Monday, February 22, 2016

The Power Of Extreme Writing



Are your students "in shape" when it comes to writing? As time draws nearer to standardized state and national testing, teachers need to ask themselves if they have prepared students for the writing process necessary for academic success.  In the book, The Power of Extreme Writing, author Diana Cruchley stresses the importance of producing fluent writers. She believes students must possess three skills to be successful writers: code, comprehensibility, and fluency. She compares the skill of becoming a fluent writer to that of a runner preparing to run a marathon.  The runner will not be able to complete the marathon if he has not built endurance.
Extreme writing focuses on a ten day program in which the teacher provides students to choose from three different writing prompts each day to write for 10-15 minutes depending on grade level.  A goal of number of words expected is calculated by the teacher using the "rapid write" process. Students write on a given topic for one minute.  The students repeat the process for another minute with new prompt.  The teacher collects papers from the second writing and arranges the samples from lowest to highest word count to find the median.  The teacher multiplies the median count to the number of minutes the students will write.  Cruchley recommends teachers implement the ten day program at least eight times throughout the year.
The author refers to "Inspirations" as prompts to capture attention and get students thinking. Prompts are topics that call up a memory and within the student's experience. She provides twelve inspirations with ideas for writing topics.   Cruchley's number one Inspiration is to "Start With a Picture".  She describes how images can illicit great writing.  She shares photos and writing prompt ideas on her Pinterest page for teachers at: www.pinterest.com/diana32/photos-extreme-writing-journal/
Example of photo and prompts from website:




If you are looking for a writing resource and ideas for creating fluent writers, this book is for you. The entire book is only 43 pages long and is available from the ASCD website.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Key Points Chapter 5
A Principal’s Guide to Special Education
David F. Batemen and C. Fred Bateman

 

It is important for principals to remember their role at the IEP meeting when making placement decisions for students who have been determined to be eligible for special education services, including when and how those decision are made.  Understanding that Least Restrictive Environment and Inclusion are not synonymous is paramount in placement decisions. The following are a few key points from David and Fred Bateman's book for principals regarding placement. If you are following the book, please take the time to review these key quotes from Chapter 5. 


Chapter 5: What Does a Principal Need to Know About Placement?

P. 90 Federal Law

“The Law intends the degree of inclusion for an individual student with special education needs be determined at least annually; be based on the IEP of the child.”

“This does not mean that every child with a disability has to be included in the general education classroom all the time.”

“Continuum is an important term to keep in mind when discussing inclusion.

“The important point is the need for inclusion of students with disabilities in all aspects of the school, both academic and non-academic settings, while still meeting the individual needs of all students.”

P. 93
Take a look at p. 93, Oberti v. Board of Education (1993) guiding standards for considering LRE. Think about these points as IEP teams make decisions.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Great Content Rich Websites for Students and Teachers

Here are some wonderful websites that are aligned with the common core that are user friendly and can help integrate technology and various forms of media into your lesson plans!
Gooru

Gooru is a free, educational search engine for online resources and lesson plans in science, math, social studies and language arts. Teachers and students can search for and curate collections of multimedia resources, digital textbooks, videos, handouts, games, and quizzes. Collect and gather information into “My Collections” and “My Classes” categories. Grades: K-12. You can "remix" the lessons and put your own "spin" on the existing assignments.
Tip: You and your students can customize an existing collection or create your own “playlist of learning resources.

What Was There 
This innovative site adds the history to the place. Using Google Maps, this site explores the way places used to look. Students can search and explore their own personal history, that of relatives, or of an important place in class. What was There allows registered users to upload images of buildings and landmarks and have them displayed in the location where they were taken. Grades K-12 
Tip: Students can explore a historic place featured in literature or a class reading assignment. 
PhET 
PhET is a collection of science and math interactive computer simulations. With over 200 million simulations delivered to date, students learn through exploration in an animated, game-like environment. PhET simulations encourage inquiry, use real-world connections and can be used in a variety of educational settings. Play with existing simulations or run simulations on this engaging, interactive site. Grades: 2-12.
Tip: Have your elementary students learn the principles of fractions with the “Fractions Intro” and 4 related simulations
BioDigital Human moves learning beyond textbook diagrams and the life-sized skeleton in the corner of the science classroom! This tool is an interactive 3D environment providing a stunningly realistic way to examine the human body. Students can explore and manipulate the 3D images as they zoom in and out of the various layers of anatomical animations. Descriptions of health conditions related to each system of the human body are included. Grades: 7–12 
Tip: Use BioDigital in Science and Health and Wellness classes to discuss various health conditions related to students’ daily health choices

(Source: 
http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines/best-websites/2015)