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ACS Curriculum Guides Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Day 3

Why? – ACS is committed to student learning. The work we do in the area of curriculum, instruction, and assessment is ongoing and based on our constant pursuit of 4 guiding questions: 1)What do we want students to know, understand, and be able to do? 2)How will we deliver high quality instruction to help students learn what we want them to know, understand, and be able to do? 3)How will we assess to determine if students have learned what we want them to know, understand, and be able to do? 4)What will we do if students have not learned what we want them to know, understand, and be able to do? What? – ACS is committed to the development of curriculum guides that will be used for planning instruction and assessments that result in student mastery of essential standards and objectives of the NCSCOS and are reflective of the 21 st century skills students need to be future-ready graduates.

What is your explanation for how to evaluate whether or not a question meets the criteria for being an essential question? meaningful connections with prior learning require students to consider alternatives, weigh evidence, support ideas, and justify answers promote understanding arguable, provokes deep thought, discussion, inquiry do not have one “right” answer inquiry into core content

Why are essential questions a key component of planning and classroom instruction? Assessment of student learning Potpourri problem Lack of focus Long term recall Communication between students and teachers and between teachers Clarifying purpose Set direction for learning Focus learning Student engagement/application

Purpose: Essential Questions Essential questions become... the “mental velcro” for content learning.

How do you determine appropriate essential questions for content area learning? Essential Standards FormattingRevised Bloom’s Taxonomy Assessment 21 st Century Skills

Developing Essential Questions Working with subject area partner, develop Essential Questions that reflect identified Essential Standards and incorporate 21 st century skills and RBT.

Quality Check for EQs Quality checks vertically by subject areas. (11:30-12:30)

LUNCH! Enjoy!

Essential Vocabulary “teaching vocabulary becomes not a simple process of teaching words but one of teaching particular words to particular students for a particular purpose” ~Handbook of Reading Research, Vol. 3, Blachowicz and Fisher (2000)

Big Questions What is essential vocabulary? What words do students need to learn for a given essential standard? How do we determine which words are essential?

Essential Vocabulary Criteria: Critical to understanding of essential standards and clarifying objectives Require in-depth knowledge in order to understand essential standards and clarifying objectives Likely to be encountered in other content areas *Refer to Quality Check Handout

Essential Vocabulary Quality Check Handout

Article Introduction All – read pgs (stop at Level 1 subheading) Flanigan K. and Greenwood S. “Effective content vocabulary instruction in the middle: Matching students, purposes, words, and strategies”

Introduction Four Factors of Content Vocabulary: The students we teach The nature of the words we decide to teach The instructional purposes in teaching the words The strategies we employ to teach the words

Article - Jigsaw Group #1 – read Level 1 section Group #2 – read Level 2 section Group #3 – read Level 3 section Group #4 – read Level 4 section All – read pgs (begin at “A process for choosing.. / stop at “How does this look..) Remainder of article can be read at your leisure. Flanigan K. and Greenwood S. “Effective content vocabulary instruction in the middle: Matching students, purposes, words, and strategies”

Guiding Questions What defines Level ___ words? How important are these words to students learning the essential standard at hand? In reference to the previous definition, are words in this level essential vocabulary?

Jigsaw Response – Level 1 What defines Level ___ words? How important are these words to students learning the essential standard at hand? Are words in this level essential vocabulary?

Jigsaw Response – Level 2 What defines Level ___ words? How important are these words to students learning the essential standard at hand? Are words in this level essential vocabulary?

Jigsaw Response – Level 3 What defines Level ___ words? How important are these words to students learning the essential standard at hand? Are words in this level essential vocabulary?

Jigsaw Response – Level 4 What defines Level ___ words? How important are these words to students learning the essential standard at hand? Are words in this level essential vocabulary?

Essential Vocabulary – The Process (modified) Determine the instructional goals specifically related to the essential standards and clarifying objectives. Brainstorm words that students will need to know/learn to meet instructional goals. Determine which words from the initial brainstorming are necessary for students’ understanding and mastery of the essential standards and clarifying objectives. Refer to essential vocabulary quality check.

Connections

Strategies PurposesWords Students PlanningTime TeachingTime Essential Standards 21st Century Skills Collaboration Assessment Essential Standards 21st Century Skills Collaboration Assessment

Essential Vocabulary - Quality Check Measure the words on the sample curriculum guides against the criteria for essential vocabulary and Determine if there are any words that need to be removed or added to the list.

“Rubber Meets The Road” Process: Determine the instructional goals specifically related to the essential standards and clarifying objectives. Brainstorm words that students will need to know/learn to meet instructional goals. Determine which words from the initial brainstorming are necessary for students’ understanding and mastery of the essential standards and clarifying objectives. Refer to essential vocabulary quality check.

Vocabulary Work Take a break on your own!

Quality Check Quality checks vertically by subject areas. (2:30 – 3:30)

Reflections Curriculum Guide Reflections Use a post-it note to write one comment for each topic (chart paper). Place comments on chart paper as you exit.