Cool Maps!

Cool Maps!

 

            a. 40 world maps with data – This link has a series of data-rich maps of the world:

http://twistedsifter.com/2013/08/maps-that-will-help-you-make-sense-of-the-world/

David Brooks on the Human Skills Most Needed in the Computer Age

            In this important New York Times column, David Brooks lists several mental skills that will be less valued as computers become increasingly powerful and prevalent in the workplace:

-    Having a great memory;

-    Being an A student by gathering lots of information and regurgitating it back on tests;

-    Doing any mental activity that involves following a set of rules.

But which human skills will be more important? Here are some specific abilities he believes will be of great value in the age of brilliant machines:

• Having what Brooks calls “a voracious explanatory drive, an almost obsessive need to follow their curiosity… diving into and trying to make sense of these bottomless information oceans.”

• Being quick to recognize an interesting event and get the word out to others, perhaps on Twitter;

• Being able to grasp the essence of one thing, then the essence of something quite different, and put them together to create something entirely new.

• Being able to visualize data and present it in vivid graphic form;

• Having an extended time horizon and strategic discipline – an overall sense of direction and a conceptual frame. “In a world of online distractions, the person who can maintain a long obedience toward a single goal, and who can filter out what is irrelevant to that goal, will obviously have enormous worth,” he says.

• Possessing a Goldilocks level of team leadership – not too controlling and not too loose. “One of the oddities of collaboration is that tightly knit teams are not the most creative,” says Brooks. “Loosely bonded teams are, teams without a few domineering presences, teams that allow people to think alone before they share results with the group. So a manager who can organize a decentralized network around a clear question, without letting it dissipate or clump, will have enormous value.”

            “The role of the human is not to be dispassionate, depersonalized, or neutral,” concludes Brooks. “It is precisely the emotive traits that are rewarded: the voracious lust for understanding, the enthusiasm for work, the ability to grasp the gist, the empathetic sensitivity to what will attract attention and linger in the mind. Unable to compete when it comes to calculation, the best workers will come with heart in hand.”

 

“What Machines Can’t Do” by David Brooks in The New York Times, Feb. 4, 2014 (p. A19),

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/opinion/brooks-what-machines-cant-do.html?_r=0

Great Reminder!

Great reminder of who you may have an opportunity to help today!

 

This Week @ HMS

 

Sunday, February 23

 

Happy Birthday Kristi Harris!

 

Monday, February 24

 

7^th grade Track Meet @ HMS

 

AIMES Progress Monitoring

 

Tuesday, February 25

 

Happy Birthday Ashley Zamora!

 

AIMES Progress Monitoring

 

8th Grade Track Meet @ HMS

 

Pre-UIL Choir @ HHS (All Day)

 

8^th Grade ARDS

 

Wednesday, February 26

 

AIMES Progress Monitoring

 

Reading CBA

 

Thursday, February 27

 

HHS School Counselors @ HMS for 8^th Grade Registration

 

Friday, February 28

 

End of the 4^th Six Weeks

 

Saturday, March 1

 

Happy Birthday Jeannie James!

 

This Weeks Duty List

 

Outside Duty

S1-Pearson

S2-Dunwoody

S3-C. Rosales

S4-J. Sylva

S5-Dougherty

S6-Zamora

 

Morning Hall Duty

Aggie Hall-Teeters

Baylor Hall-Flores

College Hall-Feig

 

Tiger Thumbs Up!

 

Lots of opportunity in our Special Education Department last week!  Great work Kristi Harris, David Holland, Mary Nalley, Deborah Flores, Becky George!

 

Thanks for representing HMS @ our multiple training opportunities last week Mrs. Shelton, Dunwoody, and Shaft.

Influencing Bystanders to Stand Up to Bullying

          In this helpful article in Principal Magazine, Jim Dillon (Measurement Incorporated) says that trying to tighten control of student behavior is not an effective way to stop bullying. “The people who have the most influence in determining the amount and degree of bullying in a school are not the adults, but the students,” he says. The trick is to shift from a controlling to an influencing mindset – changing students’ reactions to bullying through modeling, listening, and winning trust.

            From the student’s point of view, bullying has a clear social purpose – impressing an audience of bystanders and raising one’s social status. “Stopping bullying requires changing the audience response to it,” says Dillon. “Educators… need to focus less on the rule-breakers, and more on the majority of students who don’t break the rules: the bystanders or the audience for acts of bullying.”

A key step is for adults to avoid the fundamental attribution error – the tendency to attribute students’ behavior to the way they are rather than the situation they’re in. Bystanders who don’t intervene aren’t heartless and apathetic; they are subject to a common set of social pressures and haven’t learned how to deal with them. “Just telling bystanders to ‘stand up’ to bullying makes little sense,” says Dillon, “no more sense than just telling a student to be a good reader or become a safe driver without first providing instruction, guidance, coaching, and support.” Based on his research, he offers this summary of the nots – rationalizations that bystanders use for holding back:

-    Not really bullying – students sometimes call it “drama;”

-    Not wrong – he’s just teasing and joking around;

-    Not harmful – nobody’s getting hurt; she can handle it;

-    Not against the rules – the bullying is subtle, technically below the radar;

-    Not like me, not my “tribe” – the victim is perceived as very different;

-    Not worthy of help – the victim deserves it; teachers don’t like this person;

-    Not sure what the crowd thinks – “It is very hard, even frightening, for students to act differently from what they perceive the majority of their peers think,” says Dillon.

-    Not sure what to do – how can I stop this – especially difficult when the perpetrator is popular and socially connected;

-    Not my job – it’s up to teachers or older students;

-    Not my decision – others’ inaction is a sign that what is happening is not a problem;

-    Not worth the risk – I might become a victim too;

-    Not sure if adults will handle the situation well – telling might make things worse;

-    Not sure of back-up – I might get in trouble too.

All of these nots are knots that need to be untied, says Dillon, and that process can begin when students are shown how much influence they can have in making their school a better place. Here are some key points that need to be part of a schoolwide campaign:

            • The vast majority of students don’t bully and don’t approve of bullying.

            • People want to do good and be helpful.

            • Student make mistakes and our school will not be trouble-free. “Problems are part of life and learning,” says Dillon. “Viewing them as such will make discussing them a lot less emotional. Students will be more open to sharing them.”

            • Students are subject to social pressures and need to think for themselves and problem-solve. “Students shouldn’t feel guilty if they don’t act courageously in the face of bullying,” says Dillon. “Educators should share their own stories of their doubt, uncertainty, and even indifference in the face of need.”

• Being compassionate toward bullies doesn’t mean the behavior is being condoned. “Students who make mistakes need compassion and will accept guidance and direction when given respect and care,” says Dillon. “Students who bully aren’t bad kids or inherent troublemakers – some just need to learn how not to bully others.”

 

“Untying the ‘Nots’ of Bullying Prevention” by Jim Dillon in Principal Magazine, January/February 2014 (Vol. 93, #3, p. 36-39), www.naesp.org

Deciding Which Vocabulary Words to Teach and How to Teach Them

 

            In this article in The Reading Teacher, Michael Graves (University of Minnesota/ Minneapolis) and seven colleagues ask how educators should decide which vocabulary words to teach from a text. Making good decisions is even more important given the Common Core’s emphasis on vocabulary.

Based on a three-year research project, the authors created the SWIT process – Selecting Words for Instruction from Texts. It involves choosing and teaching four types of unfamiliar words:

-    Essential words – These are important for understanding the text.

-    Valuable words – These have broad, enduring utility for students’ reading and writing – for example, for sixth graders, discord and inevitable.

-    Accessible words – These are more common, higher frequency words that are not likely to be understood by students with limited vocabulary knowledge – for example, consider and recent.

-    Imported words – These aren’t in the actual text but will enhance a reader’s understanding, appreciation, or learning – for example prejudice, gullible, democracy, environmentalism.

How many words should students learn? The authors recommend teaching 20 words a week and trying to teach 500-600 by the end of each school year. Here are their suggestions:

For a narrative text: (Island of the Blue Dolphins for 4^th graders):

-    Identify potentially Unfamiliar words. Then create a chart with all those words in the left-hand column (in the example given, there are 22: advice, ancestors, befall, calm, crawfish, faint, fiber, fortune, headland, kelp, leagues, lessened, omen, pause, pitch, planks, pursued, sandspit, seeping, serpent, skirted, and spouting)

-    Label six more columns, three for type of word (Essential, Valuable, and Accessible) and three for type of instruction (Powerful Instruction, Brief Explanation, and Infer Meaning), and leave room at the bottom for Imported Words.

-    Make a check-mark for each Unfamiliar word in the appropriate column: Essential, Valuable, or Accessible – for example, advice and ancestors are Essential, befall and calm are Valuable, pause and spouting are Accessible.

-    Decide if there are Imported words that need to be added – in this text, determination was deemed an important addition to the lesson.

-    Determine the optimal type of instruction for each word – for example, the teacher decides omen is best taught by Powerful Instruction, calm through a Brief Explanation, and faint through Infer Meaning.

-    Implement vocabulary instruction. For example, for Powerful Instruction of the word determination, the teacher gives a clear definition, discusses the context sentences, asks questions that require deep thinking, and provides a vocabulary reference sheet.

The procedure for an informational text is similar.

            The authors acknowledge that the SWIT process is time-consuming, but they argue that

it’s time well spent and after it’s been done once, the chart and teaching strategies are money in the bank for future years and other teachers.

 

“Words, Words Everywhere, But Which Ones Do We Teach?” by Michael Graves, James Baumann, Camille Blachowicz, Patrick Manyak, Ann Bates, Char Cieply, Jeni Davis, and Heather Von Gunten in The Reading Teacher, February 2014 (Vol. 67, #5, p. 333-346),

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/trtr.1228/abstract; Graves can be reached at mgraves@umn.edu.

Black History Month Web-sites

a. Black History Month websites – These sites provide helpful material for use this month and throughout the year:

• Association for the Study of African-American Life and History: http://asalh.net/index.html

• National Education Association: www.nea.org/tools/lessons/black-history-month.htm

• National Council of Teachers of English 25^th annual National African-American Read-In, with suggested books and activities: www.ncte.org/action/aari/packetinfo

• Smithsonian Education resources in literature, history, science, and the arts:

www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/resource_library/african_american_resources.html

Changing Mindsets

Teach Tenacity

Why do some students fight through difficult problems and others give up?  Are they lazy? Carol Dweck is a psychologist at Stanford University who studies mindsets and success.  Her studies show that over time you can teach your students to fight through their challenges.  This could have a big impact on your student’s lives.

I have read about this research in past, but it is a great reminder.  Our words to students mean a great deal.  Please take four minutes and check out the video.  Changing the mindset of our students is half of the battle.

The Week @ HMS

Monday, February 17

Mrs. Glinsky in Social Studies Classes for Scheduling

GT testing First and Second Period

Tuesday, February 19

Happy Birthday Emily Sissney and Liz Pena

Mrs. Glinsky in 8^th Grade History Classes

Fire and AED Drill

Wednesday, February 20

Mrs. Glinsky in Texas History Classes

457 Retirement Meeting in the Auditorium

Thursday, February 21

College Day Attire

Happy Birthday Coach Savala

Haltom High School Counselors in Science Classes for Scheduling

Friday, February 22

Spirit Attire

Duty Roster For the Week

Outside Duty                                    Inside Duty

S1-Strickland                                    A. Hall Williams

S2-Rhine                               B.  Davis

S3-Savala                               C. Dougherty

S4-Mantooth

S5-Driver

S6-Antwine

Tiger Thumbs Up

Coach Bradley, Murphy, Tucker, VanDine, Donnell, and Allen congratulations on a great basketball season!  Your teams came a long way and we had two teams playing Saturday.  Well done!

 

Snow What!

This week @ HMS

Monday, February 10

7^th Grade Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament-Time and Location to TBA

Tuesday, February 11

8^th Grade Basketball Make Up Game vs. Hurst

Happy Birthday Ms. Saucedo!

Wednesday, February 12-Advisory Schedule

Progress Reports Go Home

Department Chair Meeting-400

Thursday, February 13-Advisory Schedule

Progress Reports Returned

AP ILT Bailey AM and Meza PM

8^th Grade Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament Begins Times and Locations TBA

Happy Birthday Coach Allen!

Friday, February 14

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Buddy Pictures

Dessert Bar (PTA)

Basketball Tournament Continues!

Saturday, February 15

7th and 8^th grade basketball tournament continues!

Tiger Thumbs Up

Thanks Ms. Williams and the PLC leaders for your assistance with the OHI data.

Great job Tigers with late start Friday!  We seem to be getting used to this.

Mr. Pena thanks for the work that you have done on with the tardy table! 

Living Inside the Box, but Thinking Outside of the Box?

Making Idioms Comprehensible to English Language Learners

           
 In this article in AMLE Magazine, Melanie Greene and Grayson Chell (Appalachian State University/Boone) say that many American idioms are incomprehensible to English language learners. Consider baseball expressions that a teacher might use without a second thought: 

-    We’re setting the ground rules.

-    Play ball!

-    Who’s at bat?

-    Are you ready to step up to the plate?

-    He’s a real rookie.

-    Touch base with her.

-    Can you be the pinch hitter?

-    Looks like you dropped the ball.

-    You’re way off base.

-    That’s two strikes. If you get three, you’re outa here.

-    Wind up for the pitch.

-    Brush him off.

-    Ted hit it out of the ballpark!

-    It’s a home run!

Hearing all this, say the authors, ELLs might “be so busy trying to determine where the ball was, who was up at bat, and who hit a home run that they miss the key concepts of the lesson.”

            The Common Core ELA standards expect students to master figurative language, word relationships, and nuances of word meaning, but students shouldn’t be expected to pick up these concepts “on the fly.” Here are some strategies to teach idioms more systematically:

            • Introduce idioms in context, never in isolation. Show students how idioms are used in newspaper and magazine articles, songs, cartoons, videos, and advertisements. Another approach is to use the idiom in a conversation and ask students to try to figure out the meaning.

            • Have students use idioms in conversation. Pairs of students might be asked to write a conversation using idioms and then perform it for the class.

• Make sure students understand. Many idioms are used in informal spoken exchanges, not in writing.

• Practice with games and activities. These are good ways to engage students and help them internalize idiomatic meanings. Here are some helpful websites:

-    Busy Teacher: http://busyteacher.org/3712-how-to-teach-english-idioms-and-their-meaning.html

-    StickyBall: www.stickyball.net/idioms.html

-    Activities for ESL students: http://a4esl.org/q/h/9801/lk-idiomsp.html

-    Using English: www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms

-    ESL Mania: www.eslmania.com

 

“Using Idioms with English Language Learners” by Melanie Greene and Grayson Chell in AMLE Magazine, January 2014 (Vol. 1, #5, p. 21-22), www.amle.org; the authors can be reached at greenemw@appstate.edu and chellgl@email.appstate.edu.

Effective Use of Primary Documents in Middle School Social Studies

            In this article in AMLE Magazine, Kenneth Anthony and Nicole Miller (Mississippi State University) say the Common Core ELA standards “provide a natural way for language arts and social studies teachers to collaborate through interdisciplinary teaching; the medium for collaboration can be primary sources.” Anthony and Miller suggest a three-pronged approach to using primary documents to deepen students’ understanding:

            • Consider the context. Students establish a baseline by answering questions such as, When was this document written? Why was it written? Who authored this document? What was the author’s point of view? (judged by the tone and the presence or absence of particular information)

            • Consider the content. What was said? What arguments were made? What supporting points or details were provided? These questions deepen students’ understanding of the document, key vocabulary, central ideas, text structure, and the topic being studied.

            • Make connections. Guiding questions include: What connections to your life and/or prior learning can you make? What connections to other events and people in history can you make?

            Anthony and Miller suggest the primary document “Rationale for Founding the Georgia Colony” for middle-school social studies classes, using it to find this information:

-    Geography: the location of Georgia in relation to existing colonies; the distance from England to Georgia; how long it took to travel; the boundaries of the colony; the location and significance of Great Britain, China, Persia, Bahamas, Palestine, Port Royal;

-    People: His majesty the king of England, James Oglethorpe, William Penn, Indians, Protestants, Saltzburghers, “the useless Poor in England.”

-    Economics: Money for passage, sustenance, revenue, duties on goods.

-    Domain-specific vocabulary: Colony, charter, persecution, trustees, incorporating, latitude.

-    Domain-specific concepts: Liberty of conscience, refuge from persecution.

-    Time: When was the Colony of Georgia established compared to the other British colonies in North America?

-    Time, continuity, and change: What events influenced the development of Georgia and the United States?

-    Power, authority, and governance: How and why do political systems protect individual rights? How does this document compare to the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence?

-    Civic ideals: How and why did the United States develop democratic ideas and practices?

-    People, places, and environments: Why did people leave Europe for America? How does the establishment of Georgia differ from other colonies?

 

“Digging Deeper with Primary Sources” by Kenneth Anthony and Nicole Miller in AMLE Magazine, January 2014 (Vol. 1, #5, p. 23-25), www.amle.org; the authors can be reached at kva3@msstate.edu and ncm39@colled.msstate.edu.