Student Lesson

What is understanding and how does it differ from knowledge? How can we determine the big ideas worth understanding? Why is understanding an important teaching goal, and how do we know when students have attained it? How can we create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on understanding and leads to improved student performance in today's high-stakes, standards-based environment? Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe answer these and many other questions in this second edition of Understanding by Design. Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have greatly revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K-16 spectrum in the design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction. With an improved UbD Template at its core, the book explains the rationale of backward design and explores in greater depth the meaning of such key ideas as essential questions and transfer tasks. Readers will learn why the familiar coverage- and activity-based approaches to curriculum design fall short, and how a focus on the six facets of understanding can enrich student learning. With an expanded array of practical strategies, tools, and examples from all subject areas, the book demonstrates how the research-based principles of Understanding by Design apply to district frameworks as well as to individual units of curriculum. Combining provocative ideas, thoughtful analysis, and tested approaches, this new edition of Understanding by Design offers teacher-designers a clear path to the creation of curriculum that ensures better learning and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.

An award-winning photographer captures children's thoughts about their bodies in striking b&w photos and disarmingly honest words.

In Learning Targets, Connie M. Moss and Susan M. Brookhart contend that improving student learning and achievement happens in the immediacy of an individual lesson--what they call "today's lesson"—or it doesn't happen at all. The key to making today's lesson meaningful? Learning targets. Written from students' point of view, a learning target describes a lesson-sized chunk of information and skills that students will come to know deeply. Each lesson's learning target connects to the next lesson's target, enabling students to master a coherent series of challenges that ultimately lead to important curricular standards. Drawing from the authors' extensive research and professional learning partnerships with classrooms, schools, and school districts, this practical book - Situates learning targets in a theory of action that students, teachers, principals, and central-office administrators can use to unify their efforts to raise student achievement and create a culture of evidence-based, results-oriented practice. - Provides strategies for designing learning targets that promote higher-order thinking and foster student goal setting, self-assessment, and self-regulation. - Explains how to design a strong performance of understanding, an activity that produces evidence of students' progress toward the learning target. - Shows how to use learning targets to guide summative assessment and grading. Learning Targets also includes reproducible planning forms, a classroom walk-through guide, a lesson-planning process guide, and guides to teacher and student self-assessment. What students are actually doing during today's lesson is both the source of and the yardstick for school improvement efforts. By applying the insights in this book to your own work, you can improve your teaching expertise and dramatically empower all students as stakeholders in their own learning.

When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she is not to use her own name but instead use the number they have assigned to her. When she goes home for summer holidays, Irene's parents decide never to send her and her brothers away again. But where will they hide? And what will happen when her parents disobey the law? Based on the life of co-author Jenny Kay Dupuis’ grandmother, I Am Not a Number is a hugely necessary book that brings a terrible part of Canada’s history to light in a way that children can learn from and relate to.

This book introduces readers to the development of Lesson Study (LS) in the UK, making historical connections to the growth of Lesson Study in Japan, East Asia, the US and Europe. It explains how to conduct LS in schools and educational institutions, providing examples of compelling, externally evaluated impact outcomes for both primary learners and teacher learners, and vivid exemplars of LS in action across age ranges and curricular contexts. Each chapter presents international research outcomes that clearly demonstrate how and why LS has a place within teacher learning approaches that have the greatest impact and the greatest capacity building potential for creating outstanding teaching. This is supported by primary research evidence, and linked with contemporary and recent high quality research worldwide into pupil learning, teacher learning, school improvement and system improvement. The book illustrates the diverse application of LS for innovating or transferring highly effective practices in a variety of contexts to boost learning for children with a range of challenges and specific needs. Lesson Study provides a global perspective on the development of LS worldwide, exploring its impact on innovation, creativity, curricula and achievement in a variety of contexts. It will be of key interest to practitioners in schools and teacher education institutions, researchers, and policy and decision-makers at local, national and international levels. The book’s explicit focus on the leadership of local authorities will also make it valuable reading for all leaders of professional development and school improvement.

"Crafting Effective Lesson Plans: A Comprehensive Guide for Educators" is a practical and comprehensive book that provides educators with the knowledge and skills needed to create impactful lesson plans. The book explores the importance of lesson planning and its direct correlation with student achievement. It delves into the essential components of a lesson plan, including clear learning objectives, aligned curriculum standards, effective instructional strategies, and comprehensive assessment methods. The book emphasizes the significance of understanding student needs, interests, and diverse learning styles when preparing lesson plans. It guides educators through the process of designing engaging learning experiences, incorporating hands-on activities, fostering critical thinking, and promoting student collaboration. Furthermore, it offers insights into utilizing technology and multimedia resources effectively to enhance teaching and learning. Assessment and evaluation are key aspects of lesson planning, and the book provides guidance on utilizing formative and summative assessments, aligning assessments with learning objectives, and providing constructive feedback to students. It also addresses the importance of reflection and continuous improvement, encouraging educators to reflect on their lessons and make necessary adjustments based on student outcomes and feedback. Additionally, the book explores the integration of interdisciplinary approaches and the adaptation of lesson plans for special populations, including students with special needs and English language learners. It highlights the value of collaboration and provides strategies for collaborative lesson planning, sharing resources, and engaging in professional learning communities. The book concludes with practical tips, organizational tools, online resources, and time management strategies to assist educators in optimizing their lesson planning processes. It emphasizes the importance of embracing professional growth and development as lifelong learners. Overall, "Crafting Effective Lesson Plans" aims to empower educators with the skills and knowledge necessary to create engaging, purposeful, and student-centered lesson plans. By implementing the strategies outlined in this book, educators can enhance their instructional practices, foster student achievement, and create meaningful learning experiences for their students.