Evidence of some great thinking going on in your comment posts to the Essential Questions assignment! Everyone is thinking BIG - above the specific details of the unit and out to the over-arching importance of the learning. Remember that true EQs are controlling ideas for large chunks of learning, the guiding forces or purposes for designing a learning unit. They first must direct your choice of material and secondarily will give purpose to learning for your students.
Before you let go of the idea, try writing EQs for other units in your teaching year, including those you have already done. Write these down somewhere so you can wrestle with them again when you come to prepare the units. Hey, if you stick them somewhere in YOUR blog, you might get someone else's help with refining them.
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9 comments:
I agree with Steve that you have done some great grappling and thinking about essential questions, ---and we recognize that they are not easy. I encourage you to continue with them, as they are really valuable to you in planning your lessons and, primarily, in positively impacting student learning.
I really like the ideas of the BIG questions and how we are trying to get students' thinking. I am looking forward to thinking about other units and the essential questions.
Essential Questions to guide the last 1/3 of the year:
MATH: Are you ready to tackle 5th grade math?
-what skills are you good at?
-what skills do you still need to practice?
-what skills do you still need to learn?
WRITING: What does it take to write a good story? (i.e. What are the elements of fiction? And how do you decide if each element is well made or not?)
READING: TBC
i am trying this again...Annie
Ok, it worked that time...I am encouraged to think about how this can work in my special education setting...I just don't do units at the elementary level. But I do enjoy thinking about how this could work.
Hi,
Again, I apologize for having to leave early. I did look at the things we went over and printed out the essential questions article. This is the hardest part for me to come up. I like the idea though.
I also like the idea of gradeing papers in class. I'm sorry, I can't remember the teacher's name that was explaining how he does it. If your out there, I would love to come visit your class and see how you do that.
Thanks
Lisa
Lisa, that was Jay who made such a good case for grading with students. I'm sure he'd share more if we bring it up again.
spk
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Hi Jay,
I would love to hear, possibly observe you doing the in class grading.
Let me know.
Thanks
Lisa
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