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ACS Curriculum Guides

Wednesday, June 17, 2009Day 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 21st 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” answerinquiry into

core content

Why are essential questions a key Why are essential questions a key component of planning and classroom component of planning and classroom

instruction?instruction? Assessment of student learning

Potpourri problem

Lack of focusLong 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 Essential questions become . . . the become . . . the

“mental velcro”“mental velcro” for content learning.for content learning.

How do you determine appropriate essential questions for content area

learning?

Essential Standards

Formatting Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy

Assessment

21st Century Skills

Developing Essential Questions

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

Quality Check for EQs

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

LUNCH!Enjoy!

Essential VocabularyEssential 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 objectivesRequire in-depth knowledge in order to understand essential standards and clarifying objectivesLikely to be encountered in other content areas

*Refer to Quality Check Handout

Essential Vocabulary

Quality Check Handout

Article Introduction All – read pgs. 226-229 (stop at Level 1 subheading)

Flanigan K. and Greenwood S. “Effective content vocabulary instruction in the middle: Matching students, purposes, words, and strategies”

IntroductionFour Factors of Content Vocabulary:

The students we teachThe nature of the words we decide to teachThe instructional purposes in teaching the wordsThe strategies we employ to teach the words

Article - Jigsaw Group #1 – read Level 1 sectionGroup #2 – read Level 2 sectionGroup #3 – read Level 3 sectionGroup #4 – read Level 4 sectionAll – read pgs. 231-233 (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 QuestionsWhat 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

ConnectionsStrategies

PurposesWords

StudentsStudents

PlanningPlanning

TimeTime

TeachingTeaching

TimeTime

Essential StandardsEssential S

tandards

21st Century Skills

Collaboration

Assessment

Essential Standards21st Century SkillsCollaborationAssessment

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