitter!
How do we get this students to reason about numbers and develop some "sense" of the numbers?
How do I engage students who already feel like they know the answer?
Why must you show your work if you already know the answer?
What have you seen lately that I could use in my classroom?
Schools to watch
Schools to watch:
Being a school to watch is not about perfection. It's about trying strategies and being willing to work through the hiccups together as a staff. Smithfield and Devonshire are both doing this work. I find both sites to be refreshing examples of practices in progress, which is just what teachers and facilitators need. Sometimes seeing "perfection" makes strategies harder to grasp.
Number Talks
I was recently invited to come see Kindergartners working on Number Talks at Smithfield Elementary. If you have teacher who want to ask another teacher about how to get started with such young children you should call Smithfield.AMC Data and Stations
Devonshire's grade 1 teachers are taking AMC on as a grade level. They have embraced personalized learning and have some really good ideas cooking. It's a work in progress but they each have unique ways for developing independence, monitoring student progress and running a classroom with many things going on at once. I would call Devonshire if you want to see AMC up and running.
Are you a school to watch? Invite me out so I can share with the district some of the great practices going on at your sites!
Where can we find good problems?
Congratulations Rebekah!
Professional Development Opportunities
Math Leadership Conference 2016: January 25th
- Interventions for addition and subtraction***
- Attacking multi-step problems
- Extending learning without leaving the grade level content
- Building fluency with in 5/10 and 20 for grades k-2
- Using AMC in personalized learning
- How to teach division to 4th and 5th graders
- How to teach multiplying and dividing decimals to 5th graders
- How to teach multiplying fractions to 4th and 5th graders
- Interventions for place value***
- Using ten frames to build fluency
- Do the Math Implementation
- Implementing Number Talks
- Using mentor text to teach major math concepts
- Math for teachers: Understanding the addition & subtraction I teach
- Math for teachers: Understanding the multiplication & division I teach
- Math for teachers: Understanding the fractions I teach
- Unpacking word problems using literacy strategies
A great video and teaching practice for math class!
inside mathematics: Creating a Culture of resilience in math
Please forward questions to us at:
Email: k.turner@cms.k12.nc.us
Website: elementarymathematics.org
Phone: 9803432792
Twitter: @kanekaturner