Weekly Teacher Download for Feb. 14, 2022

ALL TEACHERS

Student Enrollment

Do you know a family with 3- and 4-year-old children? Please help us inform parents that HISD is offering one-on-one support for those seeking help enrolling their child in pre-K for the 2022-2023 school year. All elementary schools will participate in two events to assist parents with the application process for pre-K—available in person, by phone, and online—to ensure families have one-on-one options. The events will take place on Saturday, Feb. 19, from 9 a.m. to noon and Thursday, March 3, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. For applications and more information, see HoustonISD.org/Pkfair.

• In person: Visit any HISD elementary school or early childhood center with all required documents
• By phone: Call the HISD hotline at 713-556-6734
• Online: Join a virtual information session on the Pre-K Fair website or sign up for a 15-minute consultation with a team member

Academic Instructional Technology

Tech Tuesdays
Please join us for Tech Tuesday sessions Feb. 15 to learn more about Making Learning Visible with Adobe Creative Cloud Express and Clevertouch Unplugged for Elementary. Win swag in certain sessions! Register by clicking here and searching OneSource #1461032. 

Canvas launch and HUB phase out support
AIT is excited to announce Canvas as the new district learning management system for the 2022-2023 school year! Teachers and staff will have access to Canvas beginning March 21, 2022, and HUB access will end in July 2022. The AIT team is here to provide support with saving teacher-created HUB content through June 2022. We have created a series of HUB phase out resources (videos and how-to guides), and Educational Technology Specialists will be hosting weekly open labs each Thursday from 3:30–5:00 p.m. to help you save content before access to the HUB is removed. Register in OneSource for #1468031.

Learning.com Keyboarding Contest
All students in grades 3-12 may enter the Learning.com keyboarding contest, which runs through Feb. 28. Learning.com is the district’s technology application curriculum resource that promotes keyboarding practice and skills. To participate, students must complete the initial diagnostic test and actively practice in the Learning.com Adaptive Keyboarding application to increase their word-per-minute (WPM) accuracy. In addition, campuses must post at least one promotional tweet with the hashtag #HISD_DigLitStrong and tag @HISD_Inst_Tech to be in the contest. The top two schools per Schools Office with the highest WPM accuracy and a Tweet will be awarded a prize. If you have questions or need additional information, contact AIT at InsTech@HoustonISD.org.

Free access to Adobe software

HISD is providing high school teachers and their students access to the most popular applications of Adobe Creative Cloud and the premium version of Adobe Creative Express, both at school and at home. HISD is providing elementary and middle school teachers access to the entire collection of Adobe Creative Cloud applications and their students with access to the premium version of Adobe Creative Express, both at school and at home. For Creative Cloud, once you’ve logged in, you can choose the apps you’d like to download. Please visit the website at www.HoustonISD.org/Page/192234 for guides and tutorials. You can use Creative Suite in any browser. To access Creative Express, you can sign in through Clever or from your web browser. Go to www.adobe.com/express/. On the top right corner of the browser select “sign in.” This will bring up a new page. Select “log in with school account” on the right side of the page and enter your school email and password. For Adobe Creative Express, please visit our website at www.HoustonISD.org/Page/192202 for guides and tutorials. You can use Adobe Creative Express in any browser, including Chromebooks.

Social and Emotional Learning

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning Social and Emotional Learning framework helps cultivate skills and environments to advance student learning and development. It consists of interrelated areas of competence and examples of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. The SEL online platform, reThink Ed located on Clever under Teacher Resources, provides lesson plans, activities, guided discussion questions, and more. Please find lessons under each of the competencies to help integrate SEL into your classroom. Refer to this flyer for more information.

Office of Special Education Services

Issue #5 of the Instructional Digital Download, which supports teachers, leaders, and staff with timely, relevant research-based instructional strategies, mini-model lessons, resources, and coaching, is now available. The bite-sized lessons are designed to model digital tools and designated supports and accommodations appropriate to identified TEKS. It contains examples of how to support students with disabilities and those who struggle with learning.

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Team will provide professional development sessions in February and March on the UDL Instructional Planning Process for reading language arts and math, grades 3-5. The guide is to be used in conjunction with the UPG and has been created to assist teachers in planning holistically for all students with an intense focus on closing learning gaps with student special populations. Click here for instructions to access the UDL Guides. Click this link to register for virtual sessions and times.

Elementary Math

See this flyer for 2022 February Math sessions. Share your experiences via Twitter and tag @HISD_ElemMath #MathMatters.

Teacher Service Day Math Sessions:  Join us for Feb. 21 for STAAR 2.0 (new item types), TX-KEA Reports, and Region IV Resource Overview. If you register and attend a Region IV session, you will receive a personal copy of the resource. Region IV sessions in English or Spanish include: 

·     K-5 Engaging Mathematics 

·     G2-5 Closing the Distance

·     G3-5 STAAR Workstations

See this document for the Feb. 21 Teacher Service Day math sessions. 

Virtual HB3 Math Academies Grade 2 Math Fluency Part 4: Join us 3:30-5:00 p.m. on Feb. 22to gain a better understanding of math fluency and engage in activities from the fluency plan that builds students’ ability to be fluent in math. Walk away with just in time fluency plans (e.g., addition and subtraction) dependent on grade 2 HISD scope and sequence. Register for OneSource Course #1463008.

Virtual HB3 Math Academies Grade 3 Math Fluency Part 4: Join us 3:30-5:00 p.m. Feb. 22to gain a better understanding of math fluency and engage in activities from the fluency plan that builds students’ ability to be fluent in math. Walk away with just in time fluency plans (e.g., addition and subtraction) dependent on grade 3 HISD scope and sequence. Register for OneSource Course #1460066.

EXTENDED Kindergarten TX-KEA Assessment MOY Window: Jan. 10–Feb. 18, 2022

Elementary Science

Spring 2022 Elementary Science Sessions: Sessions will be offered synchronously (facilitator-led) after school. To view spring science sessions, see this link. Share your experiences via Twitter and tag @HISD_ElemSci.

Grades K-2 Science Instructional Planning—GK/G1: Unit 9/10 Living Organisms and Nonliving Objects; G2: Unit 10 Physical Characteristics and Needs of Plants: Join us 9:00–11:00 a.m. Feb. 21 to learn how to leverage teacher-facing and student-facing resources to plan for upcoming units of instruction and practice difficult concepts that are noted within data. Register for OneSource #1464072

Grades 3-4 Science Instructional Planning—G3: Unit 11 Part 1, Plant Life Cycles; G4: Unit 12 Part 1, Animal and Plant Growth: Join us 12:00–2:00 p.m. Feb. 21 to learn how to leverage teacher-facing and student-facing resources to plan for upcoming units of instruction and practice difficult concepts that are noted within data. Register for OneSource #1464073.

Grade 5 Science Instructional Planning—Unit 13 Food Webs and Unit 14 Inherited Trait: Join us 2:00–4:00 p.m. Feb. 21 to learn how to leverage teacher-facing and student-facing resources to plan for upcoming units of instruction and practice difficult concepts that are noted within data. Register for OneSource #1461119.

Grades K-5—Using the Discovery Education Experience to Support Flexible Science Learning Environments: Join us 12:00–1:00 p.m. Feb. 21 to learn how to use the DE platform for instructional modifications to reach varied student learning types. Register for OneSource #1467086.

Grades 3-5—STAAR 2.0 Redesigned: Join us 9:00–10:00 a.m. and 12:00–1:00 p.m. Feb. 21 to gain understanding on upcoming 2022-2023 STAAR 2.0 Technology Enhanced Items (TEI) and explore sample items and get a preview of new item types for 2023 spring STAAR assessment. Register for OneSource #1467081.

Elementary Science Lead Teacher Collaborative for lead science teachers and campus leaders: Join us 3:30 -5:30 p.m. Feb. 22 or 23 to learn trends outlined to district and state data, collaborate on best practices for increasing science outcomes, and plan for delivering learning to build campus capacity. Session will be styled within a ToT model. Register for OneSource #1458054. 

Virtual Learning Opportunities for Students and Families: Students and their families are encouraged to engage in hands-on, minds-on science investigations at home. The Houston Museum of Natural Science and Elementary Science Curriculum & Instruction present a series of videos and activities aligned to tough-to-teach standards in grades K-5. Click here to access these resources. Click here for the Science at Home Symbaloo web mix.

SECONDARY TEACHERS

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Please view this week’s CTE bulletin, February 2022, Volume II. Visit the HISD Career Readiness page here for all CTE bulletins. The next Teacher Service Day (no students) for CTE is Monday, Feb. 21, 2022.

Spotlight on CTE: To bring awareness to the district’s CTE programs of study and post-graduation opportunities, campus personnel are invited to showcase campus events, student work, and more. Please submit using the CTE Spotlight Form. You may enter:

• Photos
• Videos
• Event flyers
• Business partnerships
• Campus initiatives
• Professional learning
• Best practices and more!

Submissions will be highlighted on the Career Readiness website and social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, YouTube). Contact your campus’s designated senior CTE program specialist with any questions.