Updates

Yes, we moved.  But we're still working on enabling subscriptions to the new page...and it might be a while. :-(  So, for your convenience, we'll be posting updates here every now and then to remind you to visit the new page! 

Here's the new address:  http://nixa.schoolwires.net/domain/134

If you haven't checked out the page since the beginning of the school year, here are the headlines you've missed so far.  Visit the new site to read more!

Connecting Colleagues:  How well do you know our new Nixa teachers:

• Tori Marquez, High Pointe, 3rd Grade
• Ali Dollins, Espy, Kindergarten
• Shannon Petersen, Inman, 6th Grade
• Anna Brunk, Century, 1st Grade
• Allison Tilley, Espy, ECC & Mathews, ESOL
• Jordan Politte, Mathews, K-4
• Amber Chappell, JTSD, SLP

*We add new colleagues each week so you can learn all about our new Nixa teachers!

 

Connect with the Elementary Education Department on Social Media!

What Are Green Buckets?   Grade Level Cluster Emphasis Explained

K-5 Social Studies HB1490 Workgroup Survey

 

We're Moving!

We are moving!!!  We are combining the "CIA Matters" and "LNW" blogs to our district's Schoolwires website, which will be a quick and easy way to get information, resources, and ideas in one convenient location!  You can still view archived posts from the new site, so don't worry!  :-)

Please visit our new site HERE!

June 29 Details - Dr. Nicki Newton!

For those who registered, this is a reminder of the details for this Monday, June 29th.  See you there! :-)

WHEN:  Monday, June 29th

WHERE:  Summit Intermediate cafeteria, 890 Cheyenne Rd.

SCHEDULE:

7:30-8:00            Check in; refreshments

8:00-11:00          Morning Session

11:00-12:30        Lunch (on your own)

12:30-3:30          Afternoon Session      

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

·       When you check in, you will receive your Dr. Nicki Newton text.  At the end of the day, you will receive instructions for ordering your math manipulatives.

·       Dr. Newton’s storefront, Gigglenook Math, will be set up for you to purchase items if you wish. 

*Sorry, PO money cannot be used at the storefront.

What happens in Math Vegas doesn’t need to stay in Vegas.  Feel free to share what you learn with your friends.  VIVA, MATH!

Another Great Math Article Recommended by Dr. Nicki Newton

The Answer Is 20 Cookies.

What Is

the Question?

Click on the cookies to read this great article.

Notes from the Dr. Nicki Newton Videoconference with Our Book Study

WORDS OF MATH WISDOM FROM DR. NICKI

• Make sure problem solving is REAL for the students.  (i.e., Most people don't have 234 apples or have a friend with 359 apples, so you can figure out how many apples you have altogether.)  Think REALITY problems that make sense to where we live.
• Give students BENCHMARKS for measurement.  Don't assume students can imagine 1/2 an inch or a yardstick on their own.  (i.e., The width of my pinky is about 1/2 inch.  If I spread my arms out like a bird, my wingspan is about 36 inches.)
• Teach decimals with menus and sales flyer to make it more meaningful for students.
• Have students solve a problem one way and check it another way.  
• Get away from KEY WORDS for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division when problem solving because it's not always helpful to students.  (i.e., TJ has three less baseball cards than Ethan.  Ethan has seven baseball cards.  How many baseball cards does TJ have?  Answer: TJ has four baseball cards.)
• When teaching math, you can break up domains, but DO NOT break up clusters.

• Check out the Making Number Talks Matter Blog.  Scroll to the bottom to preview the new text, the entire text.  Find out what number talks are, why they are so important, and how to get them started in your K-6 classroom.
• Check out Howard County Schools per Dr. Nicki's request.  For each grade level, they have a page/s for each domain listing important vocabulary, activities students could practice at home, and learning links, or computer games, that could be used at school and at home. Here is a sampling:
• Kindergarten Counting and Cardinality
• First Grade Numbers and Operations Base Ten
• Second Grade Operations and Algebraic Thinking
• Third Grade Number and Operations (Fractions)
• Fourth Grade Measurement and Data
• Fifth Grade Geometry
• Sixth Grade Expressions and Equations
• Dr. Nicki also likes the Read Tennesee Math Site.  For each mathematical practice, this site provides videos to watch, articles to read, websites to explore, and how to apply the mathematical practice in the classroom.  Here is a sampling:
• Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
• Reason abstractly and quantitatively
• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
• Model with mathematics
• Use appropriate tools strategically
• Attend to precision
• Look for and make use of structure
• Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
• Dr. Nicki also suggested looking at what the Arizona Department of Education has put together.  They have a document for each grade level that includes the standard, what mathematical practices go with the standard, and explanations and examples of the standard.  Here is a sampling of what you can find on the Arizona math site:
• Kindergarten
• First Grade
• Second Grade
• Third Grade
• Fourth Grade
• Fifth Grade
• Sixth Grade

HAPPY MATHING!

Dr. Nicki Is on YouTube - What Is Guided Math? Why Do Guided Math?

Dr. Nicki is on YouTube!

What Is Guided Math?

Why Do Guided Math?

A Guide to the 8 Mathematical Practice Standards - Getting Ready for Dr. Nicki's Visit

This is a great visual to help us understand the Mathematical Practice Standards

Dr. Nicki will be referring to the mathematical practice standards during her visit to Nixa on Monday, June 29th.  The mathematical practice standards are a lot to take in.  However, they are woven throughout our math lessons each day.  As we teach the standards, we also teach the mathematical practices. They are the foundation for mathematical thinking and practice in our classrooms. Here is a quick read article on the mathematical practice standards from Scholastic outlining:

• What each mathematical practice means
• How to own the mathematical practice in the classroom
• Useful resources for each mathematical practice

Click on the link below to check out this easy read article from Scholastic:

A Guide to the 8 Mathematical Practice Standards

Another way to look at the Mathematical Practice Standards

JTSD Teachers - You've Got This!

WHAT SHOULD PROBLEM SOLVING LOOK LIKE AT MY GRADE LEVEL?

What should problem solving look like at my grade level?

Check out the
Math Progressions for Problem Solving (K-5)
Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Kindergarten...pages 8-11
First Grade...pages 12-17
Second Grade...pages 18-21
Third Grade...pages 22-28
Fourth Grade...pages 29-31
Fifth Grade...pages 32-35

Math Progressions for Problem Solving (6-8)
Expressions and Equations

Sixth Grade...pages 4-7

HAPPY Last Week of School

Problem Solving Book Study VIDEOCONFERENCE with Dr. Nicki Newton

Chatting MATH with Dr. Nicki Newton was a SUCCESS!  

You are going to LOVE learning from her 

in person on June 29th.

Getting READY for Dr. Nicki - Be Familiar with the Math Progressions

Math Progressions

After videoconferencing with Dr. Nicki (by the way, everyone LOVED her!), something we discussed in our problem solving book study this week was the Math Progressions.  You will want to be familiar with the Math Progressions before Dr. Nicki visits because she refers to them a lot.  

The Common Core State Standards in mathematics were built on Progressions: narrative documents describing the Progression of a topic across a number of grade levels, informed both by research on children’s cognitive development and by the logical structure of mathematics.  Progressions describe how a particular domain plays out across grade levels, describing the structure of the mathematics and preserving the idea of building across grade levels.  The Progressions allow teachers an opportunity to clearly see how the standards they teach in their classroom are related to those taught in other grade levels.  The Progressions help us to know exactly what is expected to be taught at our grade level. 

Here is the link for the Progressions:

http://achievethecore.org/page/254/progressions-documents-for-the-common-core-state-standards-for-mathematics-detail-pg

• When the page opens, click DOWNLOAD ALL
• Then, click on the documents that correlate with your grade level
• Click on DOWNLOAD SELECTED

happy reading!

The Progressions are also linked to 

each Grade Level Math Resource Page on the website.

THANKS for Touching So Many Lives

THANKS for all you do!

THANK YOU 

Nixa teachers for going above and beyond every day.

You are what makes this district AWESOME!

Nixa Teachers - EXCELLENCE IN ACTION

It takes a special person to light that fire,

to raise our children's expectations of themselves and never give up on them,

no matter how challenging it might be.

THANK YOU 

to every Nixa teacher who inspires our children on a daily basis.  

Thank you for continuing the legacy.

5 Days 5 Ways to Thank You from the Teaching Channel

celebrates great teaching every day.

This week, Teaching Channel has 5+ ways to say, 
"THANK YOU," for all you do.

Take 10 seconds to sign up for your free account and your chance to win:

Monday, May 5th
20 Zappos Gift Cards

Tuesday, May 6th
25 Spafinder Gift Cards


Wednesday, May 7th
30 Chalkfly Gift Cards

(office supplies)

Thursday, May 8th
45 Amazon Gift Cards


Friday, May 9th
100 Starbucks Gift Cards


...and one GRAND PRIZE
a relaxing hotel stay at a Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant


Who LOVES you baby?

Teachers Matter!

Keep up the great work.

Seek help from those around you,

and just know the work of a teacher is of the 

GREATEST importance.

Thanks for all you do,

The Elementary Education Office

Guided Math in Action - Great Time to Practice

If you haven't tried small groups for math, the end of the school year is a great time to give them a shot.  It gives students something new to be excited about, and it  gives the teacher some time to play with a new instructional idea and work out the kinks.  Then, when you start the new school year, guided math will seem like old hat.

Here are a few ideas for what the other students can be doing while you are meeting with small groups for math:

MATH

MATH works when you have 4 small groups for math.

M: Meet with the Teacher
A:  Alone at Your Seat (independent practice)
T:   Technology
H:  Hands on

BUILD

BUILD works when you have 5 small groups for math.

B:  Buddy Games

U:  Using Manipulatives

I:    Independent Work

L:  Learning about Math through Reading and Writing OR Learning about Numbers/Fractions/Decimals

D:  Doing Math with the Teacher

For more information on Guided Math, 

check out GUIDED MATH in Action by Dr. Nicki Newton.

Are You Mad About Elementary Science Resources

Jennifer Williams subscribes to a blog named Technology Rocks. Seriously.  The blogger has been working on gathering science resources for K-6 teachers.  

Check out all these great science sites:

Elementary Science Resources- Part #1

Animal Adaptations

Animal Classification

Biomes 

Body Systems

Cells

Constellations

Dinosaurs

Earth, Moon, and Sun

Elementary Science Resources- Part #2 

Electricity & Energy

Float or Sink?

Habitats

Healthy Living

Insects & Bugs

Check back to Technology Rocks. Seriously.

for more science resources to be posted

THINK Before Using Social Media

We LOVED this hallway bulletin board at Inman.

What a great reminder for students...

THINK before you post!

Math Thinking Prompts from Dr. Nicki Newton

MATH THINKING PROMPTS

from Dr. Nicki Newton

Why do you think that?

Are you sure about that?

Is that reasonable?

Who agrees?

Who disagrees?

Why?

Who got a different answer?

Explain your answer.

Prove it.

What strategy did you use?

Show us a model.

Convince us that you are right.

Who can explain this strategy?

Show two ways to do that.

Is that always true?

Students should realize that they have to explain

 and write about what they are thinking.

In a mathematically rich environment, 

students are taught to be respectful, 

to honor everyone's thinking, 

and to encourage each other.  

They respect the risk-taking challenge.  

They feel that they are all on the same team, 

so they can ask each other questions, 

challenge each other's ideas, 

share their thinking, 

and defend their thoughts.

Guided Math in Action - Online Open Forum Book Study

It's no secret (probably because we've been shouting it from the rooftops!) that Dr. Nicki Newton is coming to Nixa.  Last summer, her Guided Math in Action was our most popular book study.  This year, we are including her Problem Solving with Math Models books in our book study.

But, maybe traditional book studies aren't your thing.   Maybe the timing doesn't work out for you.  It is a busy time of year, after all (go Cards!).  Well, this may be just the thing for you!  We will be offering an open forum book study through Google Classroom beginning in May.  No pressure, no strict schedule...just colleagues sharing the love of math through online collaboration. :-)  We'll use Google Classroom to discuss the chapters in the book, share resources, and spread the excitement of our upcoming professional development day with the author of this amazing book.

If you would like to sign up for this open forum book study, simply click HERE.
*At this time, the book study is only open to participants attending the Dr. Nicki Newton PD in June.

Make Math Vocabulary a Priority

Dr. Nicki Newton says, "Be sure to do some type of review of math vocabulary every day.  Make sure your math word walls teach the words!  Always illustrate the words and provide lots of examples."

 

Place Value Blocks - Great Storage Idea

Amber Gray and Karla Tyler, 2nd grade teachers at Century, have their place value blocks neatly organized and easily accessible to students, so we just had to share their great storage idea.  They found these containers at Dollar Tree.  Each container has 3 compartments; 1 section for ones, 1 section for tens, and 1 section for hundreds.  Students share their place value containers with a partner when they are working with place value block manipulatives during math instruction and during math stations.  We love how organized this is for the students.  If you have a great storage idea, please share it with us.  We will share it on the blog.

Math Manipulatives - The Ultimate List!

Now that you've had a chance to process the fact that Dr. Nicki Newton is coming to Nixa *breathe*, it's time to start thinking about a math manipulatives list.  "What list?" you ask.  Well, you may have been so excited about the news of Dr. Newton's visit that you skipped right over the "Wait...there's more" part.  How could this announcement get any better? ;-)

In addition to seeing Dr. Nicki and being able to choose one of her books, attendees will receive $75 to spend on manipulatives from IPA.  Wowzers!  That being said, you may be thinking, "Where do I begin?  What manipulatives do I need?"  No worries!  Blogger Blair Turner has a post on this very topic and it's definitely worth a read.  You can read the entire blog post HERE.  Blair goes more in depth about the math manipulatives listed below.

Here is the math manipulatives list from Blair Turner:

THANKS Kindergarten Screening Volunteers

We want to give a shout out to NPS teachers and staff 

who volunteered to assist with Kindergarten Screening this week.  

We could not pull off this district-wide event 

without our amazing volunteers.  

We appreciate all you do to support NPS and Nixa students.  

Thank you for your time and dedication.