Academics and More Tech education program expands at high school
Bringing creepy carrots to life RIVERDALE GRADE SCHOOL – Our 1st grade students love Aaron Reynolds’ Creepy Carrots. What’s not to love? It’s described as "The Twilight Zone comes to the carrot patch in this clever picture book parable about a rabbit who fears his favorite treats are out to get him." But what’s better than reading the story? Bringing it to life during an activity called reader’s theater. The goal in reader’s theater is to effectively read a script aloud so the audience can visualize the action. Without the benefi t of costumes or props, our little performers make the text come alive by using voice, facial expressions and gestures. It’s similar to when parents perform all the voices when reading bedtime stories. Students do not memorize their roles, but must read along in the script to know when it’s their turn to speak. The activity helps develop fl uency through repeated exposure to the text, increases comprehension and provides a purpose for reading. "It helps relate reading to writing, as a Riverdale Review
way to understand the author has a voice and is using it to tell a story," says teacher Kristin Lessard, adding her students were thrilled to act out this particular book, even though it’s at a higher-level than most are reading in class. "Acting out the parts was motivation to sound out and decode the words." After reading the story together as a class and discussing the main idea, setting, events and characters, each student chose a role and practiced with their classmates — and some parent volunteers — before performing in front of other classes. The teachers say students were a little nervous. It took a leap of faith to read the parts in front of their 3rd and 4th grade buddies — plus some preschoolers and middle schoolers — but, as they did it, their confi dence grew. Reader’s theater will continue throughout the year, and is just one of many tools used to instill a love of literacy and teach our students that reading is fun. Above: 1st graders performing.
RIVERDALE HIGH SCHOOL – Thanks to the eff orts of technology teacher Adam McLain and new funding from Oregon’s Measure 98, Riverdale High School’s technology department is adding more options for students interested in technology careers. The expanded program begins with a mandatory freshman-level technology class and includes a four-trimester certifi cate course in web design and development. Freshmen taking the required course, Computers Demystified, may earn college credit through Western Oregon University via the Willamette Promise program. This one-trimester course is worth four college credits as Computer Science 160. Two goals of Measure 98 are to establish or expand programs in career and technical education (CTE) and college-level education opportunities for Oregon high school students. At Riverdale, those objectives are guiding the development of a new CTE certificate in web design. Interested students complete a series of three courses starting with the fundamentals of web design followed by classes in JavaScript and server-side programming. Skills learned in these three classes are put to practical use with a capstone project in which students create a website for a business or organization in the community. Mr. McLain says the capstone project may be completed individually or in small groups. Most Riverdale students, except for current seniors, will have the option of enrolling in this CTE program. Mr. McLain is developing the technical skills assessment with State of Oregon CTE directors to ensure Riverdale’s program meets state requirements.
Freshmen in the required Computers Demystifi ed class can earn four college credits and aim toward a CTE certifi cate.
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