ELAConnections

USING APPS TO REIMAGE ELA INSTRUCTION

by Cindy Blevins on 05/13/16

From time to time we will be posting new technology ideas to use in the ELA classroom. Even though the end of school is extra crazy, it can also be a great time to try out a new app to see if it is something you want to use in the fall. Take a look at these seven apps from a "Voices in the Middle" article by James Marshall. Do any of them appeal to you? Do any of you already use one or more of these? If so, please share with us!

http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/VM/0234-may2016/VM0234Teaching.pdf?utm_source=VM+Journal+Announcement+-+23-4&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Journals

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END-OF-YEAR, ZINE-MAKING IDEAS

by Cindy Blevins on 05/06/16

Do you need an engaging writing idea for these last few days of school? Consider publishing zines or e-zines. Students can work as a class, in groups, or individually to create a short magazine (or electronic magazine) highlighting this last year of school and in our world, ideas for summer vacation, or any number of other ideas. To help with this, check out the "Zine Making 101" by Scholastic: https://www.homestead.com/~site/Scripts_BlogAdmin/BlogAdmin.dll?CMD=CMDBlogAdmin

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FINISH STRONG: MAY READING AND WRITING IDEAS

by Cindy Blevins on 05/02/16

Have fun with the following as you are trying to survive the last few weeks of school. Summer is almost here! You can do it!

Do a Google search of any of the following special days to obtain more information. Use them with students as springboards for reading, writing, and research, or as an invitation for guest speakers.

May is also a great month to introduce/reinforce letter writing. Use this short commercial of Peyton Manning as an introduction to writing letters to special people: http://tinyurl.com/hkcsnru. You can also pair this with National Military Appreciation Month, Teacher Appreciation Week, National Nursing Home Week, National Babysitter’s Day, and Mother’s Day. Have fun, and let us hear about the wonderful things you did!

Arthritis Awareness Month
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Better Hearing and Speech Month
Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month and Ultraviolet Awareness Month
Healthy Vision Month
Get Caught Reading Month
Latino Books Month
Go Fetch! National Food Drive for Homeless Animals Month
National Bike Month
National Salad Month
National Salsa Month
National Military Appreciation Month

SPECIAL WEEKS IN MAY
May 1-7—National Pet Week
May 2-6—PTA Teacher Appreciation Week
May 2-8—Children’s Book Week
May 8-14—National Nursing Home Week

SPECIAL DAYS IN MAY
May 5—Cinco De Mayo
May 7—Birth Anniversary of Johannes Brahms (1833)
May 7—Birth Anniversary of Robert Browning (1812)
May 7—Birth Anniversary of Peter Tchaikovsky (1840)
Nay 9—National Babysitter’s Day
May 8—Mother’s Day
May 21—Founding of American Red Cross (1881)

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CREST Conference: TEA Updates

by Cindy Blevins on 04/28/16

Bailey and I had a wonderful time at the Coalition of Reading and English Supervisors of Texas Conference in Austin on Sunday and Monday. We attended some great sessions and enjoyed visiting with other supervisors about reading and writing.

BRAD VASIL -- We heard from Brad Vasil who took Victoria Young's place over the ELAR/Social Studies state assessments at TEA. He said many things have been put in place to correct all the recent online testing issues.

Brad's Beliefs on Assessment: 1. Assessment should reflect quality instruction, not the other way around. 2. Transparency--no "black boxes" in assessment. We should know what we're doing and why. Stakes are too high to just say, "Trust us!" 3. Customer Service Business--Communication--make sure we're keeping people up-to-date about what's going on. We're here to serve students!

Brad went into great detail about how writing (constructed response and short answer) is scored and how scorers are qualified. It's a complicated process. Let me know if you want more information, and I'll share the details from my notes.

Brad hopes to have some answers soon on HB 1164 (requires TEA to plan a study to develop a writing assessment methodology as an alternative to the Grades 4 and 7 writing tests).

NEW TEKS UPDATE: We heard from several people working on the TEKS committees. We then split in groups to review/discuss various TEKS strands and give feedback. The new TEKS look really go so far. They are divided into 8 strands and each strand includes reading, writing, listening, and speaking using multi-genre texts. Strands: 1. Foundational Language Skills 2. Comprehension 3. Response 4. Collaboration 5. Multi-Genre 6. Author's Purpose and Craft 7. Composition and Presentation 8. Inquiry and Research.

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Celebrate April: Springboards for Reading and Writing

by Cindy Blevins on 04/01/16

Celebrate the entire month of April by using the following as springboards for reading and writing activities:

--National Car Car Month
--Defeat Diabetes Month
--Distracted Driving Awareness Month
--Jazz Appreciation Month
--National Humor Month
--National Pecan Month (go Texas!)
--National Poetry Month
--School Library Month
--Stress Awareness Month

Comment below on what you did to celebrate April. We love hearing from you!

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