TIS & THAT VOLUME 5
ISSUE 9
DECEMBER 9, 2016 What Site through Yonder Window Breaks? Say the name Shakespeare and most students screw up their faces and say how much they hate reading Shakespeare. And they are right in their assessment. They should hate reading Shakespeare because Shakespeare’s plays are just that…plays! That means students shouldn’t be sitting at their desks reading; they should be out of their seats and performing these timeless glimpses into the human experience. Fortunately, for teachers in the twenty-first century, finding great resources to aid in the teaching of Shakespeare has never been easier. The Folger Shakespeare Library (http://www.folger.edu/) offers teachers a wide array of activities designed to make even the most reluctant students a lover of the Bard. The Folger’s teacher resources offer a variety of lesson plans for six of Shakespeare’s most frequently taught plays, for his sonnets, and some generic plans that could work with any play. There is also a blog by and for teachers with a plethora of teaching tips. (Cont. on page 2)
Coloring Sheets Gone Wild! Quiver App Coloring books are all the rage for children of all ages. It is an activity from which students derive psychological benefits, such as relieving stress and developing a sense of calm. Why should coloring be an activity that is only done in art class, outside of school, or in the early grades? Quiver—a fun, free app available at the iTunes App Store, Google Play, and Amazon.com--takes coloring from “plane” to 3D augmented reality by accessing the camera on a smart phone or tablet. Imagine how excited students will be when (Cont. on page 2)
Vocabulary.com Vocabulary.com is a fantastic free resource for teachers to present vocabulary lessons that relate to what they are teaching in their classrooms. Vocabulary in isolation has been proven to be an ineffective way to acquire new vocabulary. With Vocabulary.com, teachers can choose from over 500 pre-made lists in the areas of test prep, morphology and roots, literature, historical documents, speeches, news, and “just for fun.” If teachers can’t find what they need in Vocabagrabber, they can easily create lists by typing in a list of words, or, even easier, pasting up to 100 pages of text and letting the program identify words that are likely to be unknown to students. The adaptive assessment program makes sure your students are enriching their vocabulary in a fun, yet differentiated way. A subscription option is available that provides more tools for teachers, but the site offers plenty of quality assistance to teachers at no cost. Vocabulary.com is for every student at every level.
What Site (cont. from page 1) Additionally, Folger Digital Texts (http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/ api#plays) provides teachers and their students the opportunity to perform Shakespeare’s plays just as the actors of his time did—with cue scripts. Students will gain a deeper appreciation for actors who had to learn their lines with only their part of the script with a few words spoken before their line to serve as a cue. At that site, select the play from the drop down menu, then select “part” from the “Function” drop down. From there, every character’s cue script can be accessed. Imagine the listening skills that could be honed if students had to listen for their cues. This site is great for anyone teaching Shakespeare in any grade in any way.
Quiver App (cont. from page 1) they see their creations leap from the page. Some even come to “life”! This is a great activity for the classroom that is both fun and educational. Teachers can access free coloring pages at Quivervision.com. Simply download and print the coloring sheets that are available for a wide variety of topics, such as platonic solids, plant and animal cells, space, vehicles and holidays. Once students have colored their sheets, the sheets (with a QR code) are scanned, and that is when the magic occurs. Imagine how rich the discussions about geometric shapes or cell structure will be when students see their creations in three-dimension. Of course, there is a paid option, but there are many resources available for the budget-conscious teacher. This app is good for early childhood education through high school.
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Imagine Academy By using this website, you will be able to provide your students with the tools needed to compete in a technology-driven society. The program offers learning paths, full sets of curriculum along with lesson plans, professional development, and certifications for the students and staff. Each participant is able to pick the courses they want to enroll in and will earn badges as they complete levels. This would be an excellent enrichment site for the top level students who complete work quickly in the classroom. Students are able to access this site from home or on the school websites. Students (Age 13 and older) and staff are able to certify in Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA), and Microsoft Certification Solutions Associate/Expert (MCSA/MCSE). Visit the site https://imagineacademy.microsoft.com to learn more and enroll in the program.
West Virginia Schools have a partnership with Microsoft that is wonderful. We encourage you to take full advantage of the programs that are offered. With your help we can help Microsoft achieve their mission .
"To enable people and
businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential."
"Your Potential. Our Passion." Microsoft Slogan Microsoft Educator A community for educators to connect and collaborate with each other while learning and sharing new skills with their students. The Microsoft Innovative Educator tab recognizes global education visionaries who are using technology to pave the way for their peers to increase student achievement. Skype in the classroom is allowing teachers to connect with the global community by virtual fieldtrips, mystery skype and guest speakers. Lesson plans are shared with each other through the website as well as providing a community to collaborate. This is a one-stop shop to become a tech savvy teacher. Visit education.microsoft.com for more information and to sign up. 3
Suggested Elementary iPad Apps Many teachers ask me how I use my iPads during class. I have given them a lot of suggestions and ideas on how to let students use the iPads independently. Here are the top 2 apps I suggest to my co-workers. Todo Math: This app is GREAT for ear ly math learners. It has everything from 100 charts to counting and cardinality. My students are so engaged with this app during small group time, I know I don’t have to worry about them. Prodigy Math: This app is a real ar m twister for me. It has a bunch of hoopla and magic involved BUT, the students love this. Students of both genders love to cast spells. You may think…how is math involved in this magic game? Let me tell you! You can assign a problem set that students earn minutes to play the game. Students will groan when you tell them time is up!
Family Internet Safety Cyberbullying occurs more and more every day. Isn’t there something that parents can do to help their kiddos?? Some parents say that they trust their kid and they don’t want to know every detail about their lives. I understand that to some extent, but why not want to protect them if possible? There are numerous monitoring software programs that can installed on your child’s device usually for free or a nominal price. Net Nanny and PureSight PC are two that are fairly common.
Quick Assessment Tools At our grade level PLCs, we have been working hard on formative assessments. We have been trying to recognize struggle at an early stage. Teachers have been creating pre and post-tests to make certain that all students are getting reached and if not, being able to reteach. We have looked at numerous assessment tools, in which we have found 3 that are fairly easy to create your own assessment in. Google Docs (must have a google account) is extremely easy to navigate and easy to create your own form. Study Island is also very easy to create assessments with. You create them using the actual standards and choose from different forms of questions. Renaissance Place also allows teachers to create their own custom assessments as well. It is used primarily for diagnostic testing however, this tool is allowing teachers to create original assessments that are scored in the same manner. They provide specific feedback, just like the STAR assessments.
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Time Station App My school, though small, offers a chance for students to take one of three different live CTE classes: welding, building construction or auto mechanics. The school also participates in the Simulated Workplace program and students in each CTE program participate as employees of their designated shops. As a part of the Simulated Workplace experience, I have been tasked with assisting employees/students of each business to develop their workplace procedures and protocols. These procedures and protocols include everything from creating an employee handbook to developing safety plans. Students from each shop work with me during one or two 45-minute periods each week. A challenge that I found was ensuring engagement in my classes, as many students were reluctant to give-up “shop time” to work with me. Fortunately, a unique and relevant solution presented itself in the form of an app. MyTimeStation is available for free download on any Apple device. I had recently received a new iPad which my school had downloaded the app. The MyTimeStation app allows employers to track the hours worked by employees. In addition, the company allows for 10 free employees to be added to a company’s account. So, at no additional cost, I was able to create an account and register my CTE students as employees. The MyTimeStation website allowed me to print out QR codes for each employee that allows them to scan in and out of their workplace, in this case, my classroom. I printed the QR codes for each student and attached them to their identification badges. Students now report to class, scan in on my iPad and scan out at the end of the class. In addition, any student who leaves the workplace, for example to use the restroom, must clock out. Twice a month, I utilize the MyTimeStation reports, as well as a payroll calculator template available in Microsoft Excel, to generate paychecks for each student. After paychecks are issued, students must take them to the school bank, The National Piggy Bank, and deposit them. Once deposited, students may spend their money in the school store, which offers a variety of snacks and school supplies for sale. I also utilize another iPad app, Point of Sale, to track student purchases in the store. Point of Sale operates as a simple cash register. Items can be photographed and priced and checkouts are completed at the touch of a finger. It is my hope to utilize students to run the store and the Point of Sale app in the future. For now, these apps and some creativity have created a unique learning environment. Student rush to class to get clocked in and rarely leave class or engage in off-task behavior, because they are being (Cont. on page 6)
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Time Station App (cont. from page 5) “paid” for their time. No real money is used, but students are engaged in real-life learning activities. They gain a better understanding of how long they have to work to earn enough money to purchase the items they want. Federal and State paycheck deductions have become a real life issue for them. Personal banking and money management have also been brought into their realm of reality. Finally, above all else, students are engaged in the development of their Simulated Workplace programs. The integration of the Time Station and Point of Sale apps has been a win-win for students and teachers at my school. Administration is currently determining if MyTimeStation could be utilized school wide to reduce off-task behavior. Who knows, maybe you will be seeing a MyTimeStation app in a school near you!
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year From: Gail Adams -National Board Certified Teacher in English Language Arts at Wheeling Park High School
Sonya Haught—Ritchie County Schools county based TIS Grades Pre-K—12th
Mandi Workman— I graduated from Concord in 2014. I first taught kindergarten then started my graduate degree in special education. I've been teaching for 3 years and I learn more and more every day!
Cathy Lilly—Title I Teacher/Simulated Workplace Coach Rubenstein Center School
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