I love to ski with my boys. Quinn is 11 and quite accomplished on the slopes. He loves to navigate the trees, picking his lines carefully and making decent turns. He could ski all day everyday. Alex who is 9 prefers speed. He points his tips straight downhill and beats everyone to the bottom. He lasts 4 or 5 runs before he loses interest and wants a waffle! My job lately is to push from behind, calling out instructions from the back, shepherding everyone down safely before letting Quinn go off and explore on his own while taking some time out with Alex.
It feels a lot like my classroom! Like my boys, each of my students is starting on our trail of learning in a different place. They have different skills, interest levels and readiness for our work in the classroom. Not all students learn the same way or at the same pace. Each has different stamina for the tasks at hand. It is my professional responsibility to figure out where the kids in my class are, meet them there and begin to move them forward. Of course this is the most difficult part of teaching for me. I know intellectually what I need to do- doing it well and consistently is a daily challenge. But it's a challenge I have to take on. I can't stand at the top of this hill looking down and say "nope this one is too hard so I'm going to take the easier trail instead" and neither can they. My job is to take them on the appropriate trail with the right equipment, to pick them up and help them put their skis back on when they fall down, sometimes to lead and sometimes to follow, and finally to show them what an accomplishment it can be to make it down the hill!
It feels a lot like my classroom! Like my boys, each of my students is starting on our trail of learning in a different place. They have different skills, interest levels and readiness for our work in the classroom. Not all students learn the same way or at the same pace. Each has different stamina for the tasks at hand. It is my professional responsibility to figure out where the kids in my class are, meet them there and begin to move them forward. Of course this is the most difficult part of teaching for me. I know intellectually what I need to do- doing it well and consistently is a daily challenge. But it's a challenge I have to take on. I can't stand at the top of this hill looking down and say "nope this one is too hard so I'm going to take the easier trail instead" and neither can they. My job is to take them on the appropriate trail with the right equipment, to pick them up and help them put their skis back on when they fall down, sometimes to lead and sometimes to follow, and finally to show them what an accomplishment it can be to make it down the hill!
MAKING of the MODERN WORLD:
Compare Contrast Practice #1 For this assignment I only assessed the last question in order to measure two things. One LT was the student's ability to compare and contrast two concepts. The second was their ability to use evidence from the text to support their writing. My review of their work showed that almost all students did not have a strong ability to compare AND contrast two points and could only use basic evidences. So I took two sample student answers and used them to teach a lesson on compare/contrast and evidence. Students had the scale in front of them and talked with a partner about both examples using the given questions. We pointed out strengths of both answers as well as what this answer would have needed to include if it were to move up a scale. I followed up this lesson with another opportunity to practice the same two skills. I also modified the language of the scale a bit to make the expectations clearer to the students and reflect our class conversation! The scores on the second practice were much better!
Compare Contrast Practice #2
Making of the Modern World UNIT 1 Summative
Compare Contrast Practice #1 For this assignment I only assessed the last question in order to measure two things. One LT was the student's ability to compare and contrast two concepts. The second was their ability to use evidence from the text to support their writing. My review of their work showed that almost all students did not have a strong ability to compare AND contrast two points and could only use basic evidences. So I took two sample student answers and used them to teach a lesson on compare/contrast and evidence. Students had the scale in front of them and talked with a partner about both examples using the given questions. We pointed out strengths of both answers as well as what this answer would have needed to include if it were to move up a scale. I followed up this lesson with another opportunity to practice the same two skills. I also modified the language of the scale a bit to make the expectations clearer to the students and reflect our class conversation! The scores on the second practice were much better!
Compare Contrast Practice #2
Making of the Modern World UNIT 1 Summative
MEDIA and SOCIETY:
Differentiated Formative--" Making of a Media Literate Mind" Practicing with TEXT and SUBTEXT: One of the most important LT's in this unit is learning to read both text and subtext in a media message and understanding their relationship. This is an example of a formative practice we did in class. This formative helped me to create the working groups for the Production Challenge. The Challenge is really the SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT for this LT. Production Challenge TEXT and SUBTEXT |