PARCC Sample Questions

PARCC has released a few "Sample Items" on it's webpage. Within these sample items you are able to see the types of questions that may appear on the PARCC exam as well as some of the skills your students may need to practice up on.

Some features to take note of:

• In the top right corner of your page you can find some accommodations including background colors, magnifiers, line readers and Answer Masking. You can find these options by clicking on the profile icon.                                                                                   
• Some questions have multiple pieces of text that can be accessed using different tabs above the text.  
  

• Students can "Flag" answers, which will prompt them at the end of a section to return to and answer the question(s) they flagged.                                                                
• Some math tools are provided for students on their screen. 
• Students need to be aware that when they see text in "blue" most likely it is a link that can provide them with more options. Also arrows like these below are a sign of more options being available. 
  

We'd recommend that if you haven't already, check out these example questions yourself. They can be found by clicking here, then navigating to the "Sample Items" tab. If you are interested in incorporating some of these PARCC Skills into your classroom contact Jana at Region IX jana.shafer@regionix.org. 

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT: Corona High School

In our last post we told you about the Wireless HDMI Cable that allows you to project what is on your laptop or android device from anywhere in your room. Our very own Trish Cox from Corona Schools is using this technology in her classroom on a daily basis. Trish is the High School Math teacher in Corona and commonly uses technology to drive instruction and help students to grasp a better understanding of math topics.

We talked with Trish about her experience with the HDMI adapter, she said "I love it! I love the flexibility of being able to float around the room to observe student work while still being able to control what I am projecting." The math curriculum Trish is teaching with also includes "Launch Videos", with the HDMI adapter Trish can play these videos, pause them to discuss or help solve a problem from anywhere in the room allowing her to observe student learning.

What an exciting use of technology being integrated in curriculum. Thanks Trish for your continued technology use and participation in our blog!

TRY IT!!

While exploring uses of the HDMI Adapter Region IX recently found an online tool called "A Web Whiteboard" or "AWW" for short.

Using this free tool along with the HDMI adapter and a windows or android mobile device, a teacher has the ability to model problems on the whiteboard from anywhere in the room. (This tool can also be used with an iPad and AppleTV) The tool is FREE and can be accessed from any device with internet capabilities. Check it out and see if you can find a fun and interactive way to integrate it into your classroom!