[LIT] building background knowledge...and Caroline

[mndrudi at mchsi.com]

What is backward planning?  

Carol/4th/IA


----------------------  Original Message:  ---------------------
From:    "Heather Poland" <hpoland at gmail.com>
To:      "A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades." <lit at literacyworkshop.org>
Subject: Re: [LIT] building background knowledge...and Caroline
Date:    Fri, 6 Jul 2007 02:30:42 +0000

> This is pretty much what we do in my district. We have the standards and the
> last super brought the workshop model to everyone. Unfortunately, the WAY he
> implemented it was awful so it left many teachers hating all of it (instead
> of being able to sort out good teaching from bad implementation) So, I think
> starting next year we will be strongly encouraged to use the textbook. Which
> for me, is NOT a welcome change, but I guess for many it is.
> 
> Of course, I will continue to encourage teachers to use backwards planning
> and to use workshop and to use trade books, etc. (I'm a literacy coach at a
> middle school now).
> 
> On 7/5/07, Caroline Mooney <cmooney at charter.net> wrote:
> >
> > we don't have a curriculum either. when i first started teaching, 2 years
> > ago, the principal handed me a set of standards and told me to teach them.
> > we have a text book and a lot of material to go with the book, but our
> > reading dept. doesn't use them, except on rare occassion, like when we want
> > to have a shared text.
> >
> > dalton public schools embrased UbD, Understanding by Design. We now have
> > our own in house trainers, and every teacher must go through the program at
> > some point. We create our own units and use trade books for teaching. our
> > middle school just implemented a book room, hundreds of books (sets of 6
> > each) from level S to Z. Actually, we got a lot of lower level books as
> > well. You can look up backwards design, understanding by design on google,
> > and it's an interesting read. you might also google literacy collaborative,
> > a reading/writing holistic type workshop that mirrors the work done by
> > fountas and pinnel, nanci atwell and lucy calkins.
> >
> > i like the idea of not having a curriculum; there's so much freedom
> > because we dont' have big money tied up in a package program. then, of
> > course, you could argue that our standards are the curriculum, and this is
> > pretty much true. the single most important thing for my students is for
> > them to read. using trade books makes them real world readers, and they know
> > it. all year long, students hear brief lessons about reading, and then they
> > read.
> >
> > 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?
> >
> > lynn, email me anytime at cmooney at charter.net. i'd love to hear about your
> > progress.
> >
> > caroline
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> - Heather
> 
> "The world of books is the most remarkable creation of
> man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments
> fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out;
> new races build others. But in the world of books are
> volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet
> live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were
> written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men
> centuries dead." --Clarence Day
> 
> "While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little
> good evidence exists that there's any educational substance
> behind the accountability and testing movement."
> —Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds
> 
> "When our children fail competency tests the schools lose
> funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase
> funding. "
> —Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate
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