Ok teachers, here's your chance! You have no curriculum to follow and no standards....?

Question

Create your new classroom or school based on your own ideas! Best answer=10 pts!

Answer 1

I would have to really sit down and map it out- but if you use backwards design, then it becomes a lot less daunting.

At the end of the day what do you want the kids to know then work backwards from there. Everything has to pass the test "does this help them get to the goal."

But I would teach on a thematic basis. Depending on the level. I like the idea of exploring something rather than teaching it.

(I tried to do this as best as I could when I taught. In fourth grade I took our Earth Science Unit on Space, Life Sci. unit on Ecosystems, & our S.S. Unit on Explorers and actually taught them as a cohesive unit. (long story on how, but highly effective and culminated with the kids picking a planet to explore and building a space station.)

I'd cover reading, writing, and math skills as part of the cohesive unit, making sure to cover all the necissary skills. As far as what unit and what skills, that would depend on the grade level.

That would be my dream situation.

Answer 2

It would depend on what level of students I would be teaching. I would still be obligated to prepare students for college (if that were their goals). The biggest difference in what I taught would be for students who weren't planning to go to college because I could focus more on real world skills: resume writing, cover letter writing, job applications, practice interviews. I could use the newspapers and magazines as my texts. I would still be covering NJ's state standards for Language Arts, but I wouldn't have to focus on the test (HPSA), and I could deal with the reality that not all students want to go to college.