Full Blast 1 Teacher's Book 33
Delena Baenziger
"MFT mourns the loss of innocent life in Israel and occupied Palestine," Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59 wrote in its "Israel-Palestine Resolution" that was posted November 14. "We categorically reject violence against all civilians whether Israeli or Palestinian. We therefore call for an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and to de-escalate the conflict."
"I don't see them commenting on genocides happening in Yemen or Libya or Sudan or other places throughout the world," Elly Fine-Sternberg, whose three children attend MPS schools, told WCCO News. "Personally I was really hurt, I was really angry, I was really sad."
Fine-Sternberg's families joined more than a dozen others Friday in handing a letter to every teacher and administrator at her children's elementary school. The letter urges them to denounce MFT's statement, which they say ignores the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, fails to mention the 240 hostages still held in Gaza, and engages in rhetoric they believe could lead to bullying, harassment and discrimination in the classroom.
"I believe the teacher's union has now forced the hand of every teacher to denounce this and say this is wrong, and if they don't, and if they don't, or they stay silent. That's now a classroom my child can be in because it is not a safe environment for my child.
Some Jewish teachers at Minneapolis schools, along with members of the union, also shared similar worries with WCCO. They all refused to speak on the record, with many saying they were nervous of retaliation.
Fine-Sternberg said she's not ready to pull her children out of Minneapolis schools yet. She said she'd rather use this as a learning opportunity for teachers, and a great lesson for students as well.
"I would love to see the district take action and educating the educators better on antisemitism and the Holocaust, and understanding that words like these are very powerful and they're also very dangerous."
There is no better data source than directly observing the learning process in action. Classroom observation is critical for supporting teachers' growth, and understanding what's happening across a school or district. But making classroom observations effective requires a defined vision and teacher trust, so that they can serve their purpose as formative assessment without feeling too evaluative to teachers.
Blast walkthroughs ARE: A schoolwide picture made up of many small snapshots to measure the impact of existing PD or to prioritize topics for future PD and additional supports
Blast walkthroughs ARE NOT: An evaluation of individual teachers or classrooms
Before you start implementing blast walkthroughs, how will you gather support from your staff? Consider hosting a meeting to establish clear expectations on the purpose, process, priorities, and information-sharing for the walkthroughs.
Although I am currently a junior at Springfield High School, I attended middle school at Blessed Sacrament and very seriously considered attending Sacred Heart-Griffin High School. I even took a zero hour math class at SHG my eighth-grade year. In the end, I decided on SHS because of its art department and more diverse student body. I wanted new experiences more than I wanted an easy transition into high school.
It also provided a reunion with old friends. I know many current SHG students, but had not talked to any of them since my eighth grade year. Throughout the course of the day, it almost seemed as though I waved to more people than Issy Wottowa, my SHG student guide. From the moment I set foot in the front office, I had flashbacks to Blessed Sacrament, and the whole experience ended up feeling like a blast from the past.
Overall, I can say that I genuinely enjoyed my time at SHG but am still very happy with my decision to become a Springfield Senator. My only regret in the whole experience: not getting seconds at lunch.
The Digits: Fraction Blast can be incorporated into an introductory classroom lesson about fractions or as fractions practice by individual kids or small groups, so accomplishments can be tracked. It's important that kids have the opportunity to move on to the next segment when ready, or review/play with one segment more if they've not quite grasped the concept yet before they move on. Visit The Digits blog, to find out more ways to use its media partner resources, printables, and more.
The Digits: Fraction Blast is a math learning app that takes the form of a TV show-like "appisode." The zany main characters include one human female, one alien male, and a robot. Together they form a space-traveling band, The Digits. Their evil nemesis, record label owner Doomfinger, is perpetually out to get them. Numerous challenges arise during the comedic drama that all somehow can be solved using fractions. FUN-da, the app's developer, takes this app far beyond the usual experience to help teachers incorporate the show's theme and characters in the classroom, using partnerships with YouTube educational videos, Skype In The Classroom, and the PBS LearningMedia library.
Once teachers create a user account for each player, kids can just follow along as if they're watching a TV episode. However, as the intro explains, "This isn't one of those things you can sit and watch ... we need your help." Interactive elements -- like "breaking" the screen in half by shaking it and then pinching it back together -- pop up throughout the show. Some include direct fraction problem-solving, while others are just for fun. The interactive elements all clearly appear as such on the screen, and verbal directions often accompany them. Results of app sessions are automatically emailed to a teacher's email address, along with extension activity ideas. As kids finish each segment of the show (about as long as most PBS educational shows), they earn a cool achievement icon.
PBS's Learning Network has given a nod to The Digits' educational quality, including it in the online video library called PBS LearningMedia. Kids can learn many fractions concepts, starting as simple as "What is a half?" to more difficult concepts like equivalent fractions. The lessons and fun, storyline-related practice in fractions are clear and memorable. There's nothing inappropriate here, but some yelling between the good character and the bad character borders on screaming in each others' faces; teachers may want to clarify for kids that's not good communication. Overall, The Digits: Fraction Blast is a great way to introduce kids to fractions concepts via a silly space adventure story with endearing characters.
The app turns an educational TV show into an interactive "appisode," engaging kids in a fun story line that they get to participate in by solving problems, tapping buttons, and shaking the iPad when prompted to move the story along.
Fractions come alive through a zany story line and interactive elements. Kids are rewarded with achievements. Parents can get email notices about what kids have learned and how to extend those lessons into real-life math activities.
Verbal instructions are clear, and visual prompts jump out from the other appisode content. Parents can get email notices alerting them to what kids have learned and how to extend the lessons into real-life activities, like cooking.
This app asks for a Facebook account to login, or an email address to monitor student's progress, but can be used without logging in. The cost to include the progress updating is $9.99 if a parent decides to use that feature. Once you're in the app, you have the choice to log in to your parent account, or in as a student. There is an additional in-app purchase to get more game play (22 more minutes of video, 7 new games and interactions, 1 secret ending which costs $2.99)
The app goes through videos of a rock band (The Digits) and introduces its members which include one girl, one creature, one robot. The student is then requested to join as the 4th member of the band. As the 4th member, you have to solve fraction questions. The videos are well done and work well with the added interactive activities throughout. Some of the content of the videos are long, with not as much work in between the scenes. Overall, it's very entertaining and fun for students to complete.
BLAST for beginners introduces students to blastn, a commonly used tool for comparing nucleotide sequences (DNA and RNA). This popular tutorial shows how to do a blast search with a nucleotide sequence, highlights information in the search results, and shows how to interpret the E value and alignment scores.
Funding for this project was provided by the National Science Foundation's Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement Program under grants DUE-0088153, DUE-0127599, from Bio-Link, an NSF Advanced Technology Education Center, and from the AC2 Bio-Link Regional Center.
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