KCS Curriculum and Instruction
Teaching and Learning News in KCS April 2016
Fire Hazard.
Flood Warning.
On a related note, it’s April, which means it’s almost May, which means many of you have already entered “review” mode, or “test prep” mode, or whatever you might call it. And I think we can all agree it is our responsibility to prepare them for their state assessments, to remind them how to navigate that particular “genre” of reading/working, and to resuscitate all of the content that you brought to life months ago but then got buried as time passed. However, I also know that you have worked tirelessly all year long, have spent every day on full power, giving your energy to every student to help them grow.
So if I may, I would like to put out a flood warning. (Wait, or is it a watch? Which one means conditions are favorable? I always mix them up!) Conditions are favorable right now to accidentally flood students with too much. Too much review, too much lecture, too much speed, too much memorization, too many shortcuts, and too many tricks. We might feel the urgency of the upcoming assessments and end up making decisions that focus more on that short-term goal at the expense of our bigger long-term goals, like: engaging students, providing relevant instruction, building positive relationships, creating a safe and supportive learning environment and teaching character and career readiness skills.
I’m only saying conditions are favorable. You are stressed, you have a long time before another day off, and you may feel like you have a lot of content to fit into a short time. Just keep the bigger picture in mind, prioritize what you want to emphasize in this “last hour”, and trust that the work you and your students have put in all year will be what has prepared them most. Spend this time focusing on the main goal of UbD: the transfer of learning to new situations. If you haven’t already, this is the time to gradually release students to more independence and see what they can do on their own. Then give lots and lots of feedback. Take a minute every now and then to view things from their perspective, be empathetic, and you will avoid the flood.
For further reading:
You Down With UbD?
By now, almost all of you have participated our KCS Intro to Understanding by Design session. We hope that was a good overview of how KCS will be using UbD and the general features of the framework. We know we will all continue to increase our understanding of it, and this month I’d like to share four key features of UbD that makes it worth all this learning.
1. It focuses on K-12 long-term transfer goals. We always say we are preparing for students for “the world” but sometimes get lost in our small grade level standards. The UbD framework is helping us identify and aim toward shared goals for students. For example, in Math, we all want students to persevere in solving real-world problems on their own. Each grade level is doing their part to make this happen. And don’t we all want students to apply the lessons of history when considering contemporary issues? And who doesn't want all students to be able to write effectively for various audiences and purposes? As Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe say, “A coherent curriculum spirals around a set of big ideas and recurring essential questions.”
2. It’s not new. There aren’t a lot of new things to learn. Not too much new vocabulary, and certainly not an entirely new way of thinking. You’ve thought this way before. You’ve planned backwards before. But it takes a way of thinking and gives us the tools and structure to design and align our subjects, courses, and units in this way with fidelity. It forces us to make good decisions about student learning, consistently and collaboratively.
3. It balances consistency and flexibility. We must all agree on things, like desired outcomes and some assessment, but in general, nobody tells you how to teach. It’s what you went to school to do. It’s what many of you were born to do! We are using UbD to build a strong, consistent core curriculum. With this in place, it allows you to spend your time meeting your students' unique needs and adding layers of intervention for those who need it.
4. It increases relevance and engagement. UbD asks us to push ourselves into designing better assessments, more engaging lessons, for authentic purposes. In short, it requires that we constantly ask ourselves what we can do that is relevant, engaging, and also meets the standards. In turn, it should increase teacher engagement as well!
We have much work to do, and we look forward to those of you who expressed interest in working on these documents this summer. We will communicate final summer curriculum writing assignments to all applicants by Monday, May 2.
Major Thanks to These People!
Sara Newell (KMS) - Teaching with Essential Questions
Joey Chapman (KMS) - Teaching with Essential Questions
Jerold Griggs (KMS) - Formative Assessment and Feedback
Emily Wolcott (Fred L. Wilson) - Understanding Your Standards
Ingrid Overcash (Forest Park) - Understanding Your Standards
Annie Parker (CO) - Grading in K-6
Josh Sain (Shady Brook) - Grading in K-6
Cory Stirewalt (ALB) - Performance Tasks
Jacki Lane (Jackson Park) - Performance Tasks
Melissa Horn (Woodrow Wilson) - Letterland
Julie Yongue (Woodrow Wilson) - Letterland (Kindergarten resources!)
Jill Dancy (Shady Brook) - DreamBox
(and thanks in February to Rhonda Hiskey, Meredith Alford, and Amy Archer)
Cindy Lawrence (Fred L. Wilson) - ESL Strategies
(and thanks in February to Allison Teague and Michelle Chrismon)
Martha Motley (ALB) - Intro to UbD
Meredith Spry (ALB) - Intro to UbD
Yachannah Galloway (KMS) - Intro to UbD
Dr. Lyndsey Pelusi (Fred L. Wilson) - Intro to UbD
Dr. Kelly Burgess - Intro to UbD
Janet Hill (Fred L. Wilson) - Media Meeting
(and thanks in February to Susan Monteith, Kathleen Woerner)
Jessica Grant (CO) - Counselor Meeting
(and thanks in February to Elizabeth Vaughan)
We have four built-in early release days next year reserved for district PD and other important work, and I look forward to sharing the plan in the fall.
KCS Spotlight on Teaching and Learning
These Amazing Ladies!
Two More Ladies You Need to Know
Learning by Doing
Teacher Leaders at Shady Brook
Elizabeth Rodgers is a first Grade teacher at Shady Brook Elementary, and part of the heart and soul of their K-2 Team. As soon as you enter her classroom, you can always witness and feel the vibe of a wonderful, nurturing environment while also sensing an engaging, workmanlike atmosphere in which all of her students thrive. Outside her classroom, her leadership is strong yet subtle. Her initiative on First Grade, her curriculum communication throughout K-2, and her attitude of continuous growth and learning make her a pivotal vertical conduit, both in terms of curriculum as well as a sense of connectivity through Kindergarten and 2nd grade. Through her work and insight, three grade levels enjoy a strong instructional continuum, as well as a culture of family and cohesiveness.
Christy Parker is a third grade teacher and pillar of Shady Brook, and a premier teacher leader. She is exceptionally skilled at deeply understanding the instructional needs of all her students, and designing instruction that comprehensively meets those needs. Additionally, this year, she has spearheaded the design of a new intervention block structure that has been pioneering and richly successful. It has inspired many other teams at Shady Brook to observe and follow the model, and all of their 3rd graders are seeing great academic gains as well as positive sense of well being throughout the process. The positive influence and impact Mrs. Parker has on Shady Brook's success both with our students and our staff cannot be overstated.
Best Practices in Guided Reading
After-School Clubs
Important Summer Dates
June 14-17: Understanding by Design (UbD) Curriculum Writing and Review at ALB
- We will have about 100 teachers and curriculum leaders from all schools working to develop curriculum and assessment documents that will be used throughout the district.
June 20-24: 4th Grade Summer Camp at Shady Brook
- We will invite about 80 4th grade students to this summer week to receive additional instructional support and interventions. They will be given an opportunity to retake the EOG at the end of the camp.
June 22-23: Kannapolis Leadership Team Retreat at Central Office
- We are working to plan a relevant and engaging retreat for our leaders. We will spend time reflecting, building relationships and planning for next school year.
July 11- August 4: K-3 Summer Reading Camp at Forest Park
- We have expanded our 3rd Grade Reading Camp to include K-2 students. We will have a rigorous curriculum, small class sizes and engaging activities planned for all students. We expect to have great results.
August 18th- First Teacher Workday of the 2016-17 School Year.
Exploring Magnet and Themed School Possibilities
Based on interest and success of existing programs in and around our region KCS has begun exploring several options for magnet and themes schools.
- A+ School of the Arts
- International Baccalaureate
- Global School
- SPLASH- Dual Language Immersion
- STEM Magnet
We recognize the importance of having a strong, guaranteed, and viable curriculum that integrates STEM and technology tools at every school. These magnet or themed schools would serve as a supplement to our curriculum for those students with the opportunity to participate in them.
Our next steps include educating stakeholders about the magnet options, surveying families within our district to gauge their areas of interest, finalizing our magnet choices for the 2017-18 school year and then surveying teachers and staff to allow them to indicate at which school they the prefer to work.