Introduction to the Aligned Round Rock Curriculum ARRC

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Secondary New Teacher OrientationAugust 13,
2008

• Introduction to the Aligned Round Rock Curriculum
  (ARRC)

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TEACHER.... I am the decisive element in the
classroom. It is my personal approach that
creates the climate. It is my daily mood that
makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess
tremendous power to make a child's life miserable
or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an
instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate,
humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my
response that decides whether a crisis will be
escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized
or dehumanized.                                   
          Hiram Ginot Between Teacher and Child
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Curriculum Department Team

• Director Suzanne Burke (464.5677)
• Secondary Lang. Arts Elizabeth Angelone
  (464.5080)
• Elementary Lang. Arts Lora Darden (TBA)
• Social Studies K-12 Tina Melcher (464.5632)
• Science - Secondary Anita Gordon (464.5673)
• Science - Elementary TBA
• Math K-12 Janet Palermo (464.5678)
• Admin. Assts.
• Carolina Santizo Math Science (464.5103)
• Kim Widtfeldt Lang. Arts Soc. St. (464.5071)

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Agenda

• Teaching Learning Cycle
• What Gets Taught in School?
• Introduction to the ARRC
• Benchmarks curriculum-based
• assessment
• Road to Success checklist

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Introduction Activity

• Teachers physically move to a straight line in
  order of years of experience.
• The line created will be from zero-year teacher
  to the most experienced teacher. Have the most
  experienced teacher walk toward the zero-year
  teacher, with others snaking behind folding the
  line in half.
• Every teacher should be across from another one
  now newest paired with the most experienced.
• Have pair introduce themselves and share their
  journey to RRISD.
• These pairs will be partners for next activity.

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Think Pair - Share

• Think about an exceptional teacher you have known
  either as a student or a colleague. What
  qualities or practices made him/her this way?
  Discuss with your partner.
• View the Teaching Learning Continuum and
  highlight those exceptional qualities/practices
  on the document.
• Looking at the Most Effective Practices, discuss
  with your partner where you feel your strengths
  are.

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Round Rock Independent School District Teaching
Learning Continuum

• The purpose of the Teaching Learning Continuum
  is to define the RRISD philosophy regarding
  teaching practices that must be put into practice
  in order for each and every student to reach
  his/her full potential.
• It is based on current research and is applicable
  to all classrooms. As campuses evaluate student
  outcomes and seek to improve instructional
  approaches, the continuum should be used as a
  point of reference.
• The continuum distinguishes the most effective
  practices from marginally effective and
  unacceptable practices.

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Teaching-Learning Cycle
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I want to be as emphatic as possible the impact
of the actual, taught curriculum on school
quality, on student learning, is indescribably
important. Robert Marzano did a meta-analysis
of in-school factors that affect student
achievement. Coming in at the top first place
is what gets taught, what he calls a
guaranteed and viable curriculum.Mike
Schmoker, Results Now

• Activity
• Think Pair Share
• Share whole group

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Curriculum Goals

• To ensure that each and every student in RRISD
  has the opportunity to learn the non-negotiable
  curriculum
• To provide planning documents and resources so
  that teacher planning time can be focused on
  teaching learning and meeting the needs of
  diverse learners
• To reduce gaps and unproductive redundancies
• To use curriculum-based benchmark assessments to
  measure to what extent students have learned the
  curriculum

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RRISD Curriculum

• At-A-Glance maps
• Recommended Instructional Timelines (RITs)
• Aligned Round Rock Curriculum (ARRC)

• Revised annually based on teacher feedback all
  revisions posted by Aug. 1st

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RRISD Curriculum WebsiteEmployees webpage

• Select Resources for Teachers
• Select Aligned Round Rock Curriculum
• Select Whats New? to see updates
• Select Grade Level or Course
• At-A-Glance Maps and Recommended Instructional
  Timelines are posted for public access.
• New teachers can access this prior to receiving
  log-in to the ARRC, and it is available when
  Grade Speed is not.
• The ARRC is password protected and available
  through Curriculum Management Tools and Grade
  Speed.
• The ARRC in CMT is your one-stop resource for all
  curriculum documents
• At-A-Glance Maps, RITs, and additional resources
  are file attachments in the ARRC.

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At-A-Glance Map
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Recommended Instructional Timelines

• Break the 6 weeks of TEKS/SEs (from At-A-Glance
  maps) into smaller time periods
• Components
• TEKS/SEs high stakes cross-curricular
  connections
• Link to English Lang. Proficiency Standards
  (ELPS)
• Essential / guiding questions (Concept-based
  instruction)
• Differentiation
• Engaged Learning Options
• Instructional Resources
• Technology Integration

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Recommended Instructional Timelines - Activity

• Review timeline individually highlighting key
  information
• Numbered Heads Together
• Divide into groups of four and number off
  (determining who will be 1, 2, 3, 4)
• When questions are asked by the facilitator, talk
  about your response as a team
• When the facilitator calls out a number, that
  person will share the teams answer with the
  whole group

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Essential Questions - RITs

• How do I access the RITs?
• What benefits will district-wide use of the
  Recommended Instructional Timelines (RITs)
  provide for students (including ELLs)? For
  teachers?
• How can I identify what TEKS/SEs should receive
  special emphasis?
• What are the most beneficial features of the RITs?

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Aligned Round Rock Curriculum (ARRC)

• Scope and sequence for instruction
• Six week bundles of TEKS/SEs for pacing
• Examples and specifications defining the TEKS/SEs
  
• Resources for concept based instruction -
  Concepts, Generalizations, and Essential
  Questions
• Instructional connections to the Graduate Profile
• Language of Instruction
• Recommended Instructional Timelines
• At-A-Glance Maps
• Additional resources

Password protected teachers access the ARRC
through Grade Speed
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5E Lesson Plan Design

• ENGAGE
• EXPLORE
• EXPLAIN
• ELABORATE
• EVALUATE

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Engage

• Description Introductory lessons should
  stimulate curiosity and activate prior student
  knowledge. The activity should be a problem or
  an event that raises questions and motivates
  students to discover more about the concept.
• Link to cognition Students bring knowledge
  about how the world works but it is sometimes
  based on limited experiences and sometimes on
  misconceptions.
• Guiding Questions
• How will the teacher capture students interest?
• What kind of questions should the students ask
  themselves after the engagement?

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Explore

• Description Students need the opportunity to
  actively explore the concept in a hands-on
  activity. This establishes a commonly shared
  classroom experience and allows students to share
  ideas about the concept.
• Link to cognition Experiences occur before the
  explanations! Students are actively engaged with
  little explanation from the teachers. Students
  acquire a common set of concrete experiences
  allowing them to help each other understand the
  concept through social interaction.
• Guiding Questions
• What hands-on/minds-on activities will students
  be doing?
• What are the big idea conceptual questions that
  the teacher will use to encourage and/or focus
  students exploration?

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Explain

• Description Teachers use questioning strategies
  to lead students discussion of information
  discovered during the Explore stage. Teachers
  introduce new scientific terms and explanations
  at appropriate times during the discussion.
• Link to cognition When students engage in
  meaningful discussions with other students and
  the teacher, they can pool their explanations
  based on observations, construct new
  understandings, and have a clear focus for
  additional learning.
• Guiding Questions
• What questions or techniques will the teacher use
  to help students connect their exploration to the
  concept under examination?
• What are the higher order thinking questions
  which teachers will use to solicit student
  explanations and help them to justify their
  explanations?

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Elaborate

• Description Students are encouraged to apply,
  extend, and enhance the new concept and related
  terms during interaction with the teacher and
  other students.
• Link to cognition Providing additional active
  learning opportunities for students to
  incorporate into their mental construct of the
  concept allows them to confirm and expand their
  understanding.
• Guiding Questions
• How will students develop a more sophisticated
  understanding of the concept?
• What vocabulary will be introduced and how will
  it connect to students observations?
• How is this knowledge applied in our daily lives?

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Evaluate

• Description Students demonstrate their
  understanding of the concept.
• Link to cognition In learner-centered
  instruction, it is important for students to be
  aware of their own progress as an outcome of
  instruction. Students construct knowledge over
  time and may need additional experiences to
  refine their understanding of the concept.
• Guiding Questions
• How will students demonstrate that they have
  achieved the lesson objective?
• How will evaluation be embedded throughout the
  lesson as well as at the end of the lesson?

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5E Puzzle Activity

• In groups, match the E with the appropriate
  activity.
• When your group has completed the puzzle, check
  your answers with two other groups.

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Answer KeyEngagement
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EXPLORATION

• Describe what hands-on/minds-on activities
  students will be doing.
• List at least 2 essential/guiding questions the
  teacher will use to encourage and/or focus
  students exploration.

• What strategies can you use to make sense of the
  passage?
• What other strategies can you think of that would
  help make the passage comprehensible?
• The teacher takes an unfamiliar passage of a
  difficult text and talks aloud, giving the
  students a dialogue of what happens inside the
  brain when reading. It also serves to demonstrate
  the strategies the teacher uses to make sense of
  the test. In this exercise, semantic and
  syntactic context clues will be used to determine
  meaning of the text
• Semantic context clues
• definitions, synonyms, antonyms, examples,
  explanations, experience/knowledge of a subject
• Syntactic context clues
• grammatical information such as parts of speech,
  prefixes, suffixes, and roots.
• Using a fresh text, divide students into strategy
  workshop study groups (multiple meaning, context
  clues, syntactic clues) and have them explore
  the various comprehension strategies. Students
  will make a chart that evaluates the strong and
  weak point of each reading strategy used to
  compare with other student teams.

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EXPLANATION

• Student explanations should precede introduction
  of terms or explanations by the teacher.
• What questions or techniques will the teacher use
  to help students connect their exploration to the
  concept under examination?
• List at least 2 higher order thinking questions
  which teachers will use to solicit STUDENT
  explanations and help them to justify their
  explanations.

• Students explain Pair/Share
• Process
• Strategies
• Present best method to the class and show how it
  works
• Discuss comparisons of reading strategies

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ELABORATION

• Retelling as a tool for comprehension
• Students will read an introduction to a difficult
  text using the strategies they have learned and
  will rewrite it in a different genre.
• As a triad, students will
• take the passage and read it,
• highlight the main ideas of the passage,
• rephrase main ideas,
• number the ideas in the order in which they will
  write about them,
• paraphrase the article
• select the type of narrative retelling for
  writing.
• As individuals, students will retell the article
  in a narrative, picture book, or poem.

• Describe how students will develop a more
  sophisticated understanding of the concept.
• What vocabulary will be introduced and how will
  it connect to students observations?
• How is this knowledge applied in our daily lives?

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EVALUATION

• How will students demonstrate that they have
  achieved the lesson objective?
• This should be done throughout the lesson as well
  as at the end of the lesson.

• Prior to the think aloud in Exploration, have
  students complete a reading pretest to determine
  which strategy to model in the teacher
  Think-Aloud. Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll would
  be a good text for the pre-test.
• Retelling rubric
• Post-test of words used in context

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Performance Task

• A performance task is a description of how a
  student is expected to demonstrate understanding,
  knowledge, and skills.
• The task may be a product, performance, or
  extended writing that requires rigorous thinking
  and relevant application.

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Sample Performance Task

• Students will perform a scripted interview that
  explicates the meaning of a selected poem.
• Students will work in pairs researching their
  poem using the Internet and will create a script
  in which one person is the interviewer and the
  other is responding as the poem.
• The interview will include a 10-question
  interview to be performed for the class showing
  insights, analysis, understanding of literary
  terms, development of various aspects of the
  poem, and evidence of rehearsal and planning for
  the performance.

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Benchmarks

• Benchmarks are curriculum-based and directly
  aligned to the pacing identified by the Aligned
  Round Rock Curriculum (ARRC).
• Benchmarks focus on high stakes TEKS as
  identified by district data.
• Benchmarks are designed to provide a snapshot of
  student learning at a specific time so that
  instructional adjustments can be made in the
  classroom.
• The RRISD benchmarking process ensures that
  teachers are aware of current student strengths
  and areas for growth in learning requisite
  knowledge and skills.
• Reviewing for benchmarks prior to
  administration is prohibited.
• Benchmark security is essential.

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Benchmark Activity

• Review one-pager individually, highlighting key
  information
• 10 Minute Think Tank
• In small groups of 3-4 teachers discuss what you
  highlighted on the benchmark one-pager
• Collaboratively create a one-sentence summary to
  share with the whole group

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District Assessment Calendar

• Posted on district webpage
• Employees calendars (left side
  of screen testing calendars
• Subject to revision be sure to check regularly
  for updates (revision date is in the upper right
  hand corner of the document)

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Learning is like fish, if you dont use it, it
wont keep.Ralph Tyler
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RRISD Curriculum WebsiteEmployees webpage

• Select Resources for Teachers
• Select Aligned Round Rock Curriculum
• Select Whats New? to see updates
• Select Grade Level or Course
• At-A-Glance Maps and Recommended Instructional
  Timelines are posted for public access.
• New teachers can access this prior to receiving
  log-in to the ARRC, and it is available when
  Grade Speed is not.
• The ARRC is password protected and available
  through Curriculum Management Tools and Grade
  Speed.
• The ARRC in CMT is your one-stop resource for all
  curriculum documents
• At-A-Glance Maps, RIT, and additional resources
  are file attachments in the ARRC.

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Secondary Language Arts Pages

• Posted on RRISD webpage
• Departments
• Language Arts
• Secondary Language Arts
• wikis

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Supplemental Reading List
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Secondary Language Arts
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Secondary Language Arts Resources
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Road to Success

• Checklist including identifying campus support
• Collaborative Teachers
• Integration Technology Specialist (ITS)
• Mentor (for 0-year teachers)

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Three Letters from Teddyby Elizabeth Silance
Ballard

• http//www.makeadifferencemovie.com/full/

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Reflecting on the day