July 2016

Dear Alecia,
At the time youre reading this, youre probably sitting down at Atomic Coffee, cold
brew coffee on your right, cell phone & flair pens at your left. Scroll through
Instagram a few more times, send a text back to your mom, and then just put the
phone away, OK? You wont need it right now. You need space to dream. To think. To
plan. To act.
Dont forget what you learned in RCWP Summer Institute. Now, there are
so
many
things I can remind you of, but youll have to flip back through your notebook for
that. Right now I want to remind you of
Activist Learner
. Please dont fall back into
easy complacency. Your students need you. And the world needs your students.
The best teaching -- the kind of teaching that keeps teachers passionate and
engaged year after year (Nieto, 2003), that deeply engages students, leads to
the deepest understanding and application of knowledge, and transforms
students while preparing them for futures not just as workers and learners
but as democratic citizens and compassionate human beings -- is profoundly
informed by higher purposes such as love and wisdom (Wilhelm & Novak,
2011). (p. 5)
Isnt that the kind of teacher you want be? (Uh, YES.) Isnt that the kind of students
you want to influence? (YES.) Also, as a Christian, and a Christian educator, you have
a higher purpose for your teaching -- the love and wisdom that Wilhelm and
Novak mention. You have a significant impact spiritually, academically, personally,
relationally on your middle schoolers. Remember, throughout your first year, you
prayed that the Lord would give you great wisdom and impact? This book equips
you with some of the tools by which you can model wisdom and have impact.
As youre planning and restructuring your curriculum this school year, first, reflect on
these Bottom Line questions for teachers.
- What are our bottom lines as teachers? What are the absolutely essential
goals that we want to meet with students? What are the achievements that
we feel we must reach? What would make us feel that we had not fully
actualized students potential in a particular course or year?
- What keeps us going as teachers? What are the goals and purposes that
keep teachers inspired through the inevitable challenges and difficulties?
What is the prize, and how do we keep our eye on the prize? (p. 14)

Actually
take the time to reflect and answer these, maybe even once a quarter..
Grab your teacher journal and go. You will be a better teacher, your motivation and
passion will be rekindled, and your students will benefit so much more.
Once youre in the right mindset, then look back at the overview of the inquiry unit
planning process included in chapter 2 of
Activist Learner
.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Framing Units with Existential Questions

Identifying Unit-Level Goals
Identifying Culminating Projects
Frontloading and the Instructional Sequence

OK, so breakin it down to real talk here

First, think about by what big question do you want to guide students thinking?
How can you help students enter into thoughtful conversation with one another and
with other perspectives in ways that deepen understanding and lead to various levels
of service (p.24)? Look at the big themes and see what questions can stem from
those themes. How does the literature youre reading connect to students lives and
the world? How can you guide students thinking so they are able to engage well
with other perspectives and leave your class as more prepared, respectful, and
confident citizens?
Next, identify
one
central conceptual goal and
one
central procedural goal for the unit.
Dont list 10-20. Have a central focus, and your lessons will be that much more
focused, productive, and meaningful. A
conceptual goal
is what we want students to
know
and be able to explain and justify by the end of this unit. A
procedural goal
is
what we want students to be able to
do
, and is most often connected to a particular
standard, such as writing a story with fully developed characters who are trying to
solve a problem or composing an argument with a claim and supporting it with
evidence and reasoning (p. 24). Include these goals on planbook.com or Atlas when
you plan your units. Remember, laser-like focus. One conceptual, one procedural.
Then, identify culminating projects. There are two types of culminating projects you
will identify: (1) a canonical composition (argument, informational text, narrative)
and (2) service learning project. Remember this service can be service to self, service
to peers, service to school, service to community, and service to environment and
global community. Allow your students to take part in this conversation.

Finally, plan the frontloading and instructional sequence. Frontloading, specifically, is

uncovering any student misconceptions about the topic, pre-reading activities,
pre-writing activities, building motivation in students around the issue/topic/texts, as
well as reading materials that will provide necessary background. The instructional
sequence is self-explanatory. ; )
Oh, and dont forget to share students work! That authentic audience is
key
.
Ok! Sooooo.no big deal, right? Ha! I know. This does take a little more thought and
planning. However, I also know that the rewards will be that much more fulfilling
than just sticking to the regular units youve done before. Think of the world were
living in now. Actually, I dont want to think about what the world is like at the time
youre reading this. Thankfully this isnt our forever home. But we are called to live
as the hands and feet of Jesus, and what better way to do that and to instill that
desire for loving and meaningful service in students than these inquiry units?
So
remember
; your planning has purpose beyond the four walls of your classroom,
the data from your assessments, and even the 9 months of this one school year.
Strive to have an eternal impact on the lives of your students, and for your students
to be empowered and equipped to have that impact on others as well.
You go, Glen CoCo.
Alecia
P.S. In case you forgot (or have been pushing it to the side these first few weeks of
the school year)... dont forget about
Genius Hour
and
Destination Imagination: Service
Learning Challenge
. If you feel as if you can take on an extra-curriculuar activity this
year, dont forget to talk to Josh or Scott about your ideas for DI and then put it to
action! And Genius Hour...
please
do Genius Hour this year! Second semester would be
a great time. Just saying. :)