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Notes from meeting: October 28, 2010

1) Provide 3D model for 2nd grade (topographical map to identify landforms and water)

2) Consider use of Studies Weekly

3) 2nd grade will incorporate some use of relative location (the board is next to the .... or the playground is north of ...) in morning meeting and other opportunities

4) We will continue to refine timeline activities to bolster those skills, including using math opportunities.

5) 4th grade would like to have a pull down map that shows the link from former Soviet Union to Alaska

6) Need more trade books that match SS topics per grade level

7) SS team members will print out a copy of whatever unit (UbD or other) that is currently used to teach map skills at their grade levels and get it to Kathy by end of next week. Kathy will copy those for all team members. Goal is to work on revising and UbD-ifying those units at the next SS meeting.

8) Each grade level will review and simplify the core vocab words on the wiki and get the revisions to Kathy.

9) We'll do a review of the expectations for vocabulary binders and use of Marzano 6 step process on Inservice Day.

Agenda March 11, 2009

I. Overview - what's coming up for CAT

II. Share out about Assessment strategies a) what strategies have you used and what were your results?

Ann: used the clickers as an assessment of the kids prior to a test being given at the end of the week; got instant feedback on what they knew and didn't; b) did you know more about kids' learning from using the assessments and did it change your instructional plan?

III. New articles re assessment a) Jigsaw

//IV//. Content STandards Treasure Hunt a) Play "find the indicators" for wealth and wisdom (or at least wisdom)

VI. Mapping activity Government. a) What to bring to next meeting.

AGenda: January 21, 2009

Notes: Think about how we will do binders for sharing from grade to grade. Print out summary sheets of SS, LA, Math and Sci words to put in the front of kids' binders AND teacher resource folders. Examples/nonexamples seems to be hard for kids. Change non examples to "commonly confused with". Reteach process with familiar words. Be sure to let them revise their statement and picture as they learn more about the word.

We'll put the vocab lists on the web site.

Shared the Assessment article from NSTA, skimmed through it, discussed assessments and assigned to try one of them before next meeting.

I. Agenda revisions?

II. Vocabulary a. Share out about experiences with incorporating nonlinguistic representations and/or other vocabulary instructional strategies that we've discussed at previous meetings b. Need for binders/folders? c. review final lists of vocab words on wiki

III. Assessment Tools a. Share out about preassessment strategies tried and results - Remember questions below. Questions you have? Comments? b. New strategies to try

IV. Go to Unwrapping Templates and work on Government indicators with partner

V. Other

Preassessment sharing

Combination of time line with number sense... being able to understand a time line will be based on how much kids can get the number sense (50 year intervals, 100 year intervals, etc).

Share with teachers: plan the study of time lines to coincide with work in math on number sense.

Perception of number is huge (what's halfway between 0 and 50)

Welcome Social Studies Team! We will use this space to share ideas and keep our work updated as a team.

Every CAT meeting this year will include 1) introduction/discussion of an instructional strategy ( pedagogy ) AND 2) continuation of vertical articulation (content) to get the K-6 view and avoid gaps and overlaps.

Preassessment ideas: 1) drama 2) entrance slips 3) individual white boards 4) clickers 5) KWL

Question: compound words (2 words like rain forest, fire truck) ALSO facts are anything that can be proven true OR false ( a cow has 3 legs?) ASk Connie West (science doesn't teach fact that way - it's in Scott Foresman)

Pedagogy Goals:


 * Introduce and experiment with a variety of pre-assessment and formative assessment strategies. Learn new strategies at the meetings, try strategiesand share the results at Content Team Meetings. The following questions will be used to guide our discussions:

1. Did you know more about students' current level of understanding from using the pre-assessment? 2. How did using the pre-assessment affect your instructional planning or teaching? 3. How can pre-assessment impact student learning?


 * Introduce and experiment with instructional strategies in the area of vocabulary. Learn new strategies at the meetings, try strategies and share the results at Content Team Meetings. Finalize vocabulary lists which will be posted to our school web site in January.

Content Goals: We'll continue our vertical articulation by unwrapping the Government standard, then move into Geography. Please see new format for this by clicking on the Articulation link to the left (under Navigation, at the bottom of that list). We will use this format (which is UbD, just in a more linear display and hopefully easier to "see", to get as clear a picture as possible of what each grade level needs to do, then you can use that info as the Stage I of a UbD unit. What you see on the form is STage I. When we finish that part, we'll work on Stage II (assessments).

See below for our Agenda for December 10 and to see notes from the last few SS team meetings from last year.

//**December 10 Agenda:**//

//**I. Share Preassessment strategy results (from the vocabulary samples given last time, or from a different preassessment you used since then). Focus on the questions above.**// //**II. New strategies (more ideas to put in your toolbox and to try over the coming couple of months before the next meeting).**// //**III. Vocabulary revision. I'll give you samples from a couple of other districts to use as a way to check our lists. Each grade level should have no more than 30-35 words TOTAL per subject area. These will be THE most critical words, the ones kids REALLY need to know in order to build their learning in that area over the next year. So give some thought to which words are the ones that need direct instruction and will form a basis for new learning.**// //**IV. Vertical Articulation: Government... Please bring any resources you have, or units you've used, related to this area, including any OAT or other types of questions that can help us know what kids are expected to know at each level.**//

May 8, 2008
 * Reviewed UbD units in Economics
 * Added some 3rd grade questions
 * Will add a vocabulary box to the template
 * Discussed that vocab team will firm up the lists and propose a best practice strategy for vocab
 * Refined a plan for sharing - 1) binder with UbD units 2) vocabulary lists 3) timeline presentations

Timelines:

1) importance of discussion across grade levels - a) kids can't interpret data from timelines even in 4th grade and above can give specific if it's right on there - couldn't even add or subtract to get a date b) trouble estimating where something should be placed between two intervals c) had trouble setting up a timeline - determining the increments to use on a given timeline d) had trouble even using appropriate vocabulary

Realized we needed to: 1) use even intervals 2) needed to do them more often (second grade did many more than before) - saw that high percentage can now set one up independently 3) give work that requires them to set up timelines as well as practice 4) need to incorporate timelines in simple ways throughout the year 4) develop prototypes of appropriate timeline tasks for grades K-6 (Kathy will work up a timeline of events that can be used K-6 and meet with K-2 teachers first to develop a question, then send it on to 3-6 to do the same.

Who will be willing to present? You would just 1) introduce your vocab and show them the UbD units we did, maybe talk a bit about what parts of that process seemed helpful to you 2) share the timeline piece (what we learned kids could not do and what we determined we, as a staff, need to do more of in this regard, as well as sharing this idea of a cornerstone assessment - the same timeline with varying complexity questions per grade level)

April 10, 2008
 * reviewed Stage I across grade levels
 * compared EU's and EQ's across grade levels, tweaked some, agreed that all were good
 * Kathy will email the websites
 * reviewed Virginia's curriculum guide - will share with Bob and Connie
 * reviewed test items