Better Planning, Better
Teaching, Better Results
By: Kimberly T. Lucas
BETTER
PLANNING
The Standards
CCSS R.L.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's
plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as
how the characters respond or change as the
plot moves toward a resolution.
Think, Ink, Share:
How many lessons must I teach for students to
master this ONE standard in its entirety?
• ELA standards are so loaded that we
have to be aware of a few things:
–Teaching the familiar and forgoing the new
• Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds
in a series of episodes as well as how the characters
respond or change as the plot moves toward a
resolution.
–Teaching parts and not the whole
• Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds
in a series of episodes as well as how the characters
respond or change as the plot moves toward a
resolution.
–Teaching the surface and not the depth
• Can students replicate what they have been
taught with any text without assistance?
Answers From the Turn and
Talk
My Answer:
Unpacking the Standards: I Do
•
Describe how a
particular story's or drama's plot unfolds
in a series of episodes as well as how
the characters respond or change as the
plot moves toward a resolution.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.3 -
Where’s the 7/11?
1. (Structure) Setting, Rising Action,
Climax, Falling Action, Resolution
2. Event, Response, Outcome
3. Direct Characterization
4. Indirect Characterization
5. Conflict (quite possibly)
6. Idea/Analysis of Change
7. Progression
Unpacking the Standards: You Do
•
•
Pick one upcoming standard from Reading Literature and unpack
Pick one upcoming standards from Reading Informational to unpack
– Write the each standard on a separate sentence strip
– Use a sticky note for each separate lesson you have to teach in order to
teach the standard to the fullest extent
1 2
3
The Unpacking Documents
–6th
• http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/acre/standards/co
mmon-core-tools/unpacking/ela/6.pdf
–7th
• http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/acre/standards/co
mmon-core-tools/unpacking/ela/7.pdf
–8th
• http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/acre/standards/co
mmon-core-tools/unpacking/ela/8.pdf
The Essential Question
What They Are Not:
Questions that Hook
Catch the attention of the students but isn’t
the essential content
• Can what we eat prevent zits?
• Are we drinking the same water as our ancestors?
• Why do parents and children choose different
music genres?
• Why do some kids disrespect their parents?
What They Are Not:
Questions that Lead or Guide
Some inference/Mostly Recall/Specific
Information
• What is true about all four-sided shapes?
• Which letters are vowels?
• What is the chemical symbol for Mercury?
• Why must the answer be zero?
• How do we use the “Rule of Thirds in
Photography”?
What They Are
EQ are organizers that set the focus for a
lesson and are open-ended, thoughtprovoking, intellectually-engaging, higher
order thinking questions. The answer is the
nuts and bolts of what you spent your time
teaching. EQ require support and points
towards transferable ideas.
Examples and Non-Examples
Essential Question Challenge
Write an essential question for your lesson
that is:
• standards-based
• open-ended
• thought-provoking
• intellectually-engaging
• higher-order
BETTER
TEACHING
Pick A Standard You Unpacked
• From the earlier activity…
The Grade-Level Dilemma
Grade-level state standards + Grade-level
state EOG+ Low teacher expectation or
preparation + Below grade-level
assignments = Deep Deficits
Begin With The End In Mind
• Questions for EVERY standard you teach
– What should the students who have
mastered this standard (or portion of
this standard) be able to do?
– How will they prove that they are able
to do it? What can they produce that
will prove that they have mastered it?
Standard
R.I. 6.6 Determine an author’s point of view or
purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in
the text.
Assignment
After watching a commercial or reading an
informational text, students will produce a written
explanation identifying purpose and the techniques
the author used to create purpose being sure to
include specific details from the text that best
supports conclusions drawn from the text.
Summative Assessment
Challenge
• Create an assignment that uses
vocabulary from the standard.
–There should be an overlap in
verbs
–There should be an overlap in
nouns
Let’s Share
Creating Lesson Activities
R.I. 6.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text
and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
• What is the most basic thing that has to be accomplished in
this standard?
– Understanding what is author’s purpose
• What is the most basic thing about this standard plus
another level, element, dimension?
– Understanding what is author’s purpose
– Identifying details that support author’s purpose
• What is the more advanced level of this standard?
– Understanding author’s purpose, identifying details and
explaining, teaching, presenting and creating the concept
in new or original light
Lesson Activities
• Refer back to your on-grade level
assignment
• Identify 3 activities
–One with your lowest student in mind (the
basics)
–One with the average student in mind (the
basics + 1 to 2 components)
–One with the high-flyer in mind (the basics
+ 3 to 4 components)
Modeling
Definition: Teacher demonstrates and
students learn through observation
Types of Modeling
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Disposition Modeling
Task and Performance Modeling
Metacognitive Modeling
Scaffolding Modeling
Student-Centered Modeling
Identify Where To Model
• Identify within your lesson where/what
you will need to model for your students.
• Identify which type of modeling you will
have to do and be prepared to explain
why the model is needed.
Building Houses
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Footing Inspection
Foundation
Fireplace
Framing
Air Barrier
Insulation
Water/Sewer
Rough-In
Shower Pan Liner
Final Inspection
Scenario
Mrs. Lucas is a fantastic teacher! She always has fun and
engaging lessons that teach the standards. The kids seem
engaged during the lesson. They are quiet, taking notes and
asking questions. They even answer questions when called on
by the teacher. There is just one problem though. Every time
the students take her tests or quizzes or do group work on their
own, they fail miserably. Only about 15% of the class
consistently pass her assignments. I just don’t get it. What more
can she do? What are possible reasons for this outcome?
Have You Ever
• Taught your heart out for 2 weeks and the
students still failed?
• Given a quiz/test and the entire class failed it?
• Been shocked by student performance on
concepts that you were sure you taught and
almost certain that they had mastered?
• Retaught something and they still didn’t get
it?
Assessing Along The Way
• It will drive our instruction by providing
data and informing us what the student
knows and doesn’t know.
• It “fixes the leak before the ship sinks”.
• It will force teachers to be reflective.
Types of Formative
Assessments
When? Where?
• After each activity where the students
have gained new information, insight or
approach
Formative Assessment
Challenge
• Revisit each activity, and identify a quick
assessment that you can do to check for
the individual student’s understanding
before moving to your next activity.
• Be prepared to share your selections
and your reasoning with the group.
Activating Prior Knowledge
• Using the blank paper that has been
provided, create a visual representation
of the word ACTIVATING.
• Share whole group how your picture
represents activating.
• Determine what is the association
between your picture and your lessons
in general?
Activating Strategies
• A Hook
• Where we engage our students’ brains
• Prep or preview the work ahead
• See what they know to determine how
fast we will flow or where to go
• Will take up only 5-10% of lesson time
*The brain pays attention to meaning and emotion
If…Then...
• If I am doing a lesson on conflict, then
my activating strategy would be …
• If I am doing a lesson on writing
arguments, then my activating strategy
would be...
Conflict
• WWYD(What Would You Do)Scenario Cards:
• Students identify the problem within the story. (Who
or what is getting in the way)
• Students explain what they would anticipate their
reaction to be.
• Have students to evaluate what their reaction says
about people in general.
• Lead into an anticipation guide revolving around the
idea of conflict.
Arguments
Students will read an article and answer the
following questions:
1.What is the author saying?
2.Highlight one thing that tells you the author
feels this way.
3.Even if you don’t agree with the author’s
stance what is the strongest piece of
evidence that he or she provides?
Activating Strategy Challenge
Think About:
1.Your students
2.The Topic
3.The Materials
4.The Space
5.The Appropriateness for ALL groups
Using the standard you have chosen, determine 2
activating strategies that could be used to introduce
your topic.
Let’s Share
Anchor Charts
What are anchor charts?
Anchor charts offer academic support for the
visual learner. It is a tool used largely to
support instruction.
When are they created?
Anchor charts are created during the instruction
of the lesson or prior to. As the teacher models
the lesson or strategy, the lesson
reinforcement or strategy tool is written on
chart paper.
Where should they be placed?
They should be placed in a convenient,
visible & student-friendly location.
Can I reuse my anchor charts?
Possibly. However, teachers need to keep
in mind that each group of children has
different "knowns" and "unknowns”.
Anchor Chart Brainstorm
• What is your topic/central idea (Heading)?
• What are the most important/critical
components for that topic?
• What do you anticipate to be the hardest
concept for students to grasp?
• Is there a visual (map, picture, graph) that
could represent the information that would
be easy for students to remember?
Create-A-Chart
• Create a pre-made chart that can be
used for your lesson.
BETTER
RESULTS
Resources
• Essential Questions: by Jay McTighe
and Grant Wiggins