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Power of ChoiceLiteracies for AllSummer Institute
June PreszlerEducation Specialist, TIE
July 14, 2007
The Plan
• Define choice
• Review choice
• Experience choice
The Job of School
• What does it mean to be a student?
• Consider the student’s day…
• How much choice is involved in the student’s work day (NOT the social day)?
OWNERSHIP!
• The biggest advantage to offering choice is ownership.
• When students feel as if they “own” their learning, they are more likely to strive for success.
• D.J. Stepik, Motivation to Learn: Integrating Theory and Practice
Habits to Develop Thinking, Language and Content
• Move from standards—assessment--instruction• Offer some choice to students• Connect new to existing• Model• Scaffold language and content learning• Give minilessons on academic thinking• Use appropriate language• Sharpen lesson transitions• Put more group work, visuals, movement,
manipulatives, and music into lessons• Monitor and take note of evolving best practices• Jeff Zwiers, Developing Academic Thinking Skills in Grades 6-13
Change in the Air
• From elementary to middle school
• More high school English teachers offering literature circles
• More high school science teachers offering choice in final projects
My Way Not the Only Way
• The first step in embracing choice is to understand and embrace the idea that there is more than one way to accomplish learning the standards.
Appearance of Choice
classchaosroom
First Things First• Before you can provide choice you
must know what you want your students to
• Know,• Understand,• Do.• You must know what goals and
objectives you want students to meet.• You must know which standards ALL
students need to meet.
Destroyer
• Generalized options that lack meaning to students
• Options that are product descriptors lacking process explanations
• What not how or why
(Mostly) Simple Beginnings
• Choice Charts• Compacting/Projects• Anchors• Tiering• Layered Curriculum• Menu• Cubes/ThinkDots• Tic Tac Toe (Think Tac Toe)• Choice Boards• Window Panes• RAFT
Choice Charts
• Write multiple options for learning the unit’s goals
• Students choose the options
Choice Chart: Industrial Rev.
Compare
Contrast
Categorize
ClassifyPersuade Evaluate
Poster Create a poster that categorizes living conditions of 3 groups
Design poster that evaluates impact of industory on history
Letter Compare rural life with city life
Webpage Create webpage that cateogrizes living conditions of 3 groups
Build webpage that evaluates benefits of industry
EssayDiane Heacox, 2001
Create essay persuading people to fight status quo
Is Compacting Needed?
• Consistently finishes tasks early• Work is usually well done and correct• Seems to have some advanced familiarity with the material• Expresses interest in pursuing alternate or advanced topics• Consistent high performance or motivation• Creates own puzzles, games, or other diversions in class
Rapid Robin“THE DREADED EARLY FINISHER”
“It takes him an hour-and-a-half to watch Sixty Minutes.”
Slow Mo Jo
Cuiculum Compacting
1) What’s important?
2) What can be skipped or eliminated?
3) What do students already know or are able to do?
4) What will they grasp easily?
5) What can be accomplished quickly?
CURRICULUM COMPACTING
It’s about finding the time for students to
pursue in-depth learning.
A teaching strategy that “buys time”for acceleration and/or enrichment.
The goal is to modify or “streamline” curriculum to allow students to move at a quicker pace and then have time to pursue an alternate topic or go into greater depth in an area of study.
“This is Boring!”These words do not bring happiness to the hearts of teachers.
Boring A Situations: “I already know that; could you give me an opportunity to show you?”
Boring B Situations: “At the present time I do not know enough about the topic to be interested in it.”
GOALS OF COMPACTING
• Create a challenging learning environment
• Guarantee proficiency in basic curriculum
• Buy time for enrichment and acceleration
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
Student Name: Annette ______
Math ---Decimal Fractions
Score of 85 percent or higher on the pretest
Will work with class on days they learn concepts she has not mastered.Will work on alternate math enrichment activities on other days.
The Compactor
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
Students Name: Jose, Joanne, Sam, and Linda_____
Social Studies---Colonial Living Unit
High Interest Strong Readers---- Will read and pick up concepts quickly
Read chapters 5 & 6 in text at own pace
Do chapter exercises 3, 7, & 9
Take unit test when ready
Students will select a topic of interest from a list of alternate activities related to an aspect of colonial living for an independent study.
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
Student’s Name: ____William________________________
Map Skills Achieved an “A” onthe pretest
Will read to gatherresearch for hisbook about castles
Will write book aboutcastles INSTEAD ofdoing map activities
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
The Compactor
Student Name: ___________________________________
Anchors
• Activities or tasks students automatically move to after they have completed an assignment or in-class task
• Promote the habit of using time wisely
• http://webtech.cherokee.k12.ga.us/littleriver-es/ewilliams/anchoractivities.htm
• “Brain Busters”• Learning Packets• Activity Box• Learning/Interest Centers• Vocabulary Work• Accelerated Reader• Investigations • Magazine Articles with Generic Questions or Activities• Listening Stations • Research Questions or Projects• Commercial Kits and Materials• Journals or Learning Logs
Some Anchor Activites
Tiered Instruction
• Make slight adjustments within same lesson to meet individual needs.
• Students learn same skills and concepts but through varying modes and activities.
• Appropriately challenges ability levels
Steps in Tiering
• Identify key concepts and understandings
• Pre-assess based on readiness, interests or learning profiles
• Identify how you will cluster groups/activities
• Select elements to tier (content, process, product)
• Create variations for each group• The Equalizer
Teacher’s Challenge
DevelopRespectfulActivities• Interesting • Engaging• Challenging
• Montgomery County, MD
What Can Be Tiered?
• Assignments• Homework• Assessments• Writing prompts, projects• Learning centers• Dang near anything…
Tiered Assignments
• Multiple versions that allow students to build on their prior knowledge and that prompt their continued learning.
• Traditionally readiness (content) based
• Can easily be product based
Layered Curriculum
• Kathy Nunley• Levels or layers of learning• The 3-layer model requires
more complex thinking to earn a higher letter grade.
• Focus on quality of learning and thinking rather than quantity of time and activities for higher grades
The Levels
A:Critical
Thinking
B:Application
C:Basic Learning and Skills
C Level reflects what EVERY student must be able to KNOW, UNDERSTAND and DO.
Menu Approach
• Main dish: Everyone• Side dish: Pick and choose• Dessert: Optional but
irresistible
Cubes• Looks at topics from different
angles• Eliminates flat thinking• Includes six commands and a
prompt
ThinkDots
• Strategy used to review, demonstrate, and extend thinking
• Can be developed to respond to learner readiness, learning profiles, student choice
• Variation of cubes; works well with older students
Think Tac Toe
• Incorporates learning preferences
• Takes readiness into account (basic and advanced)
• Provides framework
Choice ChartCompare
Contrast
Categorize
ClassifyPersuade
Evaluate
Poster
Letter
Webpage
EssayDiane Heacox, 2001