As the title of my blog indicates, I intend to keep everyone up to date on all of the many changes that we have had and are working on in the area of curriculum in addition to technology. In future blogs I will review some exciting changes that we made in the past few years including emphasizing teaching organizational skills, changes to how we teach and assess writing, and the acceleration of our math program from PK3 through 8th grade.
This post, however, will focus on a more recent change. When we decided to make changes to our math program 3 years ago, we noticed that our 7A/8th grade math course changed significantly. In past years, that course, called "Pre-Algebra," evolved into what would better be described as beginning algebra and beginning geometry. For the first half of the course, students in "Pre-Algebra" covered the same concepts as those enrolled in our 8A "Honors Algebra I" course. The second semester of "Pre-Algebra" actually wasn't algebra at all. In fact, it was comparable to the first semester of high school Geometry.
This year we thought that it might be best to rename the course "Intro to Algebra and Geometry." As Mrs. Weiss and I further considered this, we came up with a new idea. Instead of having students essentially do the first half of Algebra I in 7A/8 and then again in 8A, why not complete the entire Algebra I course in 7A/8? This would allow all middle school students to have the opportunity to take Algebra I at BA. This also would give our advanced students the opportunity to take a full year of Geometry at BA as well.
Beginning with this year's 7A/8th grade students, the course that they are enrolled in is now called "Honors Algebra I." For those in 7A this year, when they are in 8A, a full year Geometry course will be offered for the first time at BA. This Geometry course will include the second half of the former "Pre-Algebra" but will continue on to complete the entire course of Geometry.
Why make this change? First and foremost, we feel confident that our middle school mathematics program is second to none. Mrs. Weiss, who has taught math in our middle school for 15 years, is widely known by all students past and present to be an exceptional teacher. Further, our research done last year with our graduates indicated that math is by far the area that students at all area high schools (including both public and private) felt that they did not have as positive of an experience as they did at BA. Many of our graduates stay in touch with Mrs. Weiss to get assistance when they feel they need it in high school. All say that they keep their middle school notes from Mrs. Weiss with them at all times to help them with their high school coursework. With this in mind, we believe that exposing our BA students to as much math under the instruction of Mrs. Weiss is in their best interest moving forward.
Another reason, of course, is that we believe that our students are highly capable of reaching even further. We know that our students will be able to meet the additional challenge of further acceleration of our curriculum. Whenever we have raised the bar at BA, our students always rise to the occasion and amaze us with what they are capable of accomplishing. We are excited to give our awesome students another opportunity to excel academically.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
eBooks at BA!
As I am sure all parents of BA students know, this year we required each of our students to have a public library card. As part of our technology use this year, students will learn how to access the wealth of online, free materials available to them via the public library. During the summer, students were asked to check out a book, using ebooks, for practice. During the month of September, every student again will do so as part of a learning activity during reading or language arts class.
Research shows that libraries as we remember them as children, or even five years ago, are beginning to look very different and will look quite different in the very near future. Having access to books and magazines via your computer or iPad, being able to check books out and return them online, without ever leaving your home or classroom, makes eBooks the preferred way to access reading material by our many.
I recognize that many of us hear this news and feel a bit saddened by this change. Reading on a phone or an iPad seems so different from the way we did when we were kids. Most of us still prefer the comfort of curling up with a good book at home or on the beach. It seems hard to imagine that reading on a device could compare to that comfort feeling.
However, I encourage all parents to give it a try. I personally felt the exact same way. Then I tried it myself. I went to the library this past spring and received the first library card that I have had since I was a child. Like most adults, I normally read books that I purchase from bookstores. Once I had my library card, I went onto the library website and checked out my first ebook. My goal was simply to know the process so that I could share it with teachers. Once I started reading my first book on my computer I was hooked. First, my book it now with me all of the time, since my computer or my phone is with me all of the time. When I am stuck waiting somewhere, such as the doctor's office or in a long line at the post office, I have my book with me everywhere. I also love that reading on my computer is easier on my eyes. I no longer need to carry a book light with me in order to be able to read. My computer or device has a backlight making reading so much easier on my vision. I also can increase the font size as well, which also makes reading a joy. But the thing I love most about checking out books via ebooks is that they are free and easy to access! I know, all books at the library are free. But since I am so very busy, I can now check books out from my home at any time of the day or night. I can check out every book from my favorite author, even if I am not sure I will enjoy the book. In the past, I might have decided not to purchase books at the bookstore based on the summary. But with ebooks, since I can check out books and try them out for free, I am reading many more books than ever before.
I also have heard the same thing about the students. In middle school, students who are not usually "readers" are finding reading more enjoyable when they can access lots of books on their devices. We now hear about students reading in the car on their phones and checking out other books by the author of books they have read in class. It is very satisfying to hear that this initiative is doing exactly what we hoped: finding a new way to get reading material into the hands of students.
As I discussed in my previous post, paper books are still available to students at BA. We certainly are not a school that believes in throwing away one thing in favor of another. To the contrary, we believe in providing as many different modalities as possible to allow our students to grow as learners and as individuals. Each of our lower school classrooms now has a huge collection of grade appropriate books right in their classrooms. The students are able to access these books every day, not just a couple times per month as was the case when the books were housed in a central location. We are finding that since we have rearranged our collection in this way, books that used to sit on the bookshelf untouched in the old library are now being read by students since they are easier to find in their classrooms.
TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOMS
Research shows that libraries as we remember them as children, or even five years ago, are beginning to look very different and will look quite different in the very near future. Having access to books and magazines via your computer or iPad, being able to check books out and return them online, without ever leaving your home or classroom, makes eBooks the preferred way to access reading material by our many.
I recognize that many of us hear this news and feel a bit saddened by this change. Reading on a phone or an iPad seems so different from the way we did when we were kids. Most of us still prefer the comfort of curling up with a good book at home or on the beach. It seems hard to imagine that reading on a device could compare to that comfort feeling.
However, I encourage all parents to give it a try. I personally felt the exact same way. Then I tried it myself. I went to the library this past spring and received the first library card that I have had since I was a child. Like most adults, I normally read books that I purchase from bookstores. Once I had my library card, I went onto the library website and checked out my first ebook. My goal was simply to know the process so that I could share it with teachers. Once I started reading my first book on my computer I was hooked. First, my book it now with me all of the time, since my computer or my phone is with me all of the time. When I am stuck waiting somewhere, such as the doctor's office or in a long line at the post office, I have my book with me everywhere. I also love that reading on my computer is easier on my eyes. I no longer need to carry a book light with me in order to be able to read. My computer or device has a backlight making reading so much easier on my vision. I also can increase the font size as well, which also makes reading a joy. But the thing I love most about checking out books via ebooks is that they are free and easy to access! I know, all books at the library are free. But since I am so very busy, I can now check books out from my home at any time of the day or night. I can check out every book from my favorite author, even if I am not sure I will enjoy the book. In the past, I might have decided not to purchase books at the bookstore based on the summary. But with ebooks, since I can check out books and try them out for free, I am reading many more books than ever before.
I also have heard the same thing about the students. In middle school, students who are not usually "readers" are finding reading more enjoyable when they can access lots of books on their devices. We now hear about students reading in the car on their phones and checking out other books by the author of books they have read in class. It is very satisfying to hear that this initiative is doing exactly what we hoped: finding a new way to get reading material into the hands of students.
As I discussed in my previous post, paper books are still available to students at BA. We certainly are not a school that believes in throwing away one thing in favor of another. To the contrary, we believe in providing as many different modalities as possible to allow our students to grow as learners and as individuals. Each of our lower school classrooms now has a huge collection of grade appropriate books right in their classrooms. The students are able to access these books every day, not just a couple times per month as was the case when the books were housed in a central location. We are finding that since we have rearranged our collection in this way, books that used to sit on the bookshelf untouched in the old library are now being read by students since they are easier to find in their classrooms.
TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOMS
Grade/Class: 1A
Teacher: Mrs. Smith
Subject: Spelling and Vocabulary
App or website: Spelling City (It is both an app and a website)
Spelling City incorporates our spelling words and lets students do games and activities to practice spelling. Some of the games include "Hang Mouse," "Word Search" and "Word Unscramble." Student can also take a practice test with their words.
This app enhanced learning by providing additional practice with spelling words in a novel, highly engaging format.
Student feedback: We did this activity last week on the SMARTboard, and students enjoyed playing the games! They especially loved Hang Mouse! We will be going to the Technology Center tomorrow so that students can practice their words on the iPads. I sent the link home for parents and I have heard a lot of feedback about how the students liked practicing by doing the games.
Grade/Class:
5th
Teacher:
Mrs. V
Subject:
Language Arts
App or
website: Website
Students watched Weird Al’s “Word Crime” video for insight into
common grammar mistakes. The music video format engaged the students and we used
it as a springboard for discussion about mistakes featured in the video.
Students then picked their own word crime from what we discussed and made their
own PowerPoint presentations about them.
This site makes grammar
alive and relevant, and makes it a fun start-up activity.
Student
feedback: Students loved the video! Some told me that they listened to the song
again at home; now students will say “Word Crime” if they notice one, and they
also enjoyed making the PowerPoint (many of which were clever and hilarious in
their own way (e.g. “Lettuce” talk about it)
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