Learn the Basics of Google Drive

Learn the Basics of Google Drive 

by Suzanne Barker, Learning Liaison

GCISD is a Google Apps for Education.   As part of this, every student in GCISD has access to Google Drive and other tools.  Throughout the year, we work to teach our students how to use their digital tools more effectively.  Earlier this school year, we shared a Blendspace with our students to help them understand better how to use their Drive.  We would like to share this resource with our parents and community as well.  Check out this resource and see how you can help support your child with this resource or start to use this tool for your own personal use! (While you are learning about Google Drive, take note of how Blendspace works.  Many of our classrooms use this digital tool to share learning with their students as well.)

Thank you, Janie Stach, coordinator for Instructional Technology, for your assistance in building this resource.

Google Drive Blendspace

Digital Databases by Salena Smith

Digital Databases

Have you ever tried to put a picture in your project and was not able to do so because it was copyrighted?  Do you need support finding information that was accurate? MackinVIA can help you with these needs!  To use this resource, click on MackinVIA and login in with your school login.

After logging in the following screen will appear.

The following screen will give you access to 10 databases.  You will not need to remember any new passwords because you are already logged into all databases.

GT Independent Studies: An ELA Elective by Deborah Morgan

GT Independent Studies: An ELA Elective 

Guest post by Deborah Morgan

Gifted and Talented Independent Study (GTIS) is an language arts enhancement class available for any qualified GT student to take. The purpose of this course is to provide a constructive, challenging environment in which to maximize the potential of high-achieving youth to learn as much and as fast as they can among peers of similar abilities on topics that interest them—engaging with a broad spectrum of resources locally and electronically. Think of it as a “My First Dissertation” or an MFA, Jr., intended to mirror at an age-appropriate level the rigorous self-directed coursework of graduate studies. The teacher is a facilitator; the students direct and drive their own learning with guidance from their educator and their peers. Students design a self-determined project or product with the goals of developing a knowledge base that is both broad and deep and cultivating skills that are socially and emotionally rewarding, but also have real-word global applications.

One component of the class is blogging about their progress on a biweekly basis or more if they desire.  These are just a few examples of the type of projects and work we see on a daily basis in the four GTIS classes we offer.

http://jaddrh.blogspot.com/2015/10/my-progress-this-week-august-in-august.html

http://myblogneedleandthread.blogspot.com/2015/10/i-just-started-doing-embroidery-about.html

http://spacechung.blogspot.com/2015/10/year-in-gtis-i-have-been-researching.html

http://hgcowdogs.blogspot.com/

Grading for Mastery

What’s the purpose of grades?

Take a minute and think about what is a grade supposed to be?

Should a grade measure learning or effort? Should a grade be partially based on student behavior, or should it be a pure reflection on student progress towards a goal?  Should grades be used as punishment and reward? 

What do you think? 

This year at CMS, a group of teachers are addressing these questions and challenging convention by implementing small but powerful changes.  They are Grading for Mastery.  

What is Grading for Mastery? 

Grading for Mastery is a grading philosophy that believes grades are a form of feedback on student progress and as such, should be primarily, if not solely, based on student’s progress towards subject mastery of district objectives.  

Grading for Mastery recognizes that not all students learn in the same way or at the same pace. 

​Expectations

Teachers who choose to implement this grading policy must agree to the following.

• Grades are first, and foremost, a feedback tool for students and their parents. They should not be used as a means of reward or punishment. ​
• All grades will be directly tied to grade-level standards.
• Students will have the ability to reassess on all major grades to demonstrate mastery. Before reassessing, students will need to talk to their teacher to show they are ready to reassess. Reassessments do not have to be in the same format as original grade.
• Students will be held responsible for work through professionalism grades and/or 5 Phase system.  Points will not be deducted from individual assignments turned in late.
• Missing work may receive a zero, but it should be communicated as a lack of evidence of learning, not as a punishment.  
• Understanding that formative assessments are benchmarks on the way to mastery, homework should have a significantly less impact, if any, than summative assignments, such as tests and projects, on students' overall grade. 

So what does all this mean? 

It means that we are striving to provide you and your student with honest feedback based on their knowledge and skills.  It means that students that take longer to learn, have grades that still reflect that learning.  It means we hold students accountable for being self-regulated learners but don’t let behavior being the main driver of their grades.  It means that even if a student doesn't get something the first time, we expect them to keep trying and their grade will reflect that success (if it's on the second try).  

Ultimately, it means...Grading for Mastery places value on the learning instead of the grade.

Looking for a Good Book?

There is a lot going on in our Colt Learning Commons.  Students are regularly in and out checking out books to read.  Students read 30 minutes each week in their ELA classes as well as one day a week in Advisory.  Reading is a great way to ignite curiosity, learn vocabulary and become global citizens! We have some new resources in our CLC that might interest you.  Read about some new books and then join us in the CLC to check one out or sit down and read for a while!

Family and Consumer Sciences: Not the Home Economics of Yesterday! By Katie Adams

Guest post by Katherine Adams, CMS Teacher

The pathway that lead me to teaching Career and Technical Education was an interesting one.  When I finally declared my major I had every intent of becoming a Psychologist.  It wasn’t until I had the amazing opportunity to travel and work in Japan for a summer that I realized my intense desire to help prepare our youth for life outside of school walls.  Upon my arrival back to the states I met with my college advisor and began to look to see how I could make the transition from a psych major to an education major a reality.  

At first, when Family and Consumer Science was brought up, I dismissed it.  Thinking what many people today still think, “Oh, that’s the class you take to learn how to cook and sew…” I am here to tell you, you (and I) are so wrong in holding onto that belief.  Too often we hold onto the ideas of the past and allow it to shape our futures.  The journey that has taken place in Home Economics as it has transitioned into Family and Consumer Sciences has been an immense one.  As an educator, I feel it is my mission to help prepare students for life outside of the classroom confines.  As a Family and Consumer Science teacher, I have the opportunity to teach my students about life, how to budget their finances, how to apply for a job… more importantly how to keep a job.  I show them the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the effects it can have on their life.  I encourage them to make choices now that will make a difference in who they plan to become in the future.  

Picture Left: Students got a “Reality Check” on the true cost of living on your own.  

This year in particular, my focus is on preparing my students so that when they get to high school - they are one step ahead.  I want them to have prior knowledge of what they should expect - so that when the time comes to apply for their first job, or apply for a scholarship they have resources filed away to use as needed.  

We just wrapped up our college and career unit.  Students had the opportunity to research the college of their choice and were asked to evaluate data such as: entry requirements, acceptance rates, tuition/fees and scholarship/financial aid.  I asked all students to reflect on what really stood out to them throughout their research.  It was interesting to hear many of them make comments about how they never realized just how many students apply and don’t get accepted to the school of their choice.  I posed the questions, “What can you start doing NOW to make sure you stand out from the rest?”  The resounding answer was, “Get involved!”  

Picture Left: As a part of their college research, students create a college pennant and an oral presentation over their findings.

To encourage my students to get involved, I created and shared with them an Experience Log.  This log is essentially a spreadsheet that allows them to track their involvement in a multitude of ways - so that when they are ready to apply for college and/or scholarships, they have a vast pool of resources to pull from.  It encourages them to get involved, whether it be clubs outside of school or volunteering in the community.  It not only serves as a visual reminder of all the areas in their life where they can be participating, but it also encourages them to set goals for themselves and track their growth over their high school career.  

Through this log, students can track their current GPA, community service hours, participation in clubs/activities/sports, ACT/SAT scores, AP Classes taken, Awards Received and much more.  They are encouraged to update it often through their high school career and use it as a tool when apply for scholarships and college in the future.  I explain to them the importance of keeping up with it and how valuable it will be when senior year rolls around and they need to begin to apply for scholarships and college.  I hope to plant the seed now that they should not wait until their senior year to think back on all they have done.

Career and Technical Education plays such a pivotal role in the lives of the students who take our classes.  We are teaching them skills that will hopefully following them from their middle school days into high school and beyond.  By instilling these ideas into their minds at a young age we are allowing them to become accustomed to them so that they will be one step ahead of their competition as they enter the real world.   

English Language Arts Learning by Pat Huster

Where has the time gone? We are already into the eighth week of school, and our students have been quite busy in their English/Language Arts classes. Students have been reading, writing, presenting, and learning vocabulary. In addition to our core language arts classes, 6th & 7th grade students have chosen an ELA Elective.

ELA Curriculum

Our language arts curriculum uses SpringBoard:English Textual Power, published by The College Board, as its textbook. Each grade level focuses on a different theme that runs throughout the lessons. Our 6th grade students study the theme of change, while 7th grade students learn about choices, and 8th grade students follow the idea of challenges. Now in its 4th year at CMS, SpringBoard is the vehicle that makes rigorous standards attainable for all of our students through vertically aligned and carefully scaffolded strategies-based instruction.

Through SpringBoard, students:

• are exposed to higher-order thinking skills
• practice close analysis with pre-AP and AP reading strategies
• confronted with increasingly challenging texts
• challenged by complex writing tasks

With their exposure to these AP strategies, prompts, texts, and writing tasks, our students will be well equipped for their journey through the 21st century.

In the Classroom

This week 8th grade classes have been busy exploring how the protagonists in Fahrenheit 451 and The Giver follow the Hero’s Journey archetype and using direct text evidence to support Short Answer Responses. In addition to their reading, students are participating in Socratic Seminars about Questioning Society’s Rules and Laws. Next week 8th graders will dive into graphic novels as their final preparation piece before they create visualizations of the Hero’s Journey in graphic novel format for their Embedded Assessment.

 8th grade Socratic Seminar

  8th grade Socratic Seminar

7th grade students are working on revision skills, a vital part of writing. Students are revisiting a piece of writing they completed earlier, revising the piece, and then reflecting on academic and personal growth. 7th grade students will be taking the Writing STAAR this spring which will focus on a written essay in addition to revision and editing skills.

6th grade students have been busy discussing the concept of change. Personal narratives are wrapped up and students are now focusing their efforts on expository writing. Thesis statements, topic sentences and transitions have all been big topics in class recently. This next week students will participate in  Writing Workshop where they will develop the following skills:

• presenting effective introductions and concluding paragraphs
• guide and inform the reader’s understanding of key issues in body paragraphs
• include specific facts, evidence, details and examples in body paragraphs
• include appropriate organizational structure
• use a variety of sentence structures and transitions to link paragraphs

As you can see, our core English/Language Arts classes have been working hard by reading, writing, listening, and speaking. They are developing the skills that will grow into skilled problem solvers, effective communicators, collaborative workers, self-regulated learners, and global citizens.

Social Studies Resources Connect to Portrait of a Graduate

By Sherry David, Social Studies Departmental Learning Leader

GCISD and Colleyville Middle School’s goals include molding each and every learner who pass through our halls into the Portrait of a Graduate.  Growing self-regulated learners, skilled problems solvers, effective communicators, collaborators, and global citizens are the reasons we do what we do!  However, up-to-date, relevant, and digital resources are a necessity.  

After 13 long years, the State of Texas and GCISD finally have new Social Studies textbooks!  We are excited about the new resources available to our students that not only give our students up to date information, but help us grow the necessary skills of  the Portrait of a Graduate.

While each class has a class set of textbooks, all students were issued a personal on-line version of their text complete with maps, graphs, charts, videos, music, and reading passages.  This online version gives students unlimited access to study materials, primary sources, practice quizzes, and more.  Navigating any online resource can be tricky, so we thought we would help out.  

To navigate the online textbook, utilize this link

http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/connected/login.do

Student usernames are the first three letters of the last name and the last four digits of their ID.  Their password will be the same (first three letters of the last name and the last four digits of their ID).  Example:  Username: BEN3457  Password:  BEN3457

Once the student has logged in, they will find their specific grade level textbook.

Once they access their textbook, students can choose the proper chapter and lesson assigned.  Teachers have the ability to make assignments through the online resource and students have the ability to complete unit assignments, save their work, and turn it in.  Students will see on this screen any assignments that have been made by their teacher to the right (blue) or messages from the teacher below (yellow).

Once in the proper chapter and lesson, students will find a wide variety of resources to utilize in their learning including videos, readings, maps, graphs and charts.  

There are interactive learning tools, games, and self assessment tools for every lesson.

Students can save their work and teachers may assign an entire class or just specific students learning opportunities.

The Social Studies department is excited about our new technology based textbooks and value the readily available resources for every student.  This is just one more way we, at GCISD and CMS, are growing the Portrait of a Graduate.

25 Book Challenge

25 Book Challenge

Student and staff at CMS are stacking the books for the 25 book challenge.  Students are recording the books that they have read through their ELA classes.  If you want to join us email me at Salena.Smith@gcisd.net and I will send you a form.  We will be reading until the end of May, so please join us on this adventure!

Recommended Genre Categories:

Realistic fiction - 4

Historical fiction - 2

Fantasy - 3

Science fiction - 1

Mystery - 1

Informational - 4

Poetry anthologies - 2

Biography, autobiography, and/or memoir - 2

Free choice - 6

  

Twitter Chat

By Suzanne Barker, Learning Liaison

Our previous blog posts have been focused on student learning, but today we would like to share about a learning opportunity that many of our teachers participate in for their professional learning, Twitter Chats.  There are numerous educational hashtags our teachers follow and multiple twitter chats a night that many participate in.   Every other Thursday, our district hosts a Twitter Chat using the hashtag #gcisdchat  These conversations are moderated by various professionals within the district.  This week's chat is on Global Citizens and what we are doing within the classrooms of GCISD to support our students becoming global citizens. These conversations are open to anyone to join!

Is a Twitter Chat new to you?  If so, simply search for the hashtag and follow the tweets.  Questions are posed as Q1, Q2, etc and answers are given in the form of A1, A2, etc.  Always include #gcisdchat on any tweet to be included in the conversation.

Tweetdeck is a wonderful tool to make your twitter more friendly for following certain conversations or hashtags.  If you would like more information on Tweetdeck and how to customize it to follow conversations around our campus, check out this blog post by Suzanne Barker for more information. Tweetdeck at CMS

Colt PRIDE

By Travis Niemeyer

If you’ve spent any amount of time at CMS, you have inevitably heard "Colt Pride" yelled out or seen it posted on  a wall.  And to the uninitiated, this may just sound like a simple slogan, a rallying cheer, or a catchy acrostic.  The truth is Colt PRIDE is much more. 

Colt PRIDE helps students understand how to develop true pride in themselves, their school, and their work.  In an age of participation trophies and "atta boys" for everyone, it can be tough for middle schoolers to generate a strong sense of genuine pride in their character and their accomplishments.  Through Colt PRIDE, we strive to show students that pride isn't a result of showing up, but in perseverance, respect, integrity, discipline, and excellence. 

PERSEVERANCE
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close to success they were when they gave up." - Thomas Edison

There's a lot of research and writing lately talking about "grit" as a key component of success.  With the good fortune of hindsight, I can see how the proudest moments of my life were the result of a lot of hard work, sweat, and tears.  Kids, however, with their limited experiences, often want to give up when faced with adversity and fears of failure.  Instead of pushing through the hard times, they say, I'm just not good at ____."  Adults aren't immune to this thinking or the wishful dream of a shortcut or miracle pill.  Ultimately, easy victories often ring hollow and the pride you feel is fleeting.  It's the victories that come from perseverance, and a never-give-up-mentality, that we celebrate for years to come.  These are the victories that develop true pride.  

RESPECT 
"Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners." - Laurence Stern

Respect is a cornerstone of pride.  Without respect for yourself, your work, and others, it’s hard to develop pride.  There are really three different forms of respect.  There is respect that is given freely, understanding that all people are worthy basic courtesy, there is respect that we have for ourselves (see integrity below), and then there is the respect that is earned through consistency, hard work, and trustworthiness.  Our mission is to help instill all three types of respect in every child that comes through our doors. 

INTEGRITY
"Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking." - C.S. Lewis

Integrity is at the heart of character.  It's hard to have pride in yourself as a person, if deep down you question your goodness.  I have shared C.S. Lewis' quote with many students over the year, and empathized with them on the difficulty of admitting mistakes or "doing the right thing."  These are troublesome qualities for many adults, much less pre-teens and teenagers.  However, developing a strong sense of integrity is essential for pride in one's self.  

DISCIPLINE
"Self-discipline is something, it's like a muscle.  The more you use it, the stronger it gets." - Daniel Goldstein

Self-discipline is a hard trait to master.  In a culture that lives for the short term, it’s sometimes hard to think beyond the moment and put forth the hard work necessary to meet our goals.  But, discipline is a critical part of success, and ultimately pride.  We strive to instill discipline in students through their academic, fine arts, and athletic endeavors.  

Excellence
"Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it.  Autograph your work with excellence." - Unknown

Excellence is not a destination, but a constant pursuit.  When I speak to students about excellence, I talk about doing your best and continually pushing yourself to be better.  Excellence is not about being the best at a particular subject or sport.  Excellence is about being the best "you" you can be.  


I guess, ultimately, Colt PRIDE can best be summed up by Coach John Wooden and his definition of success: 

"Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of the self-satisfaction in knowing you made the best effort to be the best of which you are capable." 

We all want our children to be successful, and at CMS, we believe that Colt PRIDE is the key to being Colt PROUD!

Membean

Post by Suzanne Barker, Learning Liaison 

Last year, our district started a new program to learn and practice vocabulary called Membean.  Language Arts teachers jumped in and had our students start to use it.  Being a "math" girl and someone who grew up out in the country with a family that apparently made up a lot of words, I asked to be part of a classroom. I wanted to learn and experience things from a student's view point and be able to better support teachers in their classrooms.  Let me just say, Membean may have created a monster in me.  I am LOVING learning new words!  I'm not sure my personal children love it when I tell them they are behaving like troglodytes, when they are being petulant, that their room is unkempt or their dinner table manners are uncouth.  (Okay, my kids really are great, but these are a sampling of the words that I have encountered in Membean.)

Although I have enjoyed using it personally, I had two children in the district who also used Membean.  My two children are totally different learners.  My son loves vocabulary.  He enjoys learning new words by examining the roots.  When he uses Membean, he simply looks at the Word Ingredients section that breaks the word down into roots.

My daughter learns vocabulary differently.  When she practices Membean, she likes to look at the definition and then drill on down to the one word that summarizes the definition.

I personally like to look at the pictures that connect to the word and the list of similar and opposite words.

(note: these words are not related to confluence)

In education, we love to talk about differentiation, but this is often difficult to make happen in a room of 30 students.  However, Membean makes this easy. When each student joins a Membean class, they take a pre-assessment to determine their placement.  Then, they begin learning words that are appropriate for them.  When they master one level, then they can move to the next level.  Students are learning the words they need for success.  

Although I love to learn new words, not all of our students are able to see the value of a strong vocabulary.  However, as an adult, I know that a strong vocabulary helps me to be a better reader, writer, mathematician, scientist and the list goes on.  Understanding our language and how to use it is essential for our students.  If this isn't reason enough to have your children learning vocabulary, do you know that many scholarships are tied to ACT and SAT scores?  A strong vocabulary helps students be successful on these exams which means $$$ saved for college!

There are so many components to Membean that appeal to many various learning styles.  Here are screenshots of a few:

As a student is introduced to  a new word, it is read aloud to them.  They can press the speaker icon numerous times to have it repeated.  (This feature does seem to work best on a computer.  If on a phone, you may have to switch to a different page to hear and then back to the original page to continue.)

For each word, they also create a concept map of additional words that can be connected. You can click on any of the words in the web to learn more!

Need some fun way to remember what the word means?  Check out the memory hook!

The example section allows you to see the word in context from various print resources.

Related words give words used in both a similar or opposite sense.  Clicking on any of these words allows you to read a definition to further deepen your learning.

Things To Know as a Parent

It is a district expectation that Membean is used for vocabulary learning.  Although Membean allows you to select a practice session up to 60 minutes, I've found that daily practice in smaller increments works best.  Don't go too small though!  If you student is regularly selecting 5 minute sessions, then the majority of their session will be reviewing prior words without learning new words. I've found 10-15 minute sessions to be ideal.  

At the end of your selected learning time, you are prompted to stop and take a break.

Upon completion of a session, you receive a report on your learning and progress.

In addition to the words students can learn in each session, you can follow Membean on Twitter or like them on Facebook to have additional words shared or to see their "rootcasts" when they become available.

So, if you feel your student may not be getting the most from his or her Membean experience, take a moment to have them logon and you explore the site together.  As a parent, our children may need our support in making the most of their learning opportunities.  Membean can be used on any device that has internet.  At CMS, our learning commons is open each morning at 7:40 with computers and each of our classrooms has a set of devices.  Encourage your student to get their 45 minutes of practice and go beyond! Maybe they will develop a penchant for vocabulary along the way!