Curriculum Contemplations
A One-Stop Shop for ELA, Math, & Science Happenings - Jan
The Difference Between Learning Goals and Success Criteria
In Formative Assessment-Making it Happen in the Classroom, Margaret Heritage outlines the important components of learning goals and success criteria. Learning goals specify the learning that is intended for a lesson or a sequence of lessons and success criteria indicate how students can demonstrate their learning. Although it seems straightforward and easy to incorporate, many of us have found that the use and implementation of these ideas can be confusing. In an attempt to clarify the ideas, here are some compiled thoughts that may make the task easier.
ELA ELABORATIONS
Fluency
Reading fluency is a critical component of reading instruction. It can be a link between decoding words and making meaning from what we read. Accuracy, rate, and prosody come together to make a fluent reader. Our goal for students is that they are able to read automatically so that they no longer need to devote much of their working memory to decoding and can therefore shift that attention to comprehension. Click here to continue reading.
MATHEMATICAL MUSINGS
Progression Videos by GFletchy
The Common Core State Standards in mathematics began with progressions: narrative documents describing the progression of a topic across a number of grade levels, informed both by educational research and the structure of mathematics. These documents were then sliced into grade level standards. From that point on the work focused on refining and revising the grade level standards.
The Progressions for the Common Core State Standards are updated versions of those early progressions drafts, revised and edited to correspond with the Standards by members of the original Progressions work team, together with other mathematicians and education researchers not involved in the initial writing. They note key connections among standards, point out cognitive difficulties and pedagogical solutions, and give more detail on particularly knotty areas of the mathematics.
Graham Fletcher has created a series of 7- min videos that outline elementary students' progression of learning as they delve into addition & subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions.
It is his hope that by creating and sharing these videos, we can all slow down a little bit more and focus on building fluency through conceptual understanding. Understanding the vertical progression of mathematics is really important in the conceptual development of everyone’s understanding.
Check out the video series here.
Clothesline - The Master Number Sense Maker
Andrew Stadel said I used to have a number line in my old class. But it was static. All of the benchmark numbers were taped to the wall. I used it often, but not often enough.
His ears perked up when a presenter at a professional development workshop introduced Clothesline by stating it was the master number sense maker, applicable to all grade levels from elementary through Calculus!
Check out the complete blog post here, and here is a link to a middle school lesson on integers using the Clothesline.
Features of a Growth-Oriented Classroom
As teachers, we cannot just tell students about growth mindset on day one and then leave it behind. We must incorporate it into the daily routine of the classroom. In doing so we may find that, over time, students start using that language in their interactions with each other. Imagine hearing a student ask another student who is struggling, “how can you be a mindful problem solver?”
The culture of growth mindset should underlie your entire curriculum, but so too should the physical space of your classroom. We’re not suggesting that you hang sings demanding all who enter have a growth mindset or plaster the walls with posters of determined kittens. Rather, we’re suggesting that you make some meaningful changes to your classroom environment to make it conducive to growth-oriented learning. It’s entirely possible to convey growth mindset messages through thoughtful choices in the display and arrangement of your classroom. Here are some ideas on how this might be done:
SCIENTIFIC SOLILOQUIES
Evaluating the Egg Drop: Using the EQuIp Rubric to Ensure Activities Meet the Science Standards
When the Common Core State Standards for ELA & Math. as well as the Next Generation Science Standards, were adopted and implemented nation-wide, many of us had the opportunity to pause and reflect on what we do and why we do it in the classroom.
Is our usual sequence of activities getting at the new learning that is required?
Is our favorite activity at the level of rigor that is necessary according to the new standards?
Here is the link to the EQuIP rubric referenced in the article.
*AZ has begun the standards review process for science and social studies.
Click here to apply to be a part of the revision process - they want your voice!
Sebastian Kraves: The era of personal DNA testing is here
Check out his TED Talk here.
COMMUNAL CONVERSATIONS
ELL ESSENTIALS
Early in December, 15 educators from Sunnyside attended the OELAS Conference in Tucson. The conference, hosted by ADE focused on English Language Learners and instructional strategies to support them. The first keynote speaker was Mawi Asgedom.
Mission Manor teacher Joe Becza reviews Asgedom’s speech:
PARENT PARTNERSHIPS
How do you establish and maintain a good working relationship with your students' parents? The Education World Teacher Team shares their strategies for increasing parent involvement and ensuring parental support here.
TECH TOOLS YOU CAN USE
With so much focus being given to data analytics these days, data literacy is a useful skill for students to learn. Whether your students have collected their own data or they’ve collected it from other sources, being able to visualize their data in an infographic is a highly useful skill. Infographics appeal to both visual learners and textual learners. Venngage offers a selection of infographic templates that students can customize.
Teacher Spotlight: Mrs. Gloria Platt
Ms. Gloria Platt teaches fifth grade at Santa Clara Elementary School. She is in her second year of teaching and is definitely one of the teacher gems here in Sunnyside. Ms. Platt is a native of California and received her teacher education at Northern Arizona University. She comes to the teaching profession from a career in the US Military.
She is married and has two children of her own, ages 22 and 24. She is a member of the 5th Grade Teacher Leader Cadre and has enhanced student learning through a gardening club at Santa Clara. Ms. Platt incorporates many effective teaching strategies outlined here.
Teaching & Learning Department
Tammi Baushka - Literacy Program Specialist
Rebecca Ridge - Literacy Program Specialist
Julia Lindberg - LAD Program Specialist
Kristel Foster - LAD Program Specialist
Maggie Hackett - Math & Science Coordinator
Donna Rishor - Math Program Specialist
Email: margaretha@susd12.org
Website: susd12.org
Location: 2238 East Ginter Road, Tucson, AZ, United States
Phone: (520)545-2000