Morton Middle School
Academic Leadership Class
“Academic Leadership” (AL) is an extremely important part of our day. It sets our academic focus
and allows each teacher to establish positive relationships throughout the year with their testing
group. Our Instructional Coach coordinates activities and makes daily lesson plans for each grade
level. Our “Good Faith Effort” points begin to accumulate on the first day of school. Students can
get 5 points during AL each day by completing the assigned activity; these points count for “good
faith effort” points during our KCCT testing window. We emphasize activities dealing with the
specific core content tested at each grade level. Each department is the “expert” for its content;
the department chair coordinates basic skills review sheets and open response questions to practice
during AL and gives them to the Instructional Coach for scheduling. For AL to be successful,
teachers have to contribute and “buy into” the program. We have been developing (and revising) the
program for about eight years. In the past, we had been given “Advisor-Advisee” or “TeacherRelationships-(with) Youth” notebooks and they’ve set on the shelves to draw dust. When teachers
are involved in developing a curriculum that is directly beneficial to the needs of their current
students, programs/classes such as AL are much more effective. Our suggestion to a school
interested in developing a program like this is to begin slowly – perhaps with a math basic skills sheet
every Tuesday…and maybe Free Reading time on one day… and something like an excerpt video
segment from CNN for Kids to help the students be more aware of current events on another day –
then get the needed “buy in”/support from your teachers and expand the program. Below is a general
overview of our AL curriculum.
Academic Leadership Curriculum Overview
NOTE: Each area contains an emphasis on various grade-level appropriate content.
 Morning Announcements via Television
 Assignment Book/General School Information
(Safety Information, Bus Verification Lists, Schedules, Report Cards, etc.)
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Organizational Skills/Assignment Book Checks/ “Carry a Book” Check
Relationship Building Advisor/Advisee Activities
Multiple Intelligence Inventory/Student Demonstration Lessons
General Test Taking Strategies
Goal Setting Activities – MAP, Learning Checks, KCCT, etc.
Reading Activities
Writing Activities
Graphic Organizing Activities
Awesome Elective Sheets
CNN for Kids segments (for current events)
Content Sheets to Review Basic Skills
Multiple Choice … strategies & practice
Open Response Questions … strategies practice
Open Response rubric grading training for students
MMS News – weekly news program about “Morton Happenings” produced by students
Economics/Real-World Application Activities
iSAFE lessons; Non-bullying activities
Character Trait Activities – extra emphasis throughout
“Wake-Up” Wednesdays to provide constant review in all subjects
Lisa Owens/mms/August 2010