|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Grade 7/8 book takes its
place as the second book in the TEKSas Daily Moosenager
trilogy. Each of the three books will
contain tests with three levels of student achievement AND three
achievement levels of tests. In addition,
a system of overlapping from grade to grade has been used to make it possible
to use the books for below average students, average students, for
enrichment, and even in gifted and talented classrooms. Resource teachers now
can use regular materials with their inclusion students! Remember:
TEKSas
Daily Moosenager ties directly into the Use the chart on this and the
next page to help select the TDM and TDMn book(s)
that meet(s) the needs of your current classroom. Regular classrooms should
use the book with their grade level listed on the cover. The grade overlapping
in each book and in the TDM and TDMn trilogy make
it possible to use the materials with a variety of student levels within a
single classroom and ensure a continuum of skills from grade to grade. Using the trilogy school wide would
maximize student progress and school performance. Note: TDM, Jr. Grade 2 Coming April 2002! TEKSas Daily
Moose Trilogy Grades 3 to 6 TDM
Publication Timetable for TEKSas Daily Moosenager Trilogy (TDMn) TDMn 6/7
July 2003 TDMn 7/8 July 2004 TDMn 8
Date TBA |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Muscle Moose is an acronym
for helping the students to: Master Unlimited Skill Crunching Learning
Exercises AND you by
helping to:
Make
Organizing Objectives So
Easy Background and Development The development of this system of
organizing objectives into pockets of individual transparent questions sprang
from my own frustration in not having an easy, efficient, and effective
method of distributive practice for TAAS (now TAKS) Math skills. I needed
practice (individual questions) I could have instantly to fit any day, any
group of students, and any individual student. Just as George Washington Carver found ways
to use all those peanuts, I found a way to utilize AND organize all the
questions on the transparencies I had accumulated in 21 (now 29, retired)
years of teaching. The baseball card
holders were a handy way to start organizing the individual transparency
pieces into labeled pockets of questions. Focusing the class's attention on the overhead
projector so much then prompted me to search for ways to provide more active
involvement and at the same time supply fun guided practice for my third
graders. The solution was to develop
colorful, multi-purpose Math folders with a built-in answer sheet for the
tests I was putting on the overhead.
Providing students with an overhead projector pen created even more
interest for the students. Lessons and
distributive practice were now active and fun every day. The combination of using the overhead to
create instant tests and guided practice in conjunction with the hands-on,
high-interest student folders was like finding a gold mine. Several months later, I struck pay dirt
with 87% of my third graders passing the
TAAS Math test, a dramatic increase over the year before. Considering that I only used this system
the last half of the school year (1995) and the majority of the students in
my class were economically disadvantaged, the results were even more
impressive. Improving the System
In
preparing the program for you in the summer of 1995, I added the acronym MUSCLE MOOSE, invented the
humorous, problem-solving characters (with the artistic talent of my
eleven-year old daughter, now 19), and designed the most functional
high-interest activity folder possible.
Like a fungus, the idea kept growing.
I couldn't resist including a bulletin board set and writing prompts,
too. Providing you with a total
system, complete and ready to go, was my objective--I think like you do. Improvements Since 1995 Realizing that teachers would appreciate
a little help in getting started, I added a starter set with color-coded,
numbered-to-the-pocket transparency pieces.
This addition was included in the product I exhibited at CAMT in The summer of 1997 found me at CAMT in
Houston, exhibiting more products and adding more improvements--more grade
appropriate workmats for fourth and fifth grade and
a pocket-to-objective correlation chart, for example. Best of all, I
addressed the requests and needs of the middle school teacher by publishing
the counterpart of the Muscle Moose Fitness Center. The Improvements in the Summer of 1999 With the TEKS going into effect and the
focus of TAAS objectives changing, I have spent this summer updating both
Muscle Moose and Muscle Moosenager. The changes in the ü Choice
of folders (recommended for third) and workmats
(for fourth and fifth) ü More
sizes and quantity of transparent holders--baseball card holders, two sizes
of photo album pages, and sheet protectors. ü More
categories of questions and additional questions in the starter set. ü 8
colored pages of new TEKS with notes comparing new to old TARGETS for all
three grade levels-3, 4, and 5 in a side-by-side comparison/scope and
sequence chart. ü New
pocket/objective correlation chart that addresses new TEKS and changes in
TAAS targets. ü New
ideas for designing instant tests for three levels of achievement in your
classroom ü Three
hot-off-the-press charts: one to help you create a 10-question test by
objective/TEK and then track class progress with the second chart. The third
chart shows all the TEKS/TAAS correlations for grades 3, 4, and 5 as a quick visual reference. ü Weekly
answer sheets so you can take grades and monitor student progress. Student
chart to track individual growth all year. (My fourth grade students gained two year's progress this year
and over two year's progress in the fourth
grade class I
had before this one. The
gifted/talented class of 1997 had two students that
gained almost seven years!). ü Rewritten
with a Pentium processor and inkjet printer instead of the 386 DOS processor and dot matrix printer of old. (I cut and pasted my way through the summer
of 1995!) IMPROVEMENTS
IN 2003 I have once again updated the ü New
full color TEKS/TAKS correlation charts for each of the three grade levels ü Three-grade
level chart showing TEKS/TAKS and their alignment across the grade levels |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
If you prefer to use the tests the way
they are, you have an instant source of questions in your Another option is to alternate TEKSas Daily
Moose and Muscle Moose each day or week.
Simply choose the kinds of questions the students are missing and give
those on the daily overhead tests. It
is easy to find the pockets when you use the correlation charts for each
day's test. Design and score the
Muscle Moose tests the same way the TEKSas Daily Moose tests are designed and scored. Let the programs complement each other for
twice the power. Turn TWO moose loose
in your classroom and watch your Math program really shine! |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ten Reasons to Use Muscle Moose Math
Master Unlimited Skill
Crunching Learning Exercises.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Makes Organizing Objectives So Easy |
