Collaborative Curriculum Grant
Posted on August 19, 2021 by Genaro Castillo
Lead Teacher-3A
Summary of workshop/​opportunity
I met with Ms. Banks on Campus on 8/3 to get an overview of the 3rd grade academic and social emotional learning curriculum and resources. I also took time to learn from Ms. Banks about how to best integrate myself with the Burke's lower school faculty to be able to optimize our planning and instruction as a grade level team.
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Goals & Collaborations
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What were your big takeaways from your workshop or project?
My biggest takeaways from working collaboratively with Ms. Banks is gaining familiarity with teacher's college writers and reader's workshop materials. I also became familiar with Burke's anti-racism social studies curriculum and units of study as well as the various different methods Ms. Banks uses to teach word study.
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How does what you learned connect to your goals this year?
My goals this year are to provide meaningful implicit assessments/checks for understanding during whole class instruction and small groups. By familiarizing myself with the curriculum and getting advice on best practices from Ms. Banks I will be more prepared to create checks for understanding that align with my professional goals.
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How might this opportunity lead to collaboration with other faculty?
Being proactive in my collaboration with Ms. Banks will allow me to better integrate myself into the lower school professional community. Since my mentor teacher is an upper school teacher, it is important for me to build strong collaborative relationships with my grade level team to best support the needs of Burke's 3rd graders and prepare meaningful academic instruction.
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Would you recommend this opportunity?
Yes
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Optionally, offer a one sentence recommendation for the opportunity.
I would recommend that any new lower school teacher at Burke's take the time to meet and receive advice from an experience colleague in their grade level to help with a smooth transition to the Burke's lower school faculty.
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PD #242
Collaborative Curriculum Grant
Posted on August 13, 2021 by Genaro Castillo
Lead Teacher-3A
Summary of workshop/​opportunity
As a new lead teacher at Burke's, I took the opportunity to collaborate with Ms. Banks to familiarize myself with the 3rd grade curriculum, best practices and lower school culture at Burke's.
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Goals & Collaborations
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What were your big takeaways from your workshop or project?
My big takeaways from our collaborative work was effective ways to lead instruction while having opportunities for both formal assessment and informal observational checks for understanding. Going over the curriculum and major units with Ms. Banks allowed me to build on my prior experience of teaching Lucy Calkins' units of study while understanding which mentor texts and read alouds are used at Burke's. I also gained familiarity with the social studies curriculum from the Ohlone unit of study and which read aloud books are used for social emotional learning during the beginning of the school year. Finally, I learned how Burke's teachers keep track of student progress and viewed sample reports to see how growth is shared with parents.
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How does what you learned connect to your goals this year?
As a new lead teacher to Burke's my goals for the year are to create a supportive, empathetic and thriving social emotional environment for students while providing them opportunities for growth in all academic areas. By understanding the curriculum I am better able to integrate checks for understanding in daily instruction as well as deliver lessons that best prepare students for unit summative assessment. I was also able to learn from Ms. Banks how she creates a positive and supportive social environment in her classroom and some of the books, circle strategies and lessons to open the year which allow students to build strong connections.
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How might this opportunity lead to collaboration with other faculty?
This opportunity will allow me to best integrate with the lower school faculty regarding norms around social emotional learning, culturally responsive and anti-racist social studies curriculum. By coming into the school year as prepared as possible, I can be a more active participant in planning lessons and assessments with the 3rd grade team. I hope to continue to collaborate with Ms. Banks, the 3rd grade associate teachers and the rest of the lower school faculty and administration throughout the school year.
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Would you recommend this opportunity?
Yes
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Optionally, offer a one sentence recommendation for the opportunity.
I'd recommend this opportunity to collaborate with an experienced grade level partner to better have a smooth transition and integration to Burke's.
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PD #238