ACADEMY TECH NEWS FOR PARENTS Issue#3 321 ACADEMY TECH NEWS FOR PARENTS March/April 2018 - Issue 3 Written By: D. Kritikos, Technology Integration Specialist Woodland Hills Academy MRS. NOVOTNY’S THIRD GRADE READING CLASS DISCOVERS THE UNIVERSE IN THIS ISSUE Superkids Reading Program Wonders Reading Program Ask your K-2 child about Superkids Reading Program. There is a parent portal where your Reading Wonders is being used by grades 3- Connect to the World child can read books and magazines, play games, and much more! 6. What does Reading Wonders offer? It is a comprehensive program built on PA new Wonders provides teachers with Page #2 standards. Through its intentional unsurpassed resources that support instruction, inspiring content, and instruction. Wonders makes the Student Builds a Computer purposeful technology, Wonders prepares all connections that prepare students to st students for college and career in the 21 succeed. Seventh grade student finished classwork early century. gets the experience of building a computer. The Power of Innovative Connect to Core Standards Page #2 Technology APP Feature: McGraw-Hill Discover the power of fully connected programs built for English Language Arts, An InquirySpace provides innovative ConnectED English Language Development, performance task practice. Students Help your grade 3-6 child at home with resources intervention, and immersion. Make every complete three performance tasks per year from their Wonders Reading Program! instructional minute count as students move in an engaging, gamified environment, ahead efficiently, always focused on the learning to research, develop their ideas, Page #3 same skills, strategies, and standards. write, polish, and present their finished product. Web Feature: Quaver Music Connect to Inspiring Literature Music fun for students in grades 3-6 with Quaver Digital resources are designed for students Music. Wonders is filled with exemplars, award- which engages them across multiple winners and other high-interest literary and modalities. Hundreds of games bring skill Page #4 informational texts that range across many practice to life. StudySnyc book trailers genres, eras, and cultures. As students introduce every trade book; students share BookFLIX and TrueFLIX engage with the Essential Questions, they’re their responses in mediated social learning Read books or listen to audio books, play games, gaining access to complex texts, opportunities known as “blasts.” learn new things, all through the library system. collaborating with their peers, and becoming Collaborative conversation videos model Use your library card number or sign up for an accomplished at writing to sources. academy discourse across grade levels. account (Continued on Page #3) Page #4 ACADEMY TECH NEWS FOR PARENTS Issue#3 321 Superkids Reading Program The Superkids Reading program is a core has a unique personality and interests. literacy curriculum for kindergarten through second grade that teaches all By the time they finish the program, students aspects of reading seamlessly integrated have acquired the linguistic understanding with the language arts. Built on scientific required to develop into a fully literate research and proven pedagogy, it combines individual. After Superkids, third-readers can rigorous instruction with highly motivating read on grade level with accuracy, fluency and materials. understanding in any reading program. for students to enjoy at school or at home. Why Superkids Works Parent Portal Game features the Superkids characters and provide practice and reinforcement. Readers 1. Systematic, Explicit Instruction: The The Parent Portal contains resources for and SuperDuper magazine is available to Superkids Reading Program is a parents, such as at-home activities they can do grades 1-2. Superkids Online Fun is available system of instruction. The step-by- with their children. Teachers can stay for desktop/laptop computers, iPad, and step lessons build skills systematically connected to parents by posting messages. Android tablets. as children progress from kindergarten Parents can also ready about what their through second grade, creating children are currently learning in class. If you Superkids Online Fun – is available on the App confident readers. would like an account, please contact your Store for iOS devices. It requires iOS 6.0 or 2. Decodable Text: As children learn child’s teacher with your email address. Look later and is compatible with the iPad. It is also new phonetic elements, they for an email from Rowland Reading available on the Google Play Store for Android immediately apply these skills to Foundation and click on the link to create a devices. engaging decodable literary and password. To access the parent portal, go to informational text. By second grade, superkidsreading.org and select school and children have learned the phonetic parent login tab at the top right. Click the elements necessary to read text that parent link and enter email and password. isn’t phonetically controlled. Student may access the Superkids Online Fun 3. Integration: Superkids integrates through the parent portal. The parent portal is reading, spelling, handwriting, available throughout the summer. grammar, and composition into one program. Superkids Online Fun 4. Motivation: Children love engaging Information provided by Rowland Reading Superkids characters. Each character Foundation Superkids Online Fun houses games and books Angela is nearly done with the BUILDING A hardware/assembly and should finish the software this spring. Obstacles she had to overcome included tool availability as well COMPUTER as time (since Angela had Technology class during the first semester). Seventh grade student, Angela Zhang, was given the opportunity to “build a When Angela first agreed to building a computer” in Technology class since she computer, she thought that she would be completed her class assignments early. assisting Mr. Brown. Little did she realize She is currently in the process of that she was the one actually doing the building a computer from 5 salvaged work. When asked how she feels about this PCs. Under the supervisor of Mr. project, Angela answered that she now Brown, Angela carefully chooses the feels as if she can do almost anything. best parts from the old PCs to place into Angela’s future plans includes going to MIT the new one. Everything was built from to pursue a career as a software engineer. the ground up. The tech department Information provided by Angela Zhang and Mr. did furnish a used solid-state hard drive. Ryan Brown, Technology Instructor ACADEMY TECH NEWS FOR PARENTS Issue#3 321 Wonders Reading Program (Cont.) Online Resources Exploring the Student Workspace Online resources may be utilized from home by going to www.connected.mcgraw-hill.com After logging in, click on the student or by downloading the app (see information book icon. The top navigation bar below). The username is “wa” followed by consists of: Home screen, My binder-area the child’s 5-digit lunch number, and their for students to save work, Collaborate for password is “academy1”. You will need to teacher moderated area for discussion do a compatibility check to make sure and inquiry projects, Resource for a everything will run smoothly. Go to: complete listing of student resources, http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com and click School to Home for parent letters, on Minimum System Requirements (bottom activities and suggestions for home of the page). This will automatically test practice, and ABC for complete grade your system and let you know what updates level, visual vocabulary library. Fast you might need to get the full utilization of Launch Icons consists of: Paper with Reading Wonders. check for teacher assigned resources and test, cube with W for Visual vocabulary cards, paper with pencil for writing resources including computer assisted writing practice, gaming device for games and activities that enhance the week of instruction (different every week), and open book for a variety of text for reading during the week, including audio/visual support and note taking capabilities. Connected Mobile App See information below. Information provided by McGraw Hill Log Into the App App Feature: McGraw-Hill Open the App “ConnectED” and use your username and password for your ConnectED ConnectED account to log into the App. Then select the course and portion of the book you would like to download. Once downloaded, the chapter S with the teacher’s device, providing What is McGraw-Hill can be accessed offline. opportunities for feedback and real-time ConnectED? view of student work. McGraw-Hill ConnectED – is available on the App Store for iOS devices. It requires iOS 9.0 or This powerful App allows students in grades later and is compatible with the iPad. 3-6 to access their Wonders Reading account Downloading the App and allows them to work in on or offline mode. Students can complete their This app can be found for Apple devices homework on a tablet or other mobile device from the App Store, Search for « McGraw- providing 24/7 access wherever they go! Hill ConnectED ». For Android devices, Students can access the Student Edition launch the Google Play Store, search for from anywhere, and it is fully interactive “McGraw Hill ConnectED”. (take notes, highlight, annotate, and submit answers). It also allows students to sync Information provided by McGraw-Hill ACADEMY TECH NEWS FOR PARENTS | Issue # 3 4 How does Quaver know their efforts have Web Feature: Quaver Music been successful? Teachers tell them! A recent National Survey showed a positive impact on student retention, behavior, and engagement, o Music reaches all student Philosophy with 97% of teachers reporting their job groups. satisfaction increased after using Quaver in Quaver brings seriously fun teaching and their classroom! learning to the music classroom. Quaver Unique Benefits resources are serious because the content is Mrs. Endler uses Quaver in grades academically sound and the lessons address • Quaver Music seek to build on the Kindergarten through 6 music classes. grade-appropriate concepts that meet state inherent benefit of music participation Kindergarten through grades 2 use it in the and national standards.