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Congratulations to the New ORC Ambassadors!

Forty-four educators completed training in July to become ORC Ambassadors. Twenty-six are now credentialed ORC Ambassadors who have completed three days of intensive training in the use of ORC resources. They are available to provide professional development for school districts across Ohio. In addition, many of the ambassadors who completed their training in 2006 returned for a day of updates on the redesigned website and new searches.

Eighteen educators were trained as Ambassadors who would focus on the unique needs of urban districts. These Ambassadors completed two full days of training so that they are prepared to offer professional development in their own districts. Most will also complete a third day of training in August and become fully credentialed ORC Ambassadors.

ORC still needs Ambassadors for July training sessions

If you're interested in the ORC Ambassador training program, but you haven't signed up yet, write to us so we can send the information to you. Send an email to cdodson@ohiorc.org or gmartin@ohiorc.org.

If you have questions about the training, just join the blog so you can ask the questions in your comments.

Twenty weeks of resources for the Ohio Science Achievement Tests

ORC science specialists Terry Shiverdecker and Christie Bohman have completed all twenty weeks of science mini-collections for the Science OAT for grades 5 and 8. For help with preparation or simply for help with teaching the science benchmarks in the two grade levels, be sure to check out this valuable resource!

What's Your Spelling Story?

Rebecca Bowers Sipe states in the March In Perspective feature column, "Despite the fact that I was a straight A student, my difficulties with spelling tests resulted in nails bitten to the point of bleeding and in bouts of nausea that resulted in being sick many Friday afternoons. Further, come Monday morning, the words on the previous list typically vanished from memory, pushed aside by new ones."

Do you have a story about spelling, either yours or that of a student or relative, that you'd like to share? Please share your stories and your strategies for helping students become better, more strategic spellers.

Just join the AdLIT blog, click Discuss at the bottom of this box, and start typing your story in the blank text box that appears. When you finish, select Post Changes to save your story.

OCTELA Presentation Folder - 2007

In their conference session on March 23, Carol Brown Dodson and Nicole Carter Luthy shared some great ORC resources for teaching with poetry. Links to all the resources are available in the Power of Poetry - OCTELA 2007 Presentation folder. The folder contains links to the ORC resources shared at the OCTELA conference during the session titled The Power of Poetry.

Science Benchmarks for the OATs

Folders are now posted for seventeen weeks of resources for fifth- and eighth-grade science benchmarks. In each week's folder, you'll find lessons and assessments for the benchmarks as well as helpful suggestions for teaching the lessons and preparing students for the Ohio Achievement Test in science.

Read the February In Perspective about Differentiated Instruction

If you haven't read the latest online magazine, Adolescent Literacy In Perspective, you'll want to read it now. Check out Rick Wormeli's article about differentiated instruction. It's full of practical suggestions and good information. While you're there, be sure as well to read the articles written by practicing classroom teachers about the same topic. You'll also want to read Jan Goodwin's useful column about preparing the students for the OGT and the OAT.

You can use this weblog or the AdLIT BlogTalk weblog to share your ideas and classroom success stories. You can also ask questions or start a discussion thread related to differentiated instruction. Here are some discussion topics that you might want to respond to.

• Think back to your own educational experiences. Share a time when a teacher differentiated instruction for you. What was the effect?
• Rick Wormeli says that differentiation is primarily a mind-set. What is an effective strategy that you have used for responding to students’ diverse needs?
• How do you use your knowledge of brain research to inform your selection of classroom strategies and routines?
• All of this month’s articles by practicing classroom teachers include peer interaction as a part of the lessons described. How do you use flexible grouping to enhance your practice?

Educators brave winter weather for the Ohio eTech Conference

Their school districts were closed because of heavy snow and ice storms, but teachers, administrators, and other educators stayed for the three-day conference at the Columbus, OH Convention Center. The ORC exhibit was up and staffed the entire time.

We thank all who stayed for the entire conference and all who stopped by the booth to learn more about the Ohio Resource Center. Many of the visitors to the booth already knew about ORC and told us how much they like the resources, but some expressed surprise at all the new features on the site.

Most educators who use ORC know about the AdLIT (adolescent literacy) project, but not many had visited the much newer Resources for Early Childhood (REC) website or the recently launched Pathways Ohio website for career technical fields and inquiry based units.

Newark City Teacher Wins iPod at eTech Conference

A middle school teacher from Newark City School District is the winner of the iPod drawing. ORC asked visitors to the ORC exhibit booth to fill out a survey about ORC. In return for completing the three-page survey, visitors were given an entry slip for the drawing. Approximately 750 surveys were completed during the three-day exhibit at the conference.

A Look at the OAT (Ohio Achievement Test): Science, Grades 5 & 8

Each week for twenty weeks, resources related to science benchmarks for grades 3-5 and 6-8 are added to this feature. These resources, referred to as mini-collections, are designed to help teachers focus on standards-based topics and integrate them into classroom instruction throughout the school year. The collection of resources is intended to support the teaching of the indicated benchmarks but is not sufficient to guarantee students' success on the Ohio achievement tests.

These mini-collections of resources give teachers a picture of the topics that may be found on the fifth and eighth grade Ohio Achievement Tests in science (OATs). The mini-collections include resources for teaching and assessing each benchmark that is covered.

Do you want to ask a question, respond to another user's questions or comments, or make a comment?

If you want to comment on the mini-collections, please join the blog so you can easily ask a question, make a comment, or just let others know about your success in using the mini-collections. To join the blog, just click on "Join Now" in the upper left navigation bar. For help in joining or using the blog, go to http://www.ohiorc.net/participate, where you will find step-by-step instructions for joining the ORC weblog.

Week Twenty: Science and Technology and Life Sciences

Grade 5 Science and Technology: Benchmarks A and B
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=228365109&folderID=7863

Week Nineteen: Earth and Space Sciences

Grade 5 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark A: Cycles and Patterns
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=228307023&folderID=7861

Grade 8 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark B: The Solar System
http://ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=225722196&folderID=7772

Week Eighteen: Physical Sciences and Physical Sciences

Grade 5 Physical Sciences Benchmark C: Contact and Noncontact Forces
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=227697120&folderID=7840

Grade 8 Life Sciences Benchmark B: Genetics
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=223776315&folderID=7705

Week Seventeen: Earth and Space Sciences

Grade 5 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark D: Wind, Water in the Atmosphere, and Clouds
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=225896454&folderID=7778

Grade 8 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark C: Biogeochemical Cycles
http://ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=223747272&folderID=7704

Week Sixteen: Physical Sciences

Grade 5 Physical Sciences Benchmark D: Thermal Energy
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=224415261&folderID=7727

Grade 8 Physical Sciences Benchmark D: Different Forms of Energy
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=221540004&folderID=7628

Week Fifteen: Life Sciences

Grade 5 Life Sciences Benchmark C: Fossils and Extinction
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=223079283&folderID=7681

Grade 8 Life Sciences Benchmark A: Plant and Animal Cells
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=219768381&folderID=7567

Week Fourteen: Earth and Space Sciences

Grade 5 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark C: Rocks
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=220872015&folderID=7605

Grade 8 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark D: Rocks and Minerals
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=219739338&folderID=7566

Week Thirteen: Physical Sciences

Grade 5 Physical Sciences Benchmark F: Light and Sound
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=219536037&folderID=7559

Grade 8 Physical Sciences Benchmark D: Waves and the Transfer of Energy
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=217212597&folderID=7479

Week Twelve: Physical Sciences and Life Sciences

Grade 5 Physical Sciences Benchmark B: Physical Properties of Matter
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=217386855&folderID=7485

Grade 8 Life Sciences Benchmark C: Symbiotic Relationships
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=213785523&folderID=7361

Week Eleven: Earth and Space Sciences

Grade 5 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark A: Earth in the Solar System
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=214743942&folderID=7394

Grade 8 Earth and Space Sciences
Benchmark A: Tides, Seasons, and Other Predictable Events
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=213756480&folderID=7360

Week Ten: Scientific Inquiry
Grade 5 Scientific Inquiry Benchmarks A, B, and C
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=212827104&folderID=7328

Grade 8 Scientific Inquiry Benchmarks A and B
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=210038976&folderID=7232

Week Nine: Earth and Space Sciences and Physical Sciences

Grade 5 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark C: Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=209051514&folderID=7198

Grade 8: Physical Sciences Benchmark C: Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Sources
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=204898365&folderID=7055

Week Eight: Life Sciences

Grade 5 Life Sciences Benchmark A: Life Cycles
http://ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=205827741&folderID=7087

Grade 8 Life Sciences Benchmark B: Sexual vs. Asexual Reproduction
http://ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=203881860&folderID=7020

Week Seven: Earth and Space Sciences

Grade 5 Benchmark D: Weather
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=204085161&folderID=7027

Grade 8 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark C: Weather and Clouds
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=203330043&folderID=7001

Week Six: Physical Sciences

Grade 5 Physical Sciences Benchmark C: Forces and Motion
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=200948517&folderID=6919

Grade 8 Physical Sciences Benchmark B: Force and Motion
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=200193399&folderID=6893

Week Five: Life Sciences

Grade 5 Life Sciences Benchmark C: Organism's Ecosystem/Habitat
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=160797888&folderID=6848

Grade 8 Life Sciences Benchmark C: Biotic & Abiotic Resources
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=188048898&folderID=6759

Week Four: Earth and Space Sciences

Grade 5 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark C: Soils
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=159083775&folderID=6775

Grade 8 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark C: Climatic Zones
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=187214238&folderID=6729

Week Three: Physical Sciences

Grade 5 Physical Sciences Benchmark A: Physical and Chemical Change
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=157698396&folderID=6716

Grade 8 Physical Science Benchmark A: Particle Behavior and/or Arrangement Resulting in a Physical or Chemical Change
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=183152226&folderID=6583

Week Two: Life Science

Grade 5 Life Science Benchmark B: Plant and Animal Structures and Functions
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=156219093&folderID=6653

Grade 8 Life Science Benchmark B: Characteristics of Organisms that are Crucial for Life
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=183402624&folderID=6592

Week One: Earth and Space Sciences

Grade 5 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark B: Processes that Shape Earth's Surface
http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=153565740&folderID=6540

Grade 8 Earth and Space Sciences Benchmark E: Processes that Shape Earth's Surface http://www.ohiorc.org/bookmark/view_a_folder.aspx?mid=182707074&folderID=6567

Congratulations to the new Ambassadors!

Congratulations to all of the new ORC Ambassadors who have been immersed in training on the use of the Ohio Resource Center. These experts in their respective fields are also fully able to lead Ohio educators in the use of ORC for standards-based teaching and the selection of best practice resources.

Summer Institute Resources

You'll find collections of resources by selecting one of the topics below. Each one will take you to ORC resource collections.

OGT Columns

Grammar Resources

Assessment

Environmental Education Material

The folder prepared by Terry Shiverdecker for this meeting can be accessed by clicking here. She put together a collection of ORC resources which we think you'll find useful. Don't forget that you can create your own folder by registering at ORC, choosing Add to My Collection, and following the prompts.

 

OCTELA Spring Conference Presentation Folder

The OCTELA Spring 2006 Conference Presentation folder contains the resources Carol Dodson and Nicole Luthy demonstrated at their session.

Literacy Coaches

We have a question in the recent discussion about literacy coaches. If you have answers or suggestions for this new member of the blog, please add to the discussion by sharing your knowledge.

Overheard at the e-Tech State Technology Conference

ORC thanks all the educators -- teachers, tech coordinators, library-media specialists, etc. -- who visited our booth at the State Technology Conference (formerly SchoolNet). We were thrilled to discover so many of you are using ORC resources successfully. Here are just a few of the things we heard at the conference.

 

Assistant Superintendent: We’re using ORC to help our teachers provide differentiated instruction and make data driven instructional decisions.  (By the way, they are using ORC resources to present at the upcoming Title I conference.)

 

Resource Teacher: We’re linking ORC resources directly to our district pacing guides. 

 

Current mathematics teacher, former ODE Teacher in Residence: I use the ORC website all the time for math because I know the lessons are prescreened and aligned to state standards.  

 

Classroom Teacher: You guys are awesome!  I just found out about it in November and I’ve already used 10 or 12 lessons.  She told us that her friend said, "Oh, this would be good to leave for a sub."  The teacher responded that the lessons were too good to just leave to a sub.

 

High School English Teacher: This is one of my favorite websites.

 

Professional Development Coordinator: A great resource!  I like to share it with teachers. 

 

Teacher: You guys are doing great stuff! I use your site all the time as resources for an online course for teachers. 

 

Teacher: I learned about it through I-Discovery.  I love it.

 

Administrator: Great website!  It’s one of my favorite places to send my teachers for really great lessons, rubrics, and help with assessment. 

 

Teacher: I love this website.  I discovered it through a class. There is so much there.

 

Teacher: You guys have an awesome website.

 

Teacher: I love your site.

 

Teacher: The science is great!  This is where we get our lesson plans for all of our standards stuff.

 

Teacher: I wish I had learned about you guys sooner!

 

Administrator: Phenomenal!

 

Math Teacher: So great! I used a lesson called “The  Devil and Daniel Webster” to teach recursive functions in my math class.  

OGT Resources

I put together an ecot high school folder in My ORC Collection to provide a list of links to the resources I shared at the meeting with ecot high school teachers. You can go to my folder to access all the lessons, articles, and assessment items I shared.

You'll also want to visit the ODE Released Items site from the achievement and graduation tests.

You can start your own collection of folders on the ORC site by registering and then selecting resources to add to your collection.

ORC Bookmarking - My ORC Collection

Have you tried out the bookmarking system on the ORC website yet? If not, or if you need help setting up your web page, you can get a quick start guide by clicking on My ORC Collection.

Welcome to the ORC Community

If you've come to the ORC community weblog for the first time, please join so you can let us know what you think about ORC resources. If you went to the Reading Conference in Akron and participated in the bookmarking sessions presented by Evangeline Newton or Carol Dodson and Nicole Luthy, please let us know how you like the bookmarking feature now that you've had time to try it out.

Come back to the community blog often to share ideas, offer suggestions, or ask questions.

What constitutes a best practice?

Researchers Steven Zemelman, Harvey Daniels, and Arthur Hyde of National-Louis University describe Best Practice as "serious, thoughtful, informed, responsible, state-of-the-art teaching" which relies upon solid research and sound educational principles. How do you define Best Practices and how do you apply these ideas in your work? Search the ORC resource collection, and identify a resource which reflects an aspect of Best Practice that you believe is important. Post your comments along with information about the resource(s) you selected.

Is time the enemy?

Cris Tovani, author of I Read It, But I Don't Get It, spoke recently (10/8/2005) at a conference in Columbus. She called time the enemy and asked teachers to consider, given the amount of time in a school day, year, or class period, where they will focus their effort. What are your thoughts?

Should time be spent...

• Covering huge amounts of content?
• Making sure students are engaged?
• Giving students time to construct meaning?
• Or doing something else?

What are your thoughts about where to spend the small amount of time you have with students.

ORC Bookmarks

One of the newest features on the ORC website is My Collection, a system for creating and saving folders of ORC resources. We at ORC are eager to hear how you like the bookmarking system and how you've used it to simplify standards-based teaching and unit planning.

Have you created your own collection on the ORC website? If so, what folders did you create? Are you using this convenient bookmarking system as a way to plan lessons and units?

Let us know how you're using the bookmarks. You can share a folder from your collection by copying the URL for the folder into your response.

 

Announcing the ORC Community Weblog

This weblog has been created as a place where Ohio Resource Center website users can ask questions, make comments, and share experiences in using resources from the ORC website.

The Ohio Resource Center strives to provide Ohio teachers with useful resources as they implement Ohio's academic content standards. We generally receive positive comments about the job we are doing, but we want to continue to improve. We want input from all of our users. We want to help meet your needs. The best way to know if we are accomplishing that is to ask you directly. So, do you find ORC useful? How could it be more useful to you?

We look forward to hearing from you.

Peggy Kasten, Director

 

Animated pictures

Hello all,

Peggy asked if animated graphics can be used in the weblog. You can do anything that can be done on any website. Some things take more work than others.

Here are some examples of Animated Pictures and how to create them.

AdLIT PowerPoint

Nicole's AdLIT PowerPoint is now posted to the weblog.

OHIORC.net Weblog is Created

This is the first weblog in the OHIORC weblog program. The URL is http://www.ohiorc.net. It is the primary tool for ORC to communicate with members of the ORC weblog community.

This is a generic design. It will be used to create the functions and features of the weblog. Then a unique design will be created that will be compatible with the ohiorc.org website.

There will be 23 additional weblogs developed to serve the specific needs of ORC Boards, committees, affiliated projects, and programs. The list includes:

• Centers of Excellence
  
• Northeast
• Northwest
• Southeast
• Southwest
• West-Central
• Mathematics and Science Evaluation and Assessment Center
  
• Standards Plus 
  
• Standards Plus Teacher Team
  
• Review Boards               
  
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Reading                    
    
• Director's Blog
• Executive Committee
• Policy Board
• Committees
  
  • Website
  • Development
  • Centers of Excellence