April 2013
Greetings!    
 
Another month with some great product and content updates!
As you and your students gear up for the end of the year exams, be sure to check out our new and exciting additions to each course.

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." - Benjamin Franklin

 

The Castle Learning Online Team

 
In This Issue
New Assignment Modes
Social Studies Content Updates
New Literature and Reading Sets
Mail Bag
New Team Members
ELA Content Updates
Common Core Reading
Correlated Math Questions
More SAT/ACT Webinars
Upcoming Conferences
New Assignment Mode Features

Coming soon!

 

The following new assignment mode enhancements will be coming this month!

  • The user interface has been updated from just a drop-down to a set of options and checkboxes
  • From/To
  • Timed
♦ READ MORE 
Social Studies Content Updates
New Multiple Choice & DBQ Questions

The January 2013 NYS Regents exam in U.S. History & Government is now available!

 

In addition, the Social Studies content team has added the following DBQ sets to Global History & Geography:

  • January 2012 (Transportation Systems)
  • June 2012 (Autocratic Leaders)
  • August 2012 (Protest Movements)
  • January 2013 (The Influence of Products)

Keep an eye out for the January 2013 Global History & Geography multiple choice questions as well as an update to the U.S. History DBQ sets in the coming weeks as well!    

 

New Literature and Reading Sets

 

There are now constructed response questions available for the literature set: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.

Eight new reading sets have been added at the elementary level about the following topics:
  • Science
  • Biography
  • History
  • Poetry

Mail Bag

 

In this month's mail bag you can find the answers to the following questions:
  • I'm clicking the Assignment link under the Display/Print Options to print an assignment and nothing is happening.
  • Each student in the district has a school-given email address that is linked to their Castle Learning account. My students are telling me they do not receive an email from you when they enter that email address into the Forgot ID/password feature to retrieve their login information.
  • I deleted an image from my Image Gallery in Personal Content Sets, but it is still showing up in the assignment on my account and the students' accounts. 
Welcome New Team Members!

 

The Castle Learning Family is excited to welcome three new members to the team!

Jason Arnold will be handling all the sales duties in eastern New York and the New England states.

Columbus, Ohio's Richard (Rich) Hahn is joining the team to work with schools in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

Paul Fitzpatrick is joining the team to help schools in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.

Read more about their experience and passion for the education industry.
Content Updates in ELA  
Over 150 New Questions! 

The following are now available in the English Language Arts courses:
  • 70+ Constructed Response Questions for Cynthia Lord's novel Rules.
  • 50 Constructed Response Questions are now available for Catcher in the Rye.
  • 37 Critical Lens Essay Writing Prompts are now available as Constructed Response Questions.
  • We have also updated the Critical Reading Skill Questions found in levels "G,H,I."

 

Common Core Reading Framework

The Common Core recommends the ratio of literary reading compared to informational reading should be 30%-70% by 12th grade.

 

The Common Core specifies that informational reading should be completed on a daily basis, though it does not specify that it must be done in English class. This means there is a great deal of opportunity in other curriculum areas to supply students with informational reading opportunities.

Correlated Mathematics Questions
6,000 Questions Correlated to Bloom's and Webb's

The Castle Learning Team has just finished correlating approximately 6,000 Mathematics questions to Bloom's and Webb's.

 

Each question has been correlated to:

  • Bloom's Cognitive Level
  • Bloom's Knowledge Level
  • Webb's Depth of Knowledge Level
The Mathematics Curriculum Team will roll out additional batches of correlated questions throughout the remainder of 2013.

image: logo for Method Test Prep.
More Free ACT/SAT Webinars  
By Method Test Prep

MTP continues to offer a variety of free webinars for students, parents and educators. See how they can help you!

MTP for Parents: Strategies for Scoring High on the SAT and ACT

MTP for Educators: Making an effective leap from the PSAT to the SAT and from the PLAN to the ACT 

♦ REGISTER FOR APRIL WEBINARS  

Upcoming Conferences
Meet the Castle Learning Team

Apr 2-4 - NCEA Conference  
Apr 5 - TLI Tech Expo 2013
Apr 11 - Villanova Tech Expo
Apr 15-16 - NJ Charter School Conference
Apr 15-16 - PAFPC Conference
Apr 27 - Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Spring Curriculum Conference 
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