First, I was definitely challenged in the technology department. Our home computer is old and my classroom computer is not that much better. But I did speak up and get some programs going on my computer and when students come in to work on projects, I actually have gotten them to do the movie maker. (mine would not work it)
Second, being a classroom teacher and not pursuing supervision, I was able to delve into topics that I would not be reading in my daily classroom. I usually have stayed focused on teaching, helping my building with gifted students needs and reading scores for the building. Now I am going to push myself into becoming more "worldly" in my educational readings.
Thirdly, I am going to use my knowledge gained here and what I promise to gain, on working with my community of teachers at my school. We have a great community atmosphere and I am going to share more with the grade level teachers during their common planning time.
I think the biggest lesson learned was that we have to be a community to be a strong school.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Orange Middle
The word that hit me the hardest was Mrs. Russo saying "invigorated". It appears that the teachers and administrators are engaged in the new learning communities. The smaller groups will give teams of teachers focus on "their bunch" versus a large amount of children that do not have the same teachers, making common planning impossible. This excitement can only bring good.
What I would love to see is the state rewarding improvement, like Doug Ryan said. Even with my gifted children that I teach and my dyslexic daughter, improvement and advancement in their areas are what is most important. We can't compare the gifted, the dyslexic and the child without food or heat together.
Based on the National Middle School Associations "This We Believe" the school is incorporating many of their 14 points. They are showing preparedness by common planning, shared vision and high expectations for these children. The hardest for this community will be home involvement and an adult advocate. These families have a much harder daily life and the children carry that burden. Maybe parents coming in to help in the classroom or offering after school tutoring for free with the parents support with bring that needed sense of community.
I applaud Orange Middle for their vibrant new program and most importantly their outlook for the children they teach.
What I would love to see is the state rewarding improvement, like Doug Ryan said. Even with my gifted children that I teach and my dyslexic daughter, improvement and advancement in their areas are what is most important. We can't compare the gifted, the dyslexic and the child without food or heat together.
Based on the National Middle School Associations "This We Believe" the school is incorporating many of their 14 points. They are showing preparedness by common planning, shared vision and high expectations for these children. The hardest for this community will be home involvement and an adult advocate. These families have a much harder daily life and the children carry that burden. Maybe parents coming in to help in the classroom or offering after school tutoring for free with the parents support with bring that needed sense of community.
I applaud Orange Middle for their vibrant new program and most importantly their outlook for the children they teach.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Curriculum Mapping
The purpose of curriculum mapping is alignment. It should be called a curriculum ladder because the rungs builds upon each other. The main reason we map is to provide a written document for teachers so they can see what is to be taught and assessed in the classroom for that year. It's other main purpose is to show the district's goals and direction in a document. It provides the picture of the education that district is engaged in. The curriculum map also serves as a plan book. It prevents overlapping of content in varying grades and fills in the holes (skills) that teachers assume are being taught. It is also a great method for teachers to view when a skill is taught for the first time and when the skill should be reintroduced or mastered. For the teacher who differentiates ( all should) it would be a great indicator when to assess a student to compact out of that lesson and create something new.
I am one of a team of six in the district gifted and talented department. We have a curriculum map for the grades we teach......1st through 5Th. The mapping took us many months of meetings to create and we use it diligently to move through the program. Our over arching goal is that the students are engaged in higher order thinking. We formed our map to spiral from 1st to 5Th grade. The curriculum map contains the skills for each grade level with various assessment options and gives several creative ways to carry out the lessons. Every June, we go over our curriculum map with a fine tooth comb. We change our skills if we feel we are not meeting the needs of the entire five grade levels by making it a spiral curriculum. We adjust our skills taught and our assessments to meet the needs of gifted students, NJASK tests and our districts goals. I think it is a time consuming process to create but it puts the district goals in a neat package.....but the neat package is one that can be changed (or tweaked) to meet the needs of our changing world.
I am one of a team of six in the district gifted and talented department. We have a curriculum map for the grades we teach......1st through 5Th. The mapping took us many months of meetings to create and we use it diligently to move through the program. Our over arching goal is that the students are engaged in higher order thinking. We formed our map to spiral from 1st to 5Th grade. The curriculum map contains the skills for each grade level with various assessment options and gives several creative ways to carry out the lessons. Every June, we go over our curriculum map with a fine tooth comb. We change our skills if we feel we are not meeting the needs of the entire five grade levels by making it a spiral curriculum. We adjust our skills taught and our assessments to meet the needs of gifted students, NJASK tests and our districts goals. I think it is a time consuming process to create but it puts the district goals in a neat package.....but the neat package is one that can be changed (or tweaked) to meet the needs of our changing world.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
What about this online stuff?
Mixed feelings. I like the classroom because I learn so much more. The time in there is like common planning. We discuss problems, solutions and I gain so much from everyone's stories. But the online gives me information in a different way. I am very visual so I love the method but I miss the discussion that would follow. I can cook dinner, do wash and help my kids with homework during the online time. One downfall, I have a very old computer (son in college...no chance of buying a new one) and don't have the capacity or programs to do the fun things out there. I don't mind coming in or online. I think the mix of both is a perfect combination. I would not want it totally on line though. I really would miss the class discussions.
UbD Lesson in school
I am currently in the middle of this unit described. The only part that I changed with my students was that I wrote the questions on the board before they came in. When they sat down (all 4 of them) I read the "students will know, understand etc and the questions. The essential question is brought up at the beginning of the unit and referred to many times. It started the students in conversation immediately. We are at the point where we are researching the kings and queens and the students started to discuss their findings. So I actually had to stop them and go back to the lesson where they would give their mini lesson educating us on the people. At the end of their mini lessons we discussed the questions on the board and how my plan for them that day was laid out for them to see. They liked the idea of the questions and students will be able to...because they knew what the hour was going to be about. I feel they also knew what to look for in the lesson that day. Gifted kids tend to not like the unknown as much as we think!
It didn't take long to create this lesson in this format. My gifted team uses this idea when we design our units. Since we meet at the end of the units with our 6 schools we start with the essential questions and then the variety of products. We leave the lesson up to the individual teacher and even the product/assessment is usually student decided. I didn't use a template and would love to find it and use it. My computer is not working well and I cant open many windows at the same time or the whole thing freezes so I used the video and print out as my guide (hope it is right). The only difficulty would be that I would have to buy a binder to put my lesson plans in or that I would need to figure out a layout that would make it easy for me to glance over my plans for the day or week. Management of paper would be the only downfall.
It didn't take long to create this lesson in this format. My gifted team uses this idea when we design our units. Since we meet at the end of the units with our 6 schools we start with the essential questions and then the variety of products. We leave the lesson up to the individual teacher and even the product/assessment is usually student decided. I didn't use a template and would love to find it and use it. My computer is not working well and I cant open many windows at the same time or the whole thing freezes so I used the video and print out as my guide (hope it is right). The only difficulty would be that I would have to buy a binder to put my lesson plans in or that I would need to figure out a layout that would make it easy for me to glance over my plans for the day or week. Management of paper would be the only downfall.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
UbD Lesson Plan
5Th Grade Gifted 8 week Pull-out Egyptian Theme (8 meetings)
Stage One
Essential Questions: How does one's behavior define their self?
How do we define good? What is good?
Why and how do others define the concepts that determine what type of person you are?
How are past cultures remembered and why?
How do we define ourselves?
Students will understand how Egyptians defined their life on Earth and the afterlife.
Students will know how to reflect for deeper meaning.
Students will be able to reflect, define, inquire and listen in a group setting.
Students will be able to write reflectively.
Stage Two (Assessment)
Students will create a tomb with objects and pictures of what they would be needing in the afterlife, if we were still following Egyptian funerary, burial and afterlife rituals. Students will write a reflective piece explaining why they would deserve a good afterlife if we still believed in the Egyptian rituals. Writing piece will show how student reflected and defined concepts, answered how their behavior now determines the type of person they are and what items are important to them (items in tomb) and why.
Stage Three
Using artifacts,(plastic Egyptian artifact toys) research the purpose of the artifacts and share them in the group as to the meaning of the item. Then discuss our artifacts and their meanings.
Begin reading the book "The Golden Goblet". Use first half of 3 classes to discuss what the characters are like, the life of the times and their rituals.
Do research on a prince or princess, king or queen of Ancient Egypt. Have each student give a mini lesson to educate us on this person.
Using philosophical inquiry define what good meant for the Egyptians. Define what good means for each of us. Did we learn "good"? Were we born or raised "good" ? Can you turn good? Is good a way of thought or a unconscious behavior?
Students will bring in a shoe box and create a tomb like the Egyptians. It will contain items necessary for their own version of an afterlife.
Students will write a reflective writing piece that will explain the items and their importance, their definition of "good", how they came to that definition and the reason they would deserve a good afterlife.
Stage One
Essential Questions: How does one's behavior define their self?
How do we define good? What is good?
Why and how do others define the concepts that determine what type of person you are?
How are past cultures remembered and why?
How do we define ourselves?
Students will understand how Egyptians defined their life on Earth and the afterlife.
Students will know how to reflect for deeper meaning.
Students will be able to reflect, define, inquire and listen in a group setting.
Students will be able to write reflectively.
Stage Two (Assessment)
Students will create a tomb with objects and pictures of what they would be needing in the afterlife, if we were still following Egyptian funerary, burial and afterlife rituals. Students will write a reflective piece explaining why they would deserve a good afterlife if we still believed in the Egyptian rituals. Writing piece will show how student reflected and defined concepts, answered how their behavior now determines the type of person they are and what items are important to them (items in tomb) and why.
Stage Three
Using artifacts,(plastic Egyptian artifact toys) research the purpose of the artifacts and share them in the group as to the meaning of the item. Then discuss our artifacts and their meanings.
Begin reading the book "The Golden Goblet". Use first half of 3 classes to discuss what the characters are like, the life of the times and their rituals.
Do research on a prince or princess, king or queen of Ancient Egypt. Have each student give a mini lesson to educate us on this person.
Using philosophical inquiry define what good meant for the Egyptians. Define what good means for each of us. Did we learn "good"? Were we born or raised "good" ? Can you turn good? Is good a way of thought or a unconscious behavior?
Students will bring in a shoe box and create a tomb like the Egyptians. It will contain items necessary for their own version of an afterlife.
Students will write a reflective writing piece that will explain the items and their importance, their definition of "good", how they came to that definition and the reason they would deserve a good afterlife.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Schmoker
I enjoyed this article for it's clear cut objectives. I also was thrilled to see that so much of what my school does is in good practice according to this article. I actually shared the article with my principal today and he agreed that our lessons need a better strategy in their delivery. I didnt have the nerve to ask him how he was planning on doing that!
I started teaching again, after an 11 year break, and found myself in an old school. Old in it's teaching style, it's curriculum, and it's management. I was a part of a gifted team that served 6 schools. We, as a team, were innovative and shared every week our curriculum ideas. Luckily, after two years of teaching and never being observed....our principal retired. In walked my savior. He moved all the teachers to new grades and began his schedule changes to accomodate 2-5 periods a week of common planning. He has weekly meetings with grade level teachers and is contantly present in the classrooms and hallways. We follow our curriculum guides to make sure we cover what is expected but we are given freedom to cover them how we see fit.
Our school has retired in the last 3 years seven teachers. We are now filled with vibrant, creative educators. But I feel this is where we are lacking. Our lessons are all over the place. I see that our lessons dont have a clear cut objective ( I started to revert back to my Madeline Hunter after this article). My principal said he felt we dont close our lessons well enough and I feel as though we need to incorporate time for children to work together.
The biggest down fall of my school is that we have all the components in place but we are at the point of staying quiet. My administration needs to work on it's role as leader. As Schmoker said "No one can lead effectively where constructive feedback is regarded as an invasion of privacy, an affront to professionalism". When we start giving feedback, accepting the feedback as a learning tool, I believe my school will become the best school in New Jersey.
I started teaching again, after an 11 year break, and found myself in an old school. Old in it's teaching style, it's curriculum, and it's management. I was a part of a gifted team that served 6 schools. We, as a team, were innovative and shared every week our curriculum ideas. Luckily, after two years of teaching and never being observed....our principal retired. In walked my savior. He moved all the teachers to new grades and began his schedule changes to accomodate 2-5 periods a week of common planning. He has weekly meetings with grade level teachers and is contantly present in the classrooms and hallways. We follow our curriculum guides to make sure we cover what is expected but we are given freedom to cover them how we see fit.
Our school has retired in the last 3 years seven teachers. We are now filled with vibrant, creative educators. But I feel this is where we are lacking. Our lessons are all over the place. I see that our lessons dont have a clear cut objective ( I started to revert back to my Madeline Hunter after this article). My principal said he felt we dont close our lessons well enough and I feel as though we need to incorporate time for children to work together.
The biggest down fall of my school is that we have all the components in place but we are at the point of staying quiet. My administration needs to work on it's role as leader. As Schmoker said "No one can lead effectively where constructive feedback is regarded as an invasion of privacy, an affront to professionalism". When we start giving feedback, accepting the feedback as a learning tool, I believe my school will become the best school in New Jersey.
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