Weekly Teacher Download for March 21, 2022

ALL TEACHERS

Academic Instructional Technology

Tech Tuesdays: The March 22 sessions include BrainPOP: More than Movies and Quizizz LIVE Whiteboard. We will give out swag to random attendees. Register here. Register for OneSource #1461032. 

Introducing Canvas, the new learning management system: Canvas will provide educators, students, and families with a user-friendly, reliable, and supported teaching and learning experience. Beginning March 21, teachers and leaders can start exploring their own sandbox course, access the Training Services Portal for engaging and informative self-paced and live sessions, and even reach out to the 24/7 Canvas support line. Visit Canvas info for details and updates.

HUB Phase Out Support: HUB access will end in July 2022. The AIT team has created a series of videos and how-to guides as HUB phase out resources, and Educational Technology Specialists will also be hosting weekly open labs each Thursday from 3:30-5:00 p.m. to assist with saving content before access to the HUB ends in July. Register for any of the HUB Phase Out open labs in OneSource using course # 1468031.

Free access to Adobe software: HISD is providing high school teachers/ students access to Adobe Creative Cloud and the premium version of Adobe Creative Express. HISD is providing elementary and middle school teachers access to the entire collection of Adobe Creative Cloud applications and their students access to the premium version of Adobe Creative Express. For Creative Cloud, visit this link. For Adobe Creative Express, visit this link.

Office of Special Education Services

Issue #9 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.

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

Early Childhood

Implementing SEL Resources in the Pre-K Classroom 4:00-5:30 p.m. March 24: PreK teachers and Early Childhood Special Education teachers are invited to take a walk through the materials in the new PK SEL bundles you will be receiving from School Specialty. Participants will explore ways they can be used to support the social emotional skills domains from the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines. Register for OneSource Course #1464075.

Reminder: ESSER instructional materials for Pre-K teachers: Pre-K, ECSE, and Pre-K/K split teachers serving 3- and 4-year-olds should be receiving instructional materials purchased through ESSER funds to support high-quality instruction and to mitigate learning loss. If any materials are missing, please contact mwaymire@houstonisd.org for assistance.

Teacher Kits from Lakeshore: Look for kits in English or Spanish March 21-31 for distribution to all Pre-K teachers.

The Pre-K Spring Progress Monitoring Language/Math ENG/SPA 2 will be available in OnTrack through April 15 to all Pre-K teachers. It provides an effective way to monitor students’ progress throughout the year and adjust instructional strategies to target and support academic needs in between the CIRCLE Assessment Waves. Please follow the steps in Input Scores for Progress in OnTrack Task Card to enter your Pre-K Progress Monitoring Tool data recorded on the English Progress Monitoring Report Sheet or Spanish Progress Monitoring Report Sheet. For questions, contact Claudia.Azcarate@houstonisd.org or visit houstonisd.org/PKPM. 

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

Grade 4 Houston Museum of Natural Science Field Experience: In partnership with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, HISD has resumed face-to-face field trips for fourth-graders during the Spring 2022 semester. Contact @gmarti13@houstonisd.org to schedule your campus.

Virtual Learning Opportunities for Students and Families: The Houston Museum of Natural Science and HISD 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 HomeSymbaloo web mix.

SECONDARY TEACHERS

Career and Technical Education: See this week’s CTE bulletin, March 2022, Volume II. Visit the HISD Career Readiness page here for all CTE bulletins.