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Missouri

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Assessment
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February 2009
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Volume 14
Program
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S Issue 3
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Upcoming Workshops
End-of-Course Manuals and MAP Manuals workshops
will be presented by the MAP Regional Instructional
Facilitators. Please go to page 2 for links to regis-
ter for the workshops.

MAP Manuals Workshops: This training meeting is


critically important for District and Building Test Co-
ordinators who are responsible for administration of
the MAP tests. It is recommended that every district
send at least one person to one of the MAP Manuals meetings with a maximum of 3 people
from each district. Register for a half-day session here.

End-of Course Manuals Workshops: This training meeting is critically important for District
and Building Test Coordinators who are responsible for administration of the EOC tests. It is
recommended that every district send at least one person to one of the EOC Manuals meet-
ings with a maximum of 3 people from each district. Register for a half-day session here.

Scoring Workshop for an Algebra 1 End-of-Course Performance Event - AM & PM Sessions -


Participants will look at student work and score and EOC math performance event for prac-
tice. This will aid in the understanding for teachers on how to score their students work.
Register for half-day session here.

Rescheduled Scoring Workshop for a Biology End-of-Course Performance Event-AM Session


Participants will work with scoring guides, anchor papers and actual student work to learn
how to score a performance event for the Biology EOC. The released form on the DESE web-
site (not the PE from this year’s EOC) will be used to lead teachers through the process. The
goal of the workshop is to help classroom teachers align their scoring of the performance
event with the state’s scoring and, in the process, discover methods for improving student
achievement and instruction. Register for half-day session here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
New MAP Website Coming Soon
We are in the process of transferring the MAP website to the Missouri State University’s
WebPress system. This new system will allow users to view the website from either Internet
Explorer or Firefox. The new system should be available in the next two weeks.

On the Inside
Page 2 Calendar Page 4 Mathematics
Page 3 Communication Arts Page 5 Science
Calendar and Upcoming Events
MAP Calendar
February
02/28/09 EOC Algebra Scoring workshop a.m.
02/28/09 EOC Algebra Scoring workshop p.m.
March
03/06/09 EOC Biology Scoring workshop a.m. - Rescheduled
03/06/09 EOC Biology Scoring workshop p.m. - Rescheduled
03/11/09 MAP Manuals Meeting - Springfield a.m.
03/11/09 End-of-Course Manuals - Springfield p.m.
03/12/09 MAP Manuals Meeting - Joplin a.m.
03/12/09 End-of-Course Manuals - Joplin p.m.
03/18/09 End-of-Course Manuals - Springfield a.m.
03/18/09 MAP Manuals Meeting - Springfield p.m.
03/19/09 End-of-Course Manuals - Springfield a.m.
03/19/09 MAP Manuals Meeting - Springfield p.m.
03/30/09 MAP Testing Window opens
April
04/15/09 Phase I Spring EOC begins
04/24/09 MAP Testing Window closes
04/27/09 Phase II Spring 2009 Field Test Window opens
May
05/15/09 Phase II Spring 2009 Field Test Window closes
05/22/09 Phase I Spring EOC ends
June
06/16/09 Phase I Summer EOC begins
July
August
08/31/09 Phase I Summer EOC ends

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

EOC and MAP Testing Schedules


End-of Course and MAP Testing Schedules will soon be emailed to District Test Coordina-
tors. The MAP Testing Schedule is the same form that was used in the past. New this
year is the End-of Course Testing Schedule. This form is similar to the MAP Testing Sched-
ule. Both forms need to be returned to the MAP office by the date given in the email.

If you have questions about the forms, please call our office at 417-829-5075 or 800-
899-8146.

The Southwest MAP Newsletter is a publication of the Southwest Missouri Assessment Program.
SW MAP is part of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, working in conjunction
with the College of Education at Missouri State University.

Newsletter compiled by Mary Lou Cochrane (mlcochrane@missouristate.edu)


Contributors: Danielle Sellenriek, Trish Goddard, and Linda Dudley


Communication Arts
Danielle Sellenriek, Regional Instructional Facilitator
dsellenriek@missouristate.edu
Teaching Thinking Skills
Three types of questions boost thinking
After students finish reading an assignment, they are usually ready to answer basic questions
about the facts in the text. If you ask them to do any thinking beyond
those facts, many will have trouble. But students need to learn how
to ask—and answer—many different types of questions. Here are
three kinds of questions students need to ask and answer:
1. On-the-line questions. These are the fact-based questions. “Who
was the first President?” “What is the capital of Iowa?” Answers to
these questions are usually found in the text.
2. Between-the-lines questions. These questions require students
to draw inferences from what they have read. There is enough information in the text for
students to draw a logical conclusion. “What might that word mean in this context?” “Why
do you think the main character changed her mind?”
3. Beyond-the-lines questions. These questions help students make connections between
what they have read and other ideas. “What qualities make a person a great leader?”
“What do you think would happen if we did the experiment this way?” Give students
practice asking and answering these three levels of questions. When you ask questions, be
sure you ask all three types. Source: Carol Koechlin and Sandi Zwaan, Q Tasks, ISBN: 1-551-
38197-4 (Pembroke Publishers, 1-800-997-9807, www.pembrokepublishers.com ).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Reading Comprehension
RIDER method can boost comprehension
Linking the words on a page to a picture constructed in the mind is one way students can
better understand what they read. One method is called the RIDER method. It may work
especially well for visual learners. Teach students to:
R Read. Have students read a chunk of material, such as a sentence or paragraph.
I Imagine. Ask students to form a detailed picture or image in their minds based on what
they read. Think of color, setting, vivid characters—anything to help link the image to the
text.
D Describe. How is this picture or image different from others they’ve made? This is another
way to ask: What new information are your students finding in the text?
E Evaluate. Ask students: How complete is the image? Should they add anything to it?
(Students may need to read the passage again at this point.)
R Repeat. Repeat the process for the next chunk of material. Source: John Beattie, et al.,
Making Inclusion Work: Effective Practices for All Teachers, ISBN: 1-4129-1469-8 (Corwin
Press, 1-800-233-9936, www.corwinpress.com ).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Teaching Thinking Skills
Move literature students from LOTS to HOTS
Most students are comfortable identifying and feeding back essential facts about a text. But
now it’s time to move them from LOTS (Lower Order Thinking Skills) to HOTS (Higher Order
Thinking Skills). How can you do this?
• Expect students to identify literary devices and terms when discussing or writing about a

Communication Arts continued on Page 



Mathematics
Trish Goddard, Regional Instructional Facilitator
goddard@missouristate.edu

Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics


Upcoming events 2008-2009:
Feb. 19-21 Interface A Tan-Tar-A
Feb. 22-24 Interface B Tan-Tar-A
Feb. 27-March 1 T3 21st Annual International Conference, Seattle
Apr. 22-25 NCTM 87th Annual Meeting, Washington D.C.
Upcoming events 2009-2010:
Dec. 4-5 MCTM Annual Conference
Mar. 5-7 T3 22nd Annual International Conference, Atlanta
MCTM local officers: President: Robin Jenkins, Central High School, 423 E. Central,
Springfield, MO 65802, 417-523-9776, rjenkins@spsmail.org
SW Director: Adam Meador, Holland Elementary School, 2403 S. Holland Ave., Springfield,
MO 65809, 417-838-6128, ameador@spsmail.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Education Changes
Now that the election results are in, Congress and the new President will be developing
their education agendas over the next year. President Obama, with help from his transition
team, has selected a new Secretary of Education. There is also considerable speculation
that the new administration will drastically change NCLB. What those changes might be is
certainly not clear at this point, but there does seem to be fairly widespread support for
implementing changes in NCLB (in a 2008 PDK_Gallup poll, more than 80% of the American
public believes NCLB should be extensively altered).
Congress will be considering a number of educational issues/pieces of legislation. The
110th Congress approved several legislative measures related to education. These measures
included changes in the law governing the Head Start program and the Higher Education
Act. Another significant piece of legislation is the American COMPETES Act. The legislation
authorizes $43 billion in spending for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) research and education programs. It also authorizes a new program that would
provide grants enabling schools to have math specialists in the classroom. This could be
particularly significant at the K-5 level. Reprinted from the February 2009 MCTM Bulletin.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Elementary Activities (for more activities, go to the Math section of the MAP website at
www.map.missouristate.edu )
Mathematics of the Heart: K-2
Jumping with heart. Your heart is a muscle. Just like the other muscles in your body, your
heart gets stronger when you exercise. See how long you can jump without stopping.
You can either jump in place or use a jump rope. Do this every day for a week.
Record your data. What do you notice about the length of time you are able to jump
each day? What do you think would happen to the data if you did this for another week?
Month?
Pump it up. Our hearts work hard every day to pump our blood throughout our bodies.
The average human body has about 6 quarts of blood. There are 2 pints in a quart.
How many pints of blood are in an average adult? 2 adults? 5 adults?

Math continued on Page 



Science
Linda Dudley, Regional Instructional Facilitator
LindaDudley@missouristate.edu
I hope everyone has thawed out after our recent experience with yet more ice.
Give me snow over ice any time! One of the ways I spent my time was in catching
up on some reading and checking out some resources that you may find helpful.
Our DESE science consultant and the various Science Regional Instructional
Facilitators across the state are collaborating to provide teachers in grades 5 and 8 with a
sample MAP-type test to use as you prepare your students. Both of the samples are partially
finished and will be posted to our website and to the DESE website as soon as possible.
For those of you who are always looking for materials to use as you teach inquiry skills, you
might want to take a look at Science Experiments By The Hundreds (Julia Cothron, Ronald
Giese, Richard Rezba). This is not a new resource as it was copyrighted in 1996 by Kendall/
Hunt Publishing Company (ISBN 0-7872-1574-0). This is a student workbook that takes them
from the basics of variables, constants and hypotheses all the way through researching,
designing and presenting their own experiment. The material is designed for beginning
researchers and would be best suited for middle school-age students or for high school
students with little or no background in inquiry. There is a Teacher’s Guide to accompany
the workbook (ISBN 0-7872-2110-4). For those students and teachers who have more
experience, the same writing team has produced a resource entitled Science Experiments
and Projects for Students. They have also produced a teacher’s resource called Students
and Research: Practical Strategies for Science Classrooms and Competitions (2nd edition).
If you are a high school teacher who has thought about implementing science notebooking in
your classes, try reading the article “Integrating Interactive Notebooks” in the January 2009
issue of NSTA’s The Science Teacher. The article describes one type of science notebook
and even gives sample formative and summative assessment strategies for the notebook.
Many of the resources I have had experience with have focused on the use of notebooks in
elementary and middle school classes. While the basics of science notebooks can be applied
to all grade levels, I’ve heard many high school teachers express doubts and/or questions
about using them in their classes. The authors (Cheryl Waldman and Kent Crippen) do a very
good job of providing a simple three part scaffold that should be easy to implement and
grade and should also be effective in helping students learn.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
On the Web
• Digital workshop (www.t2tweb.us/Digital/workshop_hots/index.html ) aims to increase
student learning by integrating inquiry and higher-order thinking skills into instruction.
The site has resources to help you incorporate inquiry and Bloom’s taxonomy into student
assessment, find appropriate assessments for inquiry and HOTS (higher order thinking
skills) and explain the differences between doing inquiry and understanding inquiry.
• NASA Mars exploration resources (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom) is a set of
curriculum modules for grades 4-12.
• Videos from NATURE (www.pbs.org/wnet/nature ) makes more than 40 downloadable
video segments from the PBS series available for classroom use (length ranges from 30
seconds to 5 minutes).
• If you need videos that chronicle global efforts to solve ecological challenges,
18 downloadable video segments from the PBS series e2 may be accessed at

Science continued on Page 



Missouri Insurance Education Foundation Scholarships
The Missouri Insurance Education Foundation, formed as a non-profit corporation in 1991, is
supported by insurance companies which conduct business in Missouri. One of the goals of
the Foundation is to award scholarships to deserving Missouri high school students who will
be attending Missouri colleges or universities.

In connection with these goals, the Board has approved four (4) $1,500 scholarships to
be awarded to Missouri graduating high school seniors who will be full-time students in
an accredited Missouri college or university and with an interest or intent of pursuing an
insurance, risk management, or actuarial science course of study.

Completed applications must be postmarked no later than March 31, 2009, so that the
Scholarship Committee can complete the selection process by mid-April. Applications
postmarked after this deadline will not be considered.
Information about the scholarship can be found at http://www.mief.org/ .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Math Continued from Page 

Check your pulse. Use your fingers (not your thumb) to gently find your pulse on your
wrist. Place some clay over the spot. Stick a straw in the clay so that the straw sticks
straight up. You should be able to see the straw move lightly with your pulse. Have a
friend help you count how many times the straw moves in 1 minute. Compare your
number with an adult’s. Does your heart beat faster or slower than the adult’s? By how
much?

An apple a day? To have a healthy heart, we should try to eat about 5 servings of
fruit and vegetables each day. For 10 days, keep a record of the amount of fruits and
vegetables you eat at every meal and for snacks. Show your information in a chart or
graph. Did you eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day? If not, how many
more fruits and vegetables do you need to eat? Did you eat more fruits or more
vegetables? Compare your data to that of your classmates.
Mathematics of the Heart: 3-4
Resting heart rate. The best time to measure your resting heart is right after you
wake up, before you get out of bed. The average person’s heart beats about 70 times
per minute when it is at rest. If your heartbeat stayed at this rate all day, how many
times would your heat beat in 5 minutes? 10 minutes? 1 hour? How long would it take
for your heart to beat 4970 times?

Amazing heart. The average human heart beats more than 2 billion times in a
lifetime. If your heart beats 70 times in 1 minute, how old will you be when you
reach 2 billion heartbeats? Solve this with your class and talk about the different
strategies you used for the large numbers? Challenge: Calculate how many times your
heart will have beaten by your next birthday.

That’s a lot of blood. The human body contains approximately 6 quarts (or 5.6
liters) of blood. As part of the circulatory system, the average heart pumps about 1900
gallons of blood through it each day! How many gallons is that in one week? One month?
One year?
Math Continued on Page 10


Communication Arts Continued from Page 
selection. Ask them why a device was effective in conveying the author’s message, mood or
tone.
• Ask students to compare and contrast a selection with another text that has similar
components. You can provide the alternate selections or you can expect your students to
find them.
• Teach students to create a semantic map—a visual diagram that shows the relationships
in a selection. They might draw a circle in the center of the page containing the theme of
the text. From that they will draw lines to other circles to show relationships. Let students
create and explain their maps.
• Ask students to relate how they think ideas and values in a selection were influenced
by the life and times of the author. • Have students discuss and defend their personal
reactions to the theme of a text. Source: Maida Nechushtan and Judy Henn, “Thinking
Through Literature: Learning HOTS and Enjoying Literature,” English Teachers Network,
www.etni.org.il/etai/handouts/M_D_Thinking_Through_Literature_presentation_color.ppt .

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Reading Comprehension
Boost comprehension with a jigsaw activity
Jigsaw is a strategy that engages students and boosts comprehension through a collaborative
activity. Here’s how you can use it:
1. Select text (a chapter, an article, etc.) for a class discussion.
2. Divide the class into equal “home groups” (for example, five students each).
3. Assign a number to each student in a group (for example, from one to five).
4. Divide the text by the number of students in each group.
5. Have students read the sections of the text that correspond to
their numbers. For example, student one reads section one (pages
75–77), student two reads section two (pages 78–80), etc.
6. Have all students with the same number meet in “expert groups”
(“expert group one,” “expert group two,” etc.).
7. Have “experts” determine how to teach information in their text
to their “home groups.”
8. Have “experts” return to their “home groups” and present their
sections of the text.
9. Have “home groups” fill in a chart with the most important information from each
section. Source: ”Jigsaw,” AdLit.org, www.adlit.org/strategies/22371 .

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Teaching Reading
You may not think you need to focus on teaching reading. After all, you teach seventh
graders. You aren’t an English teacher—you teach math. But new research from ACT testing
reveals that students who can’t read at grade level also can’t learn content. The ACT looked
at students whose scores on the ACT Reading test indicated they were ready to do college-
level reading. Of students who met the reading benchmark:
• 94 percent also met the ACT English benchmark.
• 63 percent also met the ACT Math benchmark.
• 47 percent met the ACT Science benchmark.

Communication Arts Continued from Page 



Communication Arts Continued from Page 
However, of the students who did not meet the Reading benchmark, only:
• 41 percent met the ACT English benchmark.
• 16 percent met the ACT Math benchmark.
• 5 percent met the ACT Science benchmark.
In other words, students who don’t do well on reading tests can’t master other subjects.
So you need to incorporate teaching students reading so they can understand how to read
content in your subject. Source: ACT, “Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals
About College Readiness in Reading,” http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/
reading_report.pdf .

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Science Continued from Page 

http://www.pbs.org/e2/about.html.
• Short Attention Span Science Theater (http://www.stanford.edu/group/microdocs/)
offers 2-4 minute video segments on ecological sustainability.
• WhaleNet (http://whale.wheelock.edu/Welcome.html ) has both real-time and archived
satellite tracking data for seals, whales, dolphins, and sea turtles. The data could be
used to investigate migration, feeding patterns, natural histories, critical habitats and
more.
• Journey North is a K-12 annual study of wildlife migration and seasonal change including
monarch butterfly, hummingbird, and whooping crane migration; budding and blossoming
of plants; and changing temperatures. The projects began on February 1st, but you can
still join in at www.learner.org/jnorth.
• SchoolTube (www.schooltube.com) allows educators to share videos made by them and
their students, lesson plans, classroom tips, etc.
• Single-concept lesson plans for chemistry are available from SMILE (Science and
Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement based at the Illinois Institute of
Technology) at www.iit.edu/~smile/cheminde.html . The site also has links to biology
and physics lessons.
• Calls of the Wild West (www.westernsoundscape.org) features more than 800 recordings
of wildlife in western states (accompanied by a photograph and information on the
organism).
• Your Environment, Your Choice – www.epa.gov/epaoswer/education/teens/act.htm -
strives to help high school students make environmentally sound choices.
• NSTA provides an electronic newsletter for elementary principals called Scientific
Principals. To sign up and download back issues visit www.nsta.org/publications/archive-
principals.aspx . The newsletters include suggestions for professional development,
ways to increase parental involvement, examples of best practices, and links to topical
websites reviewed by teachers (Webwatchers with expertise in a given field and grade
level) and shows principals how to incorporate science into their curriculum and bring
more science into their school.
• High school students may want to consider doing a water-related science project
and entering it in the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. The competition is open to high
school students with projects aimed at increasing the quality of life through improving
water quality, water resource management, or water and wastewater treatment. For
Science Continued on Page 


Science Continued from Page 
more information visit www.SJWP.org. The entry deadline is April 15th, but some state
deadlines vary.
• Teams of 2-3 students in grades 6-8 may want to participate in the Siemens We Can
Change the World Challenge. Each team identifies an environmental issue in their
community, researches the issue using scientific investigation, and creates a “green”
solution. Visit the website (www.wecanchange.com,) for more information and to
experience its virtual labs, video clips, and other resources. Submissions will be
accepted through March 15, 2009.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Science Teachers of Missouri (STOM)


Do you have excellent, original lesson plans that satisfy national and/or state standards you
would be willing to share with other teachers across the state? Have you read a professional
book that you would like to review? If so, please contact Kristie Parfet, STOM Executive
Secretary, 339 N Overlook St, Olathe KS 66061; (913) 956-9333 or at stom209@gmail.com.
STOM offers a science honor society called Beta Chi Pi for students grades K-12. The sponsor
must be a STOM member. For more information check the link on the website (www.stom.
org) or contact Lou Mongler, Beta Chi Pi Director, 4252 Audrain Rd 347, Mexico, MO 65265;
lmongler@mexico.k12.mo.us. STOM also has an awards program to recognize excellent
teachers of science. There are awards for teachers in the early years of their career and for
those who have more experience. For more information, visit the STOM website.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
2 more formative assessment strategies
In the last newsletter, I shared two formative assessment strategies. I hope that you found
ways to implement them in your class/classes. Here are two more strategies you may find
useful.

Explanation Analysis
This strategy encourages self and peer assessment of a students’ ability
to both construct and analyze a well-crafted scientific explanation. This
is an important skill for students at all grade levels and is so vitally
important in being able to communicate ones thinking. Teachers and
students constructively critique scientific explanations for accuracy and
inclusion of the key components that distinguish scientific explanations from other types of
explanations (the claim, appropriate and sufficient evidence, and reasoning that links the
evidence to the claim using a scientific principle).

First Word, Last Word


This strategy allows teachers to gauge what students know about a topic before
and after instruction. At the beginning of the unit, students are given a term
from the unit and construct an acrostic of words and/or phrases for each letter
of the term. At the end of the unit, students revisit their acrostic and make
changes, as necessary, to show their new understanding of the term (an example might be
using the term force at the beginning and end of a unit on Newton’s Laws).


Math Continued from Page 
Compare your answers with another person’s. Did you use the same strategy to get
your answers?

Two halves make a whole. The heart shape used to symbolize love has only one
line of symmetry. Examine other shapes in your classroom and school. Can you
find shapes with 2, 3, 4, or even more lines of symmetry? What about other objects?
Can you identify any animals or insects that have lines of symmetry? Share your
findings with the class.
Mathematics of the Heart: 5-6
Check my beat. When at rest, the normal adult heart b e a t s a b o u t 7 0 t i m e s a
m i n u t e . Kn o w i n g t h a t information, how many times will the average heart beat in
one day? One week? One month? One year? 40 y e a r s ? 6 5 y e a r s ?
E x p l a i n h o w y o u s o l v e d t h e s e problems. Challenge: It takes
approximately 1-2 m i n u t e s f o r a l l t h e b l o o d i n t h e h u m a n
b o d y t o completely circulate. Can you estimate how many miles
or kilometers your blood travels each day? Hint: If the human
circulatory system (all arteries, veins, and capillaries) were
laid end to end, the total length would be approximately 60,000
miles, or 100,000 kilometers.

How fast does your heart beat? If you started counting your
heartbeats at midnight on January 1, when would you count the millionth beat?
How about the billionth? Explain your strategy.

The heart of it. Listen to your heartbeat and count the number of beats for 10
seconds. Determine your resting heartbeat per minute. How does that compare
to the average heartbeat of 70 beats per minute? Display the class data. Find the
range, mode, and median of your class data. Do you think your information would be
the same as that of another class?

Healthy heart? Determine your resting pulse rate per minute. Create a 10-minute
exercise routine (for example, marching, running, jumping jacks, and so on). For
three days, begin by taking your resting pulse rate. Then complete your exercise
routine and take your pulse rate after exercise. Record all data. Compare your pulse
rates for all three days (resting and after exercising) and create a graph to represent
your data.

Reprinted from Teaching Children Mathematics, NCTM, Volume 12, No. 6.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics Math Contests


Math in Arts contest hosted by: Mathematics Department, Missouri State University. Find out
more about the contest by going to http://math.missouristate.edu/44540.htm The 2009
Finals will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2009

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Professional Development Opportunities:
• Item Development
• Content/Bias Reviews
• Scoring
• Regional Professional Development

REQUEST TO BE INCLUDED IN MAP AND/OR EOC RELATED WORK


Fax this form to: Attention: MAP
417-829-5072

Date: ____________________________

First Name:______________________ Last Name: ______________________

Address: ___________________________________________

City: __________________________ State: ___ Zip: ____________

Home Phone: __________________ Work Phone: __________________

Home E-mail: ______________________________________________

Work E-mail: _______________________________________________

District: _______________________________

Building: __________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________

City: __________________________ State: ___ Zip: ____________

Current Position: ___________________________________________

Grade Level: ___________________ Subject Area: __________________

Please note any experiences you have had in training and/or working with the MAP program:

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