Sue Stanton, AP

Online Books

Reading aloud to students is important for vocabulary development and to model fluent reading.  With today's busy schedules it can be difficult to find quality time to read with your child.  Although the computer is no substitute, there are some good free websites that have quality online books.  All of these will also read the story aloud.

Happy Reading!

http://www.mightybook.com/

http://kids.aol.com/KOL/1/KOLJrStories

http://www.meegenius.com/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/online-storytime-books-toys/379002381/

http://lightupyourbrain.com/stories/

http://www.storylineonline.net/

 

 

Please Vote!

Teasley's FIRST Lego League team, The Robot Warriors, is competing for a chance to have their spoiled milk detection device professionally patented. Last year's winners of this competition visited the White House earlier this week where they demonstrated their invention to the President as participants in the 2nd annual White House Science Fair. Online voting will be one way this year's finalists are selected. Please go to www.mooph.us and follow the voting link or sign up to follow the team. Vote daily until March 1st. Thank you for your support.

Helping Students Prepare for the CRCT

The CRCTs are state-mandated achievement tests that our third - fifth grade students will take beginning on April 18.  Here are some resources that will help students prepare for these tests.

• State Study Guides - http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/CRCT-Study-Guides.aspx
• Georgia Online Assessment System -
  1. Go to https://www.georgiaoas.org
  2. Login with the student’s Georgia Test identification number. If you are not sure of this number, contact your child’s teacher. The number must be 10 digits long and there are no spaces in the number. 
  3. The password is education. 
• First in Math - www.firstinmath.com
  • Students have individual usernames and passwords for this site.  If your child is not sure of his/her login please contact your child's teacher.
  • The Know & Show games are the best for test preparation.
• Skills Tutor
  • Go to:  www.myskillstutor.com
  • Username:  AR#
  • Password:  cobb
  • Site Code:  teasley01

For links and further information about these resources please see my blog.  If you have any questions or need additional resources, please contact your child's classroom teacher.

2012 School Improvement Survey

We are asking for your participation in the 2012 School Improvement Survey.  Please take a moment to give us your anonymous responses regarding your perceptions about Teasley.   This information is analyzed and used for school improvement planning so your responses are important to us.  Paper surveys will be sent home next week or you can complete the survey online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N2GN9P5.  We value and appreciate your input!

 

ITBS Scores - Third and Fifth Grade

We have received third and fifth grade ITBS scores.  ITBS score reports will be distributed with the 2nd Quarter report cards.  The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) is a nationally standardized, norm-referenced test (NRT). A nationally standardized test is a test is administered to each test-taker in the same way across a specified comparison group (e.g., age groups, grade groups, etc.). Therefore, score interpretations are based on a comparison of the test taker’s performance to the performance of other students in the nation who took the same test in the same manner at the same time of year. 

More questions?  Download ITBS brochure 11-12

Online Assessment System

Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will be taking the Criterion Referenced Competency Tests in the spring of 2012 in the areas of reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. These tests will be based on the Georgia Performance Standards curriculum your child is being taught at school each day.

All students in grade three must pass the reading portion of the test in order to advance to fourth grade.  Students in grade five must pass both the reading and math portions of the test to advance to middle school.

The Georgia State Department of Education has developed an online assessment system containing practice tests your child can take at home if he/she has access to the internet. There is no charge for the assessments and you can monitor your child’s progress easily. The practice tests are based on the skills and knowledge that will be tested next spring and test items are presented in the same format that students will see on the actual test. Students may take the student tests as many times as they wish, whenever they wish. Student test results do not affect a student's grade. In fact, student test results are not automatically recorded, although a student may choose to save a result and/or send a result to his or her teacher.

Students in grades 3 - 5 will receive a letter this week with detailed information on accessing and logging into the site.  We hope this resource will be helpful to you throughout the year.  If you have any questions concerning your child’s progress, contact his/her teacher.

Checkpoint Assessments

Checkpoints assessments are being administered from Dec. 13 through Dec. 19. Students will be assessed in Reading/ELA and Mathematics in grades 1-5, and Science in grades 3-5.  Items for the assessment were based on the Georgia Department of Education content descriptors and the Cobb County course pacing guides.  Each assessment will be broken up into two parts:  summative and formative.  The summative assessments will measure what has already been taught and the formative assessments will measure what will be taught.  These assessments will not be used for grades, but are designed to help teachers understand the level of standard mastery at midyear and to provide information to guide instructional planning for the last half of the year.

Testing dates:

1st Grade - ELA/Dec. 13 and Math/Dec. 14

2nd Grade - ELA/Dec. 14 and Math/Dec. 15

3rd Grade - ELA

4th Grade - ELA/Dec. 14, Math/Dec. 15 and Science/Dec. 19

5th Grade - ELA/Dec. 13, Math/Dec. 15 and Science/Dec. 14

First in Math - Family Link

Our students are doing an outstanding job in the First In Math^® Online Program.  So much so, their efforts have earned our school the FIM “Family Link” feature. 

Now our first through fifth grade students can give a family member a FIM User ID of their own.  So a mom, dad, sibling or friend can log on to the  website to enjoy playing FIM’s engaging content, while they refresh, and learn math skills, too. Student and family member scores are combined for a Family Link total score, providing a great way for students and families to encourage each other on to greater mathematics achievement.

To use the Family Link feature:

1. Student logs on to the First In Math site with her User ID/Password. The student home page will display Family Link information on the lower, right portion of the page, in the player information column.

2. The family member User ID will already be displayed. To obtain the family member Password, move your mouse over the words "show password" and the ID will be revealed.

3. The student can write down the User ID and Password to give to family members.

Skills Tutor

SkillsTutor is an Internet-based program that enables students to improve their skills in:  Reading, Vocabulary, Language Arts and Math.  This interactive program provides audio/visual instruction and immediate feedback to help students learn and practice skills at their own pace.  The program: helps students bridge learning gaps in core subjects, enhances classroom instruction, prepares for standardized-tests, and can also provide enrichment activities for students who seek an extra challenge.

 

To access SkillsTutor from any computer...
1. Go to: http://www.myskillstutor.com.
2. Have your child type in their login information:
Username: Student ID#

Password: cobb

Site Code: teasley01

First in Math

First In Math® is an easy-to-use, educational website that gets young people excited about math.  The specially-designed "games" develop and reinforce basic concepts, and are a great way for students to have fun while learning skills that will last a lifetime.  Content ranges from addition to algebra, and children proceed at their own pace—mastering problem-solving, computation, critical-thinking and pattern-recognition skills—as they advance through the levels of the program.  Studies show that children who use the site on a regular basis experience significant improvement in math proficiency.

There is no software to install, games play on a PC or Mac, and updates are automatic.  Each student in grades 1-5 has received his or her own personal User ID and Password and will be able to play the games 24/7 at school or at home. Explore the site with your child and discover a great learning experience!

Have you visited First in Math? If not, go to www.firstinmath.com

Teasley has already solved over 210,000 math problems this year!