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Admins: Enrollment Season is Here!
Castle Learning's Customer Support team looks forward to helping your school or district establish student accounts for the year. It is important to complete the enrollment process now so that each student and teacher has access to the power of Castle Learning from the beginning of the year.
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CLO for SLOs!
Meeting today's educational challenges is not easy or cheap. Castle Learning helps stretch the dollar when districts are implementing SLOs by enabling teachers to use their current technology to achieve them!
Castle Learning provides online pre-tests that teachers can use when beginning the SLO process. Like all CLO assignments, teachers receive instant assessment feedback making these a great starting point when determining individual Student Learning Objectives. Castle Learning also provides post-tests which determine growth for the student and/or class. Current Castle Learning users already have these options without spending more money from the budget. This saves districts, teachers and administrators time and money.
For an online or in-person presentation call
1-800-345-7606 ext. 2.
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Math News
Constructed Response & Multiple Choice Updates
The Castle Learning Math Team has added over 100 Constructed Response questions at the elementary mathematics level. These questions fall in line with the Common Core standards and incorporate Webb's Depth of Knowledge and Bloom's Revised Taxonomy.
At higher learning levels, the Math Team has added operations using Scientific Notation.
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Primary Grade Reading Sets
The Castle Learning English Language Arts Curriculum Team has just released a new series of Primary Leveled Reading Sets. The new sets are geared towards early readers (Kindergarten, First and Second Grade). There are five theme-based reading sets, and each set has been written at three different levels.
These sets are also unique in that students are able to view the reading set like an actual "book." The student is able to "flip" pages as they read through the set.
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Foreign Language News
New Listening and Reading Public Assignments
Castle Learning courses in Spanish and French offer great practice and review questions on a wide variety of everyday topics. These topics include clothes, shopping, food, travel, health and safety, the arts, and much more! New this month is a collection of public assignments focusing specifically on listening for factual information (specific details) or for the main idea of an audio selection. A variety of native language speakers are featured in the recordings. Similarly, a new collection of public assignments focuses specifically on reading for factual information (specific details) or for the main idea. ♦ READ MORE
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Social Studies News
Political Cartoon Questions
Political cartoons are a common sight on social studies tests. Answering questions that include political cartoons requires both practice and strategy.
Castle Learning has over 500 short answer and constructed response questions that include political cartoons! Here are two helpful hints for understanding and answering these types of questions:
- Use the labels provided to help determine as much information as possible.
- Identify the issue or event portrayed in the cartoon.
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Upcoming Conferences
Meet the Castle Learning Team
Oct 1, 8, 11, 22 - NC Charter Assocation
Oct 4-5 - The Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey
Oct 5-6 - NYS Association of Foreign Language Teachers
Oct 10-12 - SC Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Oct 14-15 - SAANYS
Oct 17-18 - NYS English Council
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ELA News
17,000 Bloom's & Webb's Correlations
The Castle Learning English Curriculum Team has just finished correlating approximately 11,000 English Language Arts questions to Bloom's and Webb's. This is in addition to the 6,000 questions released in early September.
As in the previous batch each question has been correlated to a:
- Bloom's Cognitive Level
- Bloom's Knowledge Level
- Webb's Depth of Knowledge Level
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"Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe
A new novel, Things Fall Apart, has been added to Caste Learning Online's course: English Language Arts. There are over 250 questions based upon the novel.
Published in 1958, author Chinua Achebe portrays the Igbo society in a much different light than African Tribes had ever been portrayed before. Achebe depicts the effects of European colonialism from a different perspective allowing readers a unique understanding of certain social, historical and cultural situations in modern Africa.
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Science News
Using Reference Information
Many courses in science depend on outside information. Castle Learning courses in Earth Science, Chemistry and Physics include reference information in the form of charts, graphs, maps, tables and formulas.
Learning how to use reference information effectively is one key to mastering these subject areas! That's why so many hints direct students to the appropriate reference table, and reasons include step-by-step instructions on how to use the information to find the right answer.
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 ACT/SAT Q&A By Method Test Prep
Fall is a crucial time of year for many students with regards to their college application process. Standardized tests are a critical part of the first few months of the school year. Whether it's sophomores taking the PLAN or the PSAT for the first time, juniors taking the PSAT, or seniors taking the SAT or ACT for the final time, the fall includes a variety of anxiety-ridden tests that can be confusing and hard to navigate for many students.
Method Test Prep strives to be a trusted and knowledgeable resource for as many students as possible to help guide them through this process.
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Customer Support Mail Bag
In this month's mail bag you can get the answers to the following questions:
- What do I need to know as a/an Teacher/Administrator at the beginning of the year?
- As an Administrator, how do I create an individual student or teacher account?
- How do I move a teacher or student between schools in my district?
- What does the ID/Email field on the login page mean? I entered my email address, but it wasn't recognized.
- I am a teacher, and while I was creating one of my classes I couldn't find a student. What is the best way to tell Castle Learning?
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Upcoming Conferences (cont)
Meet the Castle Learning Team
Oct 18-19 - PA Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Oct 18-20 - NYS Middle School Association Oct 20 - Rockland Literacy Extravaganza Oct 20 - NJ Assocation of Educational Technology
Oct 21-23 - Pennsylvania Association of Elementary & Secondary School Principals
Oct 23-25 - NJSBA / NJASBO / NJASA
Oct 24 - Long Island Tech Summit
Oct 24-26 - SC EdTech 2012
Oct 25-26 - NC Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Oct 26-27 - PA Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts
Oct 27 - Association of Assistant Principals of New York City
Oct 30 - Central NY School Library Systems
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