teachers in action:
Math teachers met this week for a very productive professional development day. The day began by reviewing math fact fluency goals for each grade level. The team then discussed various methods of practicing math facts on iPads, games and paper and pencil. The team set benchmark goals for the year. The rest of the day was spent creating benchmark assessments for each grade level. The team also created progress monitoring assessments for the year. We will be progress monitoring students for fluency bi-weekly and we will track that data on the data boards. This work will impact student achievement. Nice work teachers.
teachers in action:Writing teachers also met last week for professional development which also proved to be very productive. The team spent time creating the monthly prompts for SWEEP. We set draft book protocol for Kinder-5th grade students. All teachers will be using ARMS and CUPS for revising and editing. We discussed the importance of modeling each day on paper as well as the promethean board. We discussed writing rubrics, writing checklists and the importance of spelling instruction. Teachers will be collecting progress monitoring data on how our students are progressing in writing. We are excited to see the progress our writers make this year.
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Students in action:
Honor Choir singing Star Spangled Banner
Under the guidance of Mr. Swanson, students at Haskin are participating in Honor Choir. The students meet each Wednesday morning to practice their repertoire of music. The group is working to learn our national anthem for performance purposes.
Daily formative assessment
We have all learned the importance of finding out whether students have learned what we are teaching at the of each lesson. Keep in mind the features of a good DFA. Administration should take 3 to 5 minutes. It must be aligned to the lesson objective and measure how a student will demonstrate knowledge of a skill or concept. The DFA should be challenging, yet attainable and written in language students can understand. Teachers must post the DFA and clearly communicate it to their students. These assessments provide immediate feedback to teachers about student understanding of the concept being taught. Care must be taken to ensure that students are completing the DFA individually.
This picture shows Mr.Hawkins administering a DFA to one of his PE classes. For this assessment, he moved the students into the cafeteria to complete a written DFA. Now, it is not required that teachers become animated and act out these assessments. However, we wouldn't discourage Andy from doing so!
This picture shows Mr.Hawkins administering a DFA to one of his PE classes. For this assessment, he moved the students into the cafeteria to complete a written DFA. Now, it is not required that teachers become animated and act out these assessments. However, we wouldn't discourage Andy from doing so!
here is a riddle for you to solve:Take a careful look at this picture of Ms. Jessica Stevens, 2nd and 3rd grade math teacher. Do you notice anything unusual? Can you figure out the significance of this picture???? Could it have something to do with the Haskin t-shirts in the background, you ask? The answer is "No."
What is left to consider? The clock, you say? Hmmm, it shows 3:33 p.m. on a school day and, though you can't see what she's carrying, Jessica had her school bag and laptop and...yes...she was leaving for the day! At 3:33 p.m.! This is unheard of as she never leaves before five or six o'clock on most days. The picture was actually taken to record this historic event :-) But, we'll never tell where she was heading so early on a school day, in the middle of the week....You'll have to figure that one out on your own! |