MIDDLEBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS where the mission is to prepare all students to excel in life

1. MIDDLEBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS…where the mission is to prepare all students to excel in life MARY K. GOODE SCHOOL PARENT CURRICULUM PRESENTATION DR. KRISTINE E. NASH, CURRICULUM COORDINATOR

2. THIS IS NOT THE WAY I REMEMBER SCHOOL!

3. WHAT IS CURRICULUM? HOW IS TODAY’S CURRICULUM DIFFERENT? WHAT DO PARENTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CURRICULUM?

4. CURRICULUM IS WHAT ALL STUDENTS SHOULD… 1. KNOW(CONCEPTS /TOPICS) and 2. BE ABLE TO DO (SKILLS)

5. WHO DETERMINES the CURRICULUM? The Massachusetts STATE CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS delineate the CONTENT and SKILLS State Learning Standards for each content area clearly define what all students need to KNOW and BE ABLE TO DO

6. WHERE CAN I FIND THE STATE STANDARDS? MA Department of Education website www.doe.mass.edu Under “Program Area” select “Curriculum Frameworks/ Institute” then “Curriculum Frameworks”

7. WHY STATE LEARNING STANDARDS FOR ALL STUDENTS? REASON 1: CURRENTLY, STUDENTS DO NOT ACHIEVE AT HIGH LEVELS COMPARED TO EACH OTHER AND COMPARED TO STUDENTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES.

8. WHY STANDARDS? REASON 2: THE EVER CHANGING DEMANDS OF A GLOBAL ECONOMY CREATES A NEED FOR HIGHER LEVELS OF LITERACY AND LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENTS.

9. WHY STANDARDS? REASON 3: THE PUBLIC IS DEMANDING HIGH STANDARDS AND THERE IS A NEED TO RESTORE CONFIDENCE THAT WE HAVE CLEAR STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL STUDENTS.

10. STANDARDS AND SCHOOL REFORM Standards – based reform encompasses not only content knowledge and skills but how courses and subjects are defined, how student performance is described, and how student performance is graded and reported.” Marzano & Kendall,(1996) A Comprehensive Guide to Designing S –B Districts, Schools and Classrooms

11. WHAT’S IN STATE CURRICULUM? STRANDS (learning categories (i.e., “composition”) STANDARDS (broad statements of what students should know and be able to do) BENCHMARKS (specific grade level developmental components of the subject area)

12. Grades 1 & 2 English Language Arts Curriculum ELA state standards and benchmarks grouped under four strands Language Reading and Literature Composition Media

13. Sample of ELA Standard and Benchmarks Strand – Reading and Literature Standard - #7 Understanding a Text Students will identify the basic facts and main idea in a text and use them as a basis for interpretation. Benchmarks Grade 1 – Identify, predict and retell a story Grade 2 – Understand main idea, characters, setting and sequence (beginning, middle & end) of a text

14. Grades 1 & 2 Mathematics Curriculum State standards and benchmarks are grouped under five strands Number Sense and Operations Patterns, relations and Algebra Geometry Measurement Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability

15. Sample of Math Standard and Benchmarks Strand –Patterns, Relations and Algebra Standard – PRA 2 #7 Identify, reproduce, describe, extend, and create patterns using numbers. Benchmarks Grade 1 – Count and write by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s to at least 100 starting at any number Grade 2 – Describe and create addition and subtraction number pattern (e.g., 1,4,7,10)

16. APPROXIMATELY HOW MUCH INSTRUCTIONAL TIME WILL MY CHILD HAVE? Reading/ELA Grade 1 120 minutes daily Grade 2 120 minutes daily Mathematics Grade 1 60 minutes daily Grade 2 60 minutes daily

17. HOW DO STANDARDS IMPACT WHAT MY CHILD IS LEARNING?

18. HOW CHILDREN LEARN… A CHILD’S UNDERSTANDING STARTS WITH CONCEPT FORMATION (BEGINNING UNDERSTANDING) AND MOVES TO CONCEPT EXPLANATION (COMPREHENSION) FOLLOWED BY CONCEPT TRANSFER (APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT TO A VARIETY OF QUESTIONS AND CONTEXTS)

19. IMPORTANCE OF CONCEPTS IN A CHILD’S LEARNING CONCEPT + SKILL + CONTENT = HIGHER ORDER THINKING

20. WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN FOR MY CHILD’S PERFORMANCE? 

21. HOW WILL TEACHERS MEASURE WHAT YOUR CHILD “KNOWS” AND IS “ABLE TO DO”? Assessing your child’s understanding requires teachers to use a continuum of tools such as… Informal checks for understanding Observation/dialogue Quiz/test Open – ended prompt Performance task/project

22. WHY PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS? ASK STUDENTS TO… DEMONSTRATE SHOW APPLY “WHAT THEY KNOW”

23. WHAT ARE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS? Performance assessments ask students to carry out exploration and work in a subject Performance assessments require students to “show what they know” Performance assessments require that students exercise critical judgment, creativity and innovation

24. ASSESSING MY CHILD’S PERFORMANCE IN SCHOOL How will teachers assess whether my child is meeting the specific grade – level benchmarks? What might an assignment that measures my child’s understanding look like?

25. “IS IT 15?” SAMPLE PERFORMANCE TASK MATH STANDARDS/STRANDS ASSESSED Number operations and concepts Functions and algebra Problem solving and mathematical reasoning Mathematical communication

26. “IS IT 15?”  Performance Task Directions (Students will need to have had prior experience with pattern blocks) If the area of the green triangle is one, name the area of the other pattern blocks: the blue rhombus, the red trapezoid, and the yellow hexagon. Can you create two different designs with an area that equals 15? How many pieces did you use on the first design?____ The second?____ Do your designs have symmetry?

27. “IS IT 15?” (Task continued) What else did you notice?__________ _________________________________ (Students are also asked to replicate their designs with colored paper shapes and to write an equation that illustrates their computation of an area of 15.

28. HOW ARE STUDENTS SCORED ON PERFORMANCE TASKS? RUBRICS / SCORING GUIDES A SPECIFIC written – down format that a teacher will use to JUDGE the quality of a student’s product or performance Rubrics generally list CRITERIA with POINTS or LEVELS assigned to each criteria

29. In summary… What we know from cognitive research is that children learn best by building their own understanding of new ideas through the 5 E’s Engage Explore Explain Elaborate Evaluate

30. As a parent continue this learning at home….encourage the 5 E’s *Engage your child in learning *Explore with him/her *Explain things when questions are asked *Don’t be afraid to enrich and elaborate *Help your child become an evaluator of his/her world

31. QUESTIONS???