Your response should include:
- 2 concepts that strike you as important or significant and your reasons why.
- 1 concern or question about how the chapter content applies to you or in your classroom OR comment constructively on someone else's post.
Chapter 5
Please provide your responses to Chapter 5 here. Please take some time to read through everybody's responses.
Your response should include:
Your response should include:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
1. Two essentials for enduring learning are meaning and sense. "Meaning is a close match for engagement, and sense is a close match for understanding." (p.63) 2. "Lessons that are not engaging let students' minds wander." (p64)
ReplyDeleteMy first boss/principal used to say, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop."
How very true. This chapter has another nice graphic showing how to join levels of learning and elements of curriculum. (Figure 5.2) When I'm at school next time, I plan to look through some teacher's editions for specific differentiation ideas. I need to drop off my new Trend owl stuff - you know "whooo" loves owls. I will definitely need to create an owl topic of study/unit.
~Laura
Laura,
DeleteWent back and read this after you referred to it in your Chapter 8 post. I can pull "owl" books from the library - fiction/non-fiction - for you if you want. Might work for an entry point or tri mind kind of thing (Chapter 8)?
In order to join learning levels and curriculum we must "allow for meaningful variations in student readiness, interest, and learning profile," and "When we compare the unfamiliar with the familiar, we understand both better." (page 74) How true this is. I once had a history teacher who taught us through stories. The story always related to the content and was told in such a way that we could identify the meaning and understand someone else's point of view. I still remember those stories today. I want to give my students the opportunity to understand and relate their own knowledge to their lives now and in the future. I too, will be thinking of ways I can differentiate my science classes.
ReplyDelete*Lana
With most differentiated lessons, all students need to gain the same essential knowledge, use the same essential skills, and probe the same essential understanding.(pg. 62) To do this for all students, we have to “come at” the content, process, and product in different ways to meet the needs of all of our students.
ReplyDeleteThe author states that teachers need to be clear about what the students need to learn during a unit. It is suggested to make lists when planning. These lists would include what students should know, understand, and be able to do by the time the unit ends.(pg. 66) This is something I need to remember and use.
Laura, I was going to comment on engagement and understanding, but you took care of it! ;-) I like the quote!
*CindyF
With most differentiated lessons all students need to gain the same essential knowledge, use the same essential skills, and probe the same essential understanding. This is very important in math because beginning skills are used to develop subsequent skills which lead to a strong foundation.
ReplyDeleteTwo elements that are required for a great class are engagement and understanding. Engagement keeps the students involved so that learning occurs. Understanding occurs when the students can incorporate it and apply it to how things work.
With a large class (34 students) it is sometimes difficult to keep all engaged when some learners need more time and examples to process the learning of a new skill.
Pat
1. "Learning experiences are solidly based on concepts and principles." (pg 69) I am reaching the conclusion that I am, for the most part, teaching "skills" without being clear and intentional about the larger elements of concepts and principles. I need to go back and make the lists that Cindy F. mentioned the book suggests and be sure that I begin with the big picture with the students.
ReplyDelete2. On pg 73 criteria is listed for performance assessments. I am feeling that my spring BPH cluster fits here. They were a small group (12) who all shared what they had learned about their "nature" topic - lots of variety in product and certainly some different levels as I had Gr 2-5. Feeling like I "get" the "product" part in a concrete way. Much of the rest of differentiation I still need lots of examples to serve as patterns/enlightenment. ~ Cindy C.
The chart on 67/68 was really helpful breaking down examples of facts, concepts, principals, etc. It even breaks it down into 7 different subjects, not just math and reading.
ReplyDeleteAlso the second on Hazy Lessons is very important. It is important that we create a goal in mind. Sometimes after reading a book I just gave assignments and crafts that related to the book but I didn't have clear common insight or understand that would come out of this.
Lastly, this section also really puts into perspective the need to have conversations with the kids about topics. Ask them questions, make connections, research it using multiple medias, etc.
The chapter is great for helping with lesson planning
-Brianna
As many of you have already stated, I too really liked the part on pg. 62 about clarity and that "A fuzzy sense of the essentials results in fuzzy activities which in turn results in fuzzy results." Too many times over the past five years I have wondered what is the real reason I am teaching this subject or content. I need to remember the reason(s) behind the lesson. I would never want to be considered a teacher that just teaches to the test so I need to strive to not be that by knowing the purpose of the lesson being taught.
ReplyDeleteAnother point that hit home for me in this chapter on pg. 63 when it spoke of engagement. I liked the way the book talked about what an engaged student looks like. I want to keep this image in my mind as plan my lessons for the up coming school year.
-Amy
Wow I like everyone's comments, You all took most of the ideas I also liked in this chapter. I am one who also wonders why we teach certian things and sometimes when I look at the students faces I know they don't have a clue and aren't engaged at all. Amy I know you said you don't want to teach to the test, but isn't that what Scantron is all about, our students will never do well unless we cover the standards and benchmarks that are on the test. But that doesn't mean what we teach has to be boring and unengaging. If we take it one step at a time I think it's doable. It won't happen over night, every year we need to build on what works for our students.
ReplyDelete