Bill Ferriter shares advice for collaborative teacher teams feeling overwhelmed. Instead of trying to do it all, focus on doing fewer things, but doing them exceptionally well. It's all about simplifying to amplify your impact -- and you have permission to do it!

If you have a class that seems unmotivated, you don't need to accept defeat. Think through some of these thought-provoking questions on the Student Motivation Checklist from Dave Stuart, Jr. He focuses his next steps under five major questions:

• Credibility: Could they doubt that I’m a good teacher?
• Value: Could they doubt that this work matters for their lives?
• Belonging: Could they doubt that people like them do work like this?
• Effort: Could they doubt that they can improve with effort?
• Efficacy: Could they doubt that they can succeed?

All South Carolina K-12 educators have free unlimited access to nine Self-Paced Workshops that offer relevant, practical content that will build capacity in supporting multilingual learners. Workshop titles include:

• The WIDA ELD Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach
• Newcomers: Promoting Success through Strengthening Practice
• Developing Language for Learning in Mathematics
• Engaging Multilingual Learners in Science: Making Sense of Phenomena
• Exploring the WIDA Pre-K-3 Essential Actions
• Home Languages in the Classroom
• Making Language Visible in the Classroom
• Reframing Education for Long-term English Learners
• Social Studies: Engaging Multilingual Learners through Inquiry

WIDA Self-Paced Workshops cover a range of topics intended for a variety of audiences, from K-12 classroom teachers to English language acquisition educators to district and school administrators. All workshops are FREE and available when and where it is convenient for you. View the WIDA Self-Paced Workshops flyer for full descriptions and intended audiences. Contact Denise Quickel (dquickel@lex2.org) if you need to set up a WIDA Secure Portal account.

SCDE World Languages will be hosting an All Things World Languages Webinar series for the 2024-2025 school year. The series is designed to share best practices for supporting students and teachers in the classroom. Participants will leave with a toolkit of valuable tips and instructional strategies. The series will run from now through April 10th, from 4:00 PM-5:00 PM. Participants will receive a Certificate of Completion for Renewal Credit. Registration, topics, and dates can be found on the All Things World Languages Webinar Series 2024-2025.

Join the SCDE for their monthly ELA Office Hours, designed specifically for educators and those who

support ELA instruction across South Carolina. Each session will kick off with a 15-minute mini-PD

focused on either the Foundations of Literacy strand or the Applications of Reading strand.

Following this, they dedicate 45 minutes to answering your questions, providing tailored support,

and discussing strategies that can be implemented in your classrooms.

Participants are encouraged to register in advance and submit any questions they would like

addressed during the session via the registration form. Questions should fall within the categories

of Understanding the Intent of the ELA Standards and Instructing the ELA Standards. Don’t miss

this opportunity to connect, learn, and enhance your ELA instructional efficacy!

Use this form to register for the November Office Hours. An email with attendance confirmation

and webinar links will follow.

November 21

Elementary (3pm-4pm); Mini-Lesson focus: AOR 2.1 and AOR 2.2

Secondary (4pm-5pm); Mini-Lesson focus: AOR 5.3

We are excited to launch a new leadership initiative aimed at providing training and support for those interested in serving in a variety of leadership roles. Lex 2 Grows is a leadership initiative that launches in the spring semester with specialized support and training to help grow educators who currently do or want to serve in roles as a teacher leader and/or leader of teachers.

Who Should Apply?

• Lex 2 Grows is for you if you are interested in boosting your personal leadership skills.
• Lex 2 Grows is for you if you want to learn new ways of how to use your leadership skills in our district to impact change.
• Lex 2 Grows is for you if you want to learn ways to support growth in our schools and community.
• Lex 2 Grows is for you if you want to work collaboratively with other educators as we grow and learn together.

What is the time commitment?

• Lex 2 Grows consists of 4 sessions (January 23, February 27, March 27, and April 29).
• All sessions meet at the DEC from 4:00-5:30pm. The February session will also require attendance at the Board of Trustees monthly meeting.
• Session attendance and minimal outside of sessions work is required.

Participants in Lex 2 Grows will receive recertification credit for attendance and participation. The program is free to selected participants.

In order to apply, click here. We invite you to review the attachment with more information or feel free to reach out to Dr. David McDonald (dmcdonald@lex2.org).

You probably know that zombies have a fondness for brains. What you may not know is that zombies also like theories about how the brain works. Zombie Learning Theories, as researcher Bryan Goodwin has explained, are ideas about how we learn that have been killed (i.e., thoroughly debunked by research), yet still roam our classrooms. These misconceptions make it harder for students to learn since they counteract the reality of the learning process. Let’s meet some of the most common learning zombies so we can recognize them for what they are when they appear.

Click the photo to read the whole article.

Credit: Illustrations by Edwin Ouellette

Do you ever wonder when using Wonders what certain instructional routines or portions of instruction might look like and sound like in a classroom? McGraw-Hill offers video snippets of classroom instruction during various portions of ELA instruction (foundational skills, writing, vocabulary acquisition, small group instruction, and more). Check them out in the digital teacher resources under Resources -- Professional Development -- Classroom Videos tab.

Decodable readers align with the phonics instruction in the unit. The table of contents in each book shows the focus phonics skill of each story within the reader. These build on skills previously taught to students (see image to the right).

Differentiated readers, on the other hand, can be selected to align with the comprehension skill targeted in whole group instruction. You can search for differentiated readers in the online platform by either skill or reading level.

Wonders also has included resources for teaching Newcomers (see screenshot below) including:

• Newcomer cards include colorful illustrations and photographs to stimulate conversations. Each card presents a topic supported in the Teacher’s Guide over three lessons.
• Newcomer Online Visuals offer additional images and prompts for each topic to extend students’ collaborative conversations.
• Newcomers Teacher Guide which provides instruction with three lessons for each conversation topic.

You also have digital access to differentiated readers specifically designed for English Language Learners. To locate them, go to Resources -- Resource Library -- Differentiated Readers tab. Then select English Language Learners. You can access readers from all grade levels to scaffold instruction as necessary.

There is also a purple English Learners small group guide to plan instruction to meet students language acquisition needs.

Finally, if it seems overwhelming (and it undoubtedly does) to try to squeeze everything in your ELA block, let Wonders help you identify the most essential pieces to move instruction forward.

Go to your planner and choose "Planner options" as circled in red in the screenshot, then turn ON "Core Pathway." Only the most essential parts of the lesson will stay active and you can see where essential versus non-essential aspects of a week may be able to save you some time.

By state statute, the week which includes the eleventh day of November in each year is designated as "Patriotism Week" in South Carolina. The Governor shall issue appropriate proclamations to commemorate "Patriotism Week" which must be observed throughout South Carolina with appropriate ceremonies and events to:

1. recognize the important contributions made by our military veterans to American society;
2. honor the supreme sacrifices made by our veterans in defending the freedoms and protections afforded by the United States Constitution; and
3. memorialize those men and women who lost their lives in military service.

The State Superintendent of Education shall require school districts to:

1. observe..."Patriotism Week" by holding appropriate ceremonies, events, and assemblies on school grounds, including time allotted for youth patriotic society addresses to students as provided in Section 59-1-465; and
2. develop appropriate curricula that focus on the purposes of..."Patriotism Week.".

Commissioners and directors of state agencies and governing bodies of political subdivisions shall encourage participation by public employees in ceremonies and events during "Patriotism Week".

Instructional resources for both Patriotism Week and Veterans Day are linked in the PDF below.

The purpose of SC Economics is to provide South Carolina K-12 teachers with the training, resources, and support necessary to help them effectively implement economics and personal finance in their classrooms. To do this, SC Economics provides thousands of free workshops, lesson plans, videos, curricula, and other resources to help teachers understand the fundamentals of economics and financial literacy. Their workshops are taught by highly skilled professors and former teachers who use activity-based and problem-based teaching methodologies to help bring these topics to life in the classroom and make learning fun, engaging, and relevant to students. For a complete list of workshops, click here.

Click the image to the right to watch Cathy Jones-Stork give an overview of the test structure, item types, and more found on the US History EOC.

The English 2 TDW Sampler for Argumentative Writing is now available on the Assessment Quick Links for Teachers webpage. Teachers also have access to color-coded copies of the student responses and an informative video that explores the annotated student responses. For support with the TDW Item “Writing to Inform,” teachers should visit the EOCEP Online Training Tools (OTT) for a sample.

Also available on the Assessment Quick Links for Teachers webpage is the video “Using the EOCEP English 2 Assessment Specifications for Teachers” webinar and “Using the SC READY ELA Assessment Specifications for Teachers” webinar.

Additional TDW Samplers for grades 3, 6, and 8 will be released soon. In the meantime, teachers may access the SC READY Online Training Tools (OTT) for sample TDW items.

The sample items for 4th Grade SC Ready Science , 6th Grade SC Ready Science, and Biology I EOCEP are now posted on the Assessment Quick Links for Teachers.

• 4th Grade SC Ready Science Sample Items
• 6th Grade SC Ready Science Sample Items
• Biology I EOCEP Sample Items

The Sample Release Items for U.S. History and the Constitution have been updated on the SCDE website on the Quick Links for Teachers – Sample Items for SC READY and EOCEP page. This document now features the original ten sample items along with an additional ten items that are inclusive of a sample stimulus set.

Laird Thompson, welding instructor at the Lexington Two Innovation Center, was recently named the WLTX Teacher of the Week. He was nominated by a former student, Chad Dulinsky, who said, "“You're a great teacher, great guy, but easily one of the most impactful people in my life, for sure." To read the full article and watch the video, click here. Congratulations and thank you for the impact you make on students!

Congratulations to these three teachers whose innovative project proposals were awarded Bright Ideas Grants from Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative.

Kimberly Hardin, a science teacher at Brookland-Cayce High School, was awarded $1,000 for her project, “How Do Dissolved Gases Get in Water?” The grant will purchase dissolved glass probes that will allow students in her AP Environmental Science and Marine Sciences classes to conduct real-time analysis as they investigate water quality and aquatic ecosystems, enhancing hands-on learning and understanding of dissolved gases' impact on environmental health. She said this advanced technology will help students measure critical environmental variables such as dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, gaining a deeper understanding of their influence on water quality and marine ecosystems.

Collin Richardson, orchestra director at Airport High School, was awarded $1,000 for his proposed project, “Expanding the Music Library for High School Orchestra.” He plans to acquire diverse scores of unique and contemporary compositions to enrich students’ learning experiences, enhance performance repertoire and foster a deeper appreciation for various music genres and styles. He said the expanded library will improve his musicians’ technical abilities and confidence in performance.

Caitlin White, theater teacher at Airport High School, was awarded $750 for her project, “Giant Steps: Creating Giant Puppets with STEAM.” The grant will fund equipment and materials that will allow her students to design, plan, and construct giant parade-style puppets for current and future theatrical performances. She said her goals are for 10th-12th grade students in her Musical Theatre class to collaborate on a puppet that will be used in the inaugural district-wide production of “Frozen Jr.”, and to allow her Theatre III and Theatre IV students the opportunity to work in teams to conceptualize and create giant puppets of their choosing, as well as write original theatre pieces featuring the puppets to perform for the community.

Credit - Dawn Kujawa, Lexington Two Public Information Officer

• November 8 - National STEM/STEAM Day
• November 11 - Veterans Day
• November 12 - Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees (5:30 PM)
• November 13 - Interims go home (MS & HS); World Kindness Day