[LIT] building background knowledge...and Caroline

[ReadersnRacers at aol.com]

Caroline writes:
> i'm wondering this: do most of the school systems you all work for use a 
> specific program, or are you makiing up your own curriculum like we are at dps?
> 
Pam writes:
A lot of the specific program, but a little bit of own curriculum too.   My 
district paid WAY too much money (something along the lines of $5,000,000+) to 
Learning Focused Strategies for a 3 year contract.   They sent trainers to the 
district who worked with several teachers from each grade level and state 
standards to design curriculum maps.   They created Essential Questions to go 
with the maps.   A time line for most subject areas and grade levels to 
approximately follow. They push the use of graphic organizers, cooperative learning,   
and similar tools.   I don't mind the program too much (it has some extra 
hoops to jump through, but overall is what I was doing already).   What makes me 
crazy is that the district spent so much money on a canned program when all 
they had to do was create a team within our talented district to put together 
Kagan's Coop. Learning, CRISS, UbD, Gardner's Mulit-Intelligences, and a strong 
amount of Marzano.   That is all that LFS strikes me as.   Jeesh, we had all 
the tools, they just needed to be put together.   I'm sure that in house, they 
could have paid master teachers and administrators FAR less than $5,000,000 to 
do what LFS has done.   It also would have had better teacher/administrator 
buy-in than having a mandated program shoved down our throats.




Pam Tempest
Team Neon-6th Gr. ELA
Hudson Middle School
http://nlcommunities.com/communities/tempest

"The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as 
that every child should be given the wish to learn." John Lubbock





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