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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.
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.
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
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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.
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
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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
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.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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).
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.
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Professional Development Opportunities:
• Item Development
• Content/Bias Reviews
• Scoring
• Regional Professional Development
Date: ____________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
District: _______________________________
Building: __________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
Please note any experiences you have had in training and/or working with the MAP program:
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