NON-DISTRICT SCHOOLS

PLC
{PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
COMMUNITY}

MARCH 12, 2014

 MEANINGFUL ACCESS TO THE
GENERAL EDUCATION
CURRICULUM

PLEASE TAKE SEVERAL MINUTES TO READ THE

HANDOUT FROM THE ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONER OF
SPECIAL EDUCATION
KINDLY SHARE-OUT YOUR PERSPECTIVES & KEY TAKE-
AWAYS

ACCESS ACCESS ACCESS

STUDENTS WHO ARE COLLEGE &
CAREER READY IN READING-
WRITING-SPEAKING-LISTENING-
LANGUAGE
PROJECTED STUDENT COMPETENCIES:
THEY DEMONSTRATE INDEPENDENCE
THEY BUILD STRONG CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
THEY RESPOND TO THE VARYING DEMANDS OF AUDIENCE-
TASK-PURPOSE-DISCIPLINE
THEY COMPREHEND AS WELL AS CRITIQUE
THEY VALUE EVIDENCE
THEY USE TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL MEDIA
STRATEGICALLY AND CAPABLY
THEY COME TO UNDERSTAND OTHER PERSPECTIVES &
CULTURES
Unpacking the CCLS & CDOS
Standards

THE GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY KEY SKILLS & CONCEPTS THAT

ALIGN TO THE STANDARDS:

RATIONALETO ENHANCE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT BY

SPECIFYING WHAT A STUDENT MUST KNOW, MUST
UNDERSTAND, AND MUST BE ABLE TO DO!
THE BOTTOM LINECOMPREHENSION & PERFORMANCE
 CONSIDER ANY
SELECTED
STANDARD:

WHAT WOULD STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW?

{THE NOUN}-
KEY VOCABULARY; REMEMBERING/KNOWLEDGE;
UNDERSTANDING/COMPREHENSION
WHAT WOULD STUDENTS NEED TO DO?
{THE VERB}-
ANALYZING; EVALUATING; CREATING
 COMMON CORE UNPACKING
TEMPLATE

STANDARD_______ DESCRIPTION_________________
GRADE_____
WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO DO:

WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW:

RESOURCES TO BE UTILIZED:
 PRACTICE-
PRACTICE-
PRACTICE

TURN TO A PARTNER AND SPEND 5 MINUTES PRACTICING

UNPACKING SKILLS FROM THIS STANDARD:

Describe characters in the story Goldilocks & the Three

Bears (e.g. their traits, motivations, feelings) and explain
how their actions contribute in the sequence of events
 ACTIVATING PRIOR
KNOWLEDGE {APK}

VIDEO CLIP:
HOW WE LEARNSYNAPSES & NEURAL PATHWAYS
 Activating Prior Knowledge

Activating Prior Knowledge (APK) is used to provide a

connection between something students already know
and the new content you are planning to teach. It
facilitates the retrieval of pertinent information from
students long term memories that will make it easier for
them to learn and retain the new content

9
Source: Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Research, 2009
 Why Activate Prior Knowledge?

The brain wants to integrate new information with what

it already knows. So, when you APK, you are preparing
minds to accept and retain new information

10 Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Source: Explicit
Research, 2009
 Different connections

When you APK, you can activate either

The lessons concepts, &/or

The lessons skills

11 Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Source: Explicit
Research, 2009
 Pathways for activation

Universal experience - activating something from a

students prior life experiences that is related to the new
learning
Sub-skill review - re-teaching of a pertinent sub-skill
needed for a new lesson
Often used to fill in gaps in knowledge or understanding

Source: Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Research, 2009
12
 4 choices of what to activate

Activating Prior Knowledge (APK)

Universal Experience Sub-Skill Review

(prior life experience) (prior academic experience)

Concept Option 1 Option 2

Skill Option 3 Option 4

Source: Explicit Direct Instruction

(EDI): The power of the well-
crafted, well-taught lesson/John
Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra.
DataWORKS Educational
Research, 2009
STUDENTS & THE VENUES
THEYRE FAMILIAR WITH

PLEASE REFER TO HANDOUT

 3 Steps for activating prior knowledge

1. APK of skill or concepts using a universal experience

or a sub-skill review
2. Facilitate student interaction
3. Explain the connection to the new lesson

Source: Explicit Direct Instruction

(EDI): The power of the well-
crafted, well-taught lesson/John
15
Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra.
DataWORKS Educational
Research, 2009
 Activate Knowledge, Dont Assess it!

When you Activate Prior Knowledge, make sure you are

eliciting students existing knowledge. Do not test
students to see if they already know the new content
before you have taught it. Activating Prior Knowledge
makes students brains ready to receive new information.

16 Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Source: Explicit
Research, 2009
 Introduce new vocabulary only after you have
activated prior knowledge!

Prior knowledge must be just that, what the children

know from previous experiences
After this knowledge has been transferred into short-
term memory, the childs brain will be much more
receptive to new, albeit related information. This is the
time to introduce new vocabulary words or new
concepts.

17 Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Source: Explicit
Research, 2009
 Ready, Set, Activate

How might you activate prior knowledge using the

students past experiences (Universal Experiences)?
How might you activate prior knowledge using a skill or
strategy previously taught in class (Sub-Skill Review)?

SHARE OUT SOME IDEAS

18
 Learning Objectives
A learning objective is a statement that describes what
students will be able to do successfully and independently
at the end of a specific lesson as a result of classroom
instruction
Examples:
The students will identify 5 facts and details about the
setting of a story by completing a graphic organizer
The students will demonstrate an understanding of
photosynthesis by labeling a diagram of a plant
The students will identify four reasons for
westward expansion by completing a Venn Diagram

19 Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Source: Explicit
Research, 2009
 Why are learning objectives
important?
Learning Objectives ensure that students are taught
concepts and skills
In the standards, concepts are often found as nouns
In the standards, skills are often found as verbs
Clear Learning Objectives focus teacher efforts on specific
concepts and skills needed for independent practice,
making students more successful
Learning Objectives allow teachers to measure if students
achieve the outcome of the lesson
Learning Objectives tell students what they are
expected to do
Correctly designed Learning Objectives ensure that
lessons are on grade level

20 Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Source: Explicit
Research, 2009
 Components of a Learning
Objective

All learning objectives contain a concept {noun}

All learning objectives contain a skill (measurable
student behavior). The skill is usually a verb
Some learning objectives contain a context (condition)

21 Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Source: Explicit
Research, 2009
 Learning Objective Concept

The concept is the main idea in the Learning Objective

The concept It is usually a noun
In the Objective Write a summary of a newspaper
article, summary is the concept

22 Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Source: Explicit
Research, 2009
 Learning Objective Skill
All learning objectives must contain measurable student
behavior
This measurable student behavior is usually a skill
The skill is usually a verb
In Write a summary of a newspaper article, write is
the skill
The lesson will be designed to teach students exactly
how to write a summary of a newspaper article
The skill of the Learning Objective should match
what the student is expected to do in independent
practice

23 Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Source: Explicit
Research, 2009
 Learning Objective Context

o A context is any specific condition under

which the Objective will be executed

Often the context describes the resources or methods to

be used
In Write a summary of a newspaper article,
newspaper article is the context

24 Direct Instruction (EDI): The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson/John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra. DataWORKS Educational
Source: Explicit
Research, 2009
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION TIME