2 Solid Supports for Common Core ELA--Lesson Planning Template and Academic Vocabulary List

Vacation or not, many teachers will be setting aside time to develop lessons based on common core.  Though most states are engaged in the process of switching over to CCSS at some level, the major transformation will occur at the classroom level via the teacher.  Many teachers will be provided with some already prepared units or some sample lessons, but for the many, this will not be sufficient. Understandably, most teachers want to experience a feeling of ownership.  To experience this, they will require some tools to devise their own lessons.

To assist teachers in planning lessons, and, in the process, developing a deeper feeling of ownership in the process, this post has two great tools.  One is an  ELA lesson planning template with which CCSS ELA lessons can be easily developed.  The template contains all the basic elements of an ELA lesson.  Of course, teachers can build on it, but it is a place to start to build confidence in addressing Common Core Based ELA lessons.

Another must-have resource is the  academic vocabulary list which should be used in building literacy throughout all content classes.  Notice that though it is a list, it does not mean that teachers will be giving students isolated words to memorize one week and then forget the next.  It is tool to be used to build reading and writing skills within context.  Note the addition of prefixes, roots, and suffixes as well.  The more practice students have in working with word parts, the bigger their vocabulary base will be.  One suggestion here is teachers of different disciplines should meet regularly to plan on key vocabulary to focus on as a team.  Using this approach, students get multiple exposures to and practice in actively working with those words.  The more time spent in discovering the multiple definitions and word forms in context, the more likely those words will be permanently "etched in their brains" so to speak.

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS
Friend us on FACEBOOK as ELL TEACHER PROS and please follow us on TWITTER @ell_teachepros.

SEE HOW BLENDED LEARNING MOTIVATES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ALGEBRA CLASS

Khan Academy is making inroads in slowly reversing the failure rate of ELLs in algebra.  Since computers have infinite patience, ELLs may revisit a problem they are struggling with multiple times until they finally understand it.  Further, students may progress at a rate that works for them.  Trying to keep up in the traditional high school setting often led to tuning out which led to giving up.

Well, with the flipped classroom using KA, students see a video on the math problem the teacher has designated for the class to solve.  With the task, students have several options to tackle the problem:  watch a video from the KA, check out the hint KA supplies in helping a student solve a problem, ask a peer for assistance, and last--raise one's hand for assistance.

How can the teacher use KA to fully support a student's efforts at learning?  There is the teacher mode which lets the teacher access student progress reports, perform quick checks which allow them to hone in on specific weaknesses and all the steps the students tried on his own in attempting to find the answer on his/her own.  This type of feedback makes the teacher's feedback even more productive since the teacher knows exactly where to step in to support the student in arriving at the solution.

Scores of students in this high school have gone up.  Students have a greater well-founded confidence in tackling algebra.  In fact, at this site, the pass rate went up 40%!

BLENDED LEARNING ENERGIZES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Try the site out.  It works for all levels of math though the above video was set in high school.

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS