Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
Section II: During the Learning
5.4
Preparation—Time and Materials Complete this module in forty-five minutes. The ideal small group size is four participants per group seated at tables, but the activity works with small groups of between three and six. Each group will need a facilitator, timekeeper, recorder, and reporter; chart paper and markers; and a 4-ounce package of M&M’s® candies. Participants need copies of the following handout.
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• “Unwrapping the Standards: A Priceless Professional Development Opportunity” (page 105) Step 1: Getting Ready to Learn—M&M’s and Essential Standards (Ten Minutes) This part of the module is designed to prompt reflection on the part of teacher teams. Ask participants how essential standards are like a bag of M&M’s candies. For example, the M&M’s bag is a wrapper that contains multiple chocolate candies, just as a standard is a statement that contains multiple skills and concepts. Or a bag of M&M’s candies contains chocolate pieces of many different colors just like a standard contains many different skills and concepts. In a two-part conversation, ask each table group to first brainstorm at least five ways a bag of M&M’s candies is like an essential standard. Next, ask each group to reach agreement on how unwrapping standards is beneficial. The recorder should capture the group’s thinking to both questions and share the comments with the larger group. Step 2: Interactive Strategy, Protocol, or Activity—Text-Rendering Activity (Thirty-Five Minutes) 1. Read the article: As the participants read the article “Unwrapping the Standards: A Priceless Professional Development Opportunity” (page 105), ask them to highlight key ideas from the text by underlining one sentence, drawing a box around one phrase, and circling one word; the sentence, phrase, and word must all be from separate sentences. (six minutes) 2. Share: Using a round-robin approach, ask each individual to share their sentence, phrase, and word with other members of their small group while they listen for commonalities but do not comment. (ten minutes) 3. Reach consensus: After individuals share, members of the small group identify any common themes or insights. Members may ask others to clarify or explain the reasons for their choice. The recorder writes key insights and agreements on chart paper. Each small group posts its chart, and the large group works to reach consensus on one key sentence, one key phrase, and one key word from the article. (fifteen minutes) Step 3: Personal Reflection—Summarize Your Thinking (Five Minutes) Ask participants if their thinking has changed after the workshop on unwrapping the standards. Ask them to write down their biggest takeaways and think about how the experience impacts their perspective or their team’s professional practice regarding unwrapping the priority standards as a tool for creating greater clarity, consistency, and commitment to the idea of 103
