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!