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Dr. Melissa Shields, NBCT

mshields@alsde.edu



Slides

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Helpful Resources and Literature

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Five Skills We Need to Teach On a Block Schedule

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  • Planning - The ability to develop a pacing guide or syllabus for the course in nine-week periods, which includes weekly and daily planning.

  • Variety - The ability to use several instructional strategies effectively.

  • Vision - The skill to design and maintain an environment that allows for great flexibility and creativity.

  • Management - The desire and skill to be an effective classroom manager.

  • Openness - The freedom to share the ownership of teaching and learning with the students.


http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/003172170008200307
 

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Patty Blume's Recommended Schedule - 5 Steps

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  1. Skill/Concept Review......................10-15 minutes

  2. Direct Instruction............................30-40 minutes

  3. Shared practice....................................20 minutes

  4. Individual Practice...........................20-30 minutes

  5. Closure/ Reflection.........................10-15 minutes


1. Skill/Concept Review.............................................10-15 minutes
Great time for a quick formative assessment! 

HINTS! Take attendance and collect homework during this time.

2. Direct Instruction.................................................30-40 minutes

  • Interactive lecture (i.e.: 10/2 or "Chunk and Chew" format)

  • Cornell notetaking (with discussion during or afterward) Video Demo

  • Shared reading or read aloud of text

  • Introduction of new concept or skill with handouts or student note taking


3. Shared practice.......................................................20 minutes

  • Small groups work collectively on task to practice skill or concept presented during Direct Instruction time.

  • Strategies


4. Individual Practice...............................................20-30 minutes

  • Standards-based assignment work time

  • Opportunity for individual conferencing

  • Opportunity for students to clarify progress on tasks


5.Closure/ Reflection...............................................10-15 minutes

  • Metacognitive Journal - (What did I learn/ How did I learn it? / How will I use it?)

  • Reflection on a reading completed in class

  • Time for students to set up for homework


http://blogs.scholastic.com/9_12/2008/10/effective-teach.html

 

 

Let's see what it can look like...

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LESSON IDEA

Making the Declaration of Independence

Come Alive (9 min)

Grades 9-10 / History / Independence

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Classroom Rounds Evidence Document 

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3 Step Block Class - Robert Canady 

Block expert Robert Lynn Canady recommends that we spend our days coaching instead of lecturing.
 

  • We should shift from talking all day to our students to planning for student to work all day. “The teachers lead it; the students do it.”

  • Canady developed a 3-step block schedule lesson plan based on Bloom’s Taxonomy.

  • It is not a fixed 30-30-30 minutes.

  • It is flexible and adaptable to the teacher’s and students’ needs.




Step 1 – EXPLANATION

  • Teacher in charge and may teach in traditional manner

  • Bloom’s Taxonomy - Remember

  • Prior Knowledge

  • Formative Assessments

  • Mini-Lecture

  • Make Lesson Relevant and Encourage Interest


Step 2 – APPLICATION

  • The “heart” of the class and should take the most time

  • Students are the workers and teacher is the coach. “The teacher moves to the sidelines.”

  • Bloom's Taxonomy - Understand and Apply

  • Examples:

    • Students working in pairs or groups

    • Socratic Seminar

    • Digital Learning

    • Interviews

    • Simulations

    • Think-Pair-Share

    • Debates


Step 3 – SYNTHESIS

  • “Never let a class end without a class understanding the essential elements." Check for understanding and reteach if necessary.

  • Bloom's Taxonomy - Analyze, Evaluate, and Create

  • Make sure the content is relevant. “Why do I have to know this?”

    • What would Romeo and Juliet’s prom song be?

  • Recall for next day. Use a “hook” if possible.


http://tech205.weebly.com/uploads/8/8/0/0/8800017/blockschedulespecialreport.pdf

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Stations in Block Schedule Class

Organize time by learning stations in which each station requires students to perform a task.

Sample Schedule

  • Introduction – 15 min.

  • Station 1 – 20 min.

  • Station 2 – 20 min.

  • Station 3 – 20 min.

  • Close and Review – 10 min.

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Because they can, we must!

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