For most teachers, we have topics to cover and a curriculum to follow. I’ve always been a team player, but I like to put my own twist on it to connect with my students. In the next few posts, Megan and I want to share how we have changed up the “family” unit. Check out 10 tough questions I start with when planning.
Jefferson County Public Schools, KY, 2014
First the brainstorming… I started by looking at the goals that the district has set. Then I thought about my students and asked a lot of questions.
– What would they be interested in that comes from the target culture?
– Which families from the target cultures would be good to talk about?
– What authentic resources would support the goals?
– How can we connect with the community?
– Is there an organization we can help out?
– Are there any career connections?
– Who can come into class (or videochat) to give a first-hand connection? (preferably a native speaker)
– How are they using 21st Century skills? What “product” should they create?
– How will I keep it all in the target language?
– Can I connect with another content area teacher?
Just a little to think about, right?!
How do you start your planning process? Any other tough questions?
Great work! Thanks for sharing.
I’m looking forward to seeing how your planning process works and what comes out of it.
This is a great visual organizer. Do you have it available as a template to edit?
Thanks Sara. It does catch the students’ attention. I don’t have this template though. It belongs to JCPS.