Here’s an idea for sorting assessment data (SOAR) using Microsoft Word. submitted by Francie Kugelman >Here’s an idea for sorting SOAR Data using Excel in Microsoft’s Office Suite. submitted by Francie Kugelman This is an idea of entering SOAR data from Open Court tests in a template. Using the Word Table helps me instantly know …
Category: Open Court Reading
Upcoming Appearances
The next few months are unusually busy months for me. If you’re available please check out one of these events: International Student Media Festival, Anaheim, CA, Thursday October 25-27. On Friday I will be presenting on introductory podcasting and iMovie for 4th and 5th graders. Celebrated Our Rising Stars Summit, Washington D.C., October 29-31. I …
Spam Be Gone
I’ve had to dump SpamBam which had faithfullly carried me through six months spam free and am now trying a captcha plugin. I’m always afraid when I try to eliminate spam that I’m eliminating comments too. If you have any trouble posting comments please e-mail me. You might also try posting a test comment to …
The Trains Run On Time: Have a Schedule
I get asked all the time how I fit in anything “extra” into the Open Court program. I don’t think I’m doing anything “extra.” I just make sure I have time for writing and independent work time/workshop each day. Your writing and IWT times are when you differentiate your instruction in ways which you can’t …
Vocabulary Strategy Flags
Crystal Edwards, a fantastic new teacher at my new school, Brentwood Science Magnet, has contributed vocabulary strategy flags to the web site. These are to be printed and attached to popsicle sticks which students keep in their pencil boxes. When examining the week’s vocabulary students hold up the strategy which they think is appropriate for …
Lesson Idea: The Power of Logos
submitted by Francie Kugelman I receive Lesson Plans from the New York Times, and the article about food being placed in a McDonald’s bag tasting better than the same food placed in a plain bag sounds like a great real-life lesson in the classroom. I first heard about this on NPR a few weeks ago. …
Comprehension Strategy Songs
Here’s a fantastic idea for reinforcing the meaning of comprehension strategies using short songs/chants submitted by Reina A. Schaffer. Please find the Comprehension Strategy songs on the general resources page.
Tech Fair Los Angeles Just Announced
The annual Tech Fair put on by CUE Los Angeles (Computer Using Educators—Los Angeles affiliate) has just been announced. The event will be held on November 3rd in Beverly Hills. I will be presenting a two hour dual session this year. Integrating Technology in the Open Court Reading Program to Close the Digital Divide (for …
Download Youtube Videos
Many districts understandably block Youtube in schools. For this reason you may want to download videos for classroom use. You can do this from http://www.zamzar.com. If you need help doing this. Click on this screen capture from Zamzar where I’ve highlighted what you need to do: Why would you want to do this? The short …
It’s Not Easy Timing Green
This e-mail was received about how long to spend on each section: Our literacy coach has been told that 1st grade should spend ONLY 30 minutes on the GREEN section of OCR and 45 minutes on the RED section. That is obviously wrong. However, I cannot find my notes from the summer trainings regarding the …