Join us for conversations that inspire, recognize, and encourage innovation and best practices in the education profession.
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Creating a Culture – The Story Begins
Analyzing a Culture – The Story Continues
Constructing a Community
Exploring Our Town
On a sheet of paper, write the name of a curriculum unit you teach, and underneath list one or two Big Ideas you want students to come away with.
Remember that Big Ideas are important understandings that have lasting value for students.
Consider the following questions as you watch the program. If you are part of a professional development group, consider stopping the video to discuss each question with your colleagues.
Break into discussion groups, with each group concentrating on one of the three classroom examples featured in the program. Use the questions below to guide the small-group conversations.
In the first segment we watched as sixth-graders had a visceral experience that helped them understand what all cultures have in common.
In the second segment, eighth-graders gained a deeper understanding of what makes their neighborhood special.
In the third segment we saw students studying history through the lens of the play Our Town, gaining insights into the past, present, and future.
Consider these questions:
Backward Design for Forward Action
http://jaymctighe.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Backward-Design-for-Forward-Action.pdf
Reviews the key concepts and essential questions that underlie content standards
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
http://www.nbpts.org
The National Board’s influential teaching standards, including early adolescent generalist standards
Wiggins, Grant, & McTighe, Jay. Understanding by Design. Upper Saddle River , N.J. : Prentice Hall, 2000. ISBN: 013093058X
Wiggins, Grant, & McTighe, Jay. The Understanding by Design Handbook . Alexandria , Va. : Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. 1999, ISBN: 0871203405