Grant Opportunities from IEA

Check out some great opportunities for grants via IEA!

Read Across America Library Grant, Deadline November 28, 2016

Reading is the Way Up: Support literacy in your classroom with grants up to $500

The Meemic Foundation Grants: Grants for school and classroom projects now available, up to $500; Deadline December 31st

Your Voter Guide

The election is coming up in just a few weeks. Please take a look at Your Voter Guide from Illinois Education Association. You can also click here to see iPace Recommended candidates. Let's use our votes to make a difference in education!

Danielson Rubric 1e. Designing Coherent Instruction

Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing information about the Danielson Evaluation Rubric.

Twice a week, we'll highlight a different indicator, explain it's components, share differences between excellent and proficient ratings, and end with ideas for artifacts and questions for reflection.

Domain 1: Planning and Preparation
1e. Designing Coherent Instruction

The elements of component 1e are:

Learning activities

Instruction is designed to engage students and advance them through the content.

Instructional materials and resources

Aids to instruction are appropriate to the learning needs of the students.

Instructional Groups

Teachers intentionally organize instructional groups to support student learning.

Lesson and Unit structure

Teachers produce clear and sequenced lesson and unit structures to advance student learning.

Indicators include:

• Lessons that support instructional outcomes and reflect important concepts
• Instructional maps that indicate relationships to prior learning
• Activities that represent high-level thinking
• Opportunities for student choice
• Use of varied resources
• Thoughtfully planned learning groups
• Structured lesson plans

Excellent Rating:

The sequence of learning activities follows a coherent sequence, is aligned to instructional goals, and is designed to engage students in high-level cognitive activity. These are appropriately differentiated for individual learners. Instructional groups are varied appropriately, with some opportunity for student choice.

Proficient Rating:

Most of the learning activities are aligned with the instructional outcomes and follow an organized progression suitable to groups of students. The learning activities have reasonable time allocations; they represent significant cognitive challenge, with some differentiation for different groups of students and varied use of instructional groups.

Suggestions for Artifacts:

• Unit Plan
• Activity or assignment

Questions to consider for reflection:

1. How will you engage your students in the learning? What will you do? What will the students do?
2. Will the students work in large or small groups or individually?

Danielson Rubric 1d. Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources

Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing information about the Danielson Evaluation Rubric.

Twice a week, we'll highlight a different indicator, explain it's components, share differences between excellent and proficient ratings, and end with ideas for artifacts and questions for reflection.

Domain 1: Planning and Preparation
1d. Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources

The elements of component 1d are:

Resources for classroom use
Materials must align with learning outcomes.

Resources to extend content knowledge and pedagogy
Materials that can further teachers' professional knowledge must be available.

Resources for students
Materials must be appropriately challenging.

Indicators include:

• Materials provided by the district
• Materials provided by professional learning organization
• A range of texts
• Internet resources
• Community resources
• Ongoing participation by the teacher in professional education courses or professional groups
• Guest Speakers

Excellent Rating:

The teacher’s knowledge of resources for classroom use and for extending one’s professional skill is extensive, including those available through the school or district, in the community, through professional organizations and universities, and on the Internet.

Proficient Rating:

The teacher displays awareness of resources beyond those provided by the school or district, including those on the Internet, for classroom use and for extending one’s professional skill, and seeks out such resources.

Suggestions for Artifacts:

• Unit Plan
• Range of texts used across a unit
• Anecdotal notes regarding specialists you've collaborated with in order to provide appropriate and differentiated instruction

Questions to consider for reflection:

1. What resources are available to you in planning instruction for this classroom? (people, materials, museums, local experts, videos, websites, print materials)
2. What resources are available to your students if they need assistance? (people, materials, programs, counseling, donations)

1st Starbucks Card Winner!

Thanks to those who Tweeted in the last week, and congrats to Scott at Pershing! You've won our first Starbucks card!

We'd love to see more tweets to the #WeAreSBEA hashtag, and each Tuesday a new winner will be announced. Check out this post for more details!