Online Class

No class tonight, folks, and we don't have class next Monday. Here's the homework:

1. Bring a copy of your TB test and your membership to SNEA or MSTA to Pummill Hall 301 and place in my box. DO NOT go to your school without these.

2. Read Ch. 5 in Making the Journey. Read Ch. 2-3 in Deeper Reading.
Chapter Five is important since it talks about teaching literature. Read carefully--2nd draft reading?-and be ready to discuss.

3. Post and comment on the blog. We are already to the third week of class. Thanks to the few who have posted and commented for the two previous. It's surprising how much blogging is worth in terms of the grade. Some of you have kept up quite nicely. Keep up the god work.

3. Pick up in my box (Pummill 30) Ch. 9 of Smagorinsky's book "The Basics f Unit Design." I should have it there by tomorrow afternoon.

4. Finish your I-search paper. Make sure that Part I is developed. Explain why you chose this topic. This part is narrative-it tells a story. The research section is much more expository. I'm also looking for very specific application. For example, it will not be enough to say, "I really learned a lot," or "There were some great ideas I'll use." Explain exactly how you might apply these ideas to your classroom. In addition, explain how these ideas fit into who you want to be as a teacher. As a teacher with a discovery-orientation, for example, how will what you learned come to fruition in your classroom.

5. Be ready to share the results of your I-search, and the paper itself, with class on Feb. 25

6. If you signed up for a lesson for Feb. 11 or 25, please contact me. We will need to meet in advance of class.

7. Parts of the Lesson Plan:
Title
Grade Level
Grade Level Expectations :
(pick two or three--these should represent what you hope the students will learn. Don't forget--a good lesson could MANY GLE's. As the teacher, you have to decide what you want to focus on.)

Objectives: These are even more specific than the GLE's. I probably would not write out the GLE's (although some schools may ask you to include the GLE's on your board), but I would ALWAYS have the objectives on the board. In fact, when you teach the lesson at your practicum, you MUST have the objectives on the board and on the overhead. You should also tell the students up front, "This is what we will accomplish today." I am not kidding when I say that school's require this. Principal will do "walk bys," and they will expect and look for your objectives on the board.

Rationale: This is a brief paragraph that explain the context, and it should explain why this lesson is important to teach. Like Matt shared in his post, sometimes students don't see the need. This is where you explain the need. "Because I said so" does not cut it with teenagers so don't even try. :). This should be more conceptual. The rationale is not about what the students do. The rationale is about the purpose. In the whole scheme of things, why, as a teacher, would you spend time doing this lesson.
Approximate Time Needed:
Materials / Technology Texts You Will Need:
One brief note here. I expect you use technology in your in-class lesson. Everyone should use it in some way, so be thinking about that.

Procedures:
List the steps of the lesson. What will you say? What will you ask them to do? Explain exactly what you will be doing. This is important for several reasons: 1) the process of writing down these directions will help you think through and visual the steps of the lesson; 2) as a new teacher, it's important to have the lesson written out. It will help you so much.; 3) each of you will have a copy of everyone else's lesson, and the directions will help each of us try the lesson ourselves. Good directions will be a great resource for everyone in class.

You cannot be too specific here. There are two things I will look for in this lesson. In order to get an "A" (for you grade-hungry, Type-A, teacher-types :)), "step 1" of your lesson plan should be where you explain the objectives out loud to the students; "step 2" should be your anticipatory set. See Gallagher's "key point" on page 29: "How a person feels about a learning situation determines the amount of attention devoted to it." He goes on to explain that students' think, "what's in it for me?" It's your job at the very beginning of the lesson to tap into what students already know (background knowledge) and make the lesson relevant something they care about.

The very last procedure should ask the students to do some metacognition, or "thinking about their own thinking." Have us do something in writing. Ask us to write down what we learned and what questions we have. Ask us what we'll do next. Do SOMETHING that makes students think about their own thinking.


Assessment:
How do you know what students learned?

On page 24 in Deeper Reading, Gallagher explains how he takes his students back through the objectives. He revisits the objectives with them. This is a great idea. But, I have one problem with it. Ask yourself this: who is doing all of the work?

Answer: He's the one explaining to the students what they learned or what they should have learned.

My suggestion: He needs to ask the students what they learned. He can have them return to the objective and have them write what they learned in terms of each of the objectives.

There are two types of assessment:
1. Formative: These are end-of-unit tests, standardized tests, and any tests that test in relation to content standards. These are biggies--large assessments. This is based purely on the teacher.

2. Summative: This type of assessment is mos important to you. Think of this as in-process assessment. It's also informal. This type of assessment involves the student and involves their thinking. What do they know, and how do you use that information to move forward--to teach them? Here are examples of summative assessment:

• Criteria and Goal Setting with students engages them in instruction and the learning process by creating clear expectations. In order to be successful, students need to understand and know the learning target/goal and the criteria for reaching it. Establishing and defining quality work together, asking students to participate in establishing norm behaviors for classroom culture, and determining what should be included in criteria for success are all examples of this strategy. Using student work, classroom tests, or exemplars of what is expected helps students understand where they are, where they need to be, and an effective process for getting there.
  

• Observations go beyond walking around the room to see if students are on task or need clarification. Observations assist teachers in gathering evidence of student learning to inform instructional planning. This evidence can be recorded and used as feedback for students about their learning or as anecdotal data shared with them during conferences.

• Questioning strategies should be embedded in lesson/unit planning. Asking better questions allows an opportunity for deeper thinking and provides teachers with significant insight into the degree and depth of understanding. Questions of this nature engage students in classroom dialogue that both uncovers and expands learning. An "exit slip" at the end of a class period to determine students' understanding of the day's lesson or quick checks during instruction such as "thumbs up/down" or "red/green" (stop/go) cards are also examples of questioning strategies that elicit immediate information about student learning. Helping students ask better questions is another aspect of this formative assessment strategy.

• Self and peer assessment helps to create a learning community within a classroom. Students who can reflect while engaged in metacognitive thinking are involved in their learning. When students have been involved in criteria and goal setting, self-evaluation is a logical step in the learning process. With peer evaluation, students see each other as resources for understanding and checking for quality work against previously established criteria.

• Student record keeping helps students better understand their own learning as evidenced by their classroom work. This process of students keeping ongoing records of their work not only engages students, it also helps them, beyond a "grade," to see where they started and the progress they are making toward the learning goal.

All of these strategies are integral to the formative assessment process, and they have been suggested by models of effective middle school instruction.

***************** last two parts of the lesson
Adaptations:
How can you modify this lesson for all learners? For example, let's say you have a student with an IEP in written expression or reading. How can you differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners.

Extensions:
Where can you go from here? What could you do tomorrow? Is this lesson a starting point for other assignments? Where could this lead? How could you "extend" this lesson?

Here are some websites that might be useful:
1. (here's a link to a site that describes a similar lesson plan format

2. This is a good site as well. Open the pdf's.

*****************

Okay, I think that's it for now. If you have questions, post them here. I'm sure others will have the same questions.

Make sure that you post and comment. Katie, I think, talked about room arrangement. Here's a picture of another arrangement in a class at Kickapoo.

Be safe, and I hope your electricity is still on.