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What is Constructivism? Conference 2008 Captivating Classes With Constructivism Applying Standards-Based Constructivism Quote & Strategy ...of the Week Newsletter Archive Standards Based Lessons Online Courses JPACTe Parent Involvement Special Education Technology In Support of Student Centered Learning About Us Related Links Participant Quotes "We were expecting to gain a few tidbits on teaching, but we left with strategies that have the potential to change the culture and attitude of our school forever." ...4 Teachers from Brooklyn College Academy, grades 9 - 10 "Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to share in this awesome learning experience." ...Math Teacher, Cape Coral, Florida "This conference was the best educational experience I've had since I left college. I've been to seminars, clinics, and all kinds of workshops, but this conference was more value than anything I've experienced. In the past week, I reflected more on my teaching practices than I've ever done since I began my career." ...Teacher of Middle School Science, St. Lawrence County, New York "I was awed by your effort to make each person at the conference feel valued." ...Middle School Teacher, ELA, State of Delaware "We had an amazing experience at the conference!" ...Social Studies Teachers, New York City, New York "I want to say how much I enjoyed the week. The level of learning just continues to rise every year!" ...Staff Developer, Milwaukee, Wisconsin "Our team became a cohesive group of educators that truly have the kids at heart. We are going to really try to get together on a regular basis to discuss and encourage each other with things learned at this conference." ...Elementary Teacher, St. Lawrence County, New York |
| Information | Read it Here | The Two Step | Other Models |
The Two Step
Below you will find sixteen detailed exemplars of standards based lessons for use in elementary and secondary classrooms in ELA, math, social studies, and science. Many of these exemplars are from two recently published books on the design of standards-based constructivist lessons. A few have been created exclusively for this web site.
Pat Flynn, Don Mesibov, Paul Vermette, and Mike Smith have written two practical books, one for elementary teachers and one that focuses on the secondary grades. The authors suggest that teachers think of lessons as a two step process: exploration followed by discovery. In the discovery phase, the teacher engages students in an authentic task that enables them to demonstrate mastery of the learning objectives of the lesson. In the exploratory phase, the teacher grabs the learners’ attention, activates their prior knowledge, and motivates students to engage in the authentic task that will be the focus of the discovery phase.
ELA
Beezus and Ramona, 3rd Grade
Writing a Thank You Note, 3rd Grade
Museum Box Personal Profile, 8th Grade
Using Non-Fiction and Graphic Material, 9th Grade
SCIENCE
The Pinhole Camera, 3rd Grade
The Box Experiment, 5th Grade
Seed Inquiry, 10th Grade
Photosynthesis and Respiration, 10th Grade
MATHEMATICS
Student Made Word Problems, 3rd Grade
Stock Exchange Graph, 5th Grade
Proportion Problems, 7/8th Grade
Pythagorean Theorem, 11th Grade
SOCIAL STUDIES
Inuit People, 3rd Grade
Declaration of Independence, 4th Grade
Explorer's Resume, 7th and 11th Grade
WWII Newspaper Lesson, 11/12th Grade