Welcome to another week, a week closer to holding class in person or virtually, either way it's almost upon us. 

Going into this week I hope you have reflected and planned over the last 3 weeks with the suggestions and resources you have been provided. There is some great stuff out there. 

This week I want you to dig into the assignments you are going to create for your students. Remember, the purpose of my blog is for you to be purposeful and intentional with each move. Think of teaching as a chess game. Although I don't play, I am aware it is a calculated game that requires strategy, just like a classroom full of students. You sure don't want your queen taken! 

I seem to have many favorite "teacher" texts and this week's is no exception. Intentional and Targeted Teaching, A framework for teacher growth and Leadership, by D. Fisher, N. Frey, and S.A. Hite. When I was principal this text was super important to me as I served as a guide with my teachers. We used this text to study how we planned and the choices we made for our students. These authors utilized the word intentional because "...teacher's actions matter. The planning teachers do as well as the instructional decisions they make should be purposeful. High-quality instruction starts with knowing what students need to learn, then moves them on to creating a wide range of learning situations in which students can engage. Intentional says teachers are deliberate and that learning is expected." pg 3-4.

So, how exactly is one intentional when planning a lesson? First, you must know where your students are in the content and which skills they have and or lack. In comes formative assessment. Teachers must look over their expected outcomes, know the skills necessary to get there, and assess how ready their students are for the tasks. 

For example, if my standards expect 7th grade students to complete a 3 page essay on the causes and affects of WWII I will need to look at the skills required and work back from there assessing the readiness of my students. I will need to know their computer literacy, reading level, understanding of cause and affect, ability to search out high quality resources, etc. To begin to determine their abilities I will start with a formative assessment on basic Internet navigation and computer literacy. This essay cannot be completed without those two skills therefore they will be my baseline data. The information can provide me with information on what I need to teach, re-teach, and or provide scaffolds to allow student success. From there I will do a simple reading assessment. I may not be a reading teacher or am I? Yes, we are all reading teachers because literacy is key in all we do as citizens of the world. Once I know each student's reading level I can teach discrete skills provide scaffolds, and even programs to assist students when researching our topic. Of course I will need to know more about the students as we are working toward the goal of cause and affects of WWII, so I will assess along the way ensuring we are all on the correct path. 

Each of the above steps in the example are intentional moves made to ensure student learning and successful standards acquisition. Formative assessment happens intentionally throughout all parts of a lesson. 

Let's think about a chef teaching a student how to cook marinara sauce for the first time. Suppose Chef set out a recipe and walked away. How confident would you be that it would taste it's best? Sure, it may look like marinara sauce; but will it taste as good as his? Would Chef be willing to serve it to his clients? Most likely, no. Cooks and chefs need more than just the paper, there is a finesse to creating a wonderful meal. You are the chef and what you do takes finesse. Don't think handing out definitions will be enough for your students. They need you all along the way to model, re-teach, extend, scaffold, and support as they grow. 

So, as you set out to plan this week think about formatively assessing your students on the skills necessary to be successful in your class during the first unit. What do you need them to know and how can you support that learning in tandem with your content?