Announcement - Saturday Academy Closed for Feb. 27, 2010

Due to the weather conditions, Saturday Academy will be CANCELLED for February 27, 2010.

It's A New Semester - Here Are The Elements of A Satisfactory Lesson!

1. Teacher monitoring student entrance into the classroom. Stating expectations at each major point of a lesson.

2. Aim, & Do Now,
Collect previous day's homework plus an indication of the expectations
.
3. Motivation of 5 minutes in the form of a visual, audio selection, journal entry, or connection to the lesson
.
4. Mini Lesson in which the skill is modeled, and the content is discussed
. Students repeat the information.
5. Distribution and explanation of the rubric and/or handouts
.
6. Explanation of the group work, or differentiated instruction with designated group roles. Steps should be pre-posted on chart paper, or transparency, on PowerPoint, or on a handout
.
7. Monitoring the progress of the students by taking anecdotal notes as to who is exceeding expectations, meeting expectations and who is below expectations

8. Students respond to or use questions from Habits of Mind and Blooms Taxonomy to share out core understandings that build toward answering the aim
. Enrichment is provided.
9. Final summary provided by the students either verbally and with an EXIT PASS. Pupils either repeat, or elaborate on the answer to the aim
.
10. Homework assignment reinforces and builds on the skill acquired in the lesson.

Saturday Academy at McKee High School

In an attempt to help our students meet higher promotional standards and satisfy more rigorous graduation requirements McKee High School will be offering Saturday Academy starting February 27, 2010.

In order to attend Saturday Academy, a student must register through their guidance counselor.
Click here to see the flyer about Saturday Academy at McKee High School.

Strategies to Involve All Students

A very famous Chinese proverb states:
I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember
I do and I understand.

Click here to see a powerpoint that will help teachers to help students do in order to understand.

Template for A Classroom Contract

It's the beginning of the Spring term. One definitely wants to establish clear expectations for all of the students. As I walked the halls seeing how each teacher launched into their topic, I noticed a bright, neon colored contract on each student's desk in one of the classrooms. Students understood what the teacher expected of them and the pupils also expressed what they expected of the teacher and the class.

Click here to see the contract used by a dynamic teacher that serves as a template and a starting point for the semester.

February Calendar of Events

It's February.

Click here to see the school calendarfor February, 2010.