Category Archives: Lesson Updates

My Journey to the Middle: Update for Wednesday, 7 September 2011

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Burning questions were in short supply today so we forged ahead with our action-packed agenda.  It included…

Administrivia

Insert “laundry list” of items here.  Dave and I spoke about the following:

    • Disability Letter
    • Religious Observances Letter
    • Getting your CWL & CMS account set up
    • This Middle Years blog and its URL (which you already have or you couldn’t read this :] )
    • E-Coaching
    • TEO website and publications
    • Purchasing the EDUC 310 Reading Package at the bookstore
    • Buying a 2GB- 4GB flash drive to hold videos from class

Four-Corner Name Tags

We gave you some time to design a Four-Corner Name Tag to help everyone get to know you as quickly as possible.  In addition to your name, the name tag included – as far as I can recollect – an image related to:

  • your favourite drink
  • a hobby / favourite activity
  • place you’ve visited or would like too
  • your favourite snack [Thanks to Will T. for reminding me of the 4th item – LH]

You can find a description of a slightly modified version of the Four-Corner Name Tag activity here.  You can find the coolest name tag ever below:

My Journey to the Middle

In an effort to get to give us some insight into your background, Dave presented you with a writing task, a Where I’m From Poem.  The first Where I’m From Poem was written by George Ella Lyon and it’s read here accompanied by moving images.  I found it on the interweb and I think it’s called a video clip.  Here goes…

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdnHl_yW1dQ&feature=related[/youtube]

After showing you the model, we engaged in some pre-writing in response to prompts and, ultimately, we each drafted our own Where I’m From Poem.  After 20 or so minutes, Dave and I collected to pieces to read as a “ticket out the door“.

That’s all the goodness we could fit into today’s proceedings.  We’ll see you next week.

– Lawrence

SRL in the Middle Years TC Orientation: Update for Tuesday, 6 September 2011

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Welcome to a the 2011-2012 cohort of Midldle Years TCs.  This blog will serve as a record of what goes on in EDUC 310, EDUC 316, and LLED 320 (Term 2).  Those are the courses that Dave and I teaach.  Also, you’ll find information related to your practica in addition to bits and pieces on TC-related events.  Please note that this blog continues where last year’s and the year before that left off.  If you’re curious, you can peruse the old posts and see what cohorts in the past were up to.

Here’s what shook down on Day 1 of your “year long job interview”:

Kingpin as a Microcosm for the Year

Everything I needed to know thus far in life I’ve learned from movies.  Honest.  This clip from the Farrelly brothers comedy classic Kingpin condenses the Teacher Ed program into a tight 67 seconds.  It takes you from those nerve wracking early days on campus, to dealing with call outs in your classroom on prac, to the joyous victory that is graduation.  Enjoy!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUSLiR0ZmbQ[/youtube]

Class Keeping

We took attendance and gathered contact information.

Instructor Introduction

Dave and I noted that we work from Monday to Thursday at UBC and spend Fridays working in schools in Coquitlam.

Perspectives on the Year

The MY program is small – 1 cohort of 27 in a sea of 38 other UBC Teacher Ed cohorts.  Be sure to self advocate so your voice doesn’t get lost.  Also, we stressed the importance of professionalism as you transition from student to professional and we set out the year-at-a-glance, indicating how coursework, practica, and breaks are spaced out over the course of 2011-2012.

In order to fully understand the requirements and regulations related to your B.Ed program, Dave and I urge you to read these publications from the UBC Teacher Education Office:

“Getting to Know You” Goal

We’d been talking for awhile at this point, so Dave and I wanted to give you a chance to get active and get to know one another a bit better.  To that end, we asked you to engage in the Newspaper Tower Challenge.  The task involved you answering the question “What’s the tallest tower you can build using only two sheets of newspaper?”  Here’s the handout I based the activity on:

You can find all the details on this Challenge and others on the PBS Building Big Educator’s Guide website.  By the way, here’s a YouTube clip showing how two groups of middle schoolers tackled the tower task:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD58pkqBXwE&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLEB8ECD7CE3ABAEC3[/youtube]

After a brief debrief, we adjourned class for the day and sent you off for a quick bite of lunch before the Faculty Orientation at the Chan Centre.

‘Til next time.

Cheers,

Lawrence

EDUC 310 – Prepping for Practicum: Update for Wednesday, 16 March 2011

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Well, here it is.  The last day of POT/COM class for the year.

We started with a free write on the ideal practicum and the practicum Question Box.

Next, I handed out a calendar with practicum dates.  Here are 3 calendars.  Choose the one that best suits your circumstances:

We moved into my Top 11 Tips (in a final on-campus nod to Spinal Tap) for a successful prac.  Here they are:

Lastly, we engaged in an Appreciation Circle and thanked those who’d supported us over the course of our time on campus.

Enjoy your break and best wishes for a successful long practicum.

– Lawrence

LLED 320 – Invoking Active Participation: Lesson Update for Tuesday, 15 March 2011

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Today was all about playing with ideas related to increasing the level of active participation in your lessons.  What kind of instructor would I be if I didn’t actively involve you in the process of making sense of today’s content?  After all, you and your students can’t sit around in class all day watching funny YouTube clips like this one featuring Lando Calrissian…er, Billy Dee Williams:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSS5wReR9u0[/youtube]

Newspaper Tower Challenge [NOT The Paper Bridge Challenge]

I charged you with building as tall a tower as you could using only 2 sheets of newspaper and, in the second challenge, building another tower using 2 sheets of paper and 20 cm of masking tape.  Here’s the instruction sheet:

We ended with a short discussion on the sorts of PLOs that this task could be connected to.

The Newspaper Tower Challenge is a task found on the PBS Building Big website.  You can check out this video clip to see how a group of middle school students approached the task.  They did a very nice job!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD58pkqBXwE[/youtube]

Framing Questions

I put forth a case for including active participation in your planning via the PPT slideshow below:

We followed that up with a look at the effective framing of questions as one means to keep students engaged.  This section of the class was based on work by Barrie Bennett in his book Beyond Monet.

I asked you to use concept formation – the cousin of concept attainment, the strategy we played with last class – to sort the data set of questions in ways that made sense to you and your partner.  As a focus for the task, I asked you to consider what impact each question would likely have on student participation.

Here’s the data set:

Here’s a link to info on concept formation, as well as many other instructional tactics and strategies:

Next, I asked you to read and process information on 10 concepts and skills related to the effective framing of questions using the Jigsaw strategy.  The concepts and skills we examined were as follows:

  • Complexity of the Thinking (concept)
  • The Amount of Academic-Engaged Time (concept)
  • The Use of Wait Time (skill)
  • Responding to Students’ Responses (skill)
  • Knowledge of Results (skill)
  • Shifting from Covert and Overt (concept)
  • Fear of Failure and Dependency (concept)
  • Public vs. Private Failure (concept)
  • Distribution of Responses (skill)
  • Accountability and Level of Concern (concept)

The reading handout and Jigsaw graphic organizer are below:

We wrapped with a few big ideas related to the framing of questions, a quick review of what went down in LLED 320 class overall, and an exit slip – what was one take away idea from this term’s 320 class.

I’ve enjoyed teaching this class and I wish you all the best of luck on prac.  Please remember that the blog is always up for you to access if you need a great teaching idea… or a good laugh! (I post some pretty funny videos.  Please see Billy Dee William’s Harry Baals, above).

Take care,

– Lawrence


EDUC 310 – Pre-Practicum Meetings: Update for Monday, 14 March 2011

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Thanks to everyone for attending today’s meetings.  My goal here was to share some information regarding the upcoming practicum and the role of your FA in the practicum triad.  Please see below for a copy of the notes I shared:

Also, here’s the Videotaped Lesson Analysis form I handed out at the meeting.  You’ll need a copy of the form to engage in the self- and peer-analysis of your videotaped lesson:

’til Tuesday.

– Lawrence

LLED 320 – Participating Actively Using Concept Attainment: Update for Thursday, 10 March 2011

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Today’s focus was on invoking active participation in the classroom.  By active participation I mean having students purposefully engaged – with minds on and, whenever possible, hands on – in their learning.

One great strategy for getting students to mentally engage with material is concept attainment.

The Hook – A Data Set on Comparison Devices in Poetry

I started class by having you engage with a concept attainment data set full of personification, metaphors, and similes. Here it is:

We followed all the steps on the concept attainment process:

  1. Presentation of the Data & Identification of the Concept
  2. Confirming the Concept
  3. Extending the Thinking About the Concept

The Body of the Lesson

After that initial data set and experience, I used the following PPT slideshow to structure the rest of class.  Here’s the slideshow:

We did the following:

  • Considered a rationale for CA
  • Defined CA
  • Applied the 3 Stages of CA with a Triuns data set
  • Glimpsed 2 other CA data sets
    • Conflict in literature
    • Fact and Opinion
  • Attributes of concepts
  • Two types of concepts
    • conjunctive (definitive)
    • dysjunctive (sensitizing)
  • TC partnerships developed their own data sets
  • TCs played the “Yes No Game” with fellow TCs

Closure

We debriefed the experience of working with CA

Concept Attainment Resources

Here’s the data set on a literary term that I used in the middle of the presentation:

… and here’s another data set on Fact and Opinion:

Suprisingly, YouTube has a few videos on the topic.  For instance, here’s a data set on renewable and non-renewable resources:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vihCWCIobOg&NR=1[/youtube]

Here’s another on totalitarianism, a theme in the novel 1984:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jPHzkbvaEQ[/youtube]

If you’re keen to play with CA on your prac… and I strongly suggest you do, here are some data sets I’ve used in my classroom over the years to help stimulate your thinking about the possiblities:

LA

MATH

HACE

Here’s a visual data set similar to the Triuns one that you could use to intro the topic of CA with your students:

Finally, here’s the Bennett reading I mentioned in class.  It will give you a deeper understanding of how you can use CA effectively in your classroom:

Cheers,

– Lawrence

EDUC 310 – Inquiry Project Feedback Meetings: Update for Wednesday, 9 March 2011

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Today I met with most of the TCs that I teach in POT/COM class but don’t supervise on practicum.  The purpose of this meeting was twofold.  I wanted to:

  • Discuss my assessment of your Inquiry Project paper
  • Gather your thoughts on the Inquiry Project process

Thanks to all who attended today’s meetings.  I really enjoyed reading your pieces and talking about them with you.

By the way, here’s the rubric I used in my assessment:

– Lawrence

LLED 320 – Martha Game, WHERETO Tableaus, Unit Sharing, & D.I. Readings: Update for Tuesday, 8 March 2011

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WHERETO

After a few drama activities to get you warmed up – Zip, Zap, Bop, Bang! and the Martha Game – we played with WHERETO, an acronym that summarizes the key elements that should be in your learning plan / lesson sequence.   Here’s the WHERETO information package we worked with:

The WHERETO task was as follows:

  1. Form a group of 4-5
  2. Choose a WHERETO letter from my Boston Bruins hat
  3. Read the section of the handout relating to your chosen letter
  4. Come up with 2 or 3 key ideas related to your section.   Ask yourself, what do my classmates really need to know about this section?
  5. Design and rehearse a tableau (some movement was allowed, if needed) that visually represented the key ideas from the section
  6. Present and explain your tableau.

In doing this task, I was trying to model one way to use drama as a means of working with content.

Unit Plan Sharing

After asking for suggestions on how to approach the unit plan sharing piece, we decided to do the following:

  • Identify the subject and topic of each unit plan
  • Meet in subject and / or topic groups
  • Share any interesting ideas, activities, or assessments in the unit itself

I asked you to consider what you were considering through the WHERETO lens.  In the post-sharing debrief, many of you mentioned that you had picked up some great ideas that you could weave into your own planning.  Success!

Differentiated Instruction

The T in WHERETO stands for tailored; how will we tailor learning to varied needs, interests, [and] styles?

Pre-and During-Reading:

Things got pretty meta here as I differentiated my instruction on differentiated instruction.  I provided you with a selection of articles (DI – content) and suggested that, as you read, you could make sense of the text in a way that worked for you (DI – process).  Some noted that they would take notes in the margins, others were going to mind map the text, others were going to summarize each paragraph, and, well, the list went on.

Here are the articles we were working with:

Post-Reading:

When the articles were read, I urged you to engage in an activity that would allow you to consolidate your understanding of the reading (DI – process).  Some chatted with a peer while others took notes on how they could use the ideas from the texts in their own practice.  To end, I aimed high, as I asked for any epiphanies you had while reading.

That’s all for today.

– Lawrence

EDUC 310 – Richard Zerbe Assessment FOR Learning Lecture: Update for Monday, 7 March 2011

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I hope you enjoyed Zerbe’s lecture this morning.  Here’s the link to his Prezi:

Also, here’s a link to a research article related to John Hattie’s Visible Learning book, a text that came up numerous times during Zerbe’s presentation.

Cheers,

– Lawrence

LLED 320 – Practicum Seminar, A Long Talk About Prac, and Lit Circle Comprehension Strategies: Update for Thursday, 3 March 2011

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Practicum Seminar

Many thanks to Rod Brown, Elementary and Middle Years Prac Coordinator for presenting his Long Practicum Seminar.

After the session, you had lots of questions so I spent quite a bit of time taking them up in class.  Teaching loads was one topic that was addressed.  Below you’ll find a graphic organizer – Overview of Teaching Assignments for EDUC 419 – that shows you the percentages that you should (approximately) be teaching at during each week of the prac and allows you to indicate which subject you’ll be teaching and when:

Just a reminder that the percentages on the form indicate the percentage of your SA’s load that you’ll be assuming.  For example, if your SA teaches in a school with 6 blocks per day, teaching 5 of those 6 blocks per day is a full load.  So…

  • 1 block = 20% of a full teaching load
  • 2 blocks = 40% of a full teaching load
  • 3 blocks = 60% of a full teaching load
  • 4 blocks = 80% of a full teaching load
  • 5 blocks = 100% of a full teaching load

Task & Book Collection

I collected any Lit Kit books yet to be handed in, gathered hard copies of your Double-Entry Journal and accepted any good copy haikus that were still floating around.

LLED 320 Integrated Unit Plan Due Date

On Tuesday, 8 March 2011, the task’s due date, I asked you to please bring:

  • a hard copy of all elements of you LLED 320 unit plan OR
  • your laptop to display your completed plan

Lit Circle Resources

I pointed you to the following resources to utilize as you teach reading in your classroom:

Here’s one resource I didn’t show you because I just found it moments ago.  It’s selected bits from a book by Lit Circle guru Harvey Daniels and Nancy Steineke, Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles.  Here’s the link to portions of the text.  Also, here’s Harvey talking briefly about his conception of LCs:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-2rhRYB4hk[/youtube]

Concluding Brownlie’s Comprehension Strategies Video

We wrapped up by finishing the video (found at this link) and discussing a few things that stood out for you in it.

That’s all for today.  Enjoy your weekend.

– Lawrence