Social Studies Department
Meeting Agenda
Date: / Tuesday, November 2, 2010Time: / 8:15-2:45
Salemwood School – Room B201
Attendance / Judi Allen
District - K-12 / School / Gordon, Penny
Grade 6 / Salemwood
Casaletto, Lisa
Grade(s) 5 & 6 / Forestdale / Foster, Megan
Grade7 / Ferryway
Corbett, Michelle
Grade 6 / Beebe / Mallett, Paul
Grade 5 / Salemwood
Corvi-Disalvatore, Carolyn
Grade 7 / Beebe / Patrie, Matt
Grade(s) 7 & 8 / Linden
DeFeo, Neil
Grade 8 / Salemwood / Stratford, Tim
Grade 8 / Ferryway
DeSantis, Robin
Grade 6 / Ferryway / Toomey, Jennifer
Grade 7 / Linden
Enwright, William
Grade 8 / Beee / Trombley, Leslie
Grade 8 / Linden
Foley, Scott
Grade 6 / Linden / Walsh, William
Grade 7 / Salemwood
District Goal: / Student Achievement:
Goal: All students are knowledgeable, collaborative, independent learners who:
· achieve at a level required to access higher education and pursue a career
· meet or exceed established benchmark standards on all required state and district assessments
· “got grit” (set goals and relentlessly pursue them)
· seek challenges
· discover and develop their individual talents
· strive for academic excellence
· demonstrate personal and social responsibility
· are prepared to be active participants in our economy and democracy
Instruction:
Goal: Students will be independent learners. They will interact thoughtfully with text, data, number and word problems, visuals, and phenomena, on their own and with one another, to build new knowledge, skills and understanding.
8:15-8:30
/ Good morning and light breakfast
Frame our work for the year: 21st Century Classroom & Project-Based Learning
§ Select a passage or 2 that resonates for you, record in Content Response Notes
§ Follow directions 1-6
§ Content/Response Notes--Use the left side to make connections, jot down questions, make predictions
§ Debrief—summarize, in 12 words or less, how this website informs our work for the new school year?
§ Type in word doc on my netbook
§ Put all of the responses in Wordle
§ Debrief Wordle--Purpose and use
§ Suggested reading: Project-Based Learning Space by Houghton Mifflin
http://college.cengage.com/education/pbl/background.html
Department Focus:
"Reflect, reorganize and improve" on implementation of the district teaching and learning strategies to build students' comprehension and vocabulary skills.
· concept of the Gradual Release of Responsibility
· Think Aloud
· Two-column notes (Content/Response Notes)
· Think-Write-Pair-Share-Revise
· Summarize
Integrate project learning into core social studies and history content to increase student engagement and deepen understanding.
In an inquiry based environment teachers will provide opportunities for students to develop key 21st century skills and to apply those real-life skills in the context of a project.
Curriculum maps and pacing guides must be completed and/or updated to reflect PBL’s and key topics and questions.
Navigation and use of our history page. Members of the department will find 21st Century Skills, content & literacy resources, pacing guides, curriculum maps, information on Department PBL’s, and a space for teacher collaboration:
http://historymalden.wikispaces.com/
· Volunteers are needed to maintain department pages by content or grade level. 30 PDP's and 3 credits towards salary advancement will be given as compensation.
Online professional development mid October or November open to SS teachers first
§ Defines 21st Century Classroom
§ Teaches integration of technology and literacy strategies into content
§ $600 technology purchase upon successful completion of course
PBL’s meeting by grade/content teams
§ Grade 5 – identify a PBL (Ellis Island?)—write pacing guide, begin curriculum map for quarter 1
§ Grade 6 – Immigration-- incorporate 21st Century Skills, google maps,
National Geography Day, November 17
§ Grade 7 – Model UN, see agenda, separate attachment
§ Grades 8 & 9—Generation Citizen, see agenda below
Grade 8 – Room 201 B
2010 Generation Citizen Teacher Workshop
Professional Development Day
Agenda
Beginning in the Summer of 2010, Generation Citizen will be conducting a professional development seminar for all teachers planning on conducting the program in their classes during the 2010-2011 school year. This workshop will provide accredited professional development hours, as well as providing teachers with a firm grasp of the knowledge and skills necessary for a successful year with Generation Citizen.
The organizers and facilitators include:
· Scott Warren, Executive Director, Generation Citizen
· Molly Mills, Director of Programming, Generation Citizen
· Laurel Stolte, Harvard Graduate School of Education
· Other teachers/facilitators
Goals:
The goals of the Generation Citizen Teacher Workshop include:
· Introducing teachers to the mission and vision of Generation Citizen
· Reflecting on the importance of civic education as part of a student’s overall academic pursuits
· Getting teachers familiar with the basics of the student-centered model of Generation Citizen
· Providing teachers with a support group to brainstorm and share lessons with over the course of the year
· Discussing ways to adequately and effectively provide college mentors with support over the course of the year
Agenda:
9:00-9:30- Introductions/ Ice-breaker
· Opening question: Why are teachers interested in teaching “action-civics”?
· What have you done in your classroom that marks “action-civics?
9:30-10:00- Introduction to Generation Citizen organization and Program (Scott Warren)
· Why is “Action-Civics” important?
· Overall Mission and Vision of Generation Citizen
· What are we hoping to accomplish through students taking action?
· Why is it important that the curriculum is student centered?
10:00-10:30- Working with College Mentors
· How to use the mentors as motivators
· Strategies for helping to create a successful experience with the college mentors
· Expectations for the partnership
· Holding the mentors accountable
10:30-11:45- Pedagogical Strategies for Successfully Teaching Action-Civics (Laurel Stolte)
· Going over the Generation Citizen curriculum and strategies to successfully teach action civics
· Modeling democratic practices in the classroom
· Making action-civics interdisciplinary (incorporating it into other subjects)
· Reflecting on activities as a class
· Inclusive skill-building
§ Scaffolding the curriculum for all students
§ Engaging all students in the program
· Engaging all students in the action-based project
· Assessing students on their knowledge
11:45-12:30- Break out into smaller groups
· Groups will focus on looking over specifics aspects and lesson plans in the curriculum, and talk about the following areas:
o Innovative features of the curriculum
· Anticipated challenges in the classroom
· Creating effective assessments
· Breakouts will share with the larger group
12:30-1:30- Working lunch
· Teachers share stories/discuss strategies
· Plans for creating a working group throughout the year are discussed
1:30-2:30- Generation Citizen Advocacy Strategies (Scott Warren)
· How students can effectively take action, including:
o Advocating to elected officials
o Getting media attention
o Engaging other students
· Coming up with a concrete objective for your class
2:30-3:00- Debrief and next steps
· Concrete plans for working group are discussed
Outcomes: