Cougar Connection
Connecting Literacy Across Content Areas and Beyond
Learning Goals
Highlights from the article
Learning goals are
- what students should know and be able to do by the end of the lesson.
- can turn learning goals into lesson essential questions.
- two specific formats for creating learning goals:
#1 Students will understand __________________.
#2 Students will be able to _________________.
- format #1 is used when information is the target of the lesson - declarative knowledge is the goal.
- format #2 is used when a process is the target of the lesson - procedural knowledge is the goal.
Learning Goal Examples for the Content Areas
Social Studies
Social Studies Learning Goal(s):
Students will understand …
- How the antebellum period affected the Civil War.
- The crucial events of the Civil War.
- The immediate and lasting effects of the Civil War on the United States.
Social Studies Activities and Assignments:
Students read Chapter 10 of the biography of Mary Todd Lincoln.
Math
Math Learning Goal(s):
Students will be able to …
- Use an ordered pair to plot a point on a graph and vice versa.
- Identify and solve linear equations from looking at a graph.
Math Activities and Assignments:
Students time each other in groups to see who can plot the most points on a graph.
English Language Arts
ELA Learning Goal(s):
Students will understand the rules of capitalization and will be able to correct capitalization mistakes in their own writing.
ELA Activities and Assignments:
Students identify capitalization mistakes on a teacher handout.
Science
Science Learning Goal(s):
Students will understand how weather patterns change locally and be able to measure those changes using basic tools.
Science Activities and Assignments:
Students write the weather forecast information, the high and low temperatures, and the precipitation in a daily journal.
Chewing a Little Bit of K. U. D.
Here are a few quick tips for what a student's "KNOWING" and "DOING" should look like. (Typically, when we talk about KNOWINGs and DOINGs it is in conjunction with UNDERSTANDINGs, which gives us the K. U. D. - Knowing, Understanding, Doing.)
K - Know: These are facts, vocabulary, definitions, dates, places, names, and examples.
*Quick Tip: The "KNOW" is the first thing students are likely to forget if it is taught in isolation. The "KNOW" must be accompanied by DOING (and UNDERSTANDING) in order to translate into long-term learning.*
U - Understand: These are the concepts, "BIG IDEAS," principles, and generalizations. The "UNDERSTANDING" in a lesson is the statement of truth or insight that you want students to walk away with after the lesson is long over.
*Quick Tip: The UNDERSTANDING portion of the lesson is where students get the "point" of the lesson. This is similar to our "WHY" statements that we currently use.*
D - Do: These are the basic skills of your content. These skills can include thinking skills, planning skills, independent learning, social skills. The "DO" is written as an action verb. Additionally, the "DO" should be considered the learning outcome of a lesson.
*Quick Tip: The "DO" is the portion of the lesson in which students think like a professional of that discipline.*
*This information was referenced from a K.U.D. presentation entitled "Planning Focused Differentiated Lessons: Introduction to K.U.Ds (Know, Understand, Do)" by Catherine Brighton of the University of Virginia (Wahoowa!)*
**This presentation is linked in our CHCCS Learning Focused Lesson Plan Template - Embedded Resources (linked to Students will know...)
Contact Shauna for any literacy-related news.
Email: sfmartin@chccs.k12.nc.us
Location: Student Services Suite
Phone: 919.929.7161 53000
March Tip to Try - Web 2.0 Presentation Tools
Emaze.com - A 3-D alternative to Powerpoint slideshows. You can upload an existing Powerpoint or create a brand new slideshow on Emaze.com.
Powtoon.com - A presentation tool that can be used by teachers to flip their classrooms or by students to create presentations.
Slideshare - This site allows you to upload, store, and share already-existing presentations.