Month: March 2019

Hearing from classmates last night that they struggle with lesson plans in similar ways was encouraging in a weird way: I’m not the only one who spends 20-30  hours of work on a single lesson plan! (Yay?) But I’m still curious how some manage to get it done (well) in a fraction of that time, and I look forward to hearing from others about how they approached the Washington lesson. Regardless of my lesson-planning insecurities, however, I want to make sure you both know I trust you in this process, and I am ok struggling through the messiness. And, I really appreciate both of your willingness to be responsive to our needs.

I’ve been thinking about “classic” literature. I wonder about the value of reading WITH kids through this literature, intentionally, to help them notice the problems, so they can begin to discern for themselves. We have read to our girls every night of their lives, and still do. Many of the books we have read would not be appropriate in the classroom for the reasons we discussed in class — stereotypical portrayals, singular/white-centric perspective, bias, non-representative — not intentionally, but because they were “the classics.” Our parents gave them as gifts with great sentimentality of their own love for the book; Josh and I remembered what we read and loved as kids…and were often surprised by what we didn’t remember was in them. With the girls, we sometimes skipped or paraphrased offensive parts, other times we’d pause and discuss what the author had written and what the problem was. I’m sure most of that went right over their heads, but it made us feel better, and hopefully, some sunk in.

But, would they be better served by abandoning these books altogether in favor of more representative, honest, appropriate books? It makes me kind of sad to think about letting go of some…but it is easier if I think about WHO said they were classics in the first place, and if I have good stories with which to replace them (thank you for the book lists!). I am reading Piecing Me Together (Renee Watson) now with my almost 12-year-old. Jade, the teenage protagonist, describes the daily microaggressions she endures from all angles, as she attempts to understand her identity beyond the limited view of what most people see: a black girl from the ‘hood. This is a pretty direct look at how constant, pervasive and powerful the system of prejudice and racism is. Kaitlin is an empath. I see her squirm when Jade is disrespected, or patronized, or heckled, or dismissed. It is obviously making an impact. I don’t have to wonder if it’s sinking in.

I think this was your point in your FB post about scaffolding social justice themes with classic literature…makes even more sense to me now.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/social-justice-framing-classics?fbclid=IwAR2NoVRbjJaNUmJOGJXVg-SmyhmVP1rrJZ1FV8TOi3aKnvg9m2ByA8H9gjU

 

I love maps. (My girls and I made this one a couple years ago after Kaitlin noticed the Africa-shaped piece on the bank of the creek behind our house.) So, I knew working with the John Smith map was going to be fun for me. But beyond that, it was another great example of how slowing down, helping students focus in and look closely (as the teacher in the video series did), and letting go of the control of the content a bit — facilitating vs. directing —  can really help build interest at the outset. This interest, and the questions that linger after that initial discussion, will help students seek, draw out and assimilate so much more than if the unit were introduced through a typical didactic lecture. In marketing, we talked about this as a pull (vs. a push) strategy. Pharmaceutical companies use this a lot: they create some kind of urgency or interest among the general public, who then pull the product through the supply chain (their doctors) by asking about it or for it by name. This strategy works better (for the pharma co) than trying to get docs to “push” their products out to only the specific patients who need it. Slimy, I know. Clearly, the education application of this strategy is WAY more appealing to think about and use. 🙂

I keep thinking of the trees: there were distinct types on the map, and I noticed that I’ve been staring out at the trees in my yard all morning trying to figure out what species he was noting, and why. I know that lumber was an important resource for England, and so I infer this map must have been intended in part to help the investors see what was there, or to help the loggers know where to find each type of tree. I’ve also been wondering what the landscape looked like before it was all logged…and what trees they may have wiped out in their insatiable quest for financial gain…didn’t we used to have redwoods or sequoia on the east coast? 🙁 So, in my own experience, I see how the map activity set up a whole series of questions that I am now primed and motivated to find answers for…I will pull in and connect and assimilate content without even realizing that I’m learning the intended content…that’s the pull strategy working well. What a difference from sitting in a class, taking notes, waiting for the teacher to stop pushing information at me…

Shifting gears to the lesson plan discussion —

Molly’s request for an exemplary lesson — ideally three, actually: one that’s not quite there; one that’s on target; and one that’s above-and-beyond — would be so helpful to me, too. When we talked in class a couple weeks ago about providing exemplars in relation to PBA rubrics, it made so much sense to me, and I think it applies directly to us writing lesson plans, too. While some independent struggle, as you said, is beneficial — I truly do see that, and have experienced it — I think at some point, I’d learn more from seeing and adapting from an excellent example, than I would from trying to come up with it on my own. At least at this stage, when I just don’t have a concept in my mind yet of what an excellent plan looks like, having some model to shoot for would really help focus my learning on the salient skills, in a more efficient way: working smarter, not harder. 🙂

I also really love the idea of providing something similar to what the districts would provide, and having us work that into a lesson plan — maybe do one plan that way and one plan the original/full way. It is a different process, though related skills, and this is what we will (I think!) actually need to be doing on a daily basis. I find that I spend the most time and the most frustration, just trying to hone in on the content I want to “teach.” I end up refreshing/learning a lot of content that doesn’t end up in my plan just to try to understand the scope and sequence, then reading a lot of crappy lesson plans online, getting partway into resources or ideas, then finding something else I’d rather do/use and starting over. I mean, I spend DAYS on this. I have always been a “boil the ocean” type, but even making a concerted effort to just make a decision and stick with it, having a wide-open choice is a huge liability for me. Once I have the specific SOLs/ideas nailed down, the rest flows pretty well. What’s most frustrating is that I won’t need to do that first part in the classroom very often — I will know the grade level, the content, pacing, and my students’ specific needs, and I will mostly just need to decide HOW to teach it. But when I’ve already spent so much time trying to figure out WHAT to teach in the lesson plans for class, I have little creative energy (or time) left to really focus in on the HOW, which is the part I really need to be practicing. All that said, I obviously do need to figure out how to be more efficient and directed in my initial research, so there is value in that struggle too…sigh.

I’m looking forward to the conference on Saturday! I’m trying to go in with an open, humble mind so I can absorb as much as possible and try to really widen my lens. I hope to come away with tools and confidence — or at least a pathway toward confidence — to be able to work through these important and complex topics in the classroom in a sensitive and honest way.

First of all, I’m so glad you shared Dr. Stohr’s Camel poem. It was a great illustration of one of the many ways students could process their field trip experiences. Other options could be a flipgrid with a 30 second description of their biggest takeaway, journal writing, writing a thank you note to the docent, drawing a picture, or creating a model of something they saw/did. It seems that some sort of group processing time would also be helpful in really helping students connect ideas and solidify the experience, either before or after the individual processing.

Secondly, I LOVED hearing from Ms. Barrett and Ms. Hetterich about how they implemented a DBQ in Kindergarten. (I sincerely hope I did not offend them too badly with my poor word choice!!) It was helpful to see a real project in action and get to hear about planning for it, how the students responded, how they assessed it, and how they plan to improve on it for next year. The big takeaway for me was to keep going back to that central, driving question to help anchor and focus the learning. I also loved Diane’s advice to just step in small and go for it…we don’t need to be experts before we try it (phew!)…I feel like that is something I need to really take to heart in many aspects of my life.

As for the QCRT: What a beast! I am glad is something we won’t need to actually use on a regular basis. However, I appreciate how it breaks down exactly what is expected of a high-quality assessment — just as the “UR Lesson Plan Template” breaks down exactly what’s needed to create a high-quality lesson. In daily practice, neither will really be used in their entirety. But, by becoming familiar with these more formal and rigorous tools, we hone our “sense” of what quality looks like, even when using a simpler process.