Getting ready for Fall
I am teaching (I think) a revised geometry course this fall, one in which taking the Regents will be an option for students. This gives me the freedom to do some more inquiry-based and exploratory activities, which are usually eliminated in the rush to cover every topic by the June exam. I am also planning on using Interactive Notebooks in this class.
My first step has been to draft a curriculum map http://hermathness.wikispaces.com/Geometry, which as you can see is not complete – it needs, at the very least CCSS alignment posted, as well as assessments for each unit – but having a complete grid will give me an organized structure with which to fill things in, as well as an outline for creating my INB templates.
I welcome comments, suggestions, thoughts, and and will update the map as I go along.
Love it! Looks well thought out and so very organized. I have the unfortunate habit of just typing my plans out in some sort of bulleted stream of consciousness that results in a mess of lists that takes forever to go through and find the important stuff. I’m going to try to create a nice formatted layout like yours.
I’m also teaching geometry this year (first year teacher!) and similarly hope to do one project/rich task per unit. Need to work on my organization, but I hope to be sharing my geometry plans on my blog once I get my act together.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by, Mary! I operate very similarly, but had the opportunity to teach a similar class last spring (on the fly). I also want to try INBs this time, and I learned last time I tried them that you need to be prepared. Let me know how your planning goes. – WM
What would you recommend based on your last experience for implementing INBs?
I’m a TOTAL novice; you should check out http://mathequalslove.blogspot.com/ and http://kalamitykat.com/interactive-notebooks/. But what I am going to try to do is plan out the graphic organizers for the first 2 or 3 units before school begins, and try to stay ahead of it. Also, be clear on how you want to use the INBs; some people are very structured about the left and the right page, etc. My experience was that most students really liked it, and it was very helpful for ELLs and others who might struggle in the classroom.