IF IT IS TO BE, IT IS UP TO ME. I AM POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE. I POSESS PRIDE, POISE, PERSEVERANCE & THE RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE FOR MYSELF...

Rituals and Routines

2010 Opening PD- Lessons to establish a climate for a community of learners (attached for download if needed)

Routines and Rituals Daily Plan and Activities

The following document uses adapted lessons from Partners in Learning from Conflict to Collaboration in Secondary Classrooms, by Carol Lieber, First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete and best observed classroom/school practices by teachers and administrators across the city.

Each teacher will be required to teach a 15-20 minute introductory lesson every day unless otherwise stated in this document or by administration. The administration does understand that there are cognitive differences between our lower and upper groups as well as differences in teaching styles from teacher to teacher. Therefore if a lesson needs to be adjusted to meet your group’s need then feel free to adjust the lesson as you see fit. In essence the objective within the routines and rituals daily plans must be met on a daily basis. It is imperative for all teachers and students to understand the daily procedures, policies and routines that all of us must follow if we plan to ensure that our students meet our school goals laid out in our mission.

All students who graduate from our grade 6 – 12 Early College Campus will be prepared to succeed in college and as leaders in the quest for social justice. We develop intellectually curious scholars who are articulate communicators in two languages, critical thinkers and consumers, cultural ambassadors, and contributing community members. Our students develop positive habits that build physical and mental health. They demonstrate perseverance, ethics and character in the pursuit of excellence.

For the first day and a half of classes the lessons are pretty much set. Sorry for any inconvenience but all teachers need to use the lesson as prescribed in this document.

There are some lofty goals set within this mission and we must ensure that everyone in the building has the knowledge and understanding to meet these goals. It is our pride, poise, perseverance and the relentless pursuit of excellence that will ensure that our CHEC family will be powerful beyond measure.

A sampling of Activities and Procedures for the First Day of Class:

If your teaching schedule entails fifty-minute periods, it’s an even greater challenge to choose what to do and what to leave out on the first day. The fifty-minute agenda that follows is a sample, and only a sample, plan. It includes, however, some essential procedures and activities that can help you get off to a good start. As you read his and develop your own first day plan, think about capturing the spirit of this agenda, rather than implementing it verbatim. Keep asking, “What are the words and ways of expressing myself that will work best for me?”

Procedure 1:

Procedure 2:

I’m in the right place –are you? Post a sign on your door or next to it that gives the basics –your name, the course, the class period, and the room number. A little humor, a picture, or a bit of bold graphics never hurt a sign

Post the agenda for the day in the place where you will post it everyday. Agendas may vary according to what you are doing and what you want to emphasize each day. Here is a First Day example:

First Day Agenda

Goals:

- To introduce ourselves

- To become familiar with classroom procedures and course basics

- Getting to Work: Complete your student profile forms

- Introductions

- Classroom and course basics

- Preview of next month

- Homework

- Closing

Other Examples:

Agenda

- Academic Goals:

- Group Goals:

- Skills for the Day:

- Getting to Work:

- Gathering:

- Main Activity:

- Quick Feedback and Assessment

- Homework

Agenda

- Big Goal for the Day:

- Getting to Work:

- Summary of Activities

- Checking Out

- Home Work

Agenda

This is not a regular day!

- Aims:

- Skills for the Day:

- Getting to Work:

- Checking In:

- Learning Task #1

- Learning Task #2

- Learning #3

- Here’s the Plan:

- Why?

- Get Ready by…

HAND OUT I (Recommendation for all teachers on the 1st day)

First Things First

Read this Now!

This classroom is a learning environment and a public place, not your living room (what you do and say there is between you and your family), not the cafeteria (hanging out is not your reason for being here), not the bathroom (this is not the place for personal hygiene care from nails to hair), not the “Fight Club” (no public brawling, cursing, or yelling,) not a playing field (no contact sports), and this is not the backseat of a car (please keep your hands and feet to yourself). Thank you

Walking into the room: Timely, quietly, carefully, and mindfully are the ways to walk into the room.
TIMELY –because it’s a sign of respect for me start on time and for you to be here on time. If you have NOT arrive ON-TIME, you’ve earned yourself a tardy.If you have NOT arrive ON-TIME, you’ve earned yourself a tardy.
QUIETLY –because everyone needs a minute or two catch their breath, put aside what went on last hour, and settle in. If you have NOT walked in QUIETLY, I will ask you to re-enter the room.
CAREFULLY –because there are a lot of bodies and a lot of stuff in this room. Please be respectful of other people’s space and other people’s stuff. If you have NOT walked in CAREFULLY, I will ask you to re-enter the room.
CAREFULLY –because when we begin I’d like you to have your materials organized and in front of you and your mind and spirit fully present so we can focus on the task at hand. If it looks like walking in MINDLESSLY is becoming a habit, I will task with you privately to check out what’s going on.
Taking a Seat: (Please sit __________________.)
Getting to Work: When you walk in the door, the will always be a question, a check-in, or “Getting Started” activity on the board. It will always be posted ______. Please start now. You will have about five minutes.
Gathering as a Group: After about five minutes, I will call time. I will be ready to have us gather as a whole group. I expect you to show that you’re ready by having completed the “Getting to Work” activity, having appropriate materials on your desk, and directing your attention to the front of the room.
Ending Class: I will make a real commitment to end on time. However, if anyone, either student or teacher, is in the middle of a sentence and the bell rings, I expect all of us to listen until person finishes their thought. Then I will say “Time to go. ‘Bye for now.” That’s when you may get up of your chair and leave

DAY 1 (All teachers teach this lesson all day)

Activity 1:

Activity 2:

Activity 3:

Activity 4:

Activity 5:

Activity 6:

“Warm Up/Do Now” Activity:

-In your First Day packet think about including a student profile (Handout 1) form that every student can fill in quickly, comfortably, and easily. This might include contact information, some basic family data, brief bio facts, and school history. You can always solicit more personal information using an interest questionnaire a bit later.

Mission:

- Read the CHEC Mission– which word, phrase or sentence in it would you relentlessly promote and protect? Why?

Have students Think – Write – Pair - Share

- Pass out the student agenda books

- Have students look through the agenda

- Inform students of the agenda’s many uses (homework book, hall pass, school rules and regulations etc)

- Inform students of the cost to replace the agenda book if it is lost or stolen

Introductions:

1. Acknowledge the “rep” that precedes you: In high schools, most faculty come with some history to the next group of students they teach –some of it is probably positive and some negative, some accurate and some that’s more myth than true. Asking students what they think they know about you is a great way to show students that you have a sense of humor, that you can depersonalize hearsay, and that you want them to hear from you who are and what you expect.
2. So take a few minutes to invite students to say what they’ve heard or what they think they know about you and this class. Tell them you don’t take this personally and explain that it’s usually a good idea to check out what students assume or image, so that you can clear up any misconceptions or misinformation. Use any of these approaches:
3. - Give them a few minutes to say their assumptions. Don’t interrupt or respond to specific things that you hear.
  - OR
  - Ask students to write their assumptions on note cards and you read some aloud to the class.
  - OR
  - If you’re uncomfortable asking students to do this or you think students will be uncomfortable sharing with you, say something like, “There are some of the things you might have heard about me.” Make what you say light and humorous.

Introducing Yourself: Afterwards, you might say, “So I’d like you to hear from me a little about who I am.” Again, keep it light rather than dramatic or ultra-serious. Leave students a little curious –don’t tell them your life history! Share three or four things about yourself –why you decided to teach; where you’re from; something about your family; something you love to do outside of school; or maybe something they would be surprised to know about you. Here are some other ides:
1. - Pronounce your name and say something about your name if it’s unusual or hard to pronounce.
  - “You may have heard that I _____. What you probably don’t know about me is _______.
  - “No matter what you’ve heard, I have never ______.
  - Something you like most about teaching and something you don’t like about schools or the teaching profession.
  - “You’ll probably get tired of hearing me say. ‘______’, so I’m giving you a heads up that you’ll hear this a lot because it’s really important to me.”
  - Something about the course you’re teaching that keeps you fascinated.
  - “I could have been a ___ or a ___, but I chose to become a teacher because _____.”

Close by sharing something about your hopes and expectations:

· “At the end of the year/semester I hope that many of you will be able to say three things: ____, ____, and ___.”

Student Introductions: Usually, you’ll want to take roll while students are doing their “Getting to Work” activity. However, on the first day you’ll want to take roll matching names to say their names. Everyone needs an opportunity to start matching names and faces, and you need to hear how students say their names before you mispronounce them.
Tell students that you want to learn their names as soon as possible and learn to pronounce them correctly. Say something like, “If you mispronounce my name, I’d probably say, ‘Here’s how it’s pronounced’, and I’d say it again for you. So I’d appreciate it if you will correct me in a way that’s respectful and helps me say it right. Please, be patient –I’ll probably be asking you to say your name more than a few times over the next week or so.”

What Do You Want to Know? Tell students that you know they have lots of questions and that you won’t be able to respond to all of them today. Explain that you would like to take five minutes to answer questions about things that students want to know right away. Be sure to ask students if there is anything they want to ask about First Things First procedures.

What Do You Think This Course Is About? What Do You Think We’re Going to be Doing? “ Do a quick brainstorm of what students think is going to happen in this class. This is your first opportunity to clarify for students what is and is not part of this course.

Name of Course

What’s about?

Skills you’ll be learning?

Activity 7:

Activity 8:

Activity 9:

Activity 10:

Take about five minutes to do the brainstorm and about three minutes to clarify students’ responses or fill in some information gaps.

Big Goals for the Year: Have a few of you big goals and/or expectations posted on a large chart and/or expectations today. Instead, you might want to share a more global belief or hope that speaks to what you value most about teaching young people. It could be something like this:

“You can count on me not to confuse who you are as a person with the grade you earn on a report card. I know you have a life outside of this course. There are 168 hours in a week, You give this class 5% of your time and effort during the week, and I’ll give you 100% of my effort and my support.”

“All you can learn to be successful in this class. I don’t start our the year assuming some of you will “get it” and get A’s and some of you will just “get over” or “get by” with “C’s and D’s. I have confidence that each of you has what it takes to do well over the long haul.”

Materials: If you expect students to purchase materials and supplies, include them on a page in the First Day packet. Show students examples of required supplies and materials that meet your criteria. Be sure to include examples of what not to by.

A Preview of the Next Month: On the board, post the learning goals that you will emphasize during the next month:

- Learning Goal 1: Learn Important Policies and Expectations and Practice Important Classroom Procedures

- Learning Goal 2: Become a Community of Learners

- Learning Goal 3: Learn Course Work

Explain that students will experience related to each learning goal every day over the next month. Explain why each goal is important by saying something like this:

For #1, “It’s much easier to remember what to do if you hear it and discuss it in small doses over time. One of my jobs in the first weeks is to make sure you know what I expect. One of your jobs is to learn what you need to do to be successful in this class.”

For #2, “Here in the classroom, you work as individual learners and as members of a group. During the first month you will have a chance to learn more about yourselves as learners and I hope to learn more about what each of you needs to do your best. I also expect all of you to develop good group skills and form positive relationships so we can work as a team.”

For #3, “The last goal is about learning ____.”

(Preview the first course unit and highlight a few skills and learning activities that are included in the first unit.)

Homework:

- Course Work: Have students read the syllabus and circle two topic that, on first glace, seem most interesting to them. Then have them write down at least one question they have about what we’re going to study and learn in this class.

- Letter Home: If you are planning to send a welcome and introduction letter home to parents/guardians, this is the day to do it. You might want to put two letters in every First Day Packet, one for families to keep, and the other for them to send back to you signed.

- Getting Started: List the required materials and supplies for tomorrow’s class.

Procedure 7: Ending Class:

Wait for the bell. Walk to the door. Then say some version of, “Bye for now. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. You may go.” Continue to observe all students as they exit your classroom.

DAY 2 (All teachers teach this lesson all day)

Getting Started:

Warm Up/ Do Now: Interview Questions

- Have students create five questions you would ask another person in class that would help you introduce her/him to the group.

- Recite mission and creed (Outlined in Behavior Management section of CHEC Website and student agenda book)

Become a Community of Learners: Partner Interviews

- Partner Interviews: Have students pair-up, interview each other using their questions. And then introduce each other to the class, saying their partner’s name and two or three things about her or him.

- Let students know that you expect everyone to learn everyone else’s name by Day Five. Tell them why this is important to you.(Respect and community building) Let them know you might stop in the middle of the class to check if there is anyone who wants to try naming everyone. You might want to have some pencils, tokens, etc. to pass out to anyone who can do this during the first week.

Policies, Procedures, and Expectations: Non Negotiables

- Give students the schools/class non negotiable (ex. Everyone will be respectful, safe and discipline) and vision (Handout 2)

- Explain your boundaries, why you have them, what behaviors are boundary violations, and what will happen when boundaries are violated

- Give students the classroom rules

- Read discipline procedures (Outlined in Behavior Management section of CHEC Website and student agenda book)

- Read uniform policy, electronics and locker policy (Outlined in Behavior Management section of CHEC Website and student agenda book)

Course Work:

- Discuss course syllabus and answer questions

- Begin teaching your first learning unit.

Homework:

- Course Work: Give assignment to students.

- Getting Started: Choose to write about three questions from Creating a Classroom Vision. Write your responses in your journal

DAY 3 (All teachers teach this lesson all day for about 15 minutes)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: Policies, Procedures, and Expectations: School-wide Rules and Policies

- Read the school rules

- Remind students that you will be using the data from the Classroom Vision carousel to develop class agreements (classroom rules). In order to do this responsibly, you need to explain the difference between school-wide rules and policies and classroom guidelines and agreements.

This is a good time to see what kids know, don’t know or have questions about regarding school-wide rules and disciplinary policies. If students are really confused, see if you can find some additional school handbooks and make a later time to review school-wide rules and policy. You might even want to invite the dean or vice-principal of discipline to come in and discuss questions and concerns with students. It’s not a bad idea to give students a quiz on important school rules and policy sometimes in the first few weeks.

- Clarify, teach, and/or review any important procedures that you have not introduced

DAY 4 (All teachers teach this lesson all day for about 15 minutes)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: Writing Hopes and Hesitations

- Give each person two different color “sticky notes”, or two different color note cards to write down at least one hope –something they’re looking forward to in class, something that interests them about the course, something they hope to accomplish in class (orange); and one hesitation –something that concerns them about class, something they don’t think they’re going to like about class or the course, or something that makes them feel anxious or hesitant about class (yellow).

Or ask students to write in their journals using these questions:

What hopes do you bring to this course? (Write this on the board. They only use one of the prompts)

At the end of the year…

· I will know more about _______

· I will have learned ________

· I will be able to ________

· Our class will be able to__________

What hesitations do you bring? (Write this on the board. They only use one of the prompts)

· I don’t know whether ___________

· I’m a little uncertain about ___________

· I don’t want to spend a lot of time ___________

· I think my biggest concern will be _______

Become a Community of Learners: Sharing Hopes and Hesitations

- Take two minutes for students to do a Pair-Share with a partner discussion their hopes and hesitations

- This is the time to reassure students that everyone has some anxieties and dislikes around some aspect of learning or a particular subject. Share a story about yourself and a learning difficulty you’ve experienced. Then you might say something like this:

“I know some of you have ______ or have had a bad experience with ______. It’s okay to name it and say it. I’m not going to tell you not to feel that way. What I am going to ask you to do is dig around a little to think about where those feelings come from and to consider anything you might want to do differently that will make this year better for you. My job is to support your efforts in any way I can. So let me know when you’re frustrated or feel stuck, and we’ll work on it together.”

Then ask students to post their sticky-notes or note cards on a bulletin board or poster board that you have identified for this purpose. (Place the orange notes under HOPES and the yellow notes under HESITATIONS).

Here is another way to discuss these issues thanks to math teacher, Mehran Divanbaigyzand. Ask students to put their hesitation notes in a small box of three or four drawers. Kids who have really negative, anxious feelings about a given issue can put their notes in the top drawer negative, anxious feelings about a given issue can put their notes in the top drawer, while kids who bring fewer concerns or less negative feelings can put their notes in the middle or bottom drawers. Students can take heir notes out and move them to another drawer if they attitudes and perceptions of class and the course.

And here’s one more idea, thanks to a Carnegie Professor of the Year. Post a humorous Course Subject Bill of Rights that declares: You have the right not to like _________; You have the right to ask questions when you don’t understand what we’re doing; You have the right to make mistakes and learn from them; You have the right not to get it all the first time you hear it or do it; You have the right to re-do assignments or re-take exams until you achieve a satisfactory level of mastery; etc.

Day 5 (There are no ritual and routines lessons scheduled for today because of pre assessment conflicts)

DAY 6 (Certain block/period teachers teach this lesson all day for about 15 minutes)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: Uniform and electronics policy

(1st Block) Review CHEC uniform policy (Outlined in Behavior Management section of CHEC Website and student agenda book) Please be certain to answer any questions that may arise.

(2nd Block) Review consequences for student’s failure to adhere to uniform policy. (Outlined in Behavior Management section of CHEC Website and student agenda book) Have students independently write why they believe that the school has a uniform policy. Be certain to have them link the mission to their answer. Please be certain to answer any questions or concerns that may arise.

(3rd Block) Review CHEC electronics policy (Outlined in Behavior Management section of CHEC Website and student agenda book) Please be certain to answer any questions that may arise.

(4th Block) Review consequences for student’s failure to adhere to electronics policy. (Outlined in Behavior Management section of CHEC Website and student agenda book) Have students independently write why they believe that the school has taken this stance on electronics. Be certain to have them link the mission to their answer. Please be certain to answer any questions or concerns that may arise.

DAY 7 (All teachers teach this lesson all day for about 15 minutes)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: Daily Procedures and Format of Class

Review the following:

-Call to order signal (hand in air)

- Classroom seating assignment

-Lesson transition expectations

-Any class procedures that you feel are important for an effective learning environment

DAY 8 (All teachers teach this lesson all day for about 15 minutes)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: Goal Setting

Have students set goals for upcoming year. Remember to set individual subject area goals and interdisciplinary goals (DCCAS Math and/or ELA). Please ensure that student keep high expectations as they create these goals. Later you can include these goals into a commitment letter that you will keep and continue to use as leverage. (For example: Earth Science-I will do all I can to increase my score in the area of Measurement by 40 percentage points by the time I take the DCCAS)

-After this have the students recite the mission

DAY 9 (All teachers teach this lesson all day for about 15 minutes)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: Comparison of the CHEC Creed to our Mission

Read the CHEC Creed– How do these statements help to ensure that every student meets the goals set in the CHEC Mission. (It is recommended to have a model for students to use as a guide)

Have students Think – Write – Pair – Share

Homework: Have students study the CHEC creed because they will be quizzed later in the week

DAY 10 (Certain Subject Area teachers teach this lesson all day for about 15 minutes)

Getting Started:

(All ELA teachers) Getting to work: Incentive Policy

- Review the incentive program that has been outlined. Answer any questions that may arise. (Outlined in Behavior Management section of CHEC Website)

(All Mathematics teachers) Getting to work: Classroom Consequence Protocol

Review the class consequence procedures. Answer any questions that may arise. (Outlined in Behavior Management section of CHEC Website)

(All teachers other than ELA and Mathematics teachers) Getting to work: Mission and Creed

Recite the creed and mission as a group

Homework: Have students study the CHEC creed because they will be quizzed later in the week

DAY 11 (Certain block/period teachers teach this lesson all day for about 5 minutes)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: Creed Quiz

(1st Block) Have students read the Creed

(2nd Block) Have the students recite the Creed as a class

(3rd Block) Give the students 2 minutes to quietly and independently read the Creed

(4th Block) Have students write the creed. If the students get it totally correct please provide them with a point towards the incentive program.

DAY 12 (All teachers must use this strategy in their daily lesson for the day)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: CHEC-7 strategy-Reciprocal Teaching

All teachers will choose when they will incorporate this strategy within the lesson. You can also get more information and ideas by typing in the following website or hitting on the link inside the on-line handbook under How We Teach-CHEC Seven Literacy Strategies.

Reciprocal Teaching: Reciprocal Teaching is a strategy for building reading comprehension and source investigation skills. Focusing on a central question or “zinger question,” students work in groups of four (pairs and individual work are also effective) in which each person takes on a role of a successful reader. The roles include a summarizer who identifies and condenses the most important points of a text; a questioner who formulates questions about the text; a clarifier who makes sense of confusing text by looking up vocabulary, concepts, or unclear references; a predictor who uses information to look to the future. Students read and annotate using their role, and then discuss sections of the text for meaning with regard to the central question. The immediate goal of Reciprocal Teaching is academic discussion about a critical text or source. The long term goal of Reciprocal Teaching is to build students’ skills as readers and investigators. http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/reciprocal_teaching

DAY 13 (All teachers must use this strategy in their daily lesson for the day)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: CHEC-7 strategy-Sourcebook

All teachers will choose when they will incorporate this strategy within the lesson. You can also get more information and ideas by using the same process that was used on Monday during the morning portion of the Teacher Orientation program.

Sourcebooks: The sourcebook, or interactive notebook, becomes the students’ “go to” guide for studying, reflection, metacognition, and writing. The sourcebook combines readings, writings, drawings, direct instruction, and reflections, which are a combination of “unofficial entries,” or the students’ own writings, drafts, or drawings. “Official entries” into the sourcebook are be numbered and recorded on a table of content in the front of the notebook and in the front of the class on a table of contents poster. Official entries may include (and are not limited to) warm-ups, reflections, Cornell notes, preparation for Socratic Seminar, reading responses, vocabulary, test preparation, hand-outs, data collection, drawings, research, and dialogue with the teacher. The teacher collects the notebooks to check for completion and read students’ work, as a formative assessment.

DAY 14 (All teachers must use this strategy in their daily lesson for the day)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: CHEC-7 strategy-Writing to Learn

Writing to Learn: Writing to learn may appear in many different forms, such as quick writes, warm ups, reflections, drafts, predictions, or exit tickets. The goal of writing to learn is learning! Students write to try out ideas and connections, pose questions, and grapple with new concepts. Writing to learn tasks are low-stakes meaning they are not graded and do not have right or wrong answers. The purpose is deep thought rather than assessment. Writing to learn tasks do, however, provide teachers with formative assessment data that can show the students’ thoughts, struggles, and misconceptions. http://www.ntlf.com/pod/Duquesene%20writing-to-learn.pdf

DAY 15 (All teachers must use this strategy in their daily lesson for the day)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: CHEC-7 strategy-Vocabulary Building

Vocabulary Building: Like writing to learn, vocabulary building can occur in many different ways. At the core, however, should be a process of making predications about the meaning of the word; examining its definitions in different contexts; exploring relevant prefixes, suffixes, and Greek or Latin roots; using the vocabulary in different ways such as writing and discussion; and being able to show mastery of the word through assessment. Some successful vocabulary strategies include concept maps, kinesthetic activities, word webs, PAVE, visualization drawing, acting out words, and accountable talk. Marzano has provided a framework for the best ways to increase reading achievement and content mastery by explicit vocabulary instruction grounded in the content or unit of study (see file cabinet). http://www.u46.org/roadmap/files/vocabulary/acadvoc-over.pdf

DAY 16 (All teachers must use this strategy in their daily lesson for the day)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: CHEC-7 strategy-Cornell Notes

Cornell Notes: Cornell notes combine the skills of note-making and note-taking through a process which engages students in direct instruction, individual work, group work, and meta-cognition. Students split their paper into a right and left side. The right side is reserved for information given to students by a teacher or a text—the words are not their own. The left side is reserved for their thoughts, such as theme-based, connective questions, clarifying questions, and detail questions about content, connections the student can make to him or herself, summary statements, or pictures which represent the material on the right. Students practice meta-cognition when they fill in the left side because if they are unable to form questions, make connections, write a summary, or draw picture, then they are struggling with comprehension of the material. Cornell notes also provide students with great study aides as they can fold the paper and ask themselves the questions on the left to quiz their own mastery. The goal of Cornell notes is to teach the habits of mind necessary for college-level comprehension of lecture-based courses, as well as to empower students to take their learning into their own hands and monitor their understanding. http://lsc.sas.cornell.edu/Sidebars/Study_Skills_Resources/cornellsystem.pdf

DAY 17 (All teachers must use this strategy in their daily lesson for the day)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: CHEC-7 strategy-Accountable Talk

Accountable Talk: Accountable talk integrates the discussion basics of Socratic Seminar with vocabulary building to encourage the use of academic vocabulary in the context of conversations. Often accountable talk becomes part of a class through activities such as “think, pair, share,” allowing students to integrate new words into their working vocabularies. The “accountable” aspect of accountable talk is often found in tracking word usage during discussion and setting goals for work usage. Students will set personal or group goals, and then track their and others’ word usage to ensure they are practicing their academic vocabularies. The goal of accountable talk is to integrate new words into students’ everyday academic vocabularies. http://wordgeneration.org/atbigpic.html http://www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/r670.pdf

DAY 18 (All teachers must use this strategy in their daily lesson for the day)

Getting Started:

Getting to work: CHEC-7 strategy-Socratic Seminar

Socratic Seminar: Socratic Seminar is a discussion-based strategy to encourage academic discussion, critical thinking, student engagement, and deep reading of texts or sources. Socratic Seminar is only successful if centered on a provocative central question/essential question. Students prepare by reading and annotating a text with the essential question in mind. They search for answers to the question and evidence to support their findings. In class, students “circle up” and discuss while the teacher observes. Initially the teacher may take on a leadership role by probing and keeping the discuss flowing; however, the goal is for students to take over this role. Meta-cognitive processes should frame a successful Socratic Seminar with students setting participation and discussion goals and writing down their initial responses to the essential question, and end with reflection on students’ goals and ending responses to the essential question. The goal is not to end with everyone in agreement; it is to stimulate questions and academic discourse. http://www.journeytoexcellence.org/practice/instruction/theories/miscideas/socratic/

(Handout 1)

Mission

Our students develop positive habits that build physical and mental health. They demonstrate perseverance, ethics and character in the pursuit of excellence.

Creed

If it is to be it is up to me. I am powerful beyond measure. I manifest pride, poise, perseverance, and the relentless pursuit of excellence for myself, my family, my community and my world.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cut along line and submit this portion to teacher

Student Profile (Please Print)

Student Name: ______________________________

Student Cell Phone Number: ______________________________

Student Address: __________________________________

__________________________________

Parent/Guardian Name: _____________________________

Parent/ Guardian Work Telephone Number: __________________________

Parent/ Guardian Cell Phone Number: __________________________

Student’s Favorite Hobby/Sport: __________________________________

Any additional comment(s):

(Handout 2)

Questions for Creating a Classroom Vision

Personal Perspectives:

· What things can I do as a student to be successful in this class?

· What can the teacher do to support my success in class?

· What kinds of supports from teachers help me to do my best, especially when I am struggling?

· What makes a classroom a safe space where I can be honest and open, where I can say what’s on my mind?

· What kinds of learning tasks, activities and homework are easiest for me to do?

· What kinds of learning tasks, activities and homework are hardest for me to do?

· What do kids say that annoys me the most? What happens in class that makes me mad?

· What hopes do I bring with me to this class?

· In what ways do I like to be challenged?

· Are there any hesitations that I have about this class that might get in the way of my success?

· When I’m having difficulty or get stuck, what can a teacher do to help me get back on track?

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