MAP TESTING ALMOST OVER

Monday and Tuesday were MAP testing days during the social studies classes. Thanks to the generosity of 7th & 8th grade social studies (unfortunately 6th grade social studies had plans that couldn't be changed), many of the more timers were able to finish their tests on Wednesday. Due to the music trip on Thursday and Friday additional make-up tests and more timers have been postponed to the coming week. Fortunately there is only a small number of students left to finish the final MAP testing round of this year. I believe the special conferencing and goal setting done with all students in Homebase made a great impression on the students. They took their time with the MAP tests and really worked hard. Teachers in Reading and Math will have a very good look at student abilities based on this round of testing.
Coming up next week, some Health and Music classes will be using the IMC computers Monday through Wednesday. Thursday is reserved for 8th grade Language Arts. On Friday the computers are open and I will be preparing 6th graders for their Sports and Hobbies research project with an introduction to the resources available for this project both print and online

MAP TESTING RETURNS

The past week, for a short week, was very busy as 7th grade was wrapping up their career research, typing their bibliographies in NoodleBib, and preparing and typing their outlines. Career speeches begin next week in the classroom.

Looking to next week, MAP testing returns for the third and final time this year. In order to reduce the number of days for testing and the restrictions on IMC use during that time, three locations will be used. 8th graders will test in the IMC. 7th graders will test in Mr. Rodda's Applied Technology room. And 6th graders will test in Mrs. Foellmer's computer classroom. All students will test during their social studies classes on Monday and Tuesday for the Math and Reading tests. Make-up testing for absent students and extended time for students who need it will take place in the IMC on Wednesday. With luck this last round of MAP testing will be completed by mid-week. The MAP testing results will be reviewed by math and reading teachers to prepare class placements for the next school year.

Lots of Computer Activity

This week the 7th grade Language Arts classes continued their research for their career project. Students were taking notes from books, reference materials, online databases and web sites. This year the teachers had the students entering their bibliography information into NoodleBib (an free online bibliography maker) as they went along so some students were ready to print their bibliographies today. NoodleBib is a junior version of the NoodleTools program used at Downers Grove South High School and is basically a fill-in-the-blank setup where students enter the bibliographical information with correct spelling and capitalization and the computer generates each citation with the correct punctuation and in alphabetical order. Next week there are a number of different classes using the IMC computers -- 7th grade math, health, music, 8th grade language arts, and 7th grade language arts returning to type their speech outlines. Also the laptop computers are signed out for the entire week.

Career Research

This week the 7th grade Language Arts classes began their research for their career project. On Monday students took a career assessment survey using a website called Career Cruising which we have on a 30-day free trial. On Wednesday I gave them a Research Road Map and showed them the various types of resources available in the IMC. Thursday students found a book with information on their career and started taking notes. Today most students were ready to start their bibliographies using an online bibliography maker called NoodleBib (a junior version of the one used at Downers Grove South) with the library staff's assistance. Research will continue through next week. Speeches will start April 27th. In addition to the 7th grade research next week, 6th grade Social Studies and some music classes will be working in the IMC. It looks like the library staff is in for another busy week!