AnnMarie Varlotta 9:00-12:10 Room 607

Participants will:  Engage in tasks/training focused around new curriculum  Become aware of content curriculum, available resources, and updates related to Universal Design for Learning (UDL).  Engage in collaborative planning

 Math Seminars are a study hall/tutorial class for students.  Math Seminars are opportunities for students to do a lot of skill and practice each day.  Math Seminars offer students opportunities to make connections to the real world.  Math Seminars are designed a prep for the MSA.  Students should get the same grade for their math class and Math Seminar.

 The course will be engaging and is designed for hands-on activities and real-world connections  This is not a period of “study hall”  Opportunities for skill review are embedded, but most of the learning will be in context of meaningful problems  Natural opportunities for disciplinary literacy are also built in

For Grade 8 Seminar:  5 instructional (thematic) units  Units complement the first instruction  Each unit has a culminating project  Weekly opportunities for skill review  Weekly guide for instruction

UnitTheme/ProjectNumber of Days/Weeks 1Financial Planning, Part 125 (5 weeks) 2Very Large and Very Small Things15 (3 weeks) 3Financial Planning, Part 275 (15 weeks) 4TBD35 (7 weeks) 5Matchbox Derby15 (3 weeks)

On each unit page: ◦ Curriculum Overview ◦ Downloadable Unit Plan ◦ Common Core Content Standards ◦ Unit Guide (Weekly Summary) ◦ Facilitator’s Notes for each Week  Skill Review  Items in Bold are downloadable resource files found at end of weekly facilitators notes

In Edmodo:  Get access to presentation files  Get access to formative assessment items (coming soon!)  Share your great ideas with other teachers and get their ideas/resources too!

 Go to  Sign-in (if you have an account) or Sign-up as a teacher. ◦ Enter your school code. ◦ Select a username and password. ◦ Sign up

Dr. Allen Cox

 Unit 1: Financial Planning, Part 1  Culminating Project: Select a future career and develop an annual and monthly budget, factoring in cost of living  Math Standards: The Number System and Fractions

 Begin to examine the available curricular resources.  Unit 1 (Financial Planning, Part 1) is expected to take about 25 days.  With your table partners, begin to think about what your first few weeks of class will look like. ◦ What are the most important math concepts/skills students need to develop in this unit? ◦ How will you pre-assess students for background knowledge? ◦ What are some strategies for differentiating when students are struggling?

Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs.

Brain Networks

Available:

 Opportunities to collaborate with other teachers, receive “Just in Time” PD, and attend learning labs to watch tasks implemented with actual students.  Will be held one Wednesday a month.  Individuals who register in advance and attend at least 2 hours will be paid workshop wages! (Registration link in Edmodo)!

 Wednesday, September 12 MS  Wednesday, October 10 Lake HS  Wednesday, November 14 th  Wednesday, December 12 th  Wednesday, January 9 th  Wednesday, February 20 th  Wednesday, March 13 th  Thursday, April 25 th (afternoon of Spring PD Day)  Wednesday, May 8 th

How should Math Seminars be graded?