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I appreciated the teacher version of a must do/may do approach to today's pd! I am taking away a reminder to communicate what we are learning and why we are learning it - be intentional! While I missed my teaching partner, it was good to have time to reflect and plan.

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I think most of what we talked about with critical content are things we do but maybe we don't even realize.

For me, I know I need to be more direct with my intention of the lesson, and state it before teaching the lesson.

I enjoyed having time to be with my team and talk through a lot of different issues.

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I appreciated the time to collaborate with grade level. Talking about critical content and being more intentional about making sure students know why we are doing what we are doing was the take away from the morning. I think we are doing a lot of great things within our teaching but it was a good reminder to be sure to say "what" we are doing and "why".

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I loved having time to get caught up on things with my team today! There wasn't a lot that changed my thinking today, just reaffirmed that I'm doing the things I should be. The Critical Content session was a good reminder to state what we are learning, as well as go back and restate what the lesson was about before we move onto the next thing.

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I enjoyed time to work with my grade level. We worked on Report Card assessments and getting us all on the same page.

I feel much better about the Critical Content after our time together.

The time to work on what was needed was so appreciated.

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5th grade was able to complete a lot of odds and ends while gaining a better understanding of critical content and next steps for instruction and evidence of understanding

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I appreciated the time to delve deeper into 2nd grade standards and have the time to look at critical content. I also think it allowed for more intentionality. We are always go go go, so having the time to process with our teams was greatly appreciated.

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I appreciated the time we had to collaborate today. This was extremely helpful. This morning, I had time to meet with other K teachers and look at learning progressions. This was helpful to have time to do a deep dive into the standards. It also gave me time to think about rigor of content.

This afternoon, I was able to have powerful conversations with other staff members regarding standards, critical information, as well as ways to help meet the needs of the students. I also found the article regarding math questions to be interesting.

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I very much appreciated the flexibility in today’s schedule.  The to-do list was clear and manageable, leaving time to check in with my specialist team and tackle my own to-do list.  Our time together learning about critical content was valuable and validating – there are parts I do well and parts that need work! Marzano has many pieces, but the big picture may be getting a little clearer!

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First of all, thank you Jenny for giving us flexibility with PD, and for giving us time to pursue training that pertains to our roles!

I viewed numerous science webinars and became more familiar with the Next Generation Science Standards. I learned how science education is moving away from memorizing facts and formulas and to an emphasis on conceptual frameworks. The NGSS has seven crosscutting concepts that apply to ALL grade levels:

1. patterns

2. cause & effect

3. scale, proportion & quantity

4. systems & models

5. energy & matter

6. structure & function

7. stability & change.

I watched a webinar called Making Room for Reflection with a Picture-Thinking Routine. It demonstrated how to more effectively use nonfiction text with students. First, examine the images and ask, "What do you notice about the image?" Focus on the object, action and property. For example: "I see swings. I notice kids swinging. I can tell the swings are strong because they are holding the weight of the children." This routine encourages students to take risks as they infer meaning, so I like the connection to the IB trait of risk-taking!

I also learned about text annotation and how students can easily annotate text by using the following annotation symbols:

! = Wow or Wonders

? = Confused

+ = Connection

* = Important

Again, there was a connection to IB, with the use of wonder and connection!

I read the article from Edutopia: The Power of One Good Math Question. It gave an actual example of how a teacher and math coach/mentor used a bin of mixed-up dominoes to show how there is a lot of power in a single question. Guidelines for Choosing Questions:

Make it real

Keep it simple

Stay out of their way

Let them struggle

Celebrate solutions (even if it's discovered there is NO solution)

Finally, like many other people already stated, I feel like I have a better understanding of critical content. I appreciate how Jenny presented this in a way that was not just talking at us, but instead, there was variety (videos, discussion, individual reading & making a collaborative poster).

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I liked how the day was set up. I feel that the day was very helpful. and I love the time to collaborate with my team, and the first-grade group. I feel I am one that needs more direction so it was very nice to have the time to work.

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After today I have a better understanding of critical content. I need to be more intentional about communicating this with my students during and after the lesson, not just at the beginning.

I also enjoyed the flexible day with my team, we were very productive!

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1st Grade-Sara & Emma

Getting together to dig deeper into our next math unit and find the essentials standards is really helpful to make sure we are focusing our teaching on the right material and since we are missing a teacher we get bogged down on keeping our grade level together on the same page!

The MLK conversation really brought us back to our "why." We want our kids to know that they can stand up for each other, and be on the same team even when you disagree. Also-the importance of empathy in the classroom and how that carries out into our everyday worlds.

We read the article on student engagement and talked about how to get our students love for learning back.

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The 5th grade team dove into Unit 8 of our math curriculum which we'll begin next week. The unit has two essential standards and several supporting standards. We read Thriving in the Zone of Productive Struggle and learned the important differences between accommodating and modifying. We also talked about having firm goals with flexible means, giving students choices to find their own productive stuggle zones.

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Our team dedicated the afternoon to reviewing and refining key aspects of our classroom operations, including schedules, our point system, and overall classroom management strategies. We engaged in meaningful discussions to ensure consistency and effectiveness in our approach.

Following this, we spent time collaborating on our individual standards, sharing insights, and aligning our instructional goals. We explored best practices, exchanged ideas, and mapped out detailed plans for the upcoming month to create a structured and engaging learning experience for our students. This collaborative effort helped us refine our teaching strategies and ensure that our lessons are both effective and aligned with our educational objectives.