Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Content Frame
By Dawn Rauwolf
Content Standard
Content Frame
A teacher must know the National, State, and District content standards to be effective.
All lessons, opportunities, and activities must be aligned to the standards in order to ensure that a
certain level of learning will take place. School district administrators and school principals are
responsible for what teachers do in the classroom. Standards ensure accountability and give
excellent guidance to teachers. Content standards influence how teachers are trained, and they
spell out what teachers need to cover in each grade and in each subject. Standards also dictate
what is found on state standardized tests. Here in Alaska, we have standards in these content
areas: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Geography, Government and Citizenship,
History, Skills for a Healthy Life, Arts, World Languages, Technology, Employability,
Besides knowing the content standards for the grade or grades, a teacher must also know
how to deliver quality lessons so that students will learn and retain knowledge. If a teacher
knows the standards, but can’t consistently deliver effective lessons to her students, then the
outcomes will not be satisfactory. Slavin (2009) reminds us, “All other aspects of schooling,
from buildings to buses to administration, are designed to support teachers in delivering effective
lessons; they do not educate in themselves.” Being able to design and lead quality lessons is one
of the most important aspects of teaching. Teachers use many different types of teaching
hands-on experiences, constructivist methods and more. Tomlinson and McTighe (2006) write,
“…quality curriculum and instruction are – as they have always been – the bedrock of education
CONTENT FRAME 3
and the avenue to developing thoughtful and fulfilled human beings. In addition, skillful
instruction is an imperative in order to bring curriculum to life for young learners, and flexible
instruction is necessary to make curriculum work for academically diverse student populations.”
This unit lesson design is all about the beaches in Ketchikan. It is based on the big idea
of “Relationships and Change” and touches on nine of the Alaska content areas. There are three
stages presented and include the objectives, assessments, and learning opportunities. This unit
lesson is sensitive to cultural and language issues. The beaches in Ketchikan are quite
extraordinary and a huge draw for the residents and visitors of this Southeast Alaska island. This
topic is fascinating for me, so this was fun to think about and work on. This unit lesson will be
interesting for our students because Ketchikan kids are already intimately familiar with our
beaches. Perrone (1991) says, “The task for teachers is to become knowledgeable enough about
their students’ particular interests to build a substantial part of the curriculum around them.” It
makes sense to develop units and lessons that consider the students’ place of residence and their
prior knowledge and experiences. This unit is exciting for me and studies show that “students
learn more from lessons that are presented with enthusiasm and expressiveness than from dry
lecture” (Patrick, Hisley, & Kempler, 2000). Teaching the required content effectively is a
learned skill, one that can be attained with diligent practice and reflection.
CONTENT FRAME 4
References
Alaska Department of Education & Early Development. (2012). Alaska english/language arts
https://education.alaska.gov/akstandards/standards/ELA_and_Math.pdf
Alaska Department of Education & Early Development. (2006). Alaska content and performance
https://education.alaska.gov/akstandards/standards/ContentStandards.pdf?v=1
Patrick, B., Hisley, J., & Kempler, T. (2000). “What’s everybody so excited about?”: The effects
Perrone, V. (1991). A letter to teachers: Reflections on schooling and the art of teaching. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Slavin, R. E. (2009). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.