Thoughts from the Field

I've seen so many great examples lately of teachers analyzing and applying the Common Core standards. Teachers are asking great questions about how they can tweak their traditional topics, or if what they have planned is as rigorous as it needs to be. Many teachers are asking what they can be doing to help support their students so that the stress level surrounding Smarter Balanced (CAASPP) testing is lower. I have heard a lot of parents asking if they should opt their kids out of the test. - Please don't do that. The test isn't everything, but it is an important piece in improving both our teaching, and our students' ability to learn. For more information on this year's test, check out the CA PTA's guide.

In response to all of these great questions, here are some thoughts. These are either lessons I have seen taught, lesson/unit ideas teacher teams have created with or without me, or demo lessons I have been out teaching. 

Kindergarten was working on a Nursery Rhyme unit. We discussed how they could add in some quick non-fiction teaching to go along with each Nursery Rhyme (Ex. Humpty Dumpty- look at the physical makeup of eggs, and discuss what would really happen if one fell)

First Grade: The team developed a series of lessons analyzing characters in Kevin Henkes books. Students will choose their favorite character and tell why they made that choice. We worked on appropriate expectations such as writing the title of the book and the character's name in the topic sentence, writing one or two reasons for their choice, and having a concluding sentence. I liked how students were given choice about which character to choose, and they had multiple sources to choose from.

First/Second Grade: Students were shown a digital pictorial of a Polar Bear. 

Each click of the mouse initiated a fly-in of one of the facts. We discussed which body part would be the most helpful in allowing the Polar Bear to survive in the Arctic. Students also watched a 3 minute video of Polar Bears, and we talked about which body parts were helping them. Then, students had a chance to talk to each other about the one part they thought was the most helpful and why. Each first grader had to write one sentence using the frame: I think that the ______ is the most helpful body part of a Polar Bear because ________. Then, they all came up to the computer with me and read me their sentences. We crafted a full, informational paragraph from their ideas. The second graders had to fill out a graphic organizer where I gave them the topic sentence, they picked 3 details, and they wrote a conclusion. They had to either get in groups of 3, or work by themselves to craft a shared paragraph using mini sentence strips and a mini pocket chart. Lastly, we all came together and read their paragraphs out loud. When they read something that another group also wrote about, the students in the audience had a hand signal for "I agree with you!" This let the speakers know they were on the right track, and allowed engagement from the audience. As a conclusion, we discussed how we could use all of that information to create a narrative, make-believe story about an adventure with a Polar Bear. 

Second/Third Grade: A teacher discovered a lesson on LearnZillion using the book Peter Rabbit. Students analyze what words the author uses to portray Peter Rabbit as mischievous. Then do the same with Mr. McGregor being grumpy. Nice close reading activity. 




Second Grade: We developed a sequence of lessons that focused on challenges that people overcome. The team will start out with the anthology story, Moses Goes to a Concert. Next, they have an assembly with A Touch of Understanding. After the assembly, they will chart character traits, and discuss evidence of how those traits helped the speakers who presented. (Jill Mason presents for this organization, and is writing a book with the presenters' stories!) Last, they will watch a video of Stephanie Arnold, a high school student from Sacramento who has a great attitude about overcoming her physical limitations. Students will watch the video without sound first and chart what character traits they observe. Then, they will watch it with sound, and add to the chart. The writing assignment will be: Choose which character trait is most helpful in overcoming obstacles in life.

Third Grade: Students were reading Riding Freedom, and were charting how times had changed since the setting in the book. I crafted a lesson with the team that compared the main character, Charlotte from the book, with Ruby Bridges. The lesson focused on what character traits helped both girls be successful. We named traits, and wrote down evidence from the sources (novel, picture book, movie, and images). Their writing assignment was: Discuss the similarities between both girls. Use information learned from your sources. The writing turned out to be full of insightful connections! We used the following questions to help guide our analysis of the characters:

Fifth/Sixth Grade: A teacher had shared several examples of immigration with her students (Irish 1850s, German 1940s, and modern day). Students then had to write a narrative essay imagining themselves immigrating to the United States. They had to include hardships that were typical of people they had learned about, and maintain a sense of character throughout their story. Students had choice about what country they came from, whether or not they traveled with their family, and what problems they faced. The writing was fantastic! I could tell that the teacher really enjoyed teaching that unit, and I was impressed with the way the students were able to incorporate the information they learned with a narrative structure.  

All of these activities are specific to Common Core standards, and are supportive of success on the SmarterBalanced (CAASPP) test. Most of them pull from multiple sources, include non-fiction, and practice using evidence from sources to inform their writing. It's a learning process for us all, but we are making great progress!!