When a clear, easily

understood rubric is

presented prior to a task,

students have a concrete

idea of the expectations for

success.

There are a variety of

rubrics that can meet the

needs of a given assignment.

For more information, click

on the link below:

Rubrics

As you start off your new

school year, take time to re-

evaluate your current

assessment system. Are you

getting a clear picture of

your students’ learning?

If you feel you might want to

make some changes, this is

the perfect time to try

something new.

Standards-based

Reporting

Ideally, SBR is a district

initiative, but many teachers

feel it is a worthy system and

elect to make the move

within their, grade, subject

or even classroom.

Standards-reporting focuses

learning on specific goals and

assesses those results.

For more information on

SBG check out our website:

Illinois Standards-based

Reporting

Rubrics

Rubrics can be a huge help in

driving learning as well as in

speeding up assessment.

Kicking Off Your Assessment Year

Our Newsletter’s Year Long Theme

Problem solving in the real

world doesn’t occur in

separate academic areas. It is

necessary to combine

different intelligences to

achieve the quality results.

To address this practical

learning, The Teacher’s

Newsletter from Illinois

Classrooms in Action is

having a year long theme of

integrating subjects to better

meet the needs of student

learning.

Each issue will focus on a

specific aspect of the

educational arena, with each

page addressing ways to

appropriately integrate

various topics and subjects

at each grade level bands.

We hope you will find this

approach useful to your

classroom lessons. Please do

not hesitate to share your

applications from our

publication or to suggest

ideas that you have found

successful.

August 2018 Volume 7 Issue 1

The Teachers’ Newsletter

from Illinois Classrooms in Action Grade band lessons, ideas and information

Focus: Back to School

Inside this issue:

ELA 2

Math 3

Science 4

Social Studies 5

Learning Support 6

Published monthly by

ISBE

Content Specialists

Kin

derg

arten

thro

ugh

Seco

nd

Gra

de

If you know

what you want,

you are more

likely to get it

NLP adage

If what you're

doing isn't

working, try

something else

NLP adage

Integration embraces not just

the interweaving

of subjects (e.g., science and

social studies) but of

any curriculum elements (e.g.,

skills and content) that might

be taught more effectively in

relation to each other than

separately. In order for

young students to develop

content knowledge, academic

language must be fostered

through a variety of methods

such as read alouds, fluency

practice, and vocabulary

development.

Some strategies to support

academic language are:

1. Provide repeated

encounters with a word

in various authentic

contexts to help

students internalize the

definition.

2. Help students diagram

similarities and

differences: When

students generate a list

of similarities and

differences between

words and complete a

Venn diagram, such as

one that compares and

contrasts moths and

butterflies,

3. Have students complete

scripts of academic

routines by providing

sentence frames like

these examples: “The

topic of my presentation

is ______.”�or “In the

first part, I give a basic

definition. In the next

section, I will explain

______. Practice and

model regularly!

complex texts (i.e.,

science or social science

materials), are mastered.

2. Read up on what

integration means and

the different

methodologies.

Understanding Integrated

Curriculum promotes

planning practices that

Integration requires extensive

planning. The following

resources may provide

support as teachers embark

on this journey:

1. Text Set Project: using a

variety of texts around

the same topic helps

build knowledge and

vocabulary as more

support the teacher and

students.

3. Understanding By Design

(UbD) by Grant Wiggins

and Jay McTighe offer a

framework for planning

that supports integration.

Click here for an

overview and related

items.

Using Academic Language to Promote Integration

Planning Integration

Education is the

passport to the

future, for

tomorrow belongs

to those who

prepare for it

today.

~Malcolm X

Page 2 ELA

Grades K-2

Using Read Alouds to Foster Integration

As stated in the above article,

integration opportunities

abound in all subject matters.

Using read alouds is just one

strategy that can support

content knowledge prior to

engaging in experiments,

artistic endeavors, or social

justice activities. When

reading aloud, students do

not need to read whole texts

to appreciate or engage in

skill practice. Teachers

determine the skills needed

to access each text related to

content area. For example,

students might practice

specific skills to run an

experiment but might have to

decide if an artist has a special

message in art.

The background knowledge

that a teacher builds for

students and the knowledge

that they already possess

influence which details they

find relevant

(Anderson, 2013). Allowing

for questions during read

alouds, fosters inquiry and

motivation to find answers.

This in turn, fosters

engagement with content and

other students through

discussion.

As you prepare your

classroom for the upcoming

school year, consider

adorning you walls with

these free printables from

youcubed.org that promote

a growth mindset in your

students,

www.youcubed.org/

resource/posters/.

topics suggested by you.

Our first meeting o of the

2018-2019 school year

will be August 16 at 3:30.

For information about

topics and registration

#ILMathCom:

Join us on the first and

third Thursday of ever

month for a virtual

meeting of math

educators focused on

check

here,

www.mathteachersinactio

n.org/ilmathcom.html.

Classroom Décor that Promotes Learning

#ILMathCom

Kick the Year Off With a Week of Inspirational Math

on the power of growth

mindset, bust some of the

prolific myths that only a

select few people have

what it takes to be good

at math, and address

some of the common

struggles that many

students experience in

math.

By starting the year with

the Week of Inspirational

Math, you will be laying

the foundation for a

classroom climate and

culture that allows

students to reach their

full potential—a

classroom where

mistakes are celebrated,

students who embrace a

growth mindset, and

lessons that engage all

levels of learners in high

level mathematics. Find

lessons for Kindergarten

through Grade 12 here,

www.youcubed.org/week

-inspirational-math/.

Jo Boaler and her team at

Stanford have compiled

week long units for the

first week of school

titled, Week of

Inspirational Math on

their website

youcubed.org. Each

lesson is comprised of a

math activity and a

mindset video. The

activities are designed to

be open, creative, and

visual—to allow students

to experience the beauty

of mathematics. The

videos educate students

Math(s) is a

subject of

beautiful

connections, it is

not a long list of

disconnected

topics.

~Jo Boaler

Mathematics Page 3 Volume 7 Issue 1

Grades K-2

When interpreting the

Framework for K-12 Science

Education as the Next

Generation Science

Standards, the writers were

careful to connect the

standards to Common Core

ELA and Math. Beneath the

SEP/DCI/CCC boxes are

direct, grade-appropriate

links . Read more at: https://

www.nextgenscience.org/

search-standards

students to drive learning

through experimentation. For

example, standard 2MD.D10

asks students to represent

data, an integral part of

making sense of the

outcomes of scientific

experiments. Making

connections between math

and science strengthens

student understanding of

both contents!

A common pitfall in linking

science and math standards

when planning instruction is

simply assuming any math is

appropriate as long as it

meets the needs of the

science. Luckily the

Measurement and Data

standards provide an

opportune way to connect

science and math in a

meaningful way while allowing

Look to NGSS Documentation for Ties to ELA and Math

Measurement and Data in Science Instruction

Reading Informational Text Standards in Science

distinguish between

information provided by

pictures and those in the

words of the text. By simply

asking students whether a

written interpretation of a

graph is correct, you are

meeting some of the ELA

standards, and this process is

more powerful when the data

is collected by students!

Did you know that you can

meet some of the Common

Core ELA Standards in your

science instruction? One easy

way is through the use of the

RI standards. In science, we

always want to compare

interpretations and

arguments for what an

experiment means against the

actual data. This aligns well

with RI 1.6, where students

"Every kid starts

out as a natural-

born scientist,

and then we beat

it out of them. A

few trickle

through the

system with their

wonder and

enthusiasm for

science intact “

Carl Sagan

Page 4 Science

Grades K-2

Inquiry is an ongoing cycle of

learning to use knowledge at

increasingly complex levels as

a way to integrate content.

Through the inquiry process,

students (individually and or

collaboratively) identify

issues, pose questions,

investigate answers, pose

more questions, weigh the

evidence, come to

conclusions, and take action

on their learning.

In the Social Science

Standards, inquiry skills are

used by students while

applying the disciplinary

concepts to construct

essential and supporting

questions and determine

helpful sources to conduct

investigations and take

informed action.

Illinois has created inquiry

graphics that illustrate the

stages of the inquiry process

and guides the process for

incorporating the Illinois

Learning Standards for Social

Science, particularly the

Inquiry Skills portion of the

standards. The statements

contained in the graphic are

suggested steps for each stage

of the process. The intention

is to support teachers with

the goal of engaging students

in the inquiry process. Click

here to access templates for

each grade level.

Students investigate how a bill

becomes a law and then try

to come up with an idea to

drive change at the school,

local or state level. Click

here additional information.

In addition, Shonda Ronen, a

first-grade teacher in the

There are some great things

going on in social science

education across the state.

Teachers in Illinois are

working hard to engage their

students of all ages in

meaningful inquiry.

Check out Mary Jorn’s

Fourth Grade Civics Inquiry

from Beckemeyer Elementary

School in Hillsboro, Illinois.

same school, chose to have

her students brainstorm

questions about a slightly

edited version of Norman

Rockwell's print The Problem

We All Live With. Students

then take informed action.

Click here for additional

information.

New Resource for Inquiry in the Social Science Standards.

Illinois Teachers Inspire Inquiry

Children’s Literature To Inspire Inquiry

ocean, the American girl

realizes how much children in

Holland are in need. She

organizes people in her

community to send needed

items in care packages.

One Plastic Bag:

Isatou Ceesay

and the Recycling

Women of the

Gambia by Miranda Paul

Isatou Cessay takes action in

her small village in the

Gambia by taking plastic bags

that have littered her villages

and weaves them into purses.

She and a few other women

change the landscape in their

village and make a difference.

Click here for additional

books that can inquire

inquiry.

Children’s literature can be a

great resource for the Inquiry

Standard of taking informed

action. For example:

Boxes for Katje by

Candace Fleming

A family in

America sends

hard-to-find items to a family

in Holland. When two young

girls write letters across the

“All the

world is a

laboratory to

the inquiry

mind.”

Martin H. Fischer

Social Science Page 5 Volume 7 Issue 1

Grades K-2

Local student data (even common student

emotions observed by teachers in math class)

can be an excellent place to start for identifying

student SEL targets. Here are some detailed

steps from a Classrooms in Action ‘front line’

support of integrating social emotional

standards benchmarks at the classroom level

with Dunlap District elementary educators and

school counselors.

Local teacher teams can discuss potential links

between observed student needs within Math

instruction (ongoing emotional or social

student behaviors) and SEL benchmarks. For

effective implementation, team focus on three

to four prioritized benchmarks helps

continually reinforce specific SEL benchmark

targets throughout the year connected to

multiple lessons and classroom behavioral

expectations. With explicit SEL benchmark

goals being continually reinforced, teams can

then begin to brainstorm common strategies in

support of SEL skill practice.

Educators who continue use of this common

language and goal approach, can continue SEL

integration by co-creating a rubric for agreed

upon student performance observation

behaviors or artifacts which supports recording

and tracking student progress.

Early Elementary (Grades K-3) SEL benchmarks

Social Emotional Learning within Math Instruction

Check us out on the web

under Climate and Culture:

Illinois Classrooms in Action

Teacher/Student

Identified Need

SEL related benchmark Strategies for support

Feeling frustrated in

math performance

(Math Practice #1)

SEL 1C.1b - Identify goals for academic success and classroom behavior.

• 3B4T Chart (Brain, Browse, Buddy,

Teacher)

• Beyond ‘I Can’t Do This’ strategies

• Reduction of Math Anxiety

Dialogue with peers

in math work groups

(Math Practice #3)

SEL 2C.1a - Identify ways to work and play well with others.

Supporting student discussions through use of Classroom Collaboration Kit. Order yours or print for use today!

Student

Math Anxiety

SEL 1A.1a* - Recognize and accurately label emotions and how they are linked to behavior.

• 10 tips for Teaching Emotion-al Regulation (& Improving Classroom Behavior at the Same Time)

Image is hyperlinked to this free printable

Additional grade levels available at:

*SEL 1A.4a - Teacher/Student Observation Rubric

1 - Beginning 2 - Emerging 3 - Consistent 4 - Exemplar

Student rarely attempts

to identify feelings and/or

emotional regulation

disrupting math

performance.

Student shows

occasional ability to

identify and regulate

emotions occasionally

impacting math

performance.

Student shows

consistent ability to

identify and regulate

emotions supporting

math performance.

Student shows consistent

ability to help self and

others identify and regulate

emotions supporting math

performance.

Teaching and

Learning

Supports

Elementary