Instructional and Assessment Guidance (ELa and Math)

Link to the ELa Instructional and Assessment Guidance 2012-2013. This is the document that breaks the current standards down into Critical, Important, and Additional skills.

Link to the Math Instructional and Assessment Guidance 2012-2013. This document does the same thing for the current Math Standards.

Here is a place where you can find the Indiana Academic Standards. (K - 5)

Here is where you can access ACUITY from home.

Staff Meeting 12/10/2012

Common Core Standards of Mathematical Practice:

1.  Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2.  Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3.  Construct viable arguments/critique the reasoning of others.

4.  Model with mathematics.

5.  Use appropriate tools strategically.

6.  Attend to precision.

7.  Look for and make use of structure.

8.  Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

Websites from Powerpoint

http://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/addition-subtraction/v/subtraction-2 
www.khanacademy.org 
www.COREpedia.org 
www.ccsstoolbox.com 
www.azed.gov/standardspractices/mathematics-standards/ 
www.edutopia.org/common-core-state-standards-resources 
www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=common+core+math+lessons 

Teaching Story Problems

One of the keys to successfully solving story problems is having a variety of problem solving strategies. In this video, the teacher encourages students to solve 1 problem in 3 ways. It is well worth the time (5 minutes) to observe her methods and decide how you can emulate them in your class. Even though she teaches 3rd grade, applications can be made to all grade levels.

Problem solving is not a "one size fits all" kind of skill. It takes a certain amount of skill and preparation on the part of the teacher as well. I like that the worksheet she uses encourages and suggests different problem solving strategies (charts, pictures, repeated addition, etc.).

ACUITY Practice

Now that ACUITY results are in, what is next? It is important that we use as much of the data gathered in order to inform instruction. Look at your class reports.

This is from the 2nd page.




You will need to look for standards that scored high percentages in column 1, or low in column 4. These are the standards that a majority in the class need reviewed or retaught. This can be done during maintenance times, or if this skill has not be taught yet in class, it should come up during a Focus Standard time during future 8-Step planning. If not, make sure that it is addressed at some point.

For individual students, you can address their specific needs directly from the ACUITY website by assigning standards they are struggling with, and using computer lab time to allow them to work on them. Here is how:

1.  Sign in to ACUITY
2.  Click on Assessment Reports and then Class Assessment Report



3.  Make the appropriate choices from the drop down menus. (Be sure you choose PREDICTIVE and Indiana Language Arts or Mathematics) Then click "Get Report"




4.  Now click on ASSIGN on the standards that has the ASSIGN option to the right.

 

 5.  When the pop-up window appears, click on



This will cause more information to appear under that button. You will see student names, and at what tier they performed at for that standard. Check the students you wish to assign help for that standard. This help includes instruction and assessment! When you have assigned instruction for that standard, click





 You can now repeat this step for each standard, assigning instruction to each student who is struggling with a standard.

TO HAVE STUDENTS MAKE USE OF THESE ASSIGNED MATERIALS:

1.  Have students sign in to ACUTIY
2.  They then click on Study, then the subject for study.
3.  If they have any study materials, it will appear on screen for them.

This is a great use of Computer Lab time. Especially BIG UNIVERSE time. While some students are doing BIG UNIVERSE, you can be working with small groups with specific standards, making sure they are reading and understanding the given materials. I am sure that this would qualify as an RtI intervention as well.