Curriculum Connections
Supporting Alaska State Standards
Springtime Writing Ideas
Volume 8: April 2015
Interior Alaska
Spelling Bee
Congratulations to
Bethany Doudna, 8th
grader from the
IDEA Program, who
is this year’s Interior
Alaska Spelling Bee
winner!
It may not be balmy, but it is a great time to get excited about fun
content writing that uses our great outdoors. Whether using a journal,
steno pad, student created foldable, or simply collecting pages in a
folder, nature writing offers multiple options for content writing.
Adding simple, explicit rubrics and time to revise will help your
scientific writers enhance and expand their works.
Here are several perennial favorites that are fun and effective for
extended content writing:
1. This plan, from the Smithsonian, has links to live zoo web cams:
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/journals/sm
ithsonian_siyc_fall06.pdf
•
It may be easier to link directly to these web cams:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WebCams/
You may need to try alternate browsers. Several of the lessons do not
require any more technology than a pencil and paper.
[Issue] :: [Title]
English/Language Arts grades
7-12 materials review:
When: Now! (Through April 16th)
Where: The Curriculum Library,
4th floor in ADC
Times: 7:30am-5:00pm, M-F
Special extended evening hours:
Tuesday & WednesdayApril 7th and 8th, 7:30am-7:00pm
Article of the Week
In the past, Rachel DeTemple and
Rhonda Harvey collaborated at
Lathrop and have successfully taught
the “Article of the Week” as developed
by educator/author Kelly Gallagher.
Rachel further developed a working
template/rubric that helps students
focus on a thesis statement,
annotation, MLA citations, vocabulary,
and connections. Other teachers
within the district have used her
template and have noted that students
are “getting it”. Rachel has given us
permission to share this template with
you.
See the template HERE on page 3
2. This extensive plan offers a wide-range of ideas for getting started or
engaging in a lengthier unit:
http://www.cnps.org/cnps/education/curriculum/owtj_dl/cnps_curriculu
m-otwtnj.pdf
Writing in the Math Classroom
Do you need some help jump-starting your students to write in your math
classroom? Try one of these four tips taken from a recent article in Edutopia journal.
1. Start Small - Have students write one
sentence in their notebook. Pose a question or
math problem for them to reflect on.
2. Read Math Articles Together - Let them see
what writing about mathematics looks like.
3. Have Students Keep a Math Journal - Have
them write about their struggles in math class
or about something they figured out.
4. Do Some of Your Own Writing - Teachers
who write regularly understand the struggles
that students may experience when they write.
The full article can be read
at http://www.edutopia.org/blog/four-tipswriting-math-classroom-heather-wolpertgawron.
Edutopia is an online journal that publishes
articles about a myriad of other topics
including project-based learning, teacher
development, blended learning and classroom
management.
Nutmeg Education is a resource
that allows teachers to create
assessments from either a bank
of questions aligned to the
Standards or by adding their
own questions. If using the
bank of questions, teachers get
data and resources based on
individual Standards. This
resource is available for both
ELA and Math.
http://nutmegeducation.com/
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District is an equal employment and educational opportunity institution
and a tobacco and nicotine-free learning and work environment.
FNSBSD Summer 2015 Professional Development
Course Name
Presenter(s)
Audience
Dates
Time
Location
Credit
Reading Institute
Lesa Meath,
Ronda Schlumbaum,
Michelle Daml, etc.
K - 12
May 27June 5
8:30 – 3:30
Barnette
3
Independent Topic of Study
Alica Unruh
K-12
June 2–July 31
June 2
10:00-12:00
ADC, 341
1
I have an iPad. Now what?
Kathy Port
K-12,
principals
June 2 - 4
TBD
Cur. library
1
Introduction to Thinking Maps Alica Unruh
K-12
July 13 – 17
8:30 – 3:30
Cur. library
2
Google Time
K-12
July 28 – 30
TBD
TBD
1
Kathy Port
More Summer Opportunities:
UAF courses for educators can be found at
http://uaf.edu/summer/educators/
If you prefer online learning, you might sign
up for one of the courses offered by UAF
Center for Distance Education
https://elearning.uaf.edu/courses/list/
Alaska Staff Development Network offers
summer courses that qualify for teacher
certification in Alaska history or Alaska
culture - http://www.asdn.org/summerinstitutes/
Summer Art Institutes are offered this year in
Sitka (June 1-5), Bethel (July 26-30), and
Juneau (July 27-August 7). More information
and registration is available at
http://akartsed.org/institutes/
Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival (July 12-26)
offers short or longer workshops in music,
visual arts, or word craftsmanship – register
at https://www.fsaf.org/
A Communi K-12 from Library Media Services
Please remember as you search for resources to supplement
your lessons that Library Media Services has an extensive
Alaskan collection of books, media and kits. The large kit
collection at LMS also supports science, math, social studies
and English Language Arts. Just login to Destiny at your
school site and in the Location Menus choose District
Library and/or District Media to search by subjects. Call
452-2000 x11243 if you need assistance.
If you would like to investigate the kits and better
understand what they could add in the way of hands-on
learning, come visit LMS this summer. It is an ideal time to
get to know our collection on a first hand basis.
Also, it is not too soon to be thinking about summer reading
for your students. Work with your school library staff to
provide your students with take home flyers that have the
access information for the district’s eBook collection. Let
your students know that LMS is open ALL SUMMER, and
they can get help there if they have any problems with the
eBooks. Let’s keep students reading all summer long!
Experience Summer in Alaska
StenHouse Publishers now has a free webinar
that is available anytime at:
http://www.stenhouse.com/7tips
Spend your summer in Fairbanks working with the National
Park Service in the Teacher-Ranger-Teacher professional
development program. Participating teachers will receive:
• $3,000.00 stipend
• 3-hrs of graduate credit upon completion of course
Contact Sam Durbin at [email protected] or call (907) 4593747
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District – Curriculum Department
520 Fifth Ave., Fairbanks, AK 99701 ~ 452-2000 x 11474
Article of the Week Form/Rubric
Article of the Week # _____
Name:_______________________________ Per: ____
MLA Citation
____ out of 2
EX: Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Publication. Date.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Annotations
_____ out of 5
Thesis statement:
_____ out of 5
What is the main idea of this article? Sum it up in one complete sentence. Do not just copy the title of the article. Incomplete
sentences will receive no credit.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Word attack
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
_____ out of 3
Guess:________________________
Guess:________________________
Guess:________________________
Connections:
_____ out of 10
What connection(s) can you make between this article and your own life, between this article and another text, OR between this
article and another real-life issue? Write a paragraph identifying and explaining at least one connection. (If the response is not a
complete paragraph, you will not get full credit.)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
So What/Now What?
_____ out of 10
Why does this article matter? What are the consequences of this information? Go beyond the text! (If the response is not a
complete paragraph, you will not get full credit.)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Total: ________ out of 35
Created by Rachel DeTemple and used with permission for classroom use only, not for publication.