Essential Standards

What do we want our students to learn?
Some standards have a greater impact beyond the current grade level and are relevant across multiple courses and disciplines. Others seem to deepen understanding and skills only within a certain course or discipline. Essential standards help clarify what our students learn.

See the California State Standards See the list of District Texts & Materials

What is Quality First Instruction?

Learning Targets

A student can articulate their learning objective and monitor their progress towards meeting it.

Aligns with essential standards
Matches rigor and sequence of unit
Written in student-friendly language
Students can define it in their own words
Clearly displayed
Referenced throughout the lesson
Embeds academic vocabulary
Measurable
Uses concrete verbs
Specific to context of a particular lesson or project
Students self-assess and reflect on targets

PLC Question 1: What do we want students to know?

Assessments

Formative:

Ongoing and used to drive instruction (frequent CFUs) Tied to driving questions of PLC work- What do we want students to know? How will we know students have learned it? How will we respond when they don’t and they do learn it?
FAST (frequent, actionable, specific and timely)
Assessment strategies that gauge the understanding of ALL students
Involve students in assessing their own learning
A variety of strategies used to assess (i.e. instant snapshot of class with technology, exit ticket, etc.)
A variety of response options (different ways to demonstrate understanding).
All DOK levels represented in assessment

Summative:

Culminating assessments used to drive team and site next steps
A variety of options
Choice in demonstrating learning
Use data to measure effectiveness of instructional programs, goals, and achievements

PLC Question 2: How will we know when our students have learned it?

Differentiation

Tailoring instruction of content, process, products, or the learning environment to meet individual needs of students; Providing a variety of supports for a variety of learners that assists each student in reaching the highest level of thinking and learning

Teachers design lessons based on essential standards with students’ learning styles, scaffolds and equity in mind
Group students strategically by shared interest, topic or ability
Manage the classroom to support choice and inquiry
Builds independence and removes barriers - modifying assignments to meet students’ current needs
Use of academic vocabulary in context
Flexible language frames and word banks
Thinking tools, modeling, small groups
Use of manipulatives, multimedia, visuals, or realia
Flexible learning space
Can be additional support (intervention) or enrichment
Choice in how to demonstrate learning

PLC Questions 3 and 4:

What do we do for students who don’t get it yet?
What do we do for students who already got it?

Responsive teaching to ALL

(Culturally, Linguistically, And Socially/emotionally)
Culturally responsive (or relevant) teaching:"a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes" (Ladson-Billings, 1994, p. 382).

Recognizes/utilize the cultural/ linguistic/ social-emotional capital and tools students bring to the classroom
Educators understand their personal triggers and create environments to minimize those effects on student learning opportunities
Lesson design encompasses essential standards, learning targets, multiple ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge, multiple entry points into the content based on the “whole-child”
Make meaningful connections to the diverse backgrounds of their students while emphasizing a rigorous curriculum and high expectations for achievement
Ideal Environment: students feel safe taking educational risks because they have a warm demander educator (high expectations, support, connection) who is aware of students’ challenges (i..e age,, home environment, social climate, etc.)
Culturally Responsive Teaching article

Addresses PLC Questions 1, 2, 3 and 4