Alice ISD ~ ISC GAZETTE
Instructional Support Center - January 2016
This Month's Gazette
Please read and take note of upcoming dates and videos and articles you may want to revisit.
Most importantly, remember that as we go into this spring semester, EACH day is important and EACH day is a new opportunity for new learning and a fresh start.
You are appreciated!
Why is attendance so important?
Every school day counts in a child's academic life...
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, a missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. In this era of increased accountability for states, districts, and schools, the connection between student attendance and learning is being studied more than ever before. As a result, education agencies are asked with increasing frequency to report attendance data in a standard manner to allow comparisons across organizations.
The primary rationale for high-quality attendance data is the relationship between student attendance and student achievement. Teacher effectiveness is the strongest school-related determinant of student success, but chronic student absence reduces even the best teacher's ability to provide learning opportunities. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear early in a child's school career. A recent study, A National Portrait of Chronic Absenteeism in the Early Grades, looked at young children and found absenteeism in kindergarten was associated with negative first grade outcomes such as greater absenteeism in subsequent years and lower achievement in reading, math, and general knowledge.
Poor attendance has serious implications for later outcomes as well. High school dropouts have been found to exhibit a history of negative behaviors, including high levels of absenteeism throughout their childhood, at higher rates than high school graduates, states a study completed by Arizona State University. These differences in absentee rates were observed as early as kindergarten, and students who eventually dropped out of high school missed significantly more days of school in first grade than their peers who graduated from high school. In eighth grade, this pattern was even more apparent and, by ninth grade, attendance was shown to be a key indicator significantly correlated with high school graduation.
Please send your children to school every day.
IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION FOR UP AND COMING ALICE HIGH SCHOOL COYOTES - CLASS OF 2020!
February 18 - Alice High School Academic & CTE Showcase for students in Grades 8 & 9 at Alice High School Auditorium 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Come by and meet the Alice High School Faculty, Staff and Administration! We will share information about choosing Endorsements and CTE Pathways!
February 19 - WAMS Club/Fair Day at William Adams Middle School 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
March 3 - CTE Expo/Tour for 8th Grade Students 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Students will tour the CTE classrooms to familiarize themselves with CTE Pathways and Course Offerings
8th Grade Schedule Mania Begins in March! Welcome to Alice High School Class of 2020!
This year 8th Grade Schedule Mania will be held at Alice High School! Parents and students will work together on next year’s course selection! Join us! Let’s make this the BEST Schedule Mania ever! Let’s meet in the Activity Center at Alice High School! Students are assigned by Last Name:
March 8 (A-Garcia) 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Alice High School
March 10 (Garibay-M) 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Alice High School
March 22 (N-Z) 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Alice High School
March 24 - Make Up Session 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Alice High School
Important Math Dates!
*mCLASS window for grades K and 1 will close Feb. 16
*Math Benchmark Gr. 3 - Alg. 1 take place Feb. 8
*Curriculum Rollouts:
- Feb. 16: Grade 6 and Grade 7
- Feb. 17: Grade 5 and Grade 8, Algebra 1
- Feb. 18: Grade 4
- Feb. 19: Grade 3
- Feb. 22: Grade 2
- Feb. 23: Grade 1
- Feb. 24: Kinder (half-day)
Multiplication Progression
Video link: https://vimeo.com/149428217
I saw this on a website. The writer had these take-aways:
- Stop stealing the opportunity to let students use concrete tools!
- Do not rush to the traditional algorithm (the way we learned).
- Let students EXPLORE! Too often teachers rush in to give answers instead of letting students engage in productive struggle!
3 Steps to Learn Math
- Concrete - Use of tools (aka manipulatives)
- Representational - Drawings and pictures
- Abstract - Symbols and numbers
Making Sense of Math Parent Newsletter
Videos to Help Class Communication
Just How DOES the Teen Brain Work?
Teach Like a Champion: New Teacher Book Study Session 3
Thursday, Feb 4, 2016, 04:30 PM
Dubose Intermediate School, Alice, TX, United States
Top Picks of Chapters 1 & 2 of Teach Like a Champion
Social Studies Teachers use a Powerful Tool for Interaction & Collaboration!
Social Studies teachers in grades 5th through 8th have participated in several Google+ Hangout vertical planning sessions to video chat about effective teaching strategies, curriculum content, and lesson planning.
Google+ Hangout is a powerful tool that enhances collaboration and increases efficiency by saving time and extending when teachers can meet. Teachers have the opportunity to collaborate with each other, receive feedback, and most importantly praise, encourage and support each other. During the sessions, teachers compare strategies and discuss the ones that have been most effective in their classrooms, have conversations about setting high academic expectations and discuss how to structure and deliver the curriculum. In addition, the "hangouts" allow teachers to share their screens and create an interactive platform to help communicate key points, share lesson documents, videos, and other instructional activities.
Google Hangout+ is an excellent training tool that allows teachers to have an open forum to discuss "best instructional practices", and to share out their teaching experiences. It also helps create bonds of trust and teamwork. The professional and honest conversations, and the trust and unity built by the group during the sessions can help bring incredible results in classrooms.
Vertical "Hangout" Planning Time!
REVISED Upcoming Science Planning Dates
February 23, 2016- Bio
March 8, 2016- Bio
March 9, 2016- 8th
March 10, 2016- 5th (STAAR/Intervention)
Multisensory Strategies for Science Vocabulary (article by: Julie Husty)
All students can benefit when science content vocabulary instruction includes a sustained, context embedded, and multisensory approach.
Techniques:
Windowpanes:
A windowpane is a graphic organizer similar to an actual windowpane with equally divided sections that is typically used to introduce new vocabulary, organize information with key points, or describe a process. It may be used throughout a unit of study or as a summative assessment.
Students are given a piece of paper divided into eight squares and asked to write the vocabulary words for example, matter, solid, liquid, and gas in four of the squares.
Next, students draw their own pictorial representation of what each word means to them before writing their own definition. Students may write “has a definite shape” for a solid and draw a cube, write “liquids can change shape” and draw a picture of water, and write “gas can be everywhere” and draw a picture of a floating balloon. Next, the teacher encourages students to discuss and view one another’s pictorial representations and definitions. This ongoing collaborative process supports student adjustments and creates a better product.
Bag-and-Tag Word Wall
Many elementary classrooms have word walls displaying vocabulary students have learned in class. To support vocabulary development in science, an interactive science word wall can be developed—the bag-and-tag word wall—that combines the use of semantic maps and kit inventory techniques.
Semantic maps are graphic organizers that help students identify important ideas and how those ideas fit together. They visually showcase relationships and may also be referred
to as a web or concept map. Kit inventory techniques emphasize vocabulary development, oral language practice, and revealing prior knowledge about the topic.
A bag-and-tag word wall is a way to present vocabulary to students while providing an ongoing visual representation that can also be touched and felt. The word wall includes a visual representation of the word (in a bag) and a vocabulary label (a tag) to accompany
it. Vocabulary definitions are optional.
Characteristics of Effective Science Lessons
- Resources available contribute to accomplishing the purpose of the instruction.
- Reflects careful planning and organization.
- Strategies and activities reflect attention to students’
- Activating prior knowledge/making connections
- Strategies and activities reflect attention to issues of access, equity, and diversity.
- Incorporates tasks, roles, and interactions consistent with investigative science.
- Encourages collaboration among students.
- Provides adequate time and structure for sense-making.
- Provides adequate time and structure for wrap-up. (TPO reflection)
TLI Update
The TSLP online course for the Spring Semester will begin the week of February 15th. Until then, CBLTs are meeting to continue the work toward full implementation in the Assessment section. The Implementation plan template should be updated each time chages are made. Teams were asked to keep their minutes each week and continue to send the sign in sheets to Dina Hinojosa. Minutes will be collected at the EOY data meeting.
Middle-of-Year testing windows have opened!
- 1st and 2nd grade TPRI testing January 8 – January 22
- Kinder TPRI testing January 18-29
- 3rd – 6th grade DIBELS next testing January 25 – February 12
- PK Circle testing February 1 – 12
- Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark – February 1-29 (MOY is not required for grades 5-8 unless campus needs more data since BOY)
Reading+
Most students have been using the program about five months now. To assess
student performance on the program, now is a good time to administer an InSight
Assessment (benchmark 2). We will leave it up to the campus principal as to how
and when they want to do this. Remember that the assessment can be divided into 2
or more administrations as it bookmarks the students’ progress, but it’s
recommended you allow 50 minutes at the most. The document
(https://learncdn.readingplus.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/How-to-Assign-
InSight-Benchmark-Assessment.pdf) will give you step by step directions on how to
assign the assessment.
Anchor Charts for Learning Loops
More Examples
Spectacular Saturday Rocks the House!
World-class innovators and critical thinkers came together to participate in Destination Imagination (DI) Spectacular Saturday. Approximately 600 students from surrounding areas packed the house at William Adams Middle School on January 17, 2016 to attend the event hosted by Alice ISD.
Imagination and ingenuity combined during DI Spectacular Saturday. Teams practiced Instant Challenges to prepare for the academic regional competition on February 27 at Veterans Memorial High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. Students had to imagine, create and develop solutions to difficult tasks as a group within a specific time limit. Instant Challenges incorporate performance-based challenges, task-based challenges, or a combination of the two. DI fosters students’ curiosity, courage and creativity as students work together as a team to solve complex problems.
DI is a leading-edge organization dedicated to teaching participants the essential skills of creativity, teamwork, and problem solving.
See a DI Instant Challenge in Action!
Exploration, Encounter & Exchange in History Campus Fair Winners
Students selected a historical topic related to the annual theme (Exploration, Encounter & Exchange in History), and then conducted primary and secondary research. Students looked at various material from libraries, archives and museums, many conducted oral history interviews, and visited historic sites. They have analyzed and interpreted their sources, and have drawn a conclusion about the significance of their topic. Students presented their work in one of five ways: as a paper, an exhibit, a performance, a documentary, or a website.
Jr. Division History Fair Winners (Gr. 6-8)
Senior Division History Fair Winners (9th - 12th)
NHD Exhibit Category
NHD Project Evaluators
Ms. Becky Lutzke, WAMS
Ms. Nelda Perez, External Community Evaluator
NHD Performance Category
Cosmetology Students Helped Their JROTC Classmates Prepare for the Military Ball Friday, January 22
AF JROTC Unit Evaluation
Curriculum Project
District teachers shared some "take-aways" from the session:
- Use more pair-shares
- Work on calling on more students during class (not just the same ones)
- Discouraging blurts
- Work on creating lessons with blended modalities (Visual, Oral, Kinesthetic)
He will be back on Feb. 22nd to meet again. In the meantime, ALL district teachers are reminded that they have access to videos through curriculumprojectlms.com
Setting Goals
Group Work
Addressing the Group
Need a Random Name Selector...Click the links below!
Alice Independent School District - Instructional Support Center
Contributors:
Dr. Grace Everett
Velma Soliz-Garcia
Anna Holmgreen
Erika Vasquez
Elida De Leon
Marta Salazar
Dina Hinojosa
Ric Gonzalez
Gracie Garcia
Dr. Alma Garcia
Email: velma.solizgarcia@aliceisd.net
Website: aliceisd.net
Location: 2 Coyote Trail, Alice, TX, United States
Phone: (361)664-0981
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alice-Independent-School-District-555189921231282/?ref=page_internal
Twitter: @aliceisd