I agree. It's the teacher's thinking, and the children's thinking, about the question, statement, or word that matters. The lack of thinking is where things go very wrong. Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel
-----Original Message----- From: Renee <[email protected]> Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:49:14 To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group<[email protected]> Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] themes Kim, All this is true, AND I think it's silly to argue or even discuss whether a theme can be a word or must be a sentence. But that's just me. :-) Renee On Jun 19, 2009, at 8:41 AM, Kim Catano wrote: > Renee, > The enduring understandings are the big ideas that have lasting value > beyond > the classroom. It is like taking a topic about Newton's Laws and > developing > an essential understanding of what we what them to understand about the > laws. H Lynn Erickson's book Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction > is an > excellent PD book about this subject. She outlines what a unit theme > is and > how to design it. She says, "You can state you unit focus as a topical > theme, but for higher-level integration, you will also want to > identify a > conceptual lens for the unit." I may choose a theme like Change, but > add > how we face change with integrity. My topic may be the Depression Era > or > WWII. An understanding I may write: "Students will understand that when > change is faced with integrity there is often a positive result." My > essential questions may be, "What does it mean to face change with > integrity? What does it take to face change with integrity?" Because I > teach > Reading, I then would look at my indicators and write, "How does an > individual's point of view affect change? We would then do a unit > study > with our novels--perhaps WWII on the home front. I could then > integrate > fiction and nonfiction texts. > Kim > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Renee > Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 10:32 AM > To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] themes > > Joy, > > I don't think I understand your question about themes and thematic > teaching. What is it that you want to actually do? I'm so confused. > > I never thought that a theme needed to be a whole sentence. That sounds > like a silly rule to me. In my opinion, teaching thematically simply > means that all aspects of the curriculum (as is possible) are tied > together with a major thread in order to create deeper meaning and > understanding. > > Can you expand on what it is that you want to do? > > Renee > > > > On Jun 19, 2009, at 3:50 AM, Joy wrote: > >> >> Beverlee, >> If there is a group that can help me push my thinking, this is it. I'm >> pondering your suggestion that sentences are needed to describe >> themes. That is an interesting idea. Does the sentence narrow the >> concept, or does it broaden it? > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/ > mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/ > mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." ~ John Lennon / Paul McCartney ~ Carry That Weight _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
