Pine Lake Preparatory
Curriculum Connections K-12 ----- February 2015
The one thing all famous authors, world-class athletes, business tycoons, singers, actors, and celebrated achievers in any field have in common is that they all began their journeys when they were none of these things."
-- Mike Dooley,
American author
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Share the Love........Service Learning
Project for Awesome (9-12)
Engage students in video creation for a cause. Explore Project for Awesome, an annual YouTube charity event created by Hank and John Green. Use the project to teach elements of argument or just to do good work.
See the project:
http://www.projectforawesome.com/See Classrooms for Awesome for examples of student projects:
http://classroomsforawesome.wikispaces.com/
(via Stenhouse Newslinks)
55 Environmental Service Learning Projects
The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.
—Oscar Wilde
Immerse students in an issue. Pair text with action. Download this list of "55 Environmental Service-Learning Projects." Add a column for suggested books, and let the inquiry begin:
(via Stenhouse Newslinks)
Teach Students How to Create a Letter-Writing Campaign
Rally the troops around a local issue and start a letter-writing campaign. From vocabulary to an introductory video, find teaching resources at Wonderopolis:
(via Stenhouse Newslinks)
Social Studies
Professional Development
Learning.org - Annenberg Learner
Advancing Excellent Teaching in American Schools
Annenberg Learner uses media and telecommunications to advance excellent teaching in American schools. This mandate is carried out chiefly by the funding and broad distribution of educational video programs with coordinated Web and print materials for the professional development of K-12 teachers. It is part ofThe Annenberg Foundation and advances the Foundation's goal of encouraging the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge.
Annenberg Learner's multimedia resources help teachers increase their expertise in their fields and assist them in improving their teaching methods. Many programs are also intended for students in the classroom and viewers at home. All Annenberg Learner videos exemplify excellent teaching.
http://www.learner.org/about/
Professional Reading Recommendation: In Defense of Read Aloud
In Defense of Read-Aloud
Steven convinces us that reading aloud must be a cornerstone of every teaching day regardless of the age level, subject matter, or discipline we teach.
—Regie Routman
Should be on every teacher's must-read list.
—Jim Trelease
What do you say to someone who questions the value of reading aloud to your students? How can you use read-aloud to teach reading and writing skills? And how can you enhance your performance to leave your students engaged, transfixed, and begging for more?
Drawing on the latest research, Steven Layne provides a convincing argument for reading aloud every day across the grades, and gives teachers practical advice and specific strategies in his new book, In Defense of Read‑Aloud. You'll learn how to:
- arrange the best seating plan;
- select the best read-aloud;
- prepare for and launch a new read-aloud;
- plan for teachable moments; and
- read with expression to maximize engagement.
In Defense of Read‑Aloud will entertain, challenge, and inspire you to make the most of this essential literacy teaching practice. You can preview the entire book online now:
http://www.stenhouse.com/1040.asp?r=n335
In Defense of Read-Aloud
Sustaining Best Practice
Steven Layne
Grades K-12 • 200 pp • $21.00
http://www.stenhouse.com/1040.asp?r=n335
Professional Reading Recommendation: Energize Research Reading & Writing (4-8)
Fires in the Middle School Bathroom
As teachers, counselors, and parents cope with the roller coaster of early adolescence, too few stop to ask students what they think about these critical years. Here, middle school students in grades 5 through 8 across the country and from diverse ethnic backgrounds offer insights on what it takes to make classrooms more effective and how to forge stronger relationships between young adolescents and adults. Students tackle such critical topics as social, emotional, and academic pressures; classroom behavior; organization; and preparing for high school. Cushman and Rogers help readers hear and understand the vital messages about adolescent learning that come though in what these students say.
This invaluable resource provides a unique window into how middle school students think, feel, and learn, bringing their needs to the forefront of the conversation about education.
Literacy - Reading
365 Days of Young Adult Literature
http://www.epicreads.com/blog/365-days-of-ya-a-2015-reading-calendar-infographic/
Student Response
The Arts
Art PD - Excellence in Arts Education
The Art of Teaching the Arts examines how seven "principles of artful teaching" influence the curricular and instructional choices that high school arts teachers make. Each program in the workshop includes examples of teaching in dance, music, theater, and visual art.
This program begins with teachers sharing passionate insights about why they teach the arts to young people. Then short classroom segments illustrate how arts teachers meet the needs and imaginations of their students by using the seven principles:
- Developing students as artists
- Addressing the diverse needs of students
- Choosing instructional approaches
- Creating rich learning environments
- Fostering genuine communication
- Making the most of community resources
- Nurturing independent thinkers
Subsequent programs will examine each principle in depth.
Math
Middle School Math - Tools for Sense-making in Mathematics
Teachers conducted “think-alouds” with students, and found that many students began to solve problems without understanding the situation described, or the question being asked. They looked for signals that would indicate whether to subtract, multiply, or perform some other operation. The question our group pursued was this: how can we shift the culture of the mathematics classroom away from answer-getting and toward sense-making? We are not suggesting that getting answers is a bad goal, but when it is the only goal, genuine learning is undermined.
We set out to identify relatively small shifts in practice that could create relatively big shifts in behavior and expanded to include fully designed diagnostic lessons.
Sciences
Digital Einstein Direct Link:
Educational Superlatives, from Tech to Writing
PBL
Design Thinking, Deconstructed
The process, which is an approach to learning that includes considering real-world problems, research, analysis, building by hand, and lots of experimentation, is documented and shared among staff.
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/10/design-thinking-deconstructed/
Link to Infographic (pictured below):
How to Engage Students in Engineering (K-6)
Applying problems to the real world through stories:
http://inservice.ascd.org/how-to-engage-kids-in-engineering/America's College Student Body
Compiled by Deans of Students
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