Jan. 18, 2016

Reminders about Cornerstone Tasks & Unit Math Assessments

Cornerstone Tasks (All grades)

Upload Cornerstone Tasks Here:

Cornerstone Task Link

Teacher responsible for uploading each task link

Each unit in the Social Studies curriculum has its own cornerstone as an assessment piece. As your students are completing their Cornerstone Tasks, please do not forget to snap a picture of one to upload to the Cornerstone slideshow. Humanities is still working this year to gather samples of the tasks to share across the district as well as update and combine tasks. It's a great way to gather ideas into one location and also to share our practice with others in the district. Next year the Cornerstone Tasks will drive our Humanities curriculum and it will be so great to be able to look at all the samples.

If you have trouble uploading your sample, please let me know and I'll be happy to help you.

Math Unit Assessments (All Grades)

As you are completing the units in Math, don't forget to complete the Unit Assessment. This year all grade levels have Math Unit Assessments for each unit. Unit Assessments can be printed from the following file: DMAC Elementary Test Key List. The results of the assessment are to be scanned into DMAC so I am happy to show you how to print your student bubble sheets and scan them for you when you are done.

Sept. 14, 2015

As I listened to several of you talk about parent conferences that have already been set up and I think about some of the questions I fielded on curriculum night, I find it interesting the same comment I hear each year from parents.  “I was not good a math either.”  “He/she is NOT a math person.” 

In the English/Language Arts worlds there are several gurus, Penny Kettle and Donalyn Miller whose passion is to teach students to FALL IN LOVE WITH BOOKS.  My personal beliefs align with both Kettle & Miller I feel that helping students find their passion is reading very tangible.  But how do we teach students to find their PASSION in math?

I read an article from August issue of STEM Magazine discussing how students perceive their relationship with math.  Often students, even those who are confident about math, do not arrive at a LOVE for math.  Professor Zahra Hazari states, “If we want to empower students and provide access to STEM careers, it can’t just be about confidence and performance.  Attitudes and personal motivation matters immensely.”  Once again MIND-SET plays a roll in being able to develop a math identity!!!  Please take time to read this article. 

FYI:  We receive this resource in an email from Candi Amos that says: 

Here is the August STEM Magazine ready for distribution as you wish.

Remember, it's PDF printable and you have unlimited distribution.



STEM Magazine August 2015 Issue

January 12, 2015

ARE YOU READY?

In looking through the Go Math digital resources in Think Central there are several options for assessment. One of my favorites is "Are You Ready?" (Texas Math Assessment Guide - Are You Ready?) It is a half page, 2 question assessment that is designed to check prerequisite skills for each lesson. It would be great as a formative assessment and something that would be quick and easy to check. If you haven't used it yet, log in to your Think Central account and give it a try! I'm happy to help you if you have any questions. @CP