Throughout the year, East Granby Public School faculty, staff, and administrators have focused professional development revolving about district and building goals, departmental and grade-level needs, and technological advancements. Best practice, as recognized by the state of Connecticut, provides for small group and individual learning. Our teachers might delve into project-based learning with their grade-level team -- or take a class with a nationally-recognized educational organization. At the same time, others might get hands-on instruction in the computer lab with a new platforms, while colleagues down the hall are doing a deep study on how Reading/Writing Workshop brings words alive for children.  As educators, we must model the principles of what it means to be lifelong learners. Below is a sampling of what we've been working on recently.

What is a Choice Board?

Also called Learning Menus - here are some examples

Using Choice Boards to Increase Student Ownership

English Language Arts: Here are the ELA Standards. We use Savvas Perspectives program in grades 6 & 7, which is aligned to the standards. 

Making Cooperative Learning Work Better 

Position Statement on ELA - CT Dept of Ed

What is a Lexile Measure?

Freedom for Literacy (one of my favorite articles)

Lifting the Curtain on SparkNotes - A synopsis

Using Children’s Literature as a Basis for Teaching Literary Theory - article by Edutopia

NYT Article on why teachers should not use writing as punishment:

The National Council of Teachers of English - the NCTE Resolution on Condemning the Use of Writing as Punishment

Other resources that support this belief, as well as some containing ideas for more of a restorative approach when dealing with student misbehavior:

• Education World - The Three Rs of Logical Consequences

• Responsive Classroom and Logical Consequences

• Macmillan Community

The Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Frameworks for CT was published in 2015. 

Avoid PBL Pitfalls (Start with this article on five pitfalls to avoid when planning a project-based learning unit.)

Big History Project: Free lesson plans, free PD, free essay grading assistance and more, created by social studies teachers, funded by Bill Gates

PBL and History Here are the results of a search on PBL and history:  Lessons from teachers, which include Am History & Global perspectives, for a total of four pages (about 50 units)

PBL Rubrics In addition to a trove of rubrics, the Buck Institute of Education also has PBL videos and other pertinent materials

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Library This comprehensive site has many general SS lesson resources, and on the left-hand side, there are links to get more specific areas of focus for social studies

PBS Lesson Plans around The History Detectives American history lessons based around primary documents, along with guides on how to incorporate these sources and ways to lead students to understanding

Lessons by Grade Levels and Subject Areas A massive listing of social studies lessons compiled by a teacher, already sorted.

Big Eras of History (By clicking on Big Eras in gray in the top center, you will see history has been chunked into nine eras. Each one has specific lesson plans, with handouts, PowerPoints, etc.)

What Kids Can Do - Students create documentaries on a topic from past, present, and future point of view. The Battles of Resources (past: farming land, present: oil/gas, and future: water)

PBL Projects - Best Practices from Edutopia - Start to finish, downloadable history projects

From High Tech High - One of the best schools in the United States, shares all of their projects, not discipline specific

Intel Showcases  - Includes a variety of grades and subjects for inquiry and PBL

How the Toilet Changed History

Hansika Lenkala receives the high school national writing award in Washington, DC, for her essay from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). 

World Language: The World Language Frameworks were adopted in 2005 by the CT legislature. East Granby has had students earn the Seal of Biliteracy, beginning with the year of its adoption in the 2017-2018 school year. 

Best Practices for Designing Rubrics

Access a list of Student Choice Options HERE

Video: 10 Ways to Empower Student Choice

5-Minute Film Festival: Student Voice and Choice

Why Curriculum Mapping Matters

Print Resources: Articles in a shared folder on Student Choice Options

Questions to Ask Instead of ‘How Are You Doing Right Now? by Elizabeth Weingarten helps with opening online classes

The Standards for the Arts includes Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre And Visual Arts. Here is the link to the national standards the state adopted in 2016. 

Inspired by Gauguin, Research, and Writing - an article by Jacqueline Alcantrara 

Combining Art, Perseverance, Making Mistakes, and Picture Books - an article by Matt Tavares

The Art of Education is a wonderful resource with many resources, webinars, and a great way to connect with other art educators.

Characteristics of Gifted Children

The Standards for the Arts includes Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre And Visual Arts. Here is the link to the national standards the state adopted in 2016. 

Characteristics of Gifted Children

Welcome to the Baking School

Lesson Ideas for Design Class: Combine Germany’s zero-energy schools, their training facilities, Vienna’s new Ikea with NO parking spaces, and the CT Home Builders Association Contest for students

Free Resources for Remote Learning - Including the History of American Cuisine

Using Google Maps and International Foods Lesson

Disclaimer: There is an issue here with the term “bizarre” - Weighted words like weird, strange, or unusual implies other nations' cuisines are "less than” the dishes standard in the USA or not as desirable. Instead, choose a clip from a show that respects and explores a dish, such as from Anthony Bourdain’s collection (not Indiana Jones or Zimmerman mentioned here).

 Ten Essential Principles and Practices - From the Chronicle of Higher Education - some wonderful points to consider as you continue moving forward in an online learning platform.

From the University of Central Florida - This is a GOLD MINE of resource for online teachers. Start Here MANY different ways to engage and teach online learners

Also, this from UCF related to PBL online

Beyond the Worksheets: Project-Based Learning Adapted for Online  (While you can't see the full lesson plan without a subscription, the article is helpful for sparking creative ideas.)

Understanding PBL in the Online Classroom

Online Project- Based Learning - Another useful article for seeing how others approach PBL online and helping you to think outside the box

The CT Commission for Educational Technology offers a large variety of resources for remote teaching and learning

Incorporating Social-Emotional Learning into Lessons, which is one of the important focus points in EGPS

GENERAL GUIDELINES for Successful Online Teaching:

PLANNING: 

• What is the end goal of the lesson? 

  • What is the concept or skill being addressed? How will you check for understanding?  

  • What are options - Choices - for students to prove learning (product)?

  • Have you considered equity (students without resources, lacking support, identified children)?

  • Is there more than one way for students to get this information? (For example in using synchronous teaching (live) students may not be available during school hours due to childcare or because their parents are working.)

  • How much time does it take to do this work?

  • Can it be done offline or without tech reliance?

ASSESSMENT: 

• Use Project-Based Learning, where the project becomes the learning, spreading over a longer period of time.

  • Have students create a product

  • Quick check-ins with Google Forms, GC discussions, via an approved app

PRODUCTS:

• Slideshow with voiceover

  • Movie

  • News Article (share expectations prior)

  • News Report (script and video)

  • Visual Representations

  • Students create a lesson for other students

  • Poem

  • Magazine Article

  • Personal Response

OVERVIEW:  

• Respond to assignments within 48 hours. 

  • If you don’t have time to comment on papers, try spreading them out further apart. 

  • Preparing for online teaching and learning is difficult, so you will not be able to accomplish what you normally would. The “Do No Harm” motto applies to yourself, as well as your students. When in a crisis situation, normal is not expected.

  • Remember: QUALITY over quantity

All teachers and paraprofessionals in East Granby Public Schools have received training in Google Classroom.  If you are new to the district, welcome! We will be reaching out to you to set up 1:1 Tech Coaching Sessions (along with any other PD needs you might have).

Videos:

Tutorial for Parents & Students: A Nice Overview on Google Classroom. This was shared out with parents, but some may have not looked at it during those overwhelming first days of closure.

A short video of a teacher showing you her Google Classroom for a Special Education Class

A thorough article, with video, for teachers regarding Google Classroom

How to use Read and Write for Google to make voice comments on a Google Doc (NOTE: You will need to download the Read and Write extension...see video above)

A blog is about teaching through distance learning, with some excellent points

Instead of using *67 to block your number, you can set up a Google Voice account. You can then use your cell phone to make calls without students and families seeing your real number. After downloading the free app, it should only take a few minutes for setting up your new Google Voice account. 

Note:  You Must Use A Personal Gmail Address, Not Your School One.

For iPhone - OR - For Android         (Also works on iPads, Tablets, or MacBooks. Just do a quick Google search for updated directions!)