On Common Ground with Common Core

Tanya Dean Jennie Smith

Mindy Watson

Oncommongroundwithcommoncore.wikispaces.com

Essential topics and standards taught, divided by unit and grading period (common pacing and

depth) SELECTED textbook pages (not the whole book or

all of every chapter) aligned with units and topics 35 plus supplementary or primary source

documents, including current magazine and news articles to be read and discussed in class

Prepared interactive lectures in each unit to reinforce or supplemental textbook End of unit papers and essays

Routine use of Close Reading

Good Science and Social Studies Curriculum Includes…

Focus is on the teacher’s words and directions Students take part in LOTS of pair-sharing,

note taking and quick writing

The key…Checking for Understanding as you go!

Stopping points allow teachers to formatively monitor and assess learning (and on-task behavior by calling on random students and walking around the room to listen and review their notes.

Interactive Lectures

Begin with an anticipatory set (a “hook”)◦ Question or link to previous learning to establish

purpose and stimulate curiosity (in the form of an argument)

◦ Student respond to the question by writing or talking in pairs and teacher selects students to check for understanding before moving on

Five Minute Limit- The teacher talks no more than 5 minutes because students need time to process◦ Students can review their notes and add new insights

or connections◦ Summarizing their learning in the last segment of the

lecture◦ Pairing up to compare or contrast notes, perceptions

and connections Close Reading of text

All work is done in class, in stages with the teacher MODELING and CHECKING for understanding multiple times◦ Provide checklists and exemplars for students

Brief writing are not always handed in◦ The teacher checking for understanding and

giving credit for adequate completion of the task

English has the primary responsibility for teaching students the finer elements of writing. Content is our main focus here.

Classroom Instruction

10-12 mini papers per year (Paragraphs)◦ Based on readings and lectures◦ Constitute most of the unit assessment◦ All done in class in an open book environment

One unit paper per unit◦ Include some independent research (including

specified number of articles◦ Higher expectations for length and quality◦ 2-5 pages long (800 words = middle school; 2,100

words = high school)

ReadThink

Make connections

Close Reading

How do we do this?

Select the task.Choose the pieces.Determine sequencing and necessary content.

Create mini-lessons.

Backward Planning

Social Studies Example

Time Period: 4th 9 weeks 

Topics: World politics and economicsCommunismWorld conflictsWomen’s opportunities 

Units Covered: Political and economic ideologies of the US and Soviet Union (2 weeks)Spread of Communism (1 weeks)Collapse of the Soviet Union and Communist governments (2 weeks)Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East (2 weeks)Social, economic, and political opportunities for women (2 weeks)

7th Grade HistoryCold War Era and After

Task: After researching the Cold War and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, write an essay which argues your position on America’s involvement during both of these conflicts. Give your informed but personal evaluation that explains why you think America should or should not have been involved in each of these conflicts. Your essay must be at least 800 words in length.

Anticipatory Set: Listen to and excerpt from President Truman’s Congressional address. What do you notice about how President Truman speaks? Do you think this was effective for what he was trying to accomplish? Why or why not?

** The Truman Doctrine arose from a speech delivered by President Truman before a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947. The immediate cause for the speech was a recent announcement by the British Government that, as of March 31, it would no longer provide military and economic assistance to the Greek Government in its civil war against the Greek Communist Party. Truman asked Congress to support the Greek Government against the Communists. He also asked Congress to provide assistance for Turkey, since that nation, too, had previously been dependent on British aid.

Interactive Lecture: More in-depth notes about the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan (reasons for them, causes and effects of them, etc.)

  Close Read: The Marshall Plan documents  Discussion: Students pair-share their notes from close read while adding

new insights and observations. The teacher monitors the discussions while walking around the room and guides students if needed.

Cold War Era Lesson Sample

Civilization

Years

Location

Contributions to the Modern World

Famous People

Major Beliefs

Political Views

Other Important Facts

Ancient Civilizations LessonTime: PASS Review

General Explanation: Using butcher paper, students will complete the chart below. They can use words, pictures cut from magazines or other media sources, or any other materials to fill in the chart. As the teacher goes over the chart, students must explain why they chose the materials they did to fill in each column.

Students will brainstorm what they think is important for a good civilization based on their knowledge (chart their brainstorming).

Students create symbols for each of the important characteristics on the chart. They will also come up with a name for their new civilization.

Students will decorate a clay pot with the symbols for their civilization and then break the pot apart into large chunks.

Each class will switch clay pots and evaluate their peer’s pots deciding what characteristics were important to the tribe based on the designs and other clues.

The classes will then write back to the new civilization using a RAFT model.

After PASS…

Economic Influence on Politics Using the Presidential Debate of 2012

See handout on wiki for information on how to do this in your History classroom.

Your Task:You will watch a segment of the presidential debate and read one article taking notes on these sources and answering three questions about the sources. You will then prepare and deliver a presentation about our economy and how the office of the Presidency impacts it.

A way to have students share their work with peers in a fun, active and highly-engaging way

Students must view pictures or primary source documents jotting notes about observations

As they progress through the gallery, they are able to see their peers observations and interpretations

See wiki for a great link to get started!

What is a Gallery Walk?

Gallery Walk WWI Propaganda

Gallery WalkGreat Depression

The Great Depression

7-4.3 Explain the causes and effects of the worldwide depression that took place in the 1930s, including the effects of the economic crash of 1929. Before the Depression:1.2.

Causes of the Depression:1.2.

What are stocks?:1.2.

Easing into taking notes on their own…

Essential Significant Analyze Determine Infer Inference Bias Generalizations Relationship Distinguish Integrate Generalize

Perspective Evidence Isolate Visualize Relevant

“Test Words” (Academic Vocab.)

Key is to gradually release the students by giving the definition of the term at the beginningof the year and then by the time testing comes, they know the words without the cues!

Word Wall & Vocab. Cards

Who was involved?

What happened?

When and Where?

SS Review Board

Science Examples

Textbook Journal Articles Graphs and Charts Media Clips

Scientific Literacy includes….

Using EVIDENCE to support….

Using evidence from text to answer question:

Hydrogen is an explosive gas, and oxygen supports

combustion? How is it possible, then, for

water, which iscomposed of hydrogen and oxygen, to put out fires? Quote the lines in the poem that explain

this

Using a variety of media….

Sample Questions:

The first to see itHooke was wow’d by a corkWhen he put it under a microscope

What was Robert Hooke’s contribution to cell discovery?

What cell organelle is found in plant cells, but not animal cells? What part of the lyric gives evidence for this?

Elements and Compounds Use video clips and images of Cl gas Read article about Cl spill Use video clips and images of sodium metal

and reactions with H2O Then pass out salt samples and hand lens to

observe salt Chart is filled in as we complete each step

http://assignments.discoveryeducation.com/?cdPasscode=T542C-4170

With the teachers guidance, students will complete a close read of “Old Mrs. Grey” and compare the information in the text to their knowledge of the body systems after studying them in Science class.

Students will then have to write a mini-paper (paragraph) defending their argument as to whether Old Mrs. Grey is alive or dead in the poem based upon their knowledge of the body systems using their notes as a primary source.

“Old Mrs. Grey” by Virginia Woolf and Body Systems

What happens?

Why does it happen?

When does it happen?

Science Board

Helpers for any and all

Three Tiers of Words (Appendix A p. 33)Vocabulary Tier Activity

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3Words students probably already know—and must know to understand the text

Words students probably don’t already know—but must know to understand the text

Words that are used infrequently and may not be essential for understanding the text.  These words may be footnoted in the text or defined quickly by the teacher. They are words students should be exposed to—domain-specific vocabulary.

Highly personal connections that a reader makes between a piece of reading material and the reader’s own experiences or life. An example of a text-to-self connection might be, "This story reminds me of a vacation we took to my grandfather’s farm."

The larger connections that a reader brings to a reading situation. We learn about things through television, movies, magazines, and newspapers. An example of a text-to-world connection would be when a reader says, "I saw a program on television that talked about things described in this article."

When readers are reminded of other things that they have read, other books by the same author, stories from a similar genre, or perhaps on the same topic. An example of text-to text connection might be, “This reminds me of the story we read in ELA about the Holocaust.”