Is a Scope and Sequence Necessary? (Survey at the end)

Eek!  There are probably a lot of people who are reading this right now wondering if I've lost my mind.  In many districts and states, there is a specific weekly or monthly sequence to follow while teaching each subject.  For example, every single teacher is supposed to teach two-digit addition or multiplication during the same time.  As always, my brain is always wondering, "what if?"  What if I could teach this before that?  What if this topic makes more sense while teaching another topic?  There are countless "what ifs" that have floated through my mind through the years.

With authentic project-based and inquiry-based learning, you truly will be teaching in a more thematic way.  Think about a normal day in the average person.  Do they segment their day into subjects?  At work, you don't plan a math time or a reading time.  When we were building our deck, we didn't do all the math first, then read about how to build it at a separate time.  The work for this real-world experience mingled together.  If we live real life fully integrated, why do we expect students to complete most of their schooling in a very segmented day?  Is that the best way to have students learn?

Last year, my teaching partner and I were fortunate enough to have a half-day planning day to prep for the upcoming school year.  Last year was our first year teaching together, so initially we both did what we had always done.  Even though we shared students, she taught her subjects and I taught mine.  As we worked together through the year, we realized that we were very similar to each other in teaching style and expectations.  We were very student-project and student-presentation driven.  However (this is huge), we didn't integrate many of our lessons.  That's something that bothered me as a parent of a junior high student.  Everything seemed so disconnected.  The reason I felt this disconnect is because up until last year, I had always been in a self-contained classroom.  What happened in science usually connected with reading, writing, and social studies.  I tried to connect math in whenever I could.  This past year was the first year that I wasn't self-contained.  Boy; did this change get my wheels turning!  What if (there it is again) we integrated more?  Could we actually integrate subjects like a self-contained classroom?  OF COURSE, that brought me to this wild idea.  When we plan, let's make sure everything connects from one class to the next, even if we're switching teachers during the day.  Now, I know what some of you are thinking.  This is nothing new!  It's really not.  If it's not new, why do we not see it more often?

HERE'S WHAT IS A NEWER IDEA:

One morning before school, I told my partner that I thought the best way to plan a year's worth of project or inquiry-based lessons was to cut apart of our curriculum cards and start planning units that way.  And we generally ignored the planned scope and sequence because it just didn't make sense!  Did anyone's heart stop right there?  I was lucky because my partner simply said, "I trust you."  So that's what we did!

Here's a brief overview (I'll post pictures of the process soon):

1.  Cut apart each objective from all subjects.

2. Choose a subject that can be the core of your unit planning.  We chose social studies, because it gave us a fabulous timeline to follow throughout the year.

3. We laid out the social studies objectives and started plugging in anything that went very well with the topic. It was magic!  We were wizards in that room creating amazing units for students we hadn't met yet!

4. In the end, there are, of course, things that didn't fit well (mostly in math).  I simply inserted them at the best time and taught them outside of the unit.


Here's a sample of a unit we planned:

Social Studies Theme: Early European Explorers
We tied in map skills/elements during this unit, instead of teaching it separately as we usually did.  Didn't the explorers have to make the maps, anyway?

How did they make the maps?  What did they use to navigate?  The explorers used the constellations, the sun and the moon as navigational tools!  So, right here is a the perfect place to pull those science objectives!  This gets really exciting, because we just kept building on these crazy, wonderful ideas!

What math did they use to make maps?  If you think about it, maps are set up on a coordinate grid!  Well, that's perfect then.  For math we would be working on coordinate grids to help them understand how to develop maps of the world.

For reading, we decided to go with the non-fiction strand during this unit and they could really dive into biographies.  In writing, the students wrote from the perspective of an explorer coming to a new land.  What did they see?  How were they setting up their new colony/town? What has happened on their journey?  There are so many wonderful ideas about which they could write!

The project: Develop a map of their newly-settled town and share with others to convince them to move to their settlement.  The final project is so much more than that, though.  In order to get this far, students will have researched about cartography, how early map makers used nature to help them develop accurate maps.  The will certainly learn about different constellations, moon phases, and placement of the sun throughout the day.  The should be required to write about these in their explorer journal.  When students are presenting their maps to "prospective" settlers, they have to share all of this information.  There's so much they can teach to other students!  However, if you really want your students to WANT to do even better, find a cartographer to whom they can present!  For a starting place, local colleges have cartography classes.  If you're not fortunate enough to have a college nearby, there are city and county employees who specialize in map making. You can try survey companies in your area, as well.  I have found that most companies are willing to share their knowledge with students.

SO, throw out what you know about a strict scope and sequence.  At least ask yourself if your curriculum flows easily from one subject to the next without a month or five-month gap.  If not, give our method a try!  I promise that you'll see more results and more concepts being taught! Technically, you haven't gotten rid of a scope and sequence, you've refined it.

Please take this survey!  I want to know what you'd like to learn about this topic or any PBL/IBL topic.

Your Students are More

At the beginning of every school year, I tell myself to be even better than I was the year before.  I am a firm believer that everyone has room for improvement.  For many years, my goal for getting better revolved around the idea of state test scores.  For most teachers, achieving higher and higher scores each year is the optimal goal.  I was one of those; but not anymore.  At some point, I started really taking notice that scores are simply scores.  Percentages that come from a two-hour reflection of what each individual child has learned since, in some cases, kindergarten.  I can assure you that there is no possible way those scores are a complete picture of any student.

What prompted this?  The other night, I sat and listened to my daughter's principal proudly state that the high school had the highest state scores in our conference and had for many years.  While I also think that is great, I wasn't overly impressed by the statement.  Let me explain further.

I think about the things I do in my classroom from three perspectives: teacher, administrator and parent.  I'm only going to talk about the parent perspective because it encompasses what I truly believe as a teacher and administrator.  My child is not a test score.  She is a full-fledged human being.  She is more than what a test shows her to be on paper. If a teacher judges her (and they do) by her prior scores on a state test, they will miss an incredible part of who she is.  In all honesty, my daughter scores very high on tests.  She's even been known to score what they call a perfect score a couple of years.  Even with high scores, she doesn't want to be remembered as only a number.

As a teacher, it was VERY hard for me to let go of the ingrained stigma that test scores told who I was as a teacher.  Let's be very honest; some districts and administrators still feel that scores are the only thing that matters in a child's education.  But they're not.  I was fortunate enough to have seen both types of administrators, the one who said get your scores up higher and the one who said that making strong productive members of society was more important.  While both wanted strong scores, only one actually made me believe that my students were more than a test score and it was alright if my scores were sometimes lower than before.  The latter administrator is the only one that I would follow over a cliff.

So, at the beginning of this year, DON'T immediately look at your students' scores from last year.  Put them away, get to know your students for who they are to YOU; then, if needed, take a look. Your students are more than a test score.  You a more than their scores.  No one will remember what score they got on a year-end test, but they will remember how hard you worked with them and the relationship you built. By the way, those relationships you built will drive your students to do their best on any work, including a standardized test!

Remember: YOUR STUDENTS ARE MORE!

If You Tell Students What They're Learning...

Is it really inquiry?  I've pondered this thought for a long time.  Many districts and administrators require objectives/"I Can" statements/assignments to be written on the board at all times.  Sometimes I wondered if it was for the students or for the administrators.

Think about this.  Before your students arrive, you write each objective for the day on the board.  If you're like I used to be, it probably looked something like this:

 Math: Classifying 3D Shapes or I Can Classify 3D Shapes

 Science: Classifying Living Organisms

 Reading: Character Traits

 Writing: Quotation Marks

 Social Studies: Map Skills

Raise your hand if that sounds even a little bit familiar.  I, too, faithfully wrote my objectives on the board everyday for an excessive amount of years.  The kids wrote them in their assignment books (planners) and my administration could see what we were doing at any time.  HOWEVER, there are a lot of problems with this practice.  First, the students are writing something down, but rarely remember what they wrote.  I asked just to make sure they actually knew what they had written.  Most of the time, they didn't! Therefore, they don't own their learning.  Second, the parents don't always look at the assignment books/planner either, so it doesn't help them keep up with what we are doing in school.  Finally, having objectives can look good, but administrators don't get into most classrooms on a daily basis (for good reason) to look at the faithfulness of objective writing.  In my honest opinion, writing objectives is not best practice at all.  

After really diving into inquiry-based learning, I started to realize that by simply writing objectives so blatantly on the board, I was yanking the inquiry right out my classroom!  Scout's honor, I was telling my students what I wanted them to know, instead of guiding them through an inquiry process to learn.  I am not telling you to write absolutely nothing on your board (most districts require it).  What I am saying is that in order for you to have students wonder about things, you must give them something to wonder about.  Instead of listing objectives like I did (example above), try something like this:

Math: What dimension are you from? or Shape it up! (T. Swift anyone?)
Science: What does a dichotomous key open? (This made them ask me all day what we were doing!)
Reading: How would you describe the main character? or Is your character acting up?
Writing: Who's talking now?
Social Studies: Oh, no; we're lost! How do we find our way?

There are countless ways to pose questions that get your students thinking!

Instead of telling your brilliant students exactly what they are learning, ask them questions and make them smarter!  They love trying to figure out what you mean.  Believe me, you'll be fielding questions from them.  Isn't that what learning is supposed to be?  Making students so curious that they WANT to learn.  They have a desire to learn because they're intrigued. It becomes a game to them, and games make everything more fun to learn.

You might be wondering how I come up with my questions to write on the board.  When I plan my units or simply plan for the week, I come up with essential questions and that's where my assignment board questions are developed.  Ideally, these questions will help guide students on researching and finding answers on their own.  Be creative! Google essential questions about your topic; there's a ton of ideas out there.  Something else to consider, your questions might not change daily, since you will spend more than one day on certain topics.

While trying to find a few resources on this topic, I stumbled across a great video that shows the strength of effective questioning with students.  Use this same thought while writing questions on your daily board, instead of simple objectives or "I Can" statements.  Our students deserve a chance to figure out the answers to questions without us coming to their immediate rescue with a spoon!

If you are ready to jump on board with inquiry and project-based learning, you'll have to reconsider writing objectives on the board.  It's not best for student learning and the end result is given before they even get a chance to wonder, question, and research!  As Mahatma Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." You might not convince everyone to ditch traditional objectives, but you can be the change for your class!

Next Week: Is a scope and sequence really necessary?  Caution: Some might think I've lost my marbles!

Let the Adventure Begin!

As I embark on this new journey, I find myself incredibly nervous.  Sure, I've written thousands of blog posts for my students and parents, but now I'm venturing into the blogosphere to write posts for YOU, fellow teachers!  When the seed was first planted in my mind about blogging my classroom teaching, a beautiful quote came immediately to mind.  Erin Hanson wrote a poem before she was 19 years old, and a line from that poem went viral.  I wondered, and still do, if I will fail on this newest endeavor.  But, as the quote says, what if I fly?  Of course, that IS what I'm hoping!

"What if I fall?

Oh, but darling, what if you fly?"

The purpose of this new blog is to help other teachers learn how I have used Inquiry-Based and Project-Based Learning successfully in my classroom for many years.  I've shared my ideas and lessons with teachers whom I have worked with and was encouraged to share more.  With all the change in education and the push towards these two types of learning, my hope is that you can take something valuable away from this blog and easily use it in your classroom.  As teachers, we always feel stressed, pressured, and worried when new/different curriculum or methods come down the pipe.  My goal is to help ease all of those things and give you resources and ideas that you can implement quickly and easily.

Stay tuned! This post was simply to get the blog out there.  I will post my first PBL/IBL posts on Thursday.