Meeting Norms and Expectations Be punctual and prepared Support each other by actively listening and staying engaged Stay on topic according to what is planned. Bring positive attitudes and be ready to share Feel free to ask questions (in the meeting, via , or drop by the office). Attend all NIET meetings, including makeup meetings for any approved absences with appropriate notification.

Pflugerville High School School Goal School Goal: By the end of the school year, 75% of students will pass the writing portion of the state assessment. All courses will support meeting the school goal by incorporating writing opportunities into daily lessons.

NIET Goal (1st cycle) By the end of the semester, teachers will be able to demonstrate proficiency within the three domains of the NIET Evaluation Rubric through classroom observations. By the end of the semester, teachers will be able to demonstrate proficiency within the three domains of the NIET Evaluation Rubric through classroom observations.

Meeting Objectives By the end of the meeting, the teachers will discuss various grouping strategies and use the Take Away worksheet to develop an activity for a future lesson that includes a grouping plan.

+ Warm up Let’s look at the following pictures and discuss these two questions for each one. What type of lesson or activity does each grouping lend itself to? What might the roles of the group members be?

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Grouping Students The instructional grouping arrangements (either whole class, small groups, pairs, individual; hetero- or homogeneous ability) consistently maximize student understanding and learning efficiency. All students in groups know their roles, responsibilities, and group expectations. All students participating in groups are held accountable for group work and individual work. Instructional group composition is varied (e.g. race, gender, ability, and age) to best accomplish the goals of the lesson. Instructional groups facilitate opportunities for students to set goals, reflect on and evaluate their learning. The instructional grouping arrangements (either whole class, small groups, pairs, individual; hetero- or homogeneous ability) adequately enhance student understanding and learning efficiency. Most students in groups know their roles, responsibilities, and group expectations. Most students participating in groups are held accountable for group work and individual work. Instructional group composition is varied (e.g. race, gender, ability, and age) to most of the time accomplish the goals of the lesson.

Grouping Strips

Activities and Materials Activities and materials include all of the following: Support the lesson objectives. Are challenging. Sustain students’ attention. Elicit a variety of thinking. Provide time for reflection. Are relevant to students’ lives. Provide opportunities for student to student interaction. Induce student curiosity and suspense. Provide students with choices. Incorporate multimedia and technology; and Incorporate resources beyond the school curriculum texts (e.g., teacher- made materials, manipulatives, resources from museums, cultural centers, etc.). In addition, sometimes activities are game-like, involving simulations, require creating products, and demand self-direction and self-monitoring. Activities and materials include most of the following: Support the lesson objectives. Are challenging. Sustain students’ attention. Elicit a variety of thinking. Provide time for reflection. Are relevant to students’ lives. Provide opportunities for student to student interaction. Induce student curiosity and suspense. Provide students with choices. Incorporate multimedia and technology. Incorporate resources beyond the school curriculum texts.

Planning an Activity Begin with a State Standard English I I.9C make subtle inferences and draw complex conclusions about the ideas in text and their organizational patterns; Readiness Standard (3) Decide how you will assess the standard At then end of the lesson, students will be given a piece of text with a series of “clues” included. They will answer a question that requires them to put the clues together, draw a conclusion, and justify their answer with evidence from the text. Write an Objective By the end of class, the students will be able to analyze a passage or visual, make inferences about the content, and justify their responses by completing an open ended response question.

Plan the Activity Students will practice taking clues, provided by their partner, and draw a conclusion about the topic in which they fit. What materials will be needed? topic cards/subject Color coded for easy organization and clean up. Elements of the Activity Supports lessonChallenging Sustains St. Attention Variety of ThinkingSt-St InteractionCuriosity Multimedia/TechnologyResources beyond textGame-like How will materials be distributed? (Lesson Structure and Pacing) One person (the diamond) will collect the game packet from the materials table.

Plan the Activity continued… How will time be kept in the activity? (Lesson Structure and Pacing) 1 minute circle timer How will the group transition to and from group work? 20 second circle timer How will the students know the expectations for the activity? (Managing Student Behavior) The activity is CHAMP – ed to provide students with clear expectations. How do the students know what to do? How will this be modeled? (Presenting Instructional Content) Students viewed a 3 minute video of the game show – 100,000 Dollar Pyramid Students have a copy of the rules of the game in their game packet.

Plan the Activity continued… How will the lesson motivate students to learn? The lesson is game-like. The game provides students with opportunities for inquiry. How will the teacher reinforce and reward effort? The teacher will award effort with “One Point” Verbal Praise Grouping How many students will be in each group? 2 How many groups will be needed? How will group composition be communicated? Playing Cards How will the student roles be communicated? Playing card suits Game Instructions

Thinking and Problem Solving How should the students be grouped? AbilityAgeGenderRace How will instruction be differentiated for students who have unique needs? Modified Assessment Modified Clue Cards Teacher Knowledge of Students What types of thinking and problem solving are present in this lesson? Analytical (T)– Students have to evaluate the clues that are provided. Draw Conclusions (PS) – Students have to draw conclusions based upon the clues that are provided. Justifying Solutions (PS) – Students will justify their solutions on the assessment.

Take away… ActivityGrouping Method How many people will be in each of my groups? How will I divide the students into each group? What roles will the students hold? How will I hold the students accountable? Describe the activity. Choose a lesson that you can create an activity for and complete the worksheet. Please return by November 1 st.

Meeting Objectives By the end of the meeting, the teachers will discuss various grouping strategies and use the Take Away worksheet to develop an activity for a future lesson that includes a grouping plan.