Elementary ENews
Issue 31/ March 2016
Blooming with Professional Development
In the article below, Does It Make a Difference? Evaluating Professional Development, Thomas Guskey presents five areas to think about as you set out PD expectations. It is a wonderful article about the purpose of the WHY teachers ultimately attend PD and what difference it can make...increased student achievement!
PD is...
PD is...
PD is...
Instructional Coaches
8:30-3:30 at various locations (be sure to check Eduphoria)
- May 17
Spring Point People
Spring Meeting Formats for All ~
Math - Kerise RIdinger @KERISE_RIDINGER
Think Though Math & Summer Math Academies
Think Through Math
Sarah Schapansky, is our new Instructional Coach with TTM. She is willing and ready to help and assist campuses in any way! Let me know if your campus is interested or are in need of a Think Though Math trainings for your 3rd - 5th grade teachers.
Summer Math Academies- Math Point People and Coaches will be receiving the link for the Academy application in early April. We are able to take 15 teachers per grade level to participate in the Math academies for this year. Please encourage teachers who are wanting to deepen their understanding of the “New” math standards to apply. Participants will be notified with a link to sign up for the summer course in by May 20th.
Academy Description:
During this four or five day intensive professional development for grades K-5 , teachers will experience conceptual development of math content specific to these grade levels. This will be done through use of models and manipulatives that will promote meaningful teaching and learning of mathematics. Teaching with the process standards in mind is focused on throughout the training to help students improve their mathematical understanding. The session will contain the tools of mathematics: manipulatives, verbal and written communication, problem solving, graphing, number sense, mental math, estimation, technology as appropriate, literature, and assessment. All work is based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. The areas covered include: Place Value, Operations of Whole Numbers and Rational Numbers, Fractions, Algebra Readiness, Geometry, Measurement and Data Analysis.
Summer Dates:
Kindergarten and 1st grade
*July 11th & July 12th
* One session in Fall 2016
* One session in Spring 2017
2nd grade
* July 12th, July 13th, July 14th
* One session in Fall 2016
* One session in Spring 2017
3rd grade
* July 12th, July 13th, July 14th
* One session in Fall 2016
* One session in Spring 2017
4th and 5th grade
* July 27th & July 28th
* One session in Fall 2016
* One session in Spring 2017SOCIAL STUDIES - STACIE NICKOLS @SNNICKOLS
Thinking Maps ~ SS Website ~ Engage eStudio
Thinking Maps
If you are interested in training your campus in Thinking Maps, please let me know. I am a trainer and would be happy to talk with you about the benefits for student learning that occur through the implementation of Thinking Maps in all content areas and in all grade levels. You can visit the website to learn more. http://thinkingmaps.com/
Elementary Social Studies Website
Please visit my site for information about Social Studies including some tips for using our Pearson digital resource: https://goo.gl/9rBMWw including how to assign material to students.
ELM campuses
Don’t forget about all of the fabulous resources in eStudio. For example click on this link to see all of the resources when you search “formative assessment”: http://engage2learn.org/estudio/search/resources/formative%20assessment
Check out these great examples of ELM boards from our recent ELM walks!
SCIENCE - MARIE HAYES @SCIENCEHAYES
Differentiation Training ~ Interactive Word Walls ~ Science Toolkit
Coming Soon – Save the Date
Differentiation Training at Converge!
Laurie Westphal, author of Differentiation in the Science Classroom, will be coming to Converge on June 22. Come discover how menus can be used to differentiate to meet student needs.
Interactive Word Walls – Vocabulary Planning
In our educational research, we have learned that vocabulary comprehension plays a large role in a student’s ability to more successfully process and understand content. In science, intentional vocabulary focus must be a partner to the conceptual learning and hands-on investigations that the students participate in during class. This is where interactive word walls can be a key component in the on-going learning and environment of the science classroom.
When the students themselves play a role in the development and use of the word wall they take ownership of those connections. We need to encourage the teachers to be intentional in the planning of these learning opportunities, especially in supporting the learning of our special education and ELL students.
I was fortunate to see a professor and creator of The Science Toolkit speak to exactly this and she was AMAZING! She has shared planning documents as well as specific ideas aligned to our science TEKS. Please share this information with your teams and know that Marie is also available to support in the development/planning as well. http://www.thesciencetoolkit.com
ELAR - MONA SAVAGE @MONA_RSAVAGE
DRA EOY ~ Istation ~ KinderScreener ~ Lit Institute ~ Literacy Cheers
Coming soon! May 6-20
- This includes administration of assessment and data input in Aware
- If you have any additional needs for your teachers or have questions about scores, please contact me
MISD Kinder Screener
MISD's Kindergarten Screener, administered each summer by campuses, has been uploaded into Forethought.
PLEASE NOTE: The Screener FAQ page is for teacher and administrator use only
Istation Celebration
As we celebration the decrease in Tier 3 across the district and in grade levels K-5. Please be sure to be dialing into the individual skills and percentages of students with regards to skills needing attention.
These low Tier 3 percentages are amazing to see and come from hard work, but we want to be sure to focus on areas students are still requiring support. Thank you for analyzing each reading skill within the program.
In addition, read the article below that speaks to the correlation to the ISIP percentage and passing of STAAR.
Save the Date - Literacy Institute
Guided Reading - Teacher Table
Independent Reading Station
1. Clear expectation stated in kid friendly language
2. Book box filled with text that she has worked to achieve an independent level
3. Items to complete task and record her learning