Elementary Curriculum Connections

K-2 Teachers:

We want to make sure very voice is heard! Please fill out this survey so that we can gain as much input from our teachers as possible as we go into a quick cycle for our K-2 ELA Program Adoption this year. The committee will begin in September and will review the feedback from this survey so that they can make decisions with your needs in mind. Grade 3 teachers are encouraged to fill this out as well, so that we can make sure we are aligning the program that we choose for grades K-2 to the rigor and expectations of Wit & Wisdom in grade 3.

Grade 2 and 4 Bridges Student Books

Due to an ordering issue, Second and Fourth Grade Bridges Student Books have not yet arrived in the district for any schools. They have been ordered and will be shipped directly to buildings, and are scheduled to arrive by August 27, 2024. In the meantime, teachers should print what they need from the BES until the Student Books arrive.

Number Corner Baseline Assessment

Be sure to give your grade level Number Corner Baseline Assessment in order to know where your students are in relation to grade level standards. This assessment is also necessary to follow the MTSS Decision Making Tree in supporting student learning throughout the school year.

Bridges Intervention Component Kits

Similar to last year, you may check out Bridges Intervention kits for Tier 2 use according to the MTSS Decision Making Tree. Teachers may keep the kits for as long as you need them, just be sure to return them at the end of your intervention. Please work with your Instructional Coach or MTSS Coach to fill out the request form. You will see there is an additional option to have the binder sent along with the kit this year. If you want to borrow the binder rather than print lessons from the BES, we are able to loan those out with the kits.

Half-Day Kindergarten Assessments

Half-Day Kindergarten pacing and assessments for Bridges were developed with teachers over th past two year. If you are a Half-Day K teacher, you can find these resources in the Elementary Curriculum and Instruction Schoology Course > General Education > Kindergarten > Math > Half-Day K Teachers. Reach out to Heather Griffith with any questions.

Bridges Updates

It's that time of year again! Welcome to the 2024-25 school year. We are all aware that a committee of MORE THAN 65 teachers, administrators and support staff will be looking at our current math curriculum and determining what program we use beginning with the 2025-26 school year. If you are interested in joining this work, please reach out to Heather Griffith or Kate Thoma to get commitment details. (We are in need of second grade classroom teachers!!)

Please visit the BES and from the curriclum page, click the "Check for Updates" tab to see if any updates apply for your grade level.

Please see the Pacing by Grade Level 2024-25 for an idea of how your year will flow with Bridges lessons (it is forced copy, feel free to make it work for you). Remember, Bridges uses distributed meaningul learning so completing one session per day is important. Your Number Corner workouts also closely support and reinforce the concepts covered in your Bridges Units, so pacing is important for mastery of standards.

This new book from John J. Sangiovanni is full of engaging activities that are practical and doable to help set the tone and purpose of the first few minutes of math class. With lots of options to start class from going over homework to traditional warm-ups, I hope you'll find these routines to naturally complement the rest of your math class.

MATH YAPPER

We want our students to share ideas with accurate vocabulary. We want them to understand meaning, application, and relationship within terms. We want them to retain and use the vocabulary. This happens through multiple exposures over time. It happens throuh engaging opportunities for practice and play. Math Yapper is a routine to do just that!

What Students Should Understand First

Students should have opportunities to explore vocabulary prior to this routine. Opportunities for practice include completing graphic organizers to consider different facets of a term. Consider using a Frayer model (linked below) for students to write a definition in their own words, think of related words, examples, and non-examples. In another activity, students could web any and all ideas connected to a vocabulary term on chart paper as a class. It is crticial that YOU use vocabulary frequently and accurately in YOUR lessons and expect the same from your students. If students continue to use lay terms, pause and correct the term before continuing with your lesson.

What to do

1. Select terms to use for the routine. Terms do not have to be associated with each other or the current unit of study. The number of terms to pose is dependent upon the amount of time allocated to the routine.
2. Assign patners and ask them to stand.
3. Arrange partners so that one faces the board or screen and the other faces away from it.
4. Direct students facing the screen to give clues to their partners about the terms being displayed.
5. Remind students that they cannot say exactly what appears on the scrren.
6. Direct stduents to sit down as soon as their partner guesses both terms.
7. Circulate as students give clues listening for perspective and misunderstanding.
8. Facilitate a discussion about clues and interpretations after the game is complete.
   
9. Honor and explore both accurate and flawed clues.

Watch for more routines in future updates and a WE Day session in November!

Health Course of Study

Your new grade level Health Course of Study is available with tons of resources and lessons to support implementation! You can find it in the Elementary Curriculum & Instruction Schoology Course. MyPlate Planner Placemats from Nationwide Children's Hospital will be arriving in your classrooms to support your nutrition units. These will be reordered each year, so students can take them home!

Mystery Science

When you log into your Mystery Science dashborad for the first time, you may notice some changes. Several units have been renamed, some units have been split apart into two smaller units, and in some cases a unit or lesson has been added. Mystery Packs will arriving at your building in mid to late September.

Students Exploring Ecosystem Dynamics (SEED) is Metro Parks’ 5th Grade Life Science Curriculum program.

This past spring, the two naturalists at Sharon Woods both left the program, so there have been a few small adjustments.

Due to the changing in staffing, MOST 5th grade classes will partner with Blendon Woods Metro Park for SEED. Stephanie West is the Senior Naturalist at Blendon Woods, west@metroparks.net or 614-895-6221.

ONLY Annehurst and Hanby Elementary Schools will continue to be hosted at Sharon Woods. Teachers can reach out to Sharon Woods Naturalist, Jennifer Rounds, jlrounds@metroparks.net or 614-865-5407.

👇 Please use the sign up link below to get your field trip arranged for the 2024-25 school year. 👇

Your Mystery Science accounts have been updated for the 2024-25 school year! Follow this link to connect with our distrct and get access to everything you need for science instruction.

Mystery Packs are ordered and on their way! These will be delivered direclty to your buildings between September 11, 2024 and October 10, 2024.

Some ways to get started:

• WCS Pacing Guides aligned to NGSS are available in the Elementary Curriculum and Instruction grade level folders
• Try the What does a scientist do? mini-lessons
• Read how Anchor Layer enrich units and consider adding them to your lessons
• Learn about the site with this Walkthrough Video.

Once you log into Mystery Science, you may notice some changes to the lessons at your grade level. In some cases these changes are additional lessons that address the Next Generation Science Standards and in some cases, they are just rearranged into different units.

Your new grade level Health Course of Study is available with tons of resources and lessons to support implementation! You can find it in the Elementary Curriculum & Instruction Schoology Course. MyPlate Planner Placemats from Nationwide Children's Hospital will be arriving in your classrooms to support your nutrition units. These will be reordered each year, so students can take them home!

At WE Day, many of the teacher attendees asked for support in suggestions for healthier snacks as well as peanut free snacks. As we all learn best through visuals I wanted, visual options were shared as well as a website found to be the most comprehensive: The Best Healthy Store Bought Granola Bars For Kids (theleangreenbean.com)

*Attention third grade science teachers!*

Genoa Middle School will be installing a Fossil Garden that will be available to all WCS schools! The hope is that teachers will be able to plan fossil hunting field trips to Genoa as part of their classes. Please note that the kids will get to keep what they find!! How exciting!

There is a Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/share/g/CpqKFdCnJeburqvX/
for the Genoa Middle School Fossil Garden that will keep people up to date on the installation.They are currently hoping for a mid-October opening date.

Please reach out to Heather Griffith for more information and watch for updates here!

Math Science Health Curriculum Specialist

Department of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction

Westerville City Schools

Email: griffith@westerville.k12.oh.us

A team of grade 3 teachers met this summer to create some helpful notes for implementing grade 3 W&W modules 1 and 2 this year. You can see their notes here.

They will be meeting again to create a similar set of notes for modules 2 and 3.

The Ohio History Connection has educators covered for this Back-to-School season. They have four different opportunities this fall to learn more about the best practices in social studies. With a variety of topics including increasing comprehension, project-based learning, and strategies for developing savvy student researchers of digital and in-person resources, every educator can find something to improve their 2024-2025 school year.

Best Practices in Social Studies
in Partnership with Ashland University
Format: Online
Date(s): Tuesday September 10th, Wednesday, September 11th, and Thursday, September 19th
Times: 4:00-6:00pm EST (plus asynchronous work time)
Cost: $225
REGISTER HERE
*Graduate credit will be granted upon completion of all requirements. *
The Best Practices of Social Studies course is designed with novice or beginner teachers in mind. Participants will participate in sessions around community in the classroom, how to grow comprehension of social studies content, and building student choice and engagement into the social studies classroom. Teachers will leave the sessions with practical examples, resources, and activities they can implement immediately in their classrooms.

History Day 101: Intro to Ohio History Day Webinar
Format: Online Webinar
Date: Thursday, September 12, 2024
Time: 5:00- 6:00 p.m. EST
Cost: Free
Register Here
Are you interested in bringing project-based learning to your classroom? Have you heard your colleagues talk about Ohio History Day (OHD) and want to learn more? Join the Ohio History Day team for an informative session where you'll discover the essentials of the OHD program, learn why it benefits students, and gain tips on how to effectively implement it in your classroom. This is your chance to learn more about Ohio History Day and start a plan for bringing the program to your students!

Ohio History Day 2025 Theme Exploration Webinar
Format: Online Webinar
Date: Thursday, September 26, 2024
Time: 5:00- 6:00 p.m. EST
Cost: Free
Register Here
Join the Ohio History Day team to explore the 2025 National History Day theme, Rights and Responsibilities in History. Together, we'll delve into the nuances of the theme, offer practical strategies and tips to help your students select compelling topics, conduct thorough research, and craft strong theses. This professional development session will equip you with the tools and knowledge to guide your students toward success with the 2025 theme.

Building Savvy Scholars: Fostering Healthy Habits for Digital & In-Person Inquiry
Format: Hybrid with 2 virtual sessions and 1 in-person session*
*If an in-person location is not available near you, a digital version of the material will be provided.
Date(s): Thursday, October 3 (Zoom), Saturday, October 12 (In-Person), Thursday, October 17 (Zoom)
Times: Virtual Session Times: 5:00-6:00 p.m. In-Person Session Times: Vary by location
Cost: $50
Register Here
Unlock the potential of your students’ research skills! Join us for an interactive three-part workshop designed for educators who want to foster healthy digital and in-person research habits in their students. This workshop will equip you with tools and techniques to guide students in navigating digital spaces, evaluating online sources and utilizing traditional research methods.
Virtual sessions will cover:

Digital Research Basics

• Expanding digital research methods including effective search techniques, how to evaluate digital materials, and lateral reading basics

• How to support project-based and inquiry-based learning with effective research methods

• How to integrate comprehensive research skills into your existing curriculum

In-Person sessions will cover:

• In-person research methods at local libraries, museums, or historical sites

• Practical techniques for using libraries, archives, and other physical resources.

• Meet with experts to discuss the importance of physical resources and how to support student exploration using curated resource sets.

With hands-on practice, interactive activities, and collaborative discussions, you'll leave empowered to cultivate a culture of inquiry and innovation in your classroom. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your teaching toolkit and inspire your students to become savvy researchers in today's interconnected world.

Any questions can be directed to education@ohiohistory.org.

ELA/Social Studies Curriculum Specialist

Reading Intervention Facilitator

Department of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction

Westerville City Schools

Email: salisbut@westerville.k12.oh.us
Website: Dr. Salisbury's Treasure Trove: A Repository of Reading Research

The iReady assessment window is now open for the beginning of the year reading and math diagnostics! Visit iReady Central for tips and resources on getting good data and this year's updated iReady Success Guide.

Note: If you want to hide the assessment until a later time, you can do so in your class settings.

For those who use PowerSchool (not to be confused with PowerTeacher), you may have noticed it got a huge facelift! This short video includes tips for navigating the new Enhanced User Interface to perform some of the most essential tasks. You'll love the search bar and favorites feature!

EdTech Coach

Department of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction

Westerville City Schools

trimblea@westerville.k12.oh.us

District Decision Making Trees: K-3 ELA, 4-5 ELA, Math

24-25 District Benchmark Document