I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e :

Art K-12 2 Business Education 6-12

2

Family & Consumer Science 6-12

3

Health, PE & Wellness 3 Language Arts K-5 4

Language Arts 6-12 4

Library Science K-12 5

Math K-5 6

ELL K-12 5

C u r r i c u l u m C o n n e c t i o n s

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 reau-thorized the Elementary and Secondary Edu-cation Act enacted in 1965 and instituted the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) as an external accountability meas-ure. Its purpose is to ensure that all students, in every district in the state, are being in-structed in the eligible content identified in Pennsylvania Academic Core Content Stan-dards. The percentage of students who need to demonstrate proficiency on the PSSA has increased steadily since the tests were first administered over a decade ago. This year the targets for the number of students who must be proficient are 78% for math and 81% for reading. Writing and science are not used to calculate Adequate Yearly Progress.

Success in the world beyond school is deter-mined not only by proficiency on the PSSA but by many learning experiences that help students to meet future college and career challenges. Although it is one data point in student achievement, public opinion of a school district is based on PSSA results. Therefore, it is necessary for students to take the tests seriously and truly demonstrate their knowledge. Proficiency on the grade 11 PSSA is a graduation requirement according to the Pennsylvania School Code (Chapter 4).

Douglas Reeves, a leading educator and re-searcher, says that the fundamental purpose of assessment is to improve student achieve-

ment and teaching practice. Assess-ments have the power to be transforma-tive when teachers use them as an inte-gral part of the instructional cycle and then examine the test data to adjust their instruction to meet student needs. Standardized tests, such as the (PSSA) for grades 3-8 and grade 11 in reading, writing, mathematics and science, are not easily embedded in the instructional sequence because they are administered by an external entity, the Pennsylvania Department of Education. However, since the curricula in grades K-12 in all subjects, including reading, math and science, are aligned to the state stan-dards, preparation for the PSSA is in-tentionally integrated into lessons throughout the year.

To perform at advanced and proficient levels, students need to learn test-taking strategies in addition to master-ing content and skills. They also need to build stamina for sustained effort to apply their knowledge. To that end, the District has supported classroom in-struction with resources for teachers and opportunities for every student to be successful.

N e s h a m i n y S c h o o l D i s t r i c t

Cu rr icu lu m, Ass essm ent & Ins t ru ct io n

F r o m t h e D e s k o f D r. G e e t a H e b l e

Math 6-12 6

Music K-12 7 Professional Development

7

Science K-12 8 Social Studies K-12

8

Technology Education 6-12

9

World Languages 9-12

9

Instructional Technology

10

W i n t e r 2 0 1 2

Vo l um e 2 , I s s ue 2

“Art is an irreplaceable way of understanding and expressing the world,” says Dana Gioia the National Endowment for the Arts Chairman. Gioia continues, “Art de-lights, instructs, consoles. It educates our emo-tions.” In the face of state and federal stan-dards and standardized testing, many art advo-cates like Dana Gioia have been endorsing the arts. Such advocates ar-gue that art contributes to measurable gains in learning and in No Child Left Behind boosting aca-demic scores in literacy and mathematics.

Art education continually creates and interacts with

cross-curricular themes, skills and information which coincides with and supports the PSSA math and reading anchors. These assessment anchors have been embedded into the Neshaminy art cur-riculum in areas where they were considered a natural fit and in doing so have made this knowledge available and accessible to teachers at all levels.

Art may include but is not limited to strategies for developing the skills needed for PSSA stan-dardized testing within the field of Language Arts. A number of these activities require students to iden-tify main ideas, to make connections between new

and prior knowledge, as well as read and follow written directions which include sequential reading skills.

Mathematic skills also exist within art. These PSSA standardized testing strate-gies include but are not limited to several of the following actions: applying standard measurement, application and use of an-gles, and the application and use ratios.

Throughout Neshaminy School District, art teachers in elementary, middle and high school are using our spiraled curriculum along with assorted procedures, techniques and strategies to meet the needs of standard-

Art Leaves No Child Behind at Neshaminy

PSSA Success: It’s Our “Business” fiction type, we are sup-porting a major area tested on the PSSA. Preparation for achiev-ing in mathematics fo-cuses on the number and operations standard. Practical applications of math are present in al-most all BCIT class-rooms. Aside from basic arithmetic, word prob-lems dominate our cur-riculum. Mental math, estimating, applying the order of operations, ap-plying formulas, creating excel spreadsheets, as well as designing and interpreting graphs and charts are all math skills supporting PSSA prepa-ration.

The preparation of our students to be successful on the PSSA tests is our business. Although the major instruction of skills to earn a score of profi-cient or above rests with the Mathematics and English Departments, the learning activities in the Business, Computer and Information Technology (BCIT) classes in the dis-trict provide support to the students and to the PSSA initiative. Reading and writing assignments in the BCIT classrooms provide a vast opportunity for building PSSA test skills. Our staff uses the John Collins approach for writing activities and the KWL scaffold for reading.

The focus on writing as-signments varies. The writing may be to cap-ture an idea, give a cor-rect response, edit what is written or provide a final document. When students are asked to read, there is a focus on word recognition skills, vocabulary development, inferences and conclu-sions, interpretation, comprehension and the ability to read critically. Not all reading assign-ments are in the text-book. Other printed ma-terials are used and se-lected to encourage reading while providing a source of new learning. Since reading in our classes is of the non-

C u r r i c u l u m C o n n e c t i o n s P a g e 2

“Art is an irreplaceable

way of understanding and expressing

the world,” says Dana Gioia the

Family and Consumer Sci-ence (F.C.S.) education is an interdisciplinary field by nature and is often con-sidered the heart of cur-riculum. The skills and concepts taught in math, reading, writing, science, and social studies are inte-g r a t e d , e n -riched, and applied to practical real-life experi-ences in the F.C.S. class-room. For this reason, F.C.S. plays an active role in developing the profi-ciencies needed for the P.S.S.A. and complements overall instruction at Neshaminy at both the middle and high school levels.

In order to support Lan-guage Arts, F.C.S. students are provided with non-

fiction readings that mir-ror the PSSA. Writing prompts follow that re-quire students to read for information, identify the main ideas, make connec-tions between new and prior knowledge, and make predictions and in-ferences.

Mathematics is a continual focus in the F.C.S. class-room. Basic operations, fractions, proportions, percentages, measuring, weights, and metric con-version are logically incor-porated into a variety of authentic hands-on activi-ties and innovative col-laborative projects in both the kitchen and classroom.

The F.C.S. curriculum in-tegrates knowledge and processes from empirical,

interpretive, and criti-cal sciences to help stu-dents identify, under-stand, and solve the continuing concerns of individuals and society. To address these con-cerns, students are re-quired to use inquiry and discovery, hypothe-size, experiment, and draw conclusions. Top-ics including nutrition and food science, our plant and animal food supply, human anat-omy and physiology, and green living are studied in the F.C.S. classroom.

For more specific infor-mation about the ways Family and Consumer S c i e n c e s u p p o r t s Neshaminy’s PSSA ef-forts go to FCS and the PSSA.

In departments across Neshaminy the question asked is what do we do to support our students in preparing for their PSSA’s. The pressure put on dis-tricts by the state to meet a certain level is daunting and we all knew it was time to make sure we did what we could to help. The Health and Physical Education Department jumped headlong into this initiative.

Stopping by PE in our ele-mentary schools you may see word walls/new vo-cabulary/open ended as-sessments/challenge sce-narios/pedometers &

math skills/mapping skills/body spelling/flash cards/written class work.

We don’t stop there; our middle and high schools are busy with target heart rates/distance and direc-tion/technology initia-tives/metabolic rate/elevation and terrain/short stories/essays graded to the PA writing rubric/problem solving.

The Health and PE depart-ment could go on and on as we see how important it is for our students to have success during standard-ized tests.

BUT, as schools across the country are de-creasing PE due to budget concerns and pressure to improve academic test scores studies show that physical activity stimu-lates the brain, thus increasing test scores. The following link tells the story of a school in Illinois where the kids who struggle in math and reading go to PE first period, to stimu-late their brain. "Exercise, good fitness-based exercise, makes our brain more ready to learn," says John Ratey of the Harvard Medical

“F.C.S.: We’re not home-ec anymore.”

Health and PE meets the PSSA

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Researching vitamin requirements for brochure project.

School. PE and Academic Im-provement

As the studies continue to come out saying that physically active and fit children tend to have better academic achievement, we will continue to support all of our students physically and aca-demically.

Getting a Win on the Pennsylvania System of School

Assessment (PSSA) in Elementary Reading

Research shows that the best prepara-tion for PSSA Reading is to have a high-quality reading program that en-courages daily independent reading at school and at home. Students who read from a wide selection of genres develop a confidence with reading and absorb a deep level of vocabulary that supports their comprehension.

Since the start of this school year, teachers and students have been in-volved literacy activities designed to explicitly teach students to think like readers. Students are introduced to many different types of texts such as fiction, non-fiction, poetry and authen-tic literature. Students are able to use seven effective, research-based habits and strategies to move towards inde-pendence in reading.

These seven habits follow:

∗ Great readers see themselves as readers

∗ Great readers make sense of text

∗ Great readers use what they know

∗ Great readers understand how stories work

∗ Great readers read to learn

∗ Great readers monitor and organ-ize ideas and information

∗ Great readers think critically about what they read

PSSA testing provides an opportunity for students to take all they have learned throughout the school year and apply it this assessment. All students are encouraged to shine by demon-strating their personal best.

In response to the challenge of state-mandated testing, teachers of Lan-guage Arts have further refined their curriculum over the past three years to ensure that its content and skills have a solid basis in PA State Stan-dards. To prepare our students for success in the Reading and Writing components of the PSSA, we have de-veloped an array of materials offering students a balance of support and op-portunity for growth. Curriculum maps of English courses, grades 6-12, are available for parents’ perusal as we work together to strengthen the liter-acy skills of the students in our school district.

With this foundation in place, we peri-odically assess our students to deter-mine both their strengths and areas that need further remediation. In ad-dition to common assessments devel-oped by the District, Language Arts teachers also have access to Class-room Diagnostic Tools, an on-line re-source offered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Stu-dents may take up to five assessments in Reading and Writing each year, providing them and their teachers with immediate feedback. This infor-mation can help teachers to tailor classroom instruction to best meet the needs of their students.

In addition to resources provided by PDE on its website, Neshaminy has invested in a literature program that balances nonfiction with the classics of fiction, all aligned to PA State Stan-dards. In classrooms the students share common texts and work with their teachers to progress as thinkers, writers, and readers, the ultimate goal of the English Department.

P a g e 4 C u r r i c u l u m C o n n e c t i o n s

Language Ar t s 6 -12

ELL (Eng l i sh Language Lea rne r s ) The Teacher’s Guide: Getting Ready for the PSSA: Successful Strate-gies for English Lan-guage Learners states that one of the most im-portant ways to prepare your ELLs for the PSSAs is to teach the Pennsyl-vania Academic Stan-dards year-round. Re-search has shown that ELLs who have good study habits and have done some practice tests are more likely to be suc-cessful on the PSSAs.

When helping ELLs pre-pare for testing, it is most helpful to model the strategy being taught. Having a visual image of the strategy, followed by practice, is beneficial to the ELL. ELLs may also

lack familiarity with the PSSA test format. Author Jim Cummings states that one way for ELLs to be-come familiar with multi-ple choice tests is to cre-ate their own multiple choice tests in groups and then share them.

The following are some of the accommodations that are permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education:

∗ Use the student’s native language for instructions

∗ Simplify the language of directions and quietly repeat instructions to ELLs

∗ Have the student dem-onstrate understanding of directions

∗ Accompany oral direc-tions with written di-rections

∗ Highlight key words or phrases and use high-lighters for visual cues

∗ Allow students to mark responses in test booklets (Answers must then be trans-ferred.)

It is important to re-member that the PSSA is an indicator of what ELLs have been ex-posed to, and not nec-essarily an individual measure of their knowl-edge. Bear in mind that the ELL is required to participate in the PSSA before gaining mastery of the English Lan-guage.

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Libra ry Sc ience

Do school libraries and Library Media Specialists (LMS) help to improve PSSA test scores? According to the extensive body of research, a clear link exists be-tween school library media programs that are staffed by an LMS and student academic achievement. Specifically, the school library does have impact on PSSA scores. Keith Curry Lance and others reported so in their findings in Measuring Up to Standards: The Im-pact of School Library Programs & In-formation Literacy in Pennsylvania Schools.

∗ Presence of adequate school li-brary staffing linked to higher PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) reading scores

∗ PSSA reading scores increase as school library staffing increases

∗ PSSA reading scores linked di-rectly to school library staffing, information technology, and inte-grating information literacy

How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards. Denver: Library Research Service, 2000. Test scores increase as library media spe-cialists spend more time in key activities:

∗ planning cooperatively with teach-ers

∗ identifying materials for teachers

∗ teaching information literacy skills to students

∗ providing in-service training to teachers

∗ managing a computer network

through which the li-brary media program

∗ reaches beyond its own walls to classrooms, labs, and offices

These are just two of the many research studies that establish the link between the presence of adequate school library staffing and higher academic achieve-ment

Other factors such as pupil expenditures, teacher-pupil ratio, community condi-tions, poverty, and low adult educational attainment do not account for these find-ings.

Math K-5 Elementary math students in grades 3-5 have a variety of PSSA practice activities that are used in the months leading up to the test.

∗ Our curriculum maps were created to guide teachers to cover all eligible content prior to the PSSA’s.

∗ Schools have either Coach or Buckle Down books that give students the opportunity to practice the eligible content and become familiar with the test format.

∗ For the ten weeks prior to the test, students who can most benefit are given the option of attending small group tutoring sessions before school once a week. The tutors use Progress Coach books, which have a lower readability level than the Coach books used in the classrooms.

∗ Our students take a diagnostic test called 4-Sight in October and Janu-ary. Results of those tests help teachers plan their instruction so

that common errors are worked on throughout the year.

∗ Our “First in Math” program has a section called “Know and Show” which gives students practice in multiple choice questions similar to those on the PSSA’s. Its game for-mat and the promise of stickers entice students to play.

∗ The state provides recently re-leased questions, another resource that teachers use to help students practice both test-taking skills and content knowledge.

∗ Our many creative teachers have used effective homemade re-sources, such as “Jeopardy” and “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” games to review content prior to the tests.

We aim for our students to be well pre-pared and relaxed once test-taking time rolls around.

P a g e 6 C u r r i c u l u m C o n n e c t i o n s

Math P rep fo r Grades 6 -11 In preparation for the PSSA’s this year, we analyzed data from last year’s test that our eleventh graders took. From that, we determined the probability of students scoring advanced or proficient by course taken. We then targeted the courses that were most in need of inter-vention and scheduled those classes to take the CDT’s in high school mathe-matics. The CDT is a diagnostic test that helps identify areas in which a stu-dent may need help. Also, at the high school the fifteen days prior to the test were set aside to focus on the material that would be covered on the PSSA’s in mathematics.

For grades six, seven, eight and eleven, practice PSSA tests were sent to teach-ers so they could review with their stu-dents the questions that have appeared on past PSSA tests. Also teachers were sent countdown-to-testing documents for general math, pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2 that they can use to review for standardized tests. This is in addition to the mathe-matics probes used in grades six to eleven, which can monitor a student’s progress in the five content areas of mathematics: numbers and operations, measurement, geometry, algebraic con-cepts and data analysis.

Researchers Mortimer and Sammons re-ported in 1987 that that teaching had 6 to 10 times as much impact on achievement as all other factors combined. With this in mind, professional development in Neshaminy is focused on improving student achievement by enhancing instruction. Research has identified many instructional strategies that increase student learning. This research from a spectrum of authors has been incorporated into our workshops for new teachers and established staff. Essentially the focus is on designing instruc-tion that centers on student learning.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education supports classroom teachers with re-sources to support instruction. This link: http://www.pdesas.org/Instruction/Index/ connects to instructional strategies documents and videos that are proven to increase student achievement. The Bucks County IU provides workshops for county teachers with nationally recognized speakers. Carol Tomlinson, the guru on differentiated in-struction, is scheduled to speak this April and Neshaminy teachers will be in atten-dance. The IU also provides webinars so teachers can participate in professional learning from their homes.

As teachers utilize research-based strategies focused on improving student achieve-ment, Neshaminy students benefit. In recent years, a major focus has been placed on using Before, During, and After (BDAs) reading strategies to improve comprehension. These strategies are used in classrooms across all content areas. Neshaminy has joined with Penn Literacy to provide graduate level courses on campus to give teach-ers greater access to new instructional activities. It is the goal of the C & I Department to provide access to research-based practices to all teachers to increase student achievement not only on the PSSA, but on all standardized testing.

Playing a musical instrument significantly enhances the brainstem’s sensitivity to speech sounds. This relates to encoding skills involved with music and language. Ex-

perience with music at a young age can “fine-tune” the brain’s auditory system. – from a study supported by Northwestern University, which appeared in April 2007 Nature Neuroscience. The process of language development through “decoding” is paralleled in music reading. Students are learning an entirely new notational system and are applying the concepts of directional reading, spatial relationships and aural process-ing to the reading and performing of music. They are discriminating between the written notation of music and their aural perception of the performance.

Music synthesizes many math concepts through the use of an alternate system for rep-resenting values, proportions, and numbers. Students must use their knowledge of proportions, estimation and values in the performance of music. For instance, when students read a short notational passage, they need to decipher the length of time a note is played, the pitch to generate on their voice or instrument and possibly the writ-ten text to sing for that note. A song is then created through continuing this process at split second intervals. Students are using spatial, visual and cognitive domains to sing a “simple” song such as “Frere Jacques”. Music is a room of high level thinking and association for students to apply the concepts which are evaluated via the PSSA.

“The arts are not just affective and expressive. They are also deeply cognitive. They develop the tools of thinking itself: careful observation of the world, mental represen-tation of what is observed or imagined, abstraction from complexity, pattern recogni-tion and development, symbolic and metaphoric representation, and qualitative judg-ment. We use these same thinking tools in science, philosophy, math and history. The advantage of the arts is that they link cognitive growth to social and emotional devel-opment. Students care more deeply about what they study, they see the links between subjects and their lives, their thinking capacities grow, they work more diligently, and they learn from each other.” -- Nick Rabkin, Executive Director of the Center for Arts Policy, “The Art of Education Success”, Washington Post, January 8, 2005, pg. A19

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Bucks County IU presents

Carol Tomlinson speaking on

Defensible Differentiation

April 26, 2012

Music K-12

Profes s iona l Deve lopmen t

Sc ience Over the past four years, Neshaminy’s science program has been re-positioning itself to improve student achievement in science as measured on the PSSA in Sci-ence.

At the elementary level four years ago, inquiry-based science kits were adopted for use in kin-

dergarten through fifth grade. These kits focus on the overall theme of reasoning and analysis. Additionally, each kit tar-gets one of the three fields of science (physical, biological, and earth space sci-ence.) Student achievement levels of 88-90% proficiency and/or advanced on the PSSA science exams at the elementary level over the past four years have veri-fied the effectiveness of this program.

At the middle school level, the same inquiry-based kit program was adopted in sixth grade. Stu-dents now in eighth grade will

have had at least two years of experience

P a g e 8 C u r r i c u l u m C o n n e c t i o n s

Soc ia l Stud ie s Social studies is an integral part of pre-paring for the PSSA writing and PSSA reading. Although it is not a targeted test area, social studies classes and skills better enable our students to suc-ceed. Of the four areas in social studies, history stands in the front when one considers preparedness for the reading and writing PSSA. “After English, his-tory is the subject that should involve the most reading and writing.” (Brodie, Laura. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/love-in-time-homeschooling/201005/standardized-testing-what-happens-history-0 )

Neshaminy social studies teachers are well versed in many reading and literacy strategies and employ them often in the classrooms. Whether it is by text, pri-mary document, data table, chart or graph, students are challenged to read and interpret information and present the new information in a clear and con-cise manner.

The study of history develops specific

critical reading skills. Historical analy-sis and interpretation abilities are fos-tered during the social studies classes and enables the student to:

∗ Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas

∗ Consider perspectives of others

∗ Analyze cause and effect relationships

∗ Draw comparisons between different time periods and different cultures

∗ Evaluate competing historical interpre-tations through documentation and proof.

Recently, a review of PSSA writing prompts by members of the Neshaminy Curriculum Department showed that many of the prompts were dependant on a student’s ability to compare and contrast across times and cultures. This background information is gained through the social studies. Thus, social studies not only supports our state test-

in the inquiry science program. In addi-tion, this year, teachers will be provided with PSSA preparation warm-ups to be given at the beginning of class the month prior to the administration of the exams. These short (5- to 10-minute) exercises will allow teachers an opportu-nity to review science process and con-tent skills accumulated throughout a student’s academic career.

With the shift at the high school level from the PSSA Science exams to Keystone Biology exam, the focus has been on

evaluating our current biology curricu-lum and piloting the Biology Compre-hensive Diagnostic Test to measure growth towards student readiness to pass these new exams. In addition, teachers in eleventh grade will also be reviewing the accumulated process and content skills acquired by the students throughout their academic career prior to the PSSA test.

Techno logy Educa t ion The Technology and Engi-neering Education Depart-ment serves as an oppor-tunity for the real world application of much of the PSSA assessable content. The most obvious test tie in occurs in the Science PSSA. The State Standards are identified for Science, Technology, and Engi-neering. While a majority of the test focuses on the Science strand, assess-ment anchors for the test can be found across all three content areas. There are questions that serve to quantify a student's knowledge in technology and the designed world.

Additionally, the Technol-ogy and Engineering Edu-

P a g e 9 Vo l u m e 2 , I s s u e 2

cation department tries to model a truly inte-grated STEM curricu-lum. In this curricular philosophy science, technology, engineering, and math coincide in a seamless fashion just as it does in the real world. In such an environment, students are expected to utilize mathematic prin-cipals found in their coursework. Teachers try to align the math skills needed or used in a project with what the students are doing in their class as an effort to reinforce the learning.

Finally, Technology and Engineering Education classes implement non-

fiction readings into the courses. Students do not frequently get the oppor-tunity to experience tech-nical readings, but the Technology and Engi-neering Education envi-ronment is the perfect setting for this.

The Technology and En-gineering Education De-partment will continue to focus on providing the real world application of science and math con-cepts. As students get the opportunity to apply their knowledge, their depth of knowledge will grow and should provide positive results on their testing.

World Languages Do we want our stu-dents to have an ed-vantage when taking standardized test? If that is truly our goal, all students should have the opportunity to study an-other language because it expands their cultural awareness and improves cognitive function. As cited in NEA research from December, 2007, “Strong evidence shows that time spent on foreign language study strongly reinforces the core subject areas of reading, English language literacy, social studies and math. Foreign language learners consis-tently outperform control groups in core subject ar-eas on standardized tests, o f t e n s i g n i f i -

cantly”(Armstrong & Rogers 1997; Saunders 1998; Masciantonio 1977; Rafferty 1986; Andrade 1989; Kret-schmer & Kretschmer 1989).

The study of another language should not be limited to a college re-quirement, but should be mandated to graduate all-around, academically motivated world citi-zens. Students who study another language, especially one with a Latin root, have a posi-tive advantage when reading and writing English. Every World Language class works with vocabulary, writing and reading skills and grammatical structures.

The early levels of lan-guage study show sen-tence structure, talk about word derivation and ask students to relate concepts and roots to English. As students continue their studies, more reading and writing strategies are employed, such as citing evidence from text, making infer-ences and comparing and contrasting. Language students read both fiction and non-fiction stories and are asked to identify main ideas, paraphrase and summarize events. They are also exposed to world geography, cul-tures and events. Study-ing a world language is a positive impetus to a suc-cessful academic career.

Spanish class @ NHS

Curriculum, Assessment & Instruction 2001 Old Lincoln Highway Langhorne, PA 19047

Phone: 215-809-6550 Fax: 215-809-6004 E-mail: gheble@neshaminy.k12.pa.us

N e s h a m i n y S c h o o l D i s t r i c t

The Cur r i cu lum, Asses smen t & Ins t ruc t ion Team Director of C, A & I—Dr. Geeta Heble

Art—Cheryl Soltis

Business—Gerry Abramson

EAP/Data Overseer—Mary Beth Tecce

Family & Consumer Science— Kelly Macauley

Health & PE, Wellness, Summer Adventure— Jan King

Instructional Technology—Dan Winter

Language Arts & Reading, Elementary—Dory Fitzgerald, Terri Magerr, Mary Beth Tecce

Language Arts, Secondary—Mary O’Pella

Library Science—Sue Flanly

Math, Elementary—Shelley Rosen

Math, Secondary—Mike Thompson

Music & Summer Fine Arts— Nicole Dinkins

Professional Development—Sue Weber

Science—Brian Suter

Social Studies—Dave Heaney

Technology Education—Josh Elliot

World Languages—Nancy Kerr

Administrative Support— Susan Freedman, Kathy Giambelluca, Lily Lewandowski

Providing extra learning experiences at home can help students achieve success. In using educational websites and software, parents can help rein-force learning and help prepare a child for taking the PSSA’s.

Educational websites and apps fall into several categories. There are drill and practice, tutorial, simulation, problem solving, and utility type pro-grams and websites. We have gath-ered several different websites and apps that can be used to help foster academic achievement. These useful websites and apps are only a small sample of what is available online and in the App store.

Quia http://www.quia.com/shared/

A Games and quizzes website created by educators on almost any topic. Stu-dent’s can play an educational game of

battleship on science terms or quiz their knowledge of social studies con-

cepts in rags to riches.

Quizlet http://quizlet.com/

Quizlet is a flash cards and study games website with over 10 million

free sets of flashcards covering every possible subject. Students can play

educational games, memorize vocabu-lary and study online. With the use of “Flashcards” on an iOS device, flash-cards can be uploaded from Quizlet.

TECHNOLOGY TIPS Practice makes Perfect…or at least

helps!

Dreambox http://www.dreambox.com/

A fun math-learning environment that individualizes the curriculum for each student as the program

assesses the student’s skills during engaging math activities.

Khan Academy http://www.khanacademy.org/

Khan Academy is a non-profit video channel with over 2,500 vid-eos covering topics ranging from high school math and science to

banking and venture capital. Khan Academy is also available on iOS

devices.

Story Kit http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/

storykit/id329374595?mt=8

Story Kit allows you to create your own stories, complete with pic-

tures. Add text boxes, images and sound clips. Record sounds for

your stories, and add, reorder or delete your pages. Add pictures by

drawing on the screen, taking a pic-ture of something, or drawing

something on paper and taking a picture of it! There are lots of great creative options here to allow stu-

dents to create stories right on their iPod Touch.