Teaching with Intention, Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of Teaching with Intention - what a doozy!



Do you ever read something and just go - gulp?
That's what I'm doing here.
Chapter 6 is titled Lesson Design: Creating Lessons Based on Principles and Practices You  Believe In.

Debbie Miller says, "Back then I was used to marching through teacher's guides and textbooks from beginning to end, start to finish. Children and I flitted from one topic to another - it was like we studied everything and nothing. But this new way of thinking about teaching and learning was dramatically different."
There's a gulp.

I'm guilty of that. {But in my defense, my district sets the curriculum, particularly in reading, and we are expected to follow it.}

So if I'm guilty of that, how can I stay true to my district's curriculum/guidelines, and still do some of the things that Debbie talks about? She answers that by saying, "When we're thoughtful in our planning, we lend purpose, focus, and direction to our teaching."

I feel like this is my next step - that I need to become more thoughtful in my planning. How can I tie things together? How can I help my students make connections? How can I help them see themselves as learners, readers, mathematicians? How can I show them that what we learned last week matters this week and next week and so on? How can I help them do these things themselves?

Ack - almost too much to think about. I need to store this away until later, when I start planning next year. I already have a couple ideas brewing in my mind. 

Now I'm busy thinking about my summer day. Some work around the house stuff - I'm working on our back room which has basically become a dumping grounding for all our extra stuff - and then a relaxing afternoon. Hope you enjoy your day!
Sara