September 14-18, 2015----CHANGE AND LESSON PLANNING

September 14-18, 2015

CHANGE!



Last week we found ourselves faced with a huge amount of change and only a short amount of time to really navigate that change.  I am truly grateful that as Mrs. McBride and I talked to those most impacted by the change we noticed that although change is hard to navigate there was a true willingness to hear how we got to the point where change was needed and a willingness to make change.  So again, many thanks for helping us shift into this change.  As we make the upcoming necessary adjustments we will keep everyone updated.   

Learning Showcase for the Week:

Lesson Plans

As outlined in the packet that you received--EFFECTIVE LESSONS AND LESSON PLANNING GUIDE--during my opening day break out session the model adopted by WSFCS outlines that "Good teaching consists of using best practice lesson strategies and then practicing the art."

What are we looking for in lessons? Effective lessons share a core structure:

Clear Learning Objective: should be a topic, skill or concept selected from the agreed upon curriculum.

Teaching/Modeling/Demonstrating: these are variations on lecture or direct teaching—explaining, demonstrating, instructing etc.

Guided Practice:  throughout the lesson, in brief intervals, the teachers should allow students to practice or apply what has been taught or modeled (while the teacher observes and guides their work).

Checks for Understanding/Formative Assessment: As students practice, and in between each step in the lesson, the teacher should conduct “formative assessment” by checking—assessing—to see how many students have mastered that particular step.

•      This ongoing “check for understanding” allows the teacher to see what needs to be clarified or explained in a different way, when to slow down, or when it’s all right to speed up the pace of the lesson.

•      Circulating, observing, and listening as students work in pairs, teams, groups

•      Calling on a sampling of students or pairs randomly

•      Having students signal their understanding: thumbs up or down, red, green, yellow popsicle sticks etc.

•      Having students hold up dry-erase boards with answers or solutions.

Why are these 4 elements so important?

There is nothing new here. What is new is the realization that these seemingly “boring and pedestrian” (Collins, 2001, p. 142) practices are not only effective, but astonishingly so. If they were consistently implemented, we would take a quantum leap towards the goal of “learning for all”.

      

These elements should be a part of each lesson as noted on your lesson plans. 

Dr. Mike Schmoker's notes that the first step for planning and executing effective lessons is a Clear Learning Objective.






What is a learning objective? A learning objective is an outcome statement that captures specifically what knowledge, skills, attitudes learners should be able to exhibit following instruction. 

Key Points about Clear Learning Objectives:
1) They are developed from the standards
2) They should be stated in student-friendly language
3) It can be an Essential Question OR and I Can Statement...

Based on the four elements of effective lessons lesson plans should have the following:

• 1)     Learning Objective
  2)     Opening/Hook
  3)     Explore/Model/Demonstrate
  4)     Guided Practice
  5)     Checking for Understanding
  6)     Closure

Keep planning great lessons, keep posting your Essential Question or I Can statement and most importantly make sure that the students know what the learning objective is for each lesson!

Week At A Glance:



I have several off-campus trainings and meetings this week. 

Monday, 9/14/15--AESOP (how to enter an absence) Training in the Media Center with Ms. McCandies from 7:50-8:10--this is the final AESOP training.  Frazier will be attending an all day workshop. 

Tuesday, 9/15/15--Ident-A-Kid  We plan to call students by grade levels so please be sure to check to see who brought in an envelope.  Frazier will be attending an all day Elementary Prin's Meeting.  

Wednesday, 9/16/15--Early Release Day #1 This first Early Release Day was planned by our school district.  Others will be planned by our staff to help meet our school identified needs.  Every staff member received the pre-reading packet on Tuesday, 9/8/15. Please be sure to read the excerpts so that you will be prepared for the discussions and activities.  We will meet in the Media Center beginning at 1:45.  Please enjoy the snacks provided by part of our Bolton family which will be in the lounge. Let's plan to be in our seats at 1:45 and ready to begin.   

Thursday, 9/17/15---Winston Salem Strings Ensemble performance for 4th and 5th grade only @ 9:00 am in the Gym

Friday, 9/18/15--- Some Pre-K and K staff attending the NCAEYC Conference in Raleigh


Looking Ahead:

9/29/15---Annual Title 1 Meeting and Classroom Visits---look for a more detailed overview of this by mid next week.  Teachers do not need to attend the annual Title 1 meeting portion--you can work in your rooms to prepare for the parent's visit directly after the annual Title 1 meeting.   This is a great time to review expectations (homework, rules and procedures, etc.) and to talk about what the students will learn throughout the first quarter. 
                
Have a great week!