AGENDA 1/15-1/20

First, write a challenge affecting k-12 public education on each of your four post-it notes
Then, in groups of 4-5, share your post-its round-robin style, one at a time,
Next, categorize your notes in a tree map
Create tree maps: problems affecting K-12 education (see sample #1 and sample #2) and present to class

Share out: what did this activity help you realize about challenges in K-12 education? What did you get from your group members or other groups that you didn’t think of on your own?

Read “10 Major Challenges Facing Public Schools” by Grace Chen. Students should read silently, annotate for understanding, re-read, and funnel this blog post. Then, with a sharing partner, discuss annotations and funneling. What overlaps did they notice with their tree maps?

Class discussion over Chen’s blog post. Of the ten challenges Chen mentions, which ones do students think are most important? What challenge would be most important for a third-grader? For a parent? For a politician trying to get elected on improving America’s schools? For a middle school teacher? How does the point of view change the importance of each challenge Chen notes?

Create tree map to help you organize your thinking as you read The Pact
Annotate as you read on your tree maps and/or with post-its and continue to note unfamiliar vocabulary, important ideas, questions you have. Read “Dreaming Big,” “Home,” and “Ma” and annotate/note on your tree maps as you read.

HW: Continue reading and annotating The Pact, “Common Ground,” “Caged,” “A Big Break,” and “Hope,” and add to your tree maps.