Tiger Den

2009 CCHS TEACHER OF THE YEAR

2009-03-24T10:30:00.000-05:00

Jennifer Dasinger has been selected by her peers at CCHS as the 2009 Teacher of the Year for Cleburne County High School. Congratulations to Mrs. Dasinger.

ARMT OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS

2009-03-24T07:54:00.000-05:00

ARMT Open-Ended Questions
Here are some of the “big ideas” I took from a workshop previously on ARMT Open-Ended Questions:

Doing well on the Stanford is still important. On the ARMT, 60% of the reading questions are actually taken from the Stanford-10. In the area of math, 30% of the questions are from the Stanford-10.

Open-ended responses in reading test one thing—

Reading ComprehensionStudents need to use a “just the facts ma’am” approach. No topic sentence. No concluding sentence. Simply list what is asked for. Spending time writing great prose won’t help the score, and will take away valuable time that could be spent elsewhere.

To help students prepare throughout the year, as you read things in class, ask students questions such as, “What three things did you learn from this?”

We all know that charts and graphs are important. When these appear in the textbook, train students to quickly locate in the text the reference made to the chart or graph.

Why can’t I write outside the lines? The instructions on the open-ended responses caution students against this. What happens if they do? Here is the explanation: The answer booklets are cut apart and the individual sheets are scanned into a computer. When the booklets are cut, anything outside the lines will be cut off. The people scoring the responses will never see what had been written.

Students are not supposed to underline passages on the ARMT. Why is this not allowed? After all, underlining is a good strategy. The answer is that the machines which score the answers are so sensitive that something written in the booklet several lines away will still be read by the machine.

Here is a strategy that students can use: Put a finger on the particular spot in the booklet as a “place marker.” A student may wind up with several fingers spread up and down the page to mark specific spots.

Here are some activities to help prepare for ARMT Here is a pretty thorough handout on the subject of open-ended questions

You can go here for sample questions. What you will find is that you could run off one reading passage and glean sometimes as many as 80 questions that you could ask from that one passage.

Auditions

2009-01-16T13:09:00.001-06:00

Our Town Auditions will be this Sunday, January 18th at 2:00 pm and Monday, January 19th at 7:00 pm at the Heflin Arts Center. The play will be presented by the Heflin Arts Council and auditions are open for anyone from ages 7 years old to 90 years old.

See Mrs. Dasinger for more information.

Drama Club

2009-01-16T13:07:00.000-06:00

The Drama Club will present the Bachelor King on Friday, January 23rd and Saturday, January 24th at the Old High School. Curtain time is 7:00 pm for both nights and cost is $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for students. Concessions will be sold at intermission.

Free Tutoring

2009-01-16T13:06:00.000-06:00

After school tutoring is on Monday and Wednesday of each week until 5:30 pm for all subject areas. Students need to plan their transportation home before they get to school.
S: Coach Altman will offer Math tutoring in his room each morning before school beginning at at 7:00 am until 7:30 am.

ACT PREP SITE

2008-12-04T00:30:00.000-06:00

Number2.com (as in #2 pencil) is an outstanding site for ACT preparation. The site is totally free. The student establishes an account and will have a login and password. From that point on, the student can return as often as desired.The site is partly instructional and explains the concepts which are likely to be tested on the ACT. Students are able to take samples tests. Feedback comes immediately after each question. If the student answers incorrectly, there is explanation provided.The student is even able to designate someone as a "coach." The coach is able to see the student's progress.
Thanks to Dr. Frank Buck for this information.

Todd Bates Stops in for a visit!

2008-10-30T10:59:00.001-05:00

Former CCHS, Alabama, and Tennessee Titan Todd Bates stopped by to talk to CCHS students about drugs and alcohol and the impact they can have on anyone and everyone as part of Red Ribbon Week at CCHS. He talked about making good decisions and how those decisions can and almost always impact your life and others around you. It was great to have the former football star home and he was welcomed by 670+ cheering students once he was introduced. Todd is currently teaching and coaching at Oxford High School in Oxford, Alabama with thoughts of someday becoming a head coach. If you would like to learn more about Todd and his career visit his website at http://toddbates.org/.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS ON THE ADAW

2008-10-17T08:11:00.000-05:00

Tips for Success on the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing:

Use blank paper to do your prewriting. You can then copy the finished product onto the paper you will be turning in.

At the top of the blank paper, immediately write what mode you will be using and a few key words about what you are supposed to do.

Read the prompt at least four times. You want to be sure you understand exactly what you are being asked to do.

Create a graphic organizer on your blank paper.

Next, write your rough draft.

Use at least 5 paragraphs.

Introduction—State the purpose and the audience. Have a good topic sentence. Include a hook (can be a question or exclamation).

A paragraph for each of 3 major points.

A concluding paragraph—Recap what you have told the reader. Leave the reader with a thought, a challenge, or something to think about.

Each paragraph should have at least five sentences.

When you have 25 minutes left, copy your rough draft onto the paper you will be turning in.

On your final copy, do not write in the margins. Also, do not write below the bottom line. The scorers will not give you credit for anything you write in those areas.
Strategy compliments of Sally York & Dr. Frank Buck

Tools for Math Teachers

2008-10-17T08:08:00.000-05:00

This page gives 24 tools, most of them Excel spreadsheets designed to help teach mathematical concepts. The tools range from those applicable in early elementary school (learning "greater than" and "less than") through simpler Algebra I and Geometry concepts.To give credit where credit is due, Karen Ferrell is a geometry teacher at Northwest High School in Justin, Texas.In case you are wondering just how long I spent searching for this stuff, the reality is, all I did was check my e-mail. One of the messages gave me a link to this site. Actually, it's taking me longer to type this post that to find and explore her new additions.When you go to the link I gave you, notice the orange square that says "RSS." That's the magic. Here is an explanation of what RSS is all about. More on RSS later along with some hints on how to integrate neat stuff like this with your curriculum so that all of the neat stuff you find here and there suddenly comes back right when you need it.Compliments of Dr. Frank Buck

ZERO METH PROGRAM

2008-10-17T08:04:00.000-05:00

The Alabama District Attorneys Association and the Governor’s Office, with additional funding from our congressional delegation, will begin a state-wide campaign on February 22, 2008, to educate the Alabama public, particularly our younger population, about the serious consequences of using this drug, even one time. The campaign is called ZeroMeth, and it will be conducted on television, radio and the print media. There will also be a website (zerometh.com) that will detail needed information about meth, including its effects, how to report suspected labs, law enforcement contacts, and media clips. We intend for this site to become a one-stop educational took for those seeking information about the methamphetamine crisis in our state and across the country.

Great Website

2008-10-17T07:46:00.001-05:00

A site that all families need to know is http://www.familywatchdog.us/ This website will allow you to put in your address and get a list of any child predators in your area. It provides a map and a list of the offenders in close proximity to your home. You can click on the individual names and it will provide a picture and detailed information.Just working with you to keep our students safe!

Public Comments Being Accepted for Course of Study

2008-10-16T11:58:00.000-05:00

Part of the process of adopting any Course of Study in Alabama is making a draft available to the public and providing an opportunity for input। Revisions are made from that input before the document is presented to the Alabama State Board of Education for adoption.This year, the Course of Study is being adopted for Mathematics, Physical Education, and Health Education. The easiest way to examine these drafts is to download them from the Alabama State Department of Education website. To download these documents, click the links as follows:

Mathematics
Physical Education
Health Education

If you have comments, the easiest way to communicate those is to e-mail Dr. Sara Mason at the Alabama State Department of Education. Her address is smason@alsde.edu। The deadline to submit public comments is November 3. Having serves on a Course of Study committee, public comments are taken very seriously. Every single comment is read to the committee. The committee makes a decision to accept, reject, or partially accept the recommendation made in that comment. In addition, the committee provides a rationale for the decision, and that reasoning is documented in writing and becomes part of the official record of that Course of Study committee.

AHSGE SUMMER TEST DATES

2008-06-08T11:21:00.000-05:00

• Language Monday July 7, 2008 8:00 a.m.

• Social Studies Tuesday July 8, 2008 8:00 a.m.

• Science Wednesday July 9, 2008 8:00 a.m.

• Mathematics Thursday July 10, 2008 8:00 a.m.

• Reading Friday July 11, 2008 8:00 a.m.