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I've already written a couple of posts based on this book, specifically geared toward homework, but Ch 3 was another one that hit me pretty hard.
In the introductory paragraph of Ch 3 comes this gem:
"Maybe it's just human nature - we crave some element of predictability and find comfort in knowing a little about the future."
As I pondered this quote, I realized how true it is. I *hate* surprises and I like having a plan in place, so why shouldn't kids be the same? I have kids that are very busy - jobs, athletics, multiple AP classes, etc, so why shouldn't I do all that I can do to help them know where we are going so they can maximize their schedule?
Years ago, I provided my students a monthly calendar that listed everything - lessons, homework, assessments, etc. Over the years, I got away from that and started posting the weekly calendar in the classroom as well as on Canvas, our Learning Management System, but in general, kids still seemed shocked when assessment time came around... "Wait - what??? We have a Quiz today??"
So this chapter on Unit Plans seemed like perfect timing. We are switching to new books and as a result, I have spent part of my summer looking at the various structures I had in place and how to make them better and one that I definitely wanted to work on was the Chapter Info Sheet.
Here's the old info sheet:
The info sheet was the chapter divider for each chapter and it listed the learning targets, the vocabulary, and was supposed to act as a reading guide for the chapter. Except that my students really didn't read the book that much and I can't really blame them - even though our textbook was extremely readable, there wasn't much of a need to read given our in-class activities and the INB. As a result, this info sheet ended up as something we put in every chapter, but it wasn't really used to help move learning forward.
And then I read "Grading Smarter"...
I already knew I wanted to change the Info Sheet, but now I wanted it to be useful, I wanted it to have a roadmap of where we were going. So, here's the result:
The new info sheet template:
This new info sheet will have the daily calendar on the front, which is somewhat tentative, but I try to stick pretty close to my pacing guide. Assessment dates will be provided as will daily assignments. That way, if a student is absent, they know where to find out what we did and hopefully if they are going to be absent on an assessment, can make plans to take care of that early! On the inside will be the learning targets for each section and a vocabulary rating chart. One thing I think I will like is that this info sheet will literally be a guide to us throughout the chapter. As we finish a section, they will flip here to do their self-assessment of the learning targets, a quick reflection question (like maybe 3 new things you learned, etc), and a vocab rating. At the end of the chapter, we will do the same thing with the Chapter Summary on the front (like a 3-2-1 or some other summarization strategy).
I'm really excited that I finally have this template in place because it's been bugging me for weeks that I wanted something else but just didn't know what to do!
So what do you think? Poke holes in my plan... Can you break it and help me make it better?
I love the idea of the unit organizer! I tried doing something similar before, but my students never used it (even after prompting). I started last year giving an assessment every Friday, and that was the only day I would test/quiz, so students ALWAYS knew when to expect an assessment. I really liked that, as did students, and I even found that I was making it through more material because I didn't have as many review days.
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