I wish I had completed M5U1 back in December. That is when I
took over for a 3rd grade teacher who decided to retire early. I knew
taking over a class mid-year would be a challenge in and of itself, plus it was
widely known that my predecessor had "checked out," had an unruly
class, and was behind in teaching the standards. The class I inherited
had scored the lowest of the 3rd grade classes on Q2 benchmark exams, and
I knew I had a lot of work to do. Despite my lack of formal training, I
was humbled by the fact that school and district officials were confident in my
ability to face these challenges.
As a four-year veteran of substitute teaching, I was fairly
comfortable in the classroom, but I never had to plan any lessons from
scratch. I would arrive on my scheduled day and find plans waiting for
me. I mainly had to worry about carrying them out successfully.
Occasionally, I had to improvise, but I never had to unpack standards or
engage in backwards mapping. In December, without much notice, I became
responsible for everything. Needless to say, I felt quite overwhelmed the
first several months on the job. Trying to balance full-time teaching,
full-time school, and family rearing left me more than a little frazzled at the
end of each day. 😔
Fast forward to now. This is the last week of my first year
of teaching. My students seem happy, their parents seem happy, my
employer seems happy, and I couldn't be happier for summer break. The
countless hours I spent learning the tools necessary to do my job paid off, as
I managed to close some gaps. On Q3 benchmark exams, my students scored
the highest of the 3rd grade classes, which made me smile both inside and out.
This wouldn't have been possible without the help of my mentor, my
colleagues, my family, and my dedication to learning the standards. 😊
The school year moves at a very fast pace. There is little
down time, and the standards we are expected to teach can't be taught at a
leisurely pace, unfortunately. There are quarterly benchmark exams and
state-mandated exams that assess students on what they have learned through a
given period. As a result, planning has to be efficient and effective.
Unwrapping the standards, or breaking them down into smaller components,
makes me feel less overwhelmed. It helps me identify what concept I am
teaching, like multiplication, division, elapsed time, shapes and attributes,
etc. Also, identifying the verbs in the standard helps me understand what
students need to be able to do with the concept. For example, explain,
use, partition, show, create, solve, interpret, etc. Unwrapping a
standard also provides a context for the concept. For example, a standard
may ask students to model the process of multiplication using arrays and a
number line. The context is arrays and a number line. If I planned
all of my lessons teaching students how to model the process of multiplication
using repeated addition, I wouldn't be preparing them for what they are
expected to know. As a result, it is very important to identify the concept,
skills (action), and context of each standard I am expected to teach.
After starting in December, I quickly learned the value of looking
at the final assessment as part of the unwrapping process. Often, I would
read the standard, then go straight to the assessment to learn more about what is
expected. We also did this as a grade-level team during our Friday meetings. This was essential for me in the first few months of teaching because
time was extremely scarce. Knowing what students would be seeing on their
District Formative Assessment (DFA) helped me narrow down my lesson planning. Instead of feeling so overwhelmed, my direction was clearer. Backwards mapping helped me back into lessons that would get students
where they needed to be. I must say, however, that I did feel guilty
about doing this at times. I sometimes felt like I was teaching to the
DFA. While I feel backwards mapping is extremely beneficial, I think we
must prepare lessons that challenge our students to think outside the box or
test. We must strive to prepare engaging lessons that give students an
opportunity to work collaboratively. We must challenge students according
to their proficiency level and learning style, and ask students to share what
they've learned, regardless of subject.
I am fortunate that my district subscribes to Beyond Textbooks, which was created by neighboring Vail Student District. In fact, I just learned yesterday that my district was part of the pilot program and its first user. Beyond Textbooks takes the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards and unpacks them fully. Standards are broken down by concept, skills, big ideas, essential questions, common misconceptions, etc. Assessments are provided and teachers share resources and lesson plans for each standard. I was unaware of how extensively the standards are unwrapped in Beyond Textbooks until M5U1, which is why the assignments in M5U1 would have benefited me back in December. I knew where to find each standard, the teaching timeline, the DFA, and some lesson plan ideas. My research this weekend opened a whole new world for me that will make life much easier going forward. I now know where to find the concept, skills, big ideas, essential questions, common misconceptions, expectations based on proficiency level, etc. Unwrapping a standard takes time, and Beyond Textbooks does much of the work for users. In a sense, M5U1 helped me unwrap Beyond Textbooks, and has given me more confidence heading in to next school year.
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