The Final Weeks of the First Semester!

In the last few weeks of the first semester of the year, there is so much learning that will be taking place! Not just content learning, but an eclectic array of different types of learning.

I am so excited for the students to learn how to code! I will be learning alongside them. Next week, there is a coding activity every day of the week. We will take time out of the day to learn something new and practice. This all leads up to our Hour of Code on Friday. PARENTS: you are invited to this hour of code from 1:30- 2:30! Your child will be able to show you all that they have learned and can do.

You may say, "what does coding have to do with STAAR or any of he assigned learning objectives?"

To that I say how important it is for students to develop the problem solving and their own strategies to solve a problem. In our TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills), there are processing standards that the students are to learn. These are difficult because they can sometimes be abstract and it's hard to tell whether they have mastered it or not.  I would apply the benefit of coding to the folowing processing standards:
Math: use a problem-solving model that incorporates analyzing given information, formulating a plan or strategy, determining a solution, justifying the solution, and evaluating the problem-solving process and the reasonableness of the solution; 
L.A./Reading