Lesson planning always provides an assortment of challenges as teachers attempt to customize their instruction for a wide array of learners while working within the unique confines of their particular class. With many classes “in flux” and shuffling between in-person and remote environments this fall, the need for planning with flexibility in mind has become even greater. Below are a few resources and tips to help teachers plan their StudySync courses, lessons, and even parent communication no matter what your environment looks like this year.
To supplement the Scope and Sequence and Pacing Guide documents that accompany each grade level within the Core tab, this year StudySync has added Priority Instructional Content Resources. These resources are aligned to those standards identified in the 2020–21 Priority Instructional Content in English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics as they are outlined by the Student Achievement Partners working in collaboration with the Council of the Great City Schools.
The new Priority Pacing Scope and Sequence and Pacing Guides can be found at the bottom of teachers’ Unit Overview page. The priority content suggests fewer resources in each unit so that teachers will have greater flexibility in the face of interrupted schedules, teaching from home, and rotating classes. The pacing guide also has recommendations for additional instructional content from the StudySync Library to help students build content knowledge related to specific texts or provide additional opportunity for skill practice.
For teachers in Texas looking for guidance on how they might adapt their grade-level units, go to the “Units” section of your Library and search for “mini units.” There you’ll find standards-based grade-level units adapted down to ten days with suggestions for contemporary connections and additional skill lessons to broaden the scope of what you’re able to cover. Those mini units can serve as a model for you to create your own units. Check out our mini unit template and customized planning tool for additional resources to help determine your ideal course of study for the entire year.
StudySync’s robust lesson plans are chock-full of prompts, activities, and differentiation strategies to provide varied opportunities for every learner to effectively comprehend, analyze, and write about what they’re reading. While in years past, our implementation team has worked with teachers on using the lesson plans to employ blended learning strategies, this year the name of the game is designing synchronous and asynchronous instruction.
Print out the PDF lesson plans found in the Teacher Resources section within Core assignments and grab two highlighters to identify which activities are best suited for independent work and which ones will give you the most mileage during the precious minutes you will be working live with your students. Teachers sometimes find themselves flipping the script on how StudySync lessons usually break down with their classes. Watching videos within lessons moves from a whole group activity to asynchronous pre-work. While skills focus questions may have traditionally been independent work in your classroom, now they become collaborative jigsaws. Combine the two by having students watch a StudySyncTV episode independently to model what the collaborative process should look like when small groups then do a group dive into text-dependent questions.
To dive deeper into synchronous vs. asynchronous work, take a look at Dr. Catlin Tucker’s video tackling the two, part of the video series she recently developed on designing your own online course, found at StudySync’s Remote Resources page. Dr. Tucker also put together some models for how teachers might break down the activities regularly found in first read and close read lesson plans for synchronous and asynchronous work.
One of teachers’ keys for success this year has been finding unique ways to bring parents and other stakeholders at home into the fold to set them up for success as collaborators in students’ learning journeys. First and foremost, make sure they’ve seen the new Student Getting Started Guide to provide them with a clear overview of how to navigate the student’s account.
The grade-level overview found above your Core units can be a great asset for sharing key pieces of information with parents about what students are currently reading. There you can find the culminating close read prompt to help drive conversation about a reading at home, as well entry points to the text through sections on necessary prior knowledge or how the reading connects to a unit’s essential question.
Another simple feature that may come in handy is the summary available as a custom option on Core reading assignments. Share the one-paragraph summary with parents to ground them on what the material is about and allow the students to paint a fuller picture of the complete text after reading it. Or perhaps use the supplemental language dropdown menu when previewing a reading and grab a translated summary to share with nonnative speakers at home.
The summaries and quick-hit elements from the overview can be pasted into a weekly email with families as a concise way to genuinely bring literature to life.
Looking for even more in-depth ideas on how to maximize remote lesson plans in StudySync with activities such as Blast Research Choice Boards and Build Background Scavenger Hunts? Sign up for our newest webinar, 5 Tips for Remote & Hybrid Lesson Planning. Register here for sessions we’ll be hosting on Friday, October 16th and Monday, October 26th.