Elementary and Middle School Social Studies classrooms in Grand Forks are going to become TCI Classrooms!

What Is TCI?

TCI is a K-12 publishing company created by teachers, for teachers.  TCI attempts to bring the best teaching strategies, great content, meaningful technology, and interactive classroom experiences together. The end goal:  Students of all abilities and learning styles succeed.

Students participate in a tug-of-war to learn about the American Revolution. They conduct press conferences as historical figures. They take a walking tour of Florence to uncover details about the Renaissance.

To read more about TCI - click on the links below:
Inside a TCI Classroom | TCI
TCI Theories and Strategies

Vocabulary Instruction: Five Common Misconceptions

"Rote memorization of word lists has never worked. To unleash the power of vocabulary instruction, focus on exploration and engaging word play."

It is best to use specific instructional strategies when teaching vocabulary.  Last year we looked at Marzano's six-step process (Marzano, 2004) of effective vocabulary instruction.  It involves the following steps:

1. Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term.
2. Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words.
3. Ask students to construct a picture, pictograph, or symbolic representation of the term.
4. Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their vocabulary notebooks.
5. Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.
6. Involve students periodically in games that enable them to play with terms.

In the latest issue of Educational Leadership; Padak, Bromley, Rasinski and  Newton point out that when young readers encounter texts that contain too many unfamiliar words, their comprehension suffers.  They explain that vocabulary knowledge is a key element in reading comprehension.  Therefore, in order for students to comprehend fully and learn well, they need regular vocabulary exploration.  The article goes on to identify five common misconceptions that often stand in the way of effective vocabulary instruction.  To read more, click on the link below:

Educational Leadership:Strong Readers All:Vocabulary: Five Common Misconceptions

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Strong Readers All - Catching Readers Up Before They Fail:

Online June 2012 | Volume 69 

Strong Readers All

I just read an article in the June issue of Educational Leadership that addresses catch-up growth for struggling readers.  Check it out by clicking on the link below.  The post below this is a video of J.K. Rowling speaking at a commencement ceremony about her journey through failure that lead her to success.

Educational Leadership:Strong Readers All:Catching Readers Up Before They Fail:

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J.K. Rowling - The Fringe Benefits of Failure

NSTA - Next Generation Science Standards

The development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) has been managed by Achieve.  The NGSS draft when it was released during the first public comment period from May 11 through June 1.  The writers are now working to review all of the comments and develop a second draft to be released for public comment in the fall 2012. 

Science educators are encouraged to continue to become familiar with the NRC Framework (the foundation for the NGSs), to prepare for implementation of the standards when a final version is completed in 2013.  For more information click on the link below:

NSTA :: Next Generation Science Standards:

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