Perhaps you have heard, and been confused by, the phrases "deconstructing" or "unpacking" the standards. Throw in the terms like objectives, targets, cans and dos, and it gets really blurry for some of us. And yet, understanding the difference between learning targets and standards is essential to building effective unit plans.
Take a minute and do a little self-assessment. Can you tell the difference between these standards and learning targets?
I can add and subtract fractions.
I can draw and label a food web showing the relationships among all of the ecosystem's plant and animal populations.
I can describe the elements of music.
Write in a variety of forms for different audiences and purposes.
I can write an argument to support claims.
Expand music listening skills and use music vocabulary to analyze and evaluate music.
I can write a letter to the city council and ask them to build a new skate board park.
Know and apply scientific concepts and principles to understand the properties, structures and changes in physical, earth/space, and living systems.
When you build a unit plan, how do you determine which types of targets you will ask students to meet as you try to help them master the standards? What do you think makes this difficult? Was there something that " clicked" for you that you can share with others?
It dawned on me one day that I needed to look at the English standards for 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th grades to clearly see what progress to mastery for 7th graders would look like. I also needed to see what exceeding the standard would look like. With these gradations in mind, I can map a unit's learning targets by levels.
ReplyDeleteI can design learning targets stemming from 4th grade standards at the beginning of the unit. Next, I can create targets stemming from 5th and 6th grade standards, and then spend the last two-thirds of the unit working on learning targets to meet 7th grade standards.
All along the way I can see who gets left behind at which level. I can also see who meets or exceeds the standard at each level. Some will need more practice at one level, others less. Because the practice or assignments are leveled and can be re-done till mastered, each student can almost self-differentiate by continuing to practice at the needed level.
Summative evaluations not only show if they have met the learning target, but where they are in relation to the standard.
Melody I think that is a good idea. I found that when I looked back at the art standards in the upper elementary grades, I was able to reference the topics and build upon the vocabulary they were already familiar with.
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