Dear Dept. of Education,
I'm reasonably sure that our new Common Core Standards are a really good thing. Too bad you've written them in gibberish...
Today's getting-ready-for-school task involves taking the Standards and translating them into Standard American English. This has been a more difficult process than I envisioned, because despite my education, experience, and fluency in Teacherspeak, they are tough to read! Which makes doing this all the more important, because if I don't get it, how can I teach it?
I noticed on Facebook last night that a few of my colleagues have found these on Pinterest, and some pinners even have them written as 'I can' statements. This link will take you to their 'pin'; it's for second grade:
Second grade CCS I can list
Using this for a general model, I'm working on my own for fourth grade. Yes, I could keep looking and hope to find them pre-done somewhere, but I won't. My husband would probably say that it's part of my control-freak nature, and I'll admit that my inability to trust others' work for stuff like planning is one of my major character flaws. The more real truth is that I know I'll internalize them as I translate and type. I'll know it better.
How will this checksheet work with PDSA? I envision this being used at the ends of units as part of the Study. The kids will date in the box when they have added evidence to their portfolios that shows they've met each of the goals. Then they'll set personal goals and an action plan for those they should have met, but didn't. The first time I do it, it will be a major pain in the tookus, because the kids need to do the work and will need to be trained. I am not doing it for them. Period.
I'm not going to write 'Common Core' all over the sheets. I'm not one for being trendy in these things, and nobody except a teacher would care. Just sayin'.
I'm only creating "I can" lists for the subjects in which my kids and I are doing whole-hog PDSA. In my case, that's math and reading (my tested subjects). If I get to any more, that's cake.
One last thought: If you're brand new to this PDSA thing, start with one subject. If you can, make that one subject math. Trust me here. You'll lose your mind before Halloween if you try to do too much. Math is cut-and-dry and easy to grade.
So, to recap, my goals today:
Back to work... :/
I'm reasonably sure that our new Common Core Standards are a really good thing. Too bad you've written them in gibberish...
Today's getting-ready-for-school task involves taking the Standards and translating them into Standard American English. This has been a more difficult process than I envisioned, because despite my education, experience, and fluency in Teacherspeak, they are tough to read! Which makes doing this all the more important, because if I don't get it, how can I teach it?
I noticed on Facebook last night that a few of my colleagues have found these on Pinterest, and some pinners even have them written as 'I can' statements. This link will take you to their 'pin'; it's for second grade:
Second grade CCS I can list
Using this for a general model, I'm working on my own for fourth grade. Yes, I could keep looking and hope to find them pre-done somewhere, but I won't. My husband would probably say that it's part of my control-freak nature, and I'll admit that my inability to trust others' work for stuff like planning is one of my major character flaws. The more real truth is that I know I'll internalize them as I translate and type. I'll know it better.
How will this checksheet work with PDSA? I envision this being used at the ends of units as part of the Study. The kids will date in the box when they have added evidence to their portfolios that shows they've met each of the goals. Then they'll set personal goals and an action plan for those they should have met, but didn't. The first time I do it, it will be a major pain in the tookus, because the kids need to do the work and will need to be trained. I am not doing it for them. Period.
I'm not going to write 'Common Core' all over the sheets. I'm not one for being trendy in these things, and nobody except a teacher would care. Just sayin'.
I'm only creating "I can" lists for the subjects in which my kids and I are doing whole-hog PDSA. In my case, that's math and reading (my tested subjects). If I get to any more, that's cake.
One last thought: If you're brand new to this PDSA thing, start with one subject. If you can, make that one subject math. Trust me here. You'll lose your mind before Halloween if you try to do too much. Math is cut-and-dry and easy to grade.
So, to recap, my goals today:
- Read and translate Common Core Standards so that I understand them and know exactly what I have to teach and can set my learning targets accordingly.
- Create "I can" lists from those Standards for kids to record progress, but only in the subjects in which we'll be doing full-blows PDSA
If you need them, the reading and math standards are here.
Back to work... :/
No comments:
Post a Comment