Gamification!

Michael Matera has now been to Harney County twice to provide professional learning to teachers and students. Michael is author of Explore Like a Pirate, a guide to Gamification in the classroom. There is no doubt that having fun in the classroom and/or being excited about learning from both the student perspective and the teacher perspective leads to engagement, which is linked to student learning.

Michael's YouTube channel is full of tips and tricks for beginning gamification in your classroom.

Here is something you've probably done in your classroom, but maybe a new form. Checkout this Jeopardy template you may want to use: 








Photo Resource: https://elearninginfographics.com/benefits-of-gamification-in-elearning/
https://blog.neolms.com/gamification-in-the-classroom-small-changes-and-big-results/

Math Resources!

https://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/subjects/mathematics/resources/math-pd.pdf

Looking for multiplication apps?

https://www.gettingsmart.com/2017/06/5-free-multiplication-apps/

Would you rather: Thanksgiving Edition

Would You Rather: CLICK HERE

Google supports classroom grant opportunity linked with Be Internet Awesome (digital citizenship)

Supporting our teachers and their classrooms

Teachers often have a list of needs or a passion project they would love to bring to their students if only there was a little extra in the budget. So we’ve teamed up with DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit with a web platform that is part matchmaker, part Scholastic Fairy Godmother. Teachers post their school project wishes on the platform and people like you—or companies like us—find projects we’d love to sponsor.

With DonorsChoose.org, we’ve built a $1 million Classroom Rewards program to encourage and celebrate classroom achievement with Be Internet Awesome. Upon completion of the program, K-6 teachers can unlock a $100 credit towards their DonorsChoose.org project. Teachers can kick off the Be Internet Awesome lessons with one called #ItsCoolToBeKind. 💚 Check out the details on DonorsChoose.

To learn more about Google’s Be Internet Awesome program, visit our website in English or Spanish, and share the Interland game with your kids.

As my son would say, TTYL.

(This from https://www.blog.google/technology/families/helping-parents-have-tech-talk-their-kids/)

TED-ED Talks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yA4YiIWMOE

Reading Wars: Can't we all just get along?

This Summary Document from Kim Marshall and the Marshall Memo

Daniel Willingham on the Reading Wars: Can’t We All Just Get Along?

            In this online article, Daniel Willingham (University of Virginia) responds to an article by Emily Hanford in the October 28 th New York Times https://nyti.ms/2ELv9VD taking one side in the perennial debate between phonics and “whole language.” Willingham invites us to look at six statements about learning to read:

1)   The vast majority of children first learn to read by decoding sounds.

2)   A very small percentage of children teach themselves to decode with very minimal input from adults; more can do so with a little support.

3)   The speed with which most children learn to decode will be slower if they receive haphazard instruction in phonics; most need systematic phonics instruction.

4)   Phonics instruction is not a literacy program. “The lifeblood of a literacy program is real language,” says Willingham, “as experienced in read-alouds, children’s literature, opportunities to speak, listen, and write. Children also need to see teachers and parents take joy in literacy.”

5)   Systematic phonics instruction might seem boring, but studies have shown that it doesn’t harm children’s motivation to read.

6)   That said, phonics instruction can be overdone, and teachers need to make sure to emphasize the real-literature and affective dimensions of literacy.

“I think all of the six statements above are true,” says Willingham. Zealots in the phonics/ whole language war embrace only the odd- or the even-numbered items, but “they are ignoring abundant research and have above-average capacity to kid themselves.” Many others agree that all the statements are true, but they want to emphasize the ones they’re passionate about.

“The larger point,” Willingham concludes, “is that the conflict is a waste of time and I suspect most people know it. There’s plenty of other work to be done.”

“Just How Polarized Are We About Reading Instruction?” by Daniel Willingham, October 29, 2018, http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-and-education-blog; Willingham can be reached at willingham@virginia.edu.

This just in...Sample Test Now Available

LEDOUX Renee - ODE	8:11 AM (1 hour ago)
to assessmentdtc@listsmart.osl.state.or.us

2018-2019 Sample Tests Now Available

Updated sample tests for Mathematics, English Language Arts (ELA), ELPA, and Social Sciences and an updated TA Training Site are now available. The Science sample tests will be supplemented with new items for 2018-19 in the next few weeks. Sample tests can be accessed using a supported web browser or the OSAS Secure Browser. The link to the 2018-19 Test Administrator User Guide has been posted on the OSAS Portal to provide further information about the TA Interface.

These sample tests provide an opportunity for Oregon teachers and students to familiarize themselves with the navigation and functionality of the online tests, as well as with the embedded accessibility supports described in the Oregon Accessibility Manual. All test administrators, including test administrators who have used the TA Interface in previous years, should practice setting up a test session using the updated TA Training Site prior to administering an operational test.

Every Day Matters!

ODE Launches Every Day Matters Campaign to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism

New Website and Toolkits Provide Resources for Families, Schools

and Communities to Address Chronic Absenteeism.

(Salem, Ore.) – The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) is launching a new website and toolkits today for educators and families aimed at providing information and other resources to help reduce chronic absenteeism in Oregon. The website, www.Every-Day-Matters.org, is the core tool in a campaign called Every Day Matters which highlights the importance that regular attendance plays in a student’s education and how communities from around the state can join efforts with their local school district.

Reducing chronic absenteeism is a key piece in Governor Brown’s vision for having 90 percent of students graduate within four years of starting freshman year of high school, either with a diploma or with a GED.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as when a student misses 10-percent or more of class days in a school year. ODE research confirms national studies showing connections between attendance and student outcomes including improved test scores and graduation rates.

“We know that every day a student attends school means an additional opportunity for learning,” ODE Director Colt Gill said. “Our Every Day Matters campaign is one part of a larger effort throughout the state to improve attendance. Reducing chronic absenteeism requires all of us to do our part. Schools need to make sure students are welcomed and engaged, families need to recognize the importance of attendance and every community needs to look at local barriers that can impact student attendance.”

The Every Day Matters campaign builds on ODE’s previously rolled out efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism. The Oregon Legislature approved funding for a chronic absenteeism plan which started this school year.

The chronic absenteeism plan includes:

·         Twenty-seven school districts that are receiving targeted support from 12 ODE chronic absenteeism coaches to collaborate and implement their absenteeism plan.

·         Eight regional coordinators that have been hired in collaboration with the Oregon Association of Education Service Districts to coordinate efforts in districts throughout Oregon to provide professional learning that addresses chronic absenteeism.

·         The website and toolkits released today that include: Best practice guide, flyers, and yard signs, banners and posters that can be used by districts, families and communities to raise awareness and combat chronic absenteeism across Oregon.

ODE has partnered with other state agencies and other partners including: the Oregon Department of Transportation; Oregon Health Authority; Healthy Kids Learn Better Coalition; and the Department of Human Services to leverage all of the supports Oregon needs to address chronic absenteeism.

For more information, click into the Every Day Matters website.

Making name pronunciation a priority in K12 education

Pronouncing students’ names correctly is crucial to making them feel included

Matt Zalaznick

10/10/2018

https://www.districtadministration.com/article/Making-name-pronunciation-a-priority-in-K12-education

Quote

Gandalf, 

– "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

OAESD Chronic Absenteeism Project

In the first few weeks of school, our students are forming/reforming habits that will carry them through the rest of the year and the years that follow.  They are learning how important showing up to school is and what our response will be if they don't.  An analysis of the state attendance data submitted by each district each year was conducted by ODE.  They were able to make a comparison between the number of days missed in the first month of school and what percent of those students ended up chronically absent by the end of the year. The results of that analysis can be seen below.

The 2016 Legislature, through HB 4002, requested the Chief Education Office (CEdO) and Oregon
Department of Education (ODE) to develop a statewide plan to identify and address chronic
absenteeism in Oregon public schools and districts. The 2017 Legislature approved the Statewide
Chronic Absenteeism Plan and provided funding to the Oregon Department of Education to begin the
implementation of the Plan. The goal of the Plan is to publically identify the degree of chronic
absenteeism in Oregon schools and provide technical assistance and best practices to support schools
and districts in their efforts to reduce chronic absences.

ODE reviewed the attendance and other data from the 2016-2017 school year and determined the
degree of chronic absenteeism by percentages in Oregon’s school districts. The OAESD Support
Network made application to ODE to receive grant funding to support regional efforts of coaching and assistance for schools/districts which have chronic absenteeism rates between 10.1% and 29.9% and are geographically located throughout the state. (ODE will work directly with school districts which have a range of 30% and above chronic absenteeism in their schools.) In submitting this grant, OAESD projected that the percentage of students who are chronically absent should decrease statewide by 1.9% during the 2017-2019 biennium as a result of grant activities.

In the grant submission, the OAESD Support Network identified eight regions to work cooperatively with schools and districts across the state and to work cooperatively with each other. The regions and identified ESDs are: Multnomah Region – Multnomah ESD, Clackamas ESD; Northwest Region – Northwest Regional ESD; Willamette Region – Willamette ESD; Valley Region – Linn-Benton-Lincoln ESD, Lane ESD; Southern Region – Douglas ESD, South Coast ESD, Southern Oregon ESD; Columbia Region – Columbia Gorge ESD, North Central ESD, Grant ESD; High Desert Region – Jefferson ESD, Harney ESD, Lake ESD, Malheur ESD; and, Intermountain Region – Intermountain ESD, Region 18 ESD.

With Clackamas ESD as the designated fiscal agent for this project, the OAESD Support Network received $2.7 million in grant funds to be spent on activities identified in the Statewide Chronic Absenteeism Plan. These funds are being distributed to each of the eight regions to be spent on the following: statewide coordinator (employee of Clackamas ESD); regional allocations for the hiring of regional coordinators and targeted district activities; and, regional allocations based on 2018-19 enrollment projections for general awareness activities related to chronic absenteeism.

Specific activities associated with the implementation of the Chronic Absenteeism plan to be conducted by the regional coordinators include: professional development and coaching for all staff in schools and districts to develop their ability to encourage and support students in attending school on a regular basis; development of district and school attendance teams; parent and community meetings to gain feedback on how to get and keep students in school on a regular and timely basis; community engagement activities for parents and students throughout the entire school year; public awareness campaign activities in conjunction with ODE; and, other supports such as mentoring programs and safe and friendly school environment activities.

The Power of Expectations

https://youtu.be/UdVxv330n1I

Not dismissing Student experiences

Teachers: Here are the Top Five Ways to NOT Dismiss Students' Experience

By Contributing Blogger on June 21, 2018 12:04 PM | 

By Gary Chapin and Sarah Chapin       

My 16-year-old daughter, Sarah, and I had a conversation some weeks ago. We talked about her junior year and how it was progressing. "Mostly great," she says. "But there are times..." Over the course of our meal, she reflected upon how the normal interactions of school can leave her feeling diminished, disrespected, or 'less than.' She has experienced this as contempt. Her friends and peers confirm this. So, here are five "don'ts" based on the experience of Sarah and her friends:

1. Please don't tell students that they just have to work harder. First of all, diminishing the effort they've already put into the work will not build trust or buy-in. Second, if "just working harder" will bring them to success, then the structure of the task is based on student effort, not student mastery.
2. Please don't use analogies to justify seemingly arbitrary requirements. For example, we've heard, "If they're late, it's a zero. If the train leaves at 6:30 and you are there at 6:31, you miss the train." Kids do need to learn that time is a factor in achievement. But you know what happens if you miss the 6:30 train? You catch the 7:30 train. There are other analogies you can use. Perhaps the pace of learning is not a punishing, intractable steam engine. Maybe it's a garden. When the asparagus doesn't come in on schedule, you don't blame the plant. You don't blame anyone. You tend to the conditions.
3. Please don't tell kids that their world is fake. The world of school is as real to our kids as the world of work, mortgages, and taxes is to us. There is love and death. There are mistakes and triumphs for them, just like us. The challenges that they face within our system are genuine. 'Authentic' is more than a brand of assessment. And it should be real. We guide them for more than a dozen years. Telling them, "Wait until you get into the real world!" reveals more about us than them.
4. Please don't end a hard conversation by putting kids in their place. Yes, they admit, kids can be a pain in the butt and can push our buttons...and they can also catch us in our own nonsense. Nevertheless, I urge you not to end those hard conversations with some variation of: "...because I am the teacher." They know that you are the teacher. If the only thing you have left is to put kids in their place, then you need to consider the validity of your point.
5. Please don't hold students' failures against them forever. Don't average scores. Okay, I am bringing up this mainstay of Competency-Based Learning, but seriously, don't average. Averaging scores over time is like tying a weight to a kid because, at one point, they did not learn the thing we wanted them to learn in the timeframe that suited our plans. It adds no value to student learning, obscures deficits that should be addressed, and can create insurmountable burdens.

A resource for Depth of Knowledge

Are your students moving?

https://www.middleweb.com/38545/getting-kids-on-the-move-in-middle-grades-classes/

Google Expeditions Resource for your Classroom!

Image from BestBuy

http://www.timetotalktech.com/2017/05/list-of-google-expeditions.html

Ever wanted all of the Google Expeditions in one place? Well here you go:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uwWvAzAiQDueKXkxvqF6rS84oae2AU7eD8bhxzJ9SdY/htmlview#

Social Studies Resources courtesy of CSPAN on Supreme Court Nominee: Brett Kavanaugh

Image from CSPAN email of 8/26/18 Monday, September 4 at 11am PST, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin a confirmation hearing for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve as an Associate Justice on the United States of America Supreme Court. The hearing is expected to last four days. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN3 or online at C-SPAN.org Related Resources: Video Clip: President Trump Nominates Judge Brett Kavanaugh (5:12)   Video Clip: Sen. Durbin (D-IL) on the Nomination of Judge Kavanaugh (2:32)   Video Clip: Democratic Document Requests & the Nomination Process (4:01)   Bell Ringer: Supreme Court Nomination Process (3:27)   Lesson: Role of the U.S. Senate During the Confirmation Process More resources on the judicial branch and the Supreme Court can be found on our featured resources site. Lesson/email modified but from CSPAN.org

Survey Data on Teacher Professional Development

Reports from Project Tomorrow show national teacher data that teachers are taking care of their own professional learning using the internet. 

Survey data for 2017 showed that (all of which increased from 2010):

-    Watched videos or TED talks – 46%

-    Participated in webinars or online conferences – 34%

-    Used social networks to seek help from other teachers – 33%

-    Took online courses on their own – 23%

-    Used Twitter and social media to follow education experts and other teachers – 23%

(40% of teachers attended a face-to-face conference, down from 47% in 2010.)

Surveyed teachers’ wish list for professional learning:

-    Using technology to differentiate instruction;

-    Using technology tools for on-the-spot assessment of student learning;

-    Implementing blended learning.

Teachers said they were not very comfortable with:

-    Facilitating student collaboration using digital tools (78%)

-    Personalizing learning for each student (76%)

-    Creating project-based learning experiences for students (75%)

-    Using student data to inform instructional practice (70%)

61% of administrators said training teachers in how to use student data was imperative, but only 25% of teachers listed this as a priority.

Modified post from Kim Marshall Memo: Survey Data on Teacher Professional Development August 20, 2018. 

&

“Teachers’ PD: What Teachers Need, What Districts Are Offering” from Project Tomorrow, August 2018, http://blog.tomorrow.org/2018/07/30/teachers-pd-what-teachers-need-what-districts-are-offering/; 

Amazon Inspire introduced

Introducing: Amazon Inspire

Amazon has been working on a platform for K-12 educators to share and discover Open Educational Resources (OERs) in support or the #GoOpen Initiative started by US Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology. The platform, called Amazon Inspire (click here), has been in a closed beta state since June 2016, but is now open for anyone to join. Educators may use an existing Amazon.com account or create a new account with their school/work email address.  

From PK Nursery Rhymes to Advanced Placement American Revolution Flashcards and from Biology textbooks (click here) to Ratio and Proportional Relationships. 

Discover, download, rate, share, and experience everything that Amazon Inspire Beta has to offer.

Thank you to the Oregon Department of Education for information: https://www.oregonednet.org/blogs/oen/introducing-amazon-inspire

Welcome Back Harney Teachers!

Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year here in Harney County! I hope you enjoyed a summer vacation filled with fun and exciting memories with your friends and loved ones. We are thrilled to welcome all of you back to a new school year of learning and growing and Harney Education Service District (HESD) is excited to help you on this journey!

At Harney ESD we look forward to continue building a strong relationship with all of you in the upcoming year. As we enter this school year, we are excited to let you know that our staff will be engaging in conversations around continuous improvement and improvement science. We believe that every person in this organization should always be growing, improving and learning. Despite obstacles arising, we must believe in our abilities to rise above challenges and come out stronger on the opposite side.

Our professional learning calendar is coming to fruition and the learning opportunities are great in numbers and quality!

As always, please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns.

Eric Nichols

Harney ESD School Improvement & Technology

Director

Pineapple Chart....sweet idea

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/pineapple-charts/?platform=hootsuite

Think Write Pair Share

Free! Not a bad price!

Research around FREE teacher stuff brought me to various sites including the great blog of Jennifer Stringer. On that I found some great FREE stuff for you and your students!!!

 Serving Up My Plate is a curriculum designed for 1st/2nd grade, 3rd/4th, & 5th/6th. Pre-K and Kinder are a part of the program too.  

Bright Smiles, Bright Futures Dental Health Curriculum was another great find that has a kit designed for Pre-K through the 1st grade. 

Social Emotional Learning

Here are some tips taken with a snippet from Jennifer Stringer's blog for dealing with upset students: