June, 2015
Teaching and Learning Newsletter
2014 ~ 2015
Message from Heidi... Dear Parents/Guardians,
Many things were accomplished throughout the district again this year. It is due to an awesome staff and supportive parents that we are able to provide an exemplary education for all of our students.
NEWSLETTER
TEACHING AND LEARNING
How can it be that another school year has gone by? It is unbelievable how this year flew.
K-5 Standards Based Grading;
While I am excited about summer, mainly because I love the weather, I am already looking forward to the start of another school year.
Infosnap; Summer
Please take a few minutes to read what is happening both as we wind down the 2014-2015 school year and wind up the 2015-2016 school year.
M-Step; Summer
I wish you a relaxing, safe and fun summer.
Heidi Mercer
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School; SAT Update
ESL Sessions
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Math for Summer
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Read More
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Summer ELA
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ATTACHMENTS Summer Math
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
Resources Resources for Parents
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K-5 STANDARDS BASED GRADING For the 2015-2016 standards based grading will be fully implemented in kindergarten through fifth grade. Standards based grading is the way teachers report what students know and are able to do in relation to the Michigan State Standards or learning targets for a student’s particular grade level. Beginning in the 2015-2016 school year Lake Orion’s elementary standards based reporting system will be based upon four levels; 4
Met end of year standard
3
Consistent progress toward standard
2
Inconsistent progress toward standard
1
Area of concern
Also for the 2015-2016 school year, reports of student progress will look different than years past. Formal report cards for all elementary students will come home in January and June. All parents will be invited to attend a parent-teacher conference in the fall and spring in lieu of a formal report card.
LO SUMMER SCHOOL Our district will once again be facilitating many opportunities for students this summer.
Michelle Cureton is coordinating summer school for high school and middle school.
INFOSNAP This summer all parents will register their child (ren) on-line using Infosnap. Infosnap is an on-line registration that allows Lake Orion to download that information into our district PowerSchool program. Bascially, Infosnap is an electronic process for filling out forms like the emergency card. Each family will receive a letter from the building principal telling you when you should expect to receive a “snapcode” in your email. The “snapcode” is needed to begin the registration process. If you have questions this summer about Infosnap please contact the building.
SAT UPDATE In the spring of 2016 all 11th grade students in the state of Michigan will take the new SAT. This SAT assessment has been redesigned. The new SAT will be centered on eight changes: 1. Relevant words in context 2. Essay analyzing a source 3. Problems grounded in real-world contexts 4. Founding documents and great global conversation 5. Command of evidence 6. Focus on math that matters most 7. Analysis in science and in history/social science 8. No penalty for wrong answers Throughout next year in the Teaching and Learning newsletters we will highlight with more detail these eight key changes for the SAT. If you want more information regarding the SAT or a website to the practice assessment please visit: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-suiteassessments/practice
Teaching and Learning Page 3 Page 3
Lake Orion Community Schools Successfully Completes M-STEP Testing
In June 2014, the Michigan Legislature required the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to develop a new test for spring 2015. This spring all students in grades 3-8 and grade 11 took the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, or M-STEP. The M-STEP included summative assessments designed to measure student growth effectively for today’s students. English language arts and mathematics were assessed in grades 3–8, science in grades 4 and 7, and social studies in grades 5 and 8. It also included the Michigan Merit Examination in 11th grade, which consisted of a college entrance exam, work skills assessment, and M-STEP summative assessments in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Administrators, teachers and technology staff worked together to ensure that Lake Orion Community School students were well prepared to successfully complete the M-STEP test which was administered completely online. During the testing window (April 13- June 5) 798 test sessions were completed .... over 25,000 students.
This year, students experienced exciting new test components in the M-STEP mathematics and ELA assessments that measure deeper critical thinking skills. These new test components and items include a:
Technology enhanced (TE): On the online tests, some items asked students to drag and drop, select text in a passage, select spots on a graphic, match between two lists, fillin-the-blank, or select multiple answers to a test question.
Constructed response (CR): Students were asked to produce a grade appropriate written response to some test questions to demonstrate a clearer understanding of the content standard being assessed.
Classroom Activity (CA) component: This is a teacherled 30-minute scripted lesson that introduced students to the topic of the Performance Task (see below). This component is NOT SCORED, but helped students have an understanding of the theme being presented in the Performance Task. For more information go to the MDE Accountability Services, Assessment and Accountability website at www.mi.gov/baa
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Prevent the Summer Math Loss: For FREE Check out these FREE resources with your child. Research has shown that just 1 hour per week prevents the 2-3 month learning loss that happens over summer break. Program/Resource
Grade Levels
Grades 1 – Algebra 2 and Geometry
More information The TenMarks Summer Math Program guides students through a personalized curriculum to meet their specific needs. Students take a diagnostic assessment Based on the results, a personalized curriculum is created Each curriculum reviews past concepts and introduces future ones Hints provide problem solving approaches Videos provide instruction to refresh concepts https://www.tenmarks.com/summermath
CK-12 has Math and Science skills. Signing up is easy. Pick the subjects you want to practice. Practice something everyday. Anytime and anywhere. This resource will help you stay on track and monitor your progress. http://www.ck12.org/summer
Grades 1 – Calculus + SAT prep
For Teachers: Invite students to preview concepts they'll see next year Allow students to review concepts they missed Offer students a chance to explore something more deeply Parent Letter: https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.ck12.org/brainflex/ Summer_Program-letter-to-parents.pdf
MathABC.com is designed in such a way that each child can practice and work on improving math results. Sign up today for a free account or choose a grade and start practicing immediately. K-6 http://www.mathabc.com/
In the Spring of 2016, all 11th grade students will be taking the redesigned SAT (this is replacing the ACT). There are several sights that allow students to practice the test, experience the types of questions, and get tutorials on topics. All of these are free and can offer a study plan based on how well you do on a practice test. 8-11 College Board https://sat.collegeboard.org/home College Board + Kahn Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/sat
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READ MORE BOOKS TO STUDENTS
Speech, language, and vocabulary skills typi-
A great resource on the importance of reading
cally develop in most children with little explic-
to your child or student and how to get the
it teaching. They soak in the sounds and
most out of reading to them, from infancy
words in their everyday environments, and
through middle school, is The Read Aloud Hand-
their brains manage to find and reproduce the
book by Jim Trelease. This book is a quick and
patterns that make sounds into words and
easy read, and half of it is a treasury of tried
words into sentences and questions.
and true books that make great read-alouds. It
Want to help their speech sounds develop a little faster? Want to help them to learn and use more complex questions and sentences? Want to increase the size of their vocabulary? Want to help them get a good ACT or SAT score when they get to high school? Read to them! More.
covers important topics such as the stages of read-aloud, ages to begin (and end) read aloud, how to increase a child’s attention, tips on the do’s and don’ts when reading aloud, the advantages and disadvantages of e-books and digital learning, and how television and audiobooks can both hurt and help literacy. Jim Trelease states in the introduction of his book "This is not a book about teaching a child how to read; it's about teaching a child to want
And don’t stop just because they have learned
to read." Reading books, real books, to and with
to read for themselves.
your child is the best way to get them to love
Reading to your child or student is the easiest way to increase the frequency with which their ears and brains encounter a certain speech sound, sentence structure, or grammatical
reading. Its common knowledge that the highschool students with the best vocabularies (and highest verbal SAT scores) are the ones that
love reading.
form, and is often a fun experience for both
Trelease, Jim. The Read-Aloud Handbook. New
adult and student. Reading to your child al-
York: Penguin, 2013. 7th Edition.
lows them to hear vocabulary words that might not ever otherwise enter the everyday discussions that happen in the car, at dinner, or in the classroom.
See ATTACHMENTS 1 AND 2 for summer resources
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Avoid Summer Reading Slide!
S U M M E R R E A D I N G
LOCS recommends the American Library Association’s website for this summer’s top 10 reads for every age level. http://www.ala.org/alsc/2015-summer-reading-list
Kid Friendly On-line Reading Sites! NEWSELA DOGONews
TweenTribune Jr. Time for Kids
EARN A FREE BOOK!!! 1. Visit BN.com/summer reading to download a summer reading journal. 2. Read just 8 books!! 3. Return your completed journal to a Barnes and Noble (the closest one to Lake Orion is in Rochester Hills) and earn a free book! Don’t Miss the Lake Orion Library’s Summer Reading Program! The kick off party starts at 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 13 but if you can’t make it, don’t fret. You can still sign up online, by phone, or anytime after the 13th.
Growing Readers-Books Needed! This fall, kindergarten classrooms will be using the books Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone. These books will be essential to their opening reading unit and we ideally would like a copy for every learner. Please consider searching your home libraries for used copies of these classic favorites to donate to our schools. If you don't have a copy but would like to purchase one to support our Language Arts program, new copies will also be loved and can be ordered through Amazon for approximately $6 each. Books can be dropped off at your child's school. If you are interested in purchasing a large quantity of books as a personal or business donation, please contact Kate DiMeo at kdimeo@lakeorion.k12.mi.us, books can be ordered in bulk at a discounted rate. Thank you for making a difference, your donation will be read and loved by many students.
ATTACHMENT 1
Summer Math Resources Below are a few free resources that are aligned to the Math Common Core State Standards that could be a great way for parents and children to engage with mathematics together! 1. http://bedtimemath.org - This website is a great way for parents to engage with math and their children at home in addition to a bedtime story. It is full of ideas for activities to do at home, stories to read, or a daily math problem the family can do together. 2. http://www.nctm.org- This website is from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and has some updated apps suggestions under Resources. 3. http://www.mathgoodies.com/parents.html - This website provides mini lessons by topic, printable worksheets, learning games, and even a parent forum to discuss their children’s math experiences. 4. http://summer.tenmarks.com - This is the link to a free summer math program that provides rich application problems while meeting the individual needs of all children. 5. www.bugbrained.com - This link demonstrates a very nice application available for iPads/etc. Look under resources/choose grade level/choose math or reading.
Good Reads The following are a couple books that address math education for both teachers and parents.
What’s Math Got to Do with It? By: Jo Boaler The Myth of Ability By: John Mighton
ATTACHMENT 2