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STEP
SEVEN
- READY, STEADY, TEACH!!
1 short meeting and some serious teaching |
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Just
before you begin teaching the unit, print a copy of Checklist
for Unit Documentation to complete as the team considers
the following items. |
| Introduction |
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Get
recognition for your students and promote yourselves |
| Process |
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1. Would the local newspaper, radio station, or
television station do a story or at least a photo of the students in
action on this unit? Who on
the team could make a phone call? |
| Step
One |
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| Step
Two |
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2. Would the school newspaper or the school website
do a story and include some photographs? |
| Step
Three |
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| Step
Four |
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3. Is there a parent newsletter that would cover
some aspect of the unit? |
| Step
Five |
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4. Who could you invite to certain student activities:
the superintendent? the principal? the curriculum director?
school board members? the
mayor? Students could write
invitations. |
| Step
Six |
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| Step
Seven |
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Prepare
to document the unit |
| Step
Eight |
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1. Get film in the camera. |
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2.
If a teacher has an activity that is unique and developed especially
for this unit, consider taping it to add to your unit archive. If team
membership changes next year, it could be invaluable. The winter
unit teachersdiscuss this. |
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3. Each team member should have a file ready to
hold lesson plans, resource people and phone numbers, any and all assessments
used, copies of student work, photographs,
and publicity. Save lots at
this point - organize and thin it after the unit. Having complete
files will make it easier to teach the unit next year and will make
it easier to put together a presentation - for the school board or a
conference. |
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4. If the culminating task is electronic - a webpage
or HyperStudio stack, for example - talk with the school tech person
about where it can be saved. Frequently,
these units are taught toward the end of the school year and over the
summer the computers get “cleaned up” and all of the student work is
lost. Arrange to save an example
of the electronic work! |
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5. Have the unit plan chart handy, with blank
copies. Add notes as you go
- you may alter your original plan somewhat; you may find a perfect
activity to add along the way. Keep
up to date on the unit plan chart.
Print some from here if you need to. You will need to print
these charts in landscape mode. |
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Unit
Plan Chart Page One |
Unit
Plan Chart Page Two |
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6. Plan to thank resource people. Perhaps a letter to the editor could thank
them all at once. Sometimes,
writing a letter of commendation to a presenter’s supervisor with a
copy to the presenter is a high impact way of thanking.
Of course, thank- yous from students are always welcome. |
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You
will have conversations during the unit about very specific issues that
this tutorial cannot address. When
the unit is done, come back together with your thoughts, notes, completed
unit plan charts, and files. This
may happen the week after the unit is done, around someone’s pool over
the summer, or maybe not until the beginning of next school year.
Your purpose then will be to fine tune the unit and get it ready
to teach again. |
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This
is the end of Step Seven. |
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Before
you head off....take half a minute to Reflect. |
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Here are some
samples of students in action during one pilot team unit as well as
teachers commenting on the educational value of an interdisciplinary
unit. |
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