curriculum units -- seminar review

[Anonymous]

Heres my review of the seminar. I really didn't see another thread for it, so i'm posting it here.

[Anonymous]

seminar review essay

[Anonymous]

Heather, I thought your lesson plan was very good, and very detailed. I like how you compared Italian sonnets and Shakespeare sonnets to Chinese sonnets. It is amazing what you can do with your gifted high school students. I especially liked how you had them do motions in front of the class, as a way to take apart the various poems. Do the students like staying on a topic for this many days? Wasn't quite clear of how your compared the content. I may not have read it in depth.

[Anonymous]

The lessons' topic is very interesting and thought provoking. The lessons have clear objectives and the goal is to be engaging for our students. It is important to learn about the four schools of thought in China. The idea of Prof. Dube to divide us in four groups and assign one philosophical school to study is incorporated in the lessons yet I suggest to have a discussion/ debate after the students teach (5 min) about their ideas. Engaging students in a debate would allow them to express their ideas freely and at the same time they can decide how to answer the assessment question "Which one of the four schools of thought do you most agree with? Why?". In addition to my suggestion about a debate, it would like to see a rationale about the lessons -how are they going to be incorporated in the curriculum of the subject. In overall the lessons are structured well and will be beneficial to students and teachers alike. The most valuable part of the lesson (day 2) is to have students connect their knowledge to the values of the contemporary Chinese family. Excellent work!

[Anonymous]

Mr. Christov is a teacher at International Studies Learning Center, LAUSD. The school is one of the 27 schools of the International Studies School Network. The main goal of all 27 schools is to have our students be "globally competent" by the time they graduate from High School. The unit presented by Mr. Christov has a clear objective to internationalize the curriculum of the 10 grade and help students become global citizens. The unit is valuable for our students from different perspectives. First of all the students would be exposed and learn about Asian languages-Chinese, Korean, Japanese. Second, they can compare them to English and apply analytical skills. Also the students would be challenged to think about Universal and Specific -my favorite part. The use of visuals, proverbs, symbols is definitely an asset to the lessons. In addition the students at ISLC have the opportunity to study Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish and French. The unit presented by Mr. Christov is going to be very beneficial to the students enrolled in Japanese and Mandarin classes yet it would be enriching for the other two groups-taking Spanish or French. The unit as a whole is excellent. I believe that the culminating discussion about universal values will transform students into critical thinkers and globally competent citizens.

[Anonymous]

Hi Elsie,

I particularly enjoyed how you used the PowerPoint that Jennifer Jung-Kim used for us, her modified version of Dr. Schultz's "Top Ten Things to Know about 21st Century Korea", as an introduction to the countries of North and South Korea. I think that this PowerPoint in particular is a great way to hook the students' interest while being very informative at the same time. My only concern was that some of the topics in the PowerPoint, and therefore, some of the topics for the students’ research, might be too complicated for them. I have to greatly explain to my sophomores how health care and GDP work when we discuss Animal Farm along with the function of a national government, but if your junior high students can handle those topics, then that’s awesome! Can I have your students when they enter high school?

[Anonymous]

Hi Emily,

Out of your three lessons, I was most partial to the second one, dealing with Japan and specifically the geography of the country. I really love the idea of using Google Earth with the students on the smart board because not only does it incorporate some brilliant technology we have at our disposal, but I think that Google Earth especially will make Japan seem more real to the students and less like some abstract country that exists somewhere in the world. My only rather minor concern for that lesson was that you were going to have them make a travel pamphlet about the Japanese Islands, but only give them thirty minutes to do both the research and make the brochure. To allow the students to really delve into the research and make a good-looking product, I feel like longer time might need to be allotted to them, unless you plan on making it homework. I didn’t see if that was the case or not. This is a small suggestion, but maybe something to take into consideration.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the great review. I would like to answer a few of your questions. First, I will include a biography of the featured poets. I think it is a good idea that the students know the circumstances in which the poets lived and worked; thanks for the suggestion, I will place it in my revision. In addition, I will place the students in groups based on their skills which I am familiar with. It would be a good idea to place them based on CST proficiency, but by this point in the year, they should have grown in skills. In lesson one, I really want to focus on comprehension. The lesson was intended to be sixty minutes, but I feel that it will take a lot longer. From my experience, students grow bored because they do not understand the diction. If I can make the poems accessible, I will get a lot more feedback from them.

lesson one: I am assuming that students are familiar with Cornell notes, if not, will you present a "How To" presentation? During the video, will the students be given an assignment to check for comprehension or will you simply discuss it in class? Also, how will partners be chosen?
Lastly, how do you plan on assessing the poems? I like the idea of a gallery walk. It's so important to get students up and around the classroom!
lesson two: For step two, will you be providing some type of graphic organizer or thinking map in order for students to oranize their comments? I like the Heian court party; it seems like a lot of fun and really engaging. I can imagine 7th graders really taking to this lesson.
lesson three: What a wonderful idea. I like that you're giving the kids something they will want to dive into. All too often, teachers tend to give dry assignments over breaks which the students dread. This lesson is creative. I would imagine that almost 100% of your students would complete this assignment. Well done.

[Anonymous]

So, I enjoyed reviewing a lesson that was outside of my field of study. The lesson had some really interesting points. I like that you have incorporated Kipling; few teachers cover this author. For this piece, do you plan reviewing any vocabulary or presenting background information on the author? The students might be curious as to why you are connecting the author with imperialism. For this lesson you could also include CA Standard RL 3.7: Analyze a work of literature, showing how it reflects the heritage, traditions, attitudes, and beliefs of its author. For day two, in section II, how do you plan on checking for understanding? Lastly, for day three, will you provide examples for the students? How are you planning on addressing the needs of English Language Learners and RSP students? In all, I like the fact that you're providing a lesson which touches upon such topics as the Boxer Rebellion and the Spanish-American War; these topics are usually glossed over in a history course.

[Anonymous]

Hi, Emily. One of the lessons I was supposed to review has not yet been posted, so I thought I'd comment on yours. I hope you don't mind. I thought your lesson was excellent. It was very detailed, well thought out, and effectively incorporated what you gained from the seminar into your current curriculum. I think your students will really enjoy this lesson and benefit from it.

[Anonymous]

Seminar Review – Andrew Mercado

I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend this seminar. As an history major I was exposed to many different periods of history from many different cultures, yet the one area I never experienced was East Asian history. Basically, all I really knew was what I have learned from the 7th grade text I teach from, and whatever random Google searches I did when I was confused. It is because of this lack of knowledge, that planning and implementing engaging lessons about Chinese and Japanese history, have always been a challenge for me.
Throughout the seminar I was able to fill in the gaps that existed among what little knowledge I had about East Asia. The speakers, the images, the readings…all are now a priceless commodity when it comes to my teaching. The quality of my instruction will no doubt improve thanks to the time I spent exploring past and current issues in Japan, China, and Korea.
I have even had the opportunity to share what I have learned with other colleagues when I had an idea for a lesson that may fit their content. The curriculum project that I worked so hard on, is now one of my favorite lessons and I look forward to teaching it again next year.
I feel that I also now have a greater understanding of current social conditions in Asia. I am more aware of the tensions that exist between the countries, some based in struggles and debates that have existed for hundreds of years.
The fact that each topic was taught by an expert in the field really makes this seminar an amazing experience. I am truly grateful for the knowledge I have gained, and I will do my best to continue to expose my students to Asian culture and history, no matter what subject I end up teaching.

[Anonymous]

The lessons on the development of the mathematics in China and the abakus are very well organized, informative and pedagogically rich. They provide opportunities for academic and hand-on activities. A valuable part of the lessons is including vocabulary list which is not only needed for mathematics but also for other subjects. Therefore the lessons of Ms. Buttle have an interdisciplinary component. It is very important for the students to see the connection between different subjects they study at school. The final draft of the lessons would probably include a rationale for the mini-unit. As one of the Expected School Wide Learning results of our school is to have our students be globally competent by the time they graduate, these lessons are one of the steps for achieving this goal.

[Anonymous]

Forgot to add the link for the summary steps:

http://www.enotes.com/topics/how-write-summary

[Anonymous]

I've embedded the notations back into the document itself. When you have a chance, please take a look. Again, an amazing lesson set!
edited by mdiaz on 1/13/2011

[Anonymous]

Thank you Mr. Christov for an amazing set of lessons to review. I've embedded all the comments/critiques into the lessons themselves. I've attached the file for your review.

Diaz

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