June/July Update

The spring rains have finally ended and we on the Perspective team continue to keep those affected in our thoughts. While school may have ended, there is plenty to keep us busy in the coming months. The Perspective team has been busy preparing for the coming year as have many of you.

For those educators involved in summer school; don’t forget that the Assignment Sheet feature can be used to bolster classroom instruction and is an easy way to provide extra credit or homework assignments. Simply follow the following steps:

Visit http://perspective.pearsonaccess.com/mn/

Click on Go to Perspective for Educators

Click on the Learning Resources Tab at the top of the page

Select a subject

Select a Strand on the Left hand side of the page

Key in a term like “synonyms” or a benchmark like “I.B.2” in the Search Resources box and click Go

Click on the Resource Name to review a resource

Check each resource you would like to include

After checking the resources, click View Assignment Sheet at the bottom of the page

Create a heading and any notes to the student you wish to include

Create a PIN and enter your e-mail address

Click Save to save the assignment sheet

You can now create a copy-ready version by clicking Print Assignment Sheet or simply distribute the Assignment Sheet ID to students and direct them to enter it in the student web site

For those of you that are in touch with parents over the summer months; remind parents that Perspective can aid in summer retention. Encourage parents to visit http://perspective.pearsonaccess.com/mn and click on Perspective for Families to access materials.

If you are attending NECC this year, be sure to stop by the Pearson booth and say hello. We will have a big announcement on June 30th about some wonderful new resources from Allyn & Bacon/Merrill to aid in planning for next year, providing support for new teachers, and to help more experienced teachers brush up on strategies and skills. Those of you who are regular Perspective users may already be using these trusted professional development resources as they went live earlier this month.

Have a great summer! We will continue to keep you updated throughout it. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions; post a comment!

NECC

If you are going to NECC, be sure to stop by the Pearson booth to say hello. Perspective team members will be attending sessions and stopping by the booth frequently to answer any questions you may have. Also we will have a big announcement on June 30th going out on the PR Newswire. So look for that, look for us, and have a great time in San Antonio!

Summer Activities

As reported last month, use of Perspective continues to grow steadily. Given this growth and enthusiasm, the question on everyone’s mind is “How can I maximize my use of Perspective during the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer?”
Here are some suggestions that can minimize your students’ summer slump.

Create a Perspective Treasure Hunt Worksheet that guides students through the site with questions like ‘Find three math resources that involve measuring, print them off, and complete them so you can secure the keys to the ancient city of Learnalot’.

Create a Summer Rewards Program similar to those of many local libraries. Print a tally sheet with points for resources and redeemable prizes. For example, completing 5 on-grade vocabulary resources is worth 10 points. (25 points = 2 pencils to be awarded at the beginning of the next school year)

Challenge students to complete as many of the resources as they can from the grade level they just completed. Teachers could create a weekly or monthly target. Completing the resources serves as a great review for students and gives them a feeling of success.

Create assignment sheets based on strands. Each assignment sheet could have 20 resources listed per strand to help students work their way through skills taught during the previous school year. Assignment sheets should reflect the student’s skill level.

Print a calendar of the summer months with 2 or 3 resources per subject in each calendar square for students to complete. Have a fun day each week by assigning Shockwave interactivities or learning games for the students.

Direct parents to go through next year’s resources so they are ready to answer any questions about them that might come up.

Don't forget to hand out this great reading list from Prentice Hall.

You may wish to indulge in some of these selections from NPR .

Prizes are the responsibility of the teacher or parent creating the activities. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions; post a comment!