The newly released draft of the Common Core Standards and The National Ed-Tech Plan.
Now…synthesize?
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Category Archives: Curriculum Development
Compare and Contrast
March 10, 2010 – 9:05 pm
Exploring the Draft of the NYS English Language Arts Standards
October 22, 2009 – 8:50 pm
John Harmon and Victor Jaccarino, leaders of the New York State ELA/ESL Standards Review Panel, offered an overview of the revision process and addressed questions at the annual New York State English Council conference in Albany today. Those of us who were in attendance were also able to take a peek at the drafted document, [...]
Approaching Service Learning
July 20, 2009 – 6:42 am
Paula’s post connected with a bunch of different things I’ve had on my mind lately, including the way in which we approach service at home and in schools. Initially, I was most curious about how we might better inspire kids to serve by helping them define their interests and connect them to actions that allow [...]
Rethinking Our Obligations
July 17, 2009 – 10:56 pm
So…….as I was chatting with Alyssa and Sarah last weekend, they spoke to what many of us call authentic learning. Of course, they didn’t use that phraseology–they spoke in their native tongue, describing how some of what kids are asked to do in school is “boring” or “rushed” or “just for a grade”. They [...]
Speak
March 13, 2009 – 8:31 pm
I’ve been using Wordle to begin conversations around standards this year, and I have to admit, it’s kinda neat to pull these posters out and watch teachers get excited about the New York State Core Curriculum. It’s amazing what can happen when you switch up the visual, isn’t it? The Wordle above represents the speaking standards [...]
Just for Fun: Let’s Pretend it’s Backwards Day
March 3, 2009 – 7:35 pm
Okay okay okay!
So, we’re going to play a little game with ELA standards for a minute. I don’t care whose standards they are. Could be the ones from my state or your state or whoever’s state.
Now, I’m wondering what would happen if we took the real work of kids, the work that they do outside [...]
Essential Questions and Efficiency
September 13, 2008 – 8:30 am
Jamie McKenzie touches upon what they aren’t in his text Learning to Question, Learning to Wonder (FNO Press, 2005):
“Unfortunately, the term is often bandied about with little rigor, definition or clarity so that many pedestrian and insignificant questions slip in under the term simply because they are large, sweeping and grand in some respects. Essential questions [...]
After the Writing is Over
September 9, 2008 – 9:43 pm
I have a deep appreciation for the sort of struggle that sometimes ensues when teachers are asked to construct essential questions. In fact, I still remember my first experience with this. I was fresh out of college and grappling with the uncertainty that arrived upon discovering that the really cool Hamlet “unit” I strung together [...]
Slow Down, We Move Too Fast
June 5, 2008 – 1:01 am
It’s easy to find yourself overwhelmed in this field that we’ve chosen. There is tremendous work to be done, and whether we’re standing in front of a classroom or leading a professional development initiative, the fact remains: it’s difficult to define all that must be accomplished, let alone find the resources to pull it off. [...]
Revisioning Differentiated Instruction
April 22, 2008 – 10:45 pm
I remember my early assumptions about differentiated instruction. I remember thinking, like many do, that differentiation would require the careful design of three separate approaches for each day’s learning. I remember worrying about how I would ever accomplish such a thing. I worried that my kids would fall through the cracks.
I remember not wanting to [...]