Summary of Thursday July 31 Activites

The following is a summary of the activities completed by the Hoboken Curriculum Group on Thursday, July 31st. The AM session concentrated on small group discussion on a number of topics facing the district centered on curriculum implementation. The PM (afternoon) session was centered on continuing the curriculum articulation process.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION/HEALTH- today we thought it would be a good time to review the work that we have completed. We divided the grade levels up and each proof read our units. We found this helpful because we had a chance to revisit what we had already worked on. We are pleased with the way the units lead the teacher in a direction that is easy to follow.

MATHEMATICS- We had a very successful day, completing the MYP Unit Plans for Grade 10 Geometry. Also, we completed the first MYP Unit for Grade 9 Algebra. As the summer has continued we have gotten much more accustom with the MYP objectives and Unit Plans. It has allowed us to have a better understanding of how to plan a proper MYP Unit. Next Week- Our plan is to complete the Algebra 1 MYP Unit Plans. We also plan to work hard at completing Unit Plans for the various mathematical options for grade 11. We plan to continue to expand our knowledge of the MYP and IB programs.

SOCIAL STUDIES- A quick update on our progress. The mapping is complete (barring any changes after meeting with a rep. from the 1-4 grades). The first half of 9th grade units are done, as are the 6th and 7th grade (with the exception of Africa). Additionally, a meeting has been set with Bob Foster from the Hoboken Historical Museum for August 12th at 10:00 am, he is coming here to Calabro. We are hoping to meet with one of the primary teachers ealry next week.
The small groups discussions this morning were very productive and sparked additional conversations in our afternoon groups.

SCIENCE- Accomplishments: Made standard revisions to grades one and seven; Typed fourth grade units; Continued creating fourth grade units; Discussed suggestions to meet state requirements for how many minutes per week students receive special classes; Discussed a variety of assessment options’ both formative and summative; Discussed important topics for professional development days. Our Plan and Goals: Create open ended questions for assessments for unit four; Edit units for grade four and continue typing units; Type units for grade 5, 11, 12; Initiate units for ninth and tenth grade.

WORLD LANGUAGE: we finished the mapping update as per your request. All grades were edited on the master mapping. Also, the team was able to put units/lessons 7-15 on the PYP planner. Nevertheless, we could not type these units. The typing aspect will be done on Monday by our PM partner.

Discussion Activity: Assessment, Professinal Development and Specials

The Curriculum Group focused on three issues for part of today's activities. These issues included assessment, professinal development and the role of "special" classes. All three topics are relevant in terms of implementation of curriculum. What follows is a summary of both the topic question that was asked as well as a brief synthesis of the responses of the teacher subgroups.

Topic 1: District Wide Assessment- one of the issues we need to address according to both QSAC and enacting the curriculum is the role of systemic, district wide assessment. Should this be done by marking period? Semester? End of Year? Should every school take the same test to assure uniformity? Who should make up such an assessment(s)? How should scores be reported? Should the scores be part of the students official grade for that marking period? Semester? Final grade? Who grades the assessment?

FINDINGS: Summative, formalized, cumulative? What kinds of asset. Do we have now.
.Need for common planning time
.What are we doing with all this Assessment information?
.How many times do we already test/ Is testing a form of evaluation?
.What is outcome/for failures
Moving away from end of year testing to subject area testing

Topic 2: Professional Development- one of the challenges the district faces once the curriculum is written is getting other teachers and administrators “up to speed” on what has been accomplished. How should this be accomplished? What should the role of outside professional development be? Internal professional development? How much time should be allocated? What potential challenges do you envision? What particular strengths do you feel we need to leverage?

FINDINGS: Professional Development: Groups 2-4-6
. Need for common planning
. Follow –up on PD
. Content specialists in each are: turn keying-during staff meetings
. Bring in own teachers to do P D
. Use of substantial /standard models
. Teacher s should be able to observe different class’s throuout the district
. Scheduling inconsistency-throughout district
. To much attention to testing (Is it meaningful or Required ?)
. Bring in PYP, even if not done yet
. No materials should just be turnkey with out follow up
. Themes for Pro. Dev. overtime? –Via. Surveys/ strategy

Topic 3: Specials- much of specific content/discipline delivery has been done by the use of “special” (for instance, having a “science” teacher that teachers science to all students in the school and/or grade band). Considering the 120 minutes regulation by the State, this is a challenge. Also, having such pull-outs and/or specials seems to take away from the flow of a typical classroom teacher. Nonetheless, considering “specials” are used very much in music, science, art, and other areas…how do we reconcile the 120 minutes a week criteria and the curriculum we are currently writing in terms of day to day delivery.

FINDINGS: K-5 -Incorporate all specialists into lesson plans. Provide opportunity and time for teachers to meet and confer. COMMON PLANNING w/specialists included
.Committee In charge of scheduling –unity for each school/ district
MYP -Schedules are very important
40. min. a day
120 min. a week
Each class would have to meet 3 times a week (specials )
2 X week into lesson plans. (Part of new Cir- for classroom teachers to introduce)
High School- Students get to take electives.

Summary of Activites for July 30

The following is an update of the activities of the curriculum committee for Wednesday, July 30, 2008.

Language Arts: Andrea Canonico and Vincent Casessa revised the assessments for the 5th grade and began writing the curriculum and adding the assessments for the 4th grade. They also aligned the curriculum with standardized testing requirements. Jenissa Wilson and Kathleen Kelly worked on Grade 9 units 3, 4, and 5. They also developed a list of supplementary teaching resources/materials. Gabriela Garcia and Marty Shannon typed the 4th grade PYP and are now beginning to add the assessments and align the CCCS. Kate Kezmarsky and Denise Toles completed the second unit for 10th grade and nearly completed the third unit.

Language Arts (Primary)- Today's Accomplishments- Met with Jen Lopez and discussed the Reading First Program, reviewed Houghton Mifflin Program and discussed Curriculum Writing.; Completed rubric for units 7, 8, 9, 10; Completed unit 11; Began unit 12 & 13. Tomorrow's Goals; Review and update Curriculum Map; Begin working on second grade units for Language Arts

Physical Ed/Health- Our team finished the first and second grade curriculum today in both Physical Education and Health. Tomorrow we are scheduled to make corrections on the mapping. Melanie Alberto will be working on the mapping while the rest of our group will continue on working on the third grade curriculum. We also plan on beginning adding assessments to the primary years Curriculum.

Science- Accomplishments: Completed fifth grade units and assessments based on NJCCCS; Completed typing 12th grade units and assessments; Made corrections to eleventh and twelfth grade units; Initiated third grade units; Finalized first to fifth grade time concept maps; Read and analyzed Jared’s IB report. Our Plan and Goals: Complete third grade units; Type fourth grade units; Type eleventh grade units; Discuss assessment options.

World Language- Things that were accomplished today:We revised and updated the hard copy of the curriculum mapping for grades k-12. The world Language/ Language B curriculum is ready to undergo the editing process that is to take place tomorrow as per the schedule that we received from Dr. Petrosino; In addition, after reading the document that Mr. Jared Ramos sent us on the development of MYP Units, we discussed the changes that will be made to the units that were finished for the Middle Years Program; Also, we developed the curriculum for the months of September, October and November for the 5th grade and we were able to put units 1-9 in the PYP planner; Furthermore, units 1-3 for grade 5 are now typed in the PYY format.

Language Arts (secondary)- Kate Kezmarsky and Denise Toles completed unit 3 for the 10th grade and nearly completed unit 4. We also revised units 1, 2, 3, & 4 as per Jared Ramos' email. Tomorrow, we will complete unit 4 by aligning the CCCS and begin working on unit 5 for the 10th grade.Kathleen Kelly and Jenissa Wilson completed units 5 and 6 for the ninth grade curriculum and nearly completed the 7th (final) unit. Tomorrow, they will continue unit 7 and develop summative assessment projects. Gabriela Garcia, Andrea Canonico, Vincent Casessa, and Marty Shannon revised the 6th grade curriculum as per Jared Ramos' email.Language A is scheduled to revise/edit curriculum map tomorrow at 11am-12pm.

Arts/Music- Today we reviewed the notes from the Austin Conference, specifically going through the process of brainstorming units through the lenses of the Areas of Interaction. In addition, we reviewed our vertical alignment and made some adjustments to the mapping in grades K-5.

Specifics

• Visual Arts established the mapping for grades 6-10
• Drama established the mapping for grades 9-10; Ideas for a possible 6-8 Drama class are also in place.
• Music began mapping for grade 6

General Accomplishments

• Finalized planned structure for the delivery of MYP Arts in the Hoboken Public Schools:
o In grades 6-8…
 All students will take a Visual Arts course entitled
• Visual Arts 6
• Visual Arts 7
• Visual Arts 8
 Course will be offered for the entire school year and be grade specific
 All students will take a Music course entitled
• Music 6: General Studies
• Music 7: Instrument and Voice I
• Music 8: Instrument and Voice II
o In grades 9…
 Students will be given the option of choosing the course to fulfill the mandatory Arts component to the MYP from the following courses
• Visual Arts 9
• Drama 9
 Students opting for one course must continue with that specific course into their 10th grade year to build upon skills and achieve mastery
 MUSIC will not be offered as an MYP class, but rather we are proposing that several musical electives be offered for the following reasons:
• It allows the music program to offer specialized classes in instrumental music that meet the interests of the student
• It allows for a class on vocal training that would be “audition only” for the students who are serious about singing
• It is allows students from multiple grade levels to participate in the courses offered, building a core of musical performers who can participate in such extracurricular activities such as the Band and Vocal Ensemble/Chorus.
o In grade 10…
 Students continue their studies into their specialized art field chosen in grade 9 in the following courses:
• Visual Arts 10
• Drama 10
 It is ESSENTIAL that these courses remain grade specific. The current practice of structuring arts classes as general electives in which students from any grade level are placed will not be acceptable for the following reasons:
• It does not comply with the standards for continuity set out by the IB MYP: Arts is not an elective but an equally weighted subject in the MYP Model
• It does not build upon skills acquired in previous years
• It does not consider vertical articulation in preparing students for the Arts DP classes offered: Art and Theatre Arts

Summary July 29, 2008

The following update is for the activities undertaken by the Curriculum Committee on Tuesday, July 29, 2008.

Technology- As a group we collaborated on a 3 month project the 7th Grade will be working on. We are reaching out to the Sciences, Arts and Humanities committees in an effort to work on cross curricular articulation. We plan on finishing the 7th grade units by the end of tomorrow and will map out our units for the 8th grade. On Thursday we will be discussing any changes we made to the curriculum map in order to get any changes made into the system on Tuesday.

Social Studies- As a group we have decided to put the 7th grade unit for Africa on hold, affording us the opportunity to gain more perspective on the subject. We did however, complete the remainder of grade 7 and the 1st semester (1st & 2nd quarter) of grade 9. We will be prepared to update our mapping tomorrow afternoon, however we still need a primary years consult. If you have any questions for us, please feel free to let us know.

Science- Accomplishments: Completed fourth grade units and assessments; Initiated fifth grade units and assessments; Completed physics units and assessments for twelfth grade; Completed rubrics for twelfth grade; Began typing grade eleven and grade twelve units; Completed time concept map for robotics; Completed formal lab template for grades six through eight. Our Plan and Goals: Continue working on fifth grade units; Continue typing eleventh and twelfth grade units; Initiate third grade units.

World Language- Things that were accomplished today: We revisited the mapping for grades K-5 and we made changes on our hardcopy; Also, we completed the 5th grade curriculum and we are now in the process to type the individuals units into the PYP planner. We looked at several textbooks. Among these textbooks are: Viva el Español, Paso a Paso, and Realidades for the middle school grades. We spoke with different sales representatives and based on our conversations we are making the recommendation to implement “Realidades” for grades 6-8. The logic behind the recommendation is that this particular book is completely aligned to the NJCCS and it fits the curriculum very well. For grades K-5 we are using “Viva el Español” systems A, B, and C for the implementation of the curriculum.

PhysEd/Health- Today our group finished the first grade Physical Education curriculum and is currently finishing the Health portion of the first grade curriculum. By the end of the day we feel as though we will begin to plan for the second grade units. Our group broke up into two small sub groups which we find to be more effective. Our sub groups are broken down into a P.E. section and a health section. The two sub groups periodically discuss the correlation between the two areas which creates consistency within the program

Mathematics- Today we completed writing the MYP Unit Plans for grade 8. Using the Drafting a Design from the Big Idea we had completed earlier this summer we have been successfully writing MYP Unit Plans for grades 6-8. Plans for Tomorrow: We hope to use the Drafting a Design from the Big Idea to complete the Algebra 1 MYP Unit Plans. Also we hope to start to write the MYP Unit Plans for the Geometry Curriculum.

Language (Primary)- Today's Accomplishments: Completed Units 7, 8, 9, 10; Completed rubric for unit 4 , 6, 9; Started rubric for unit 7; Began unit 11. Tomorrow's Goals: Complete rubric for units 7, 8, 9, 10, ; Continue to revise mapping for grade 1; Complete unit 11 ; Begin units 12, 13

Summary Monday July 28

The following update represents work conducted by the Curriculum Committee on Monday, July 28, 2008:

Language A- Today, Kate Kezmarsky and I created, typed, and completed the drafting design and unit planner for tenth grade Language Arts, Unit One. We also revised the curriculum map for tenth grade Language Arts. Kathleen Kelly and Jenissa Wilson revised the 9th grade curriculum map and nearly completed the drafting design for the ninth grade Language Arts units.Andrea Canonico, Marty Shannon, and Gabriela Garcia completed the drafting design for fourth grade and completed the assessments for fifth grade.

Language Arts Primary- Today's Accomplishments: Completed Units 4, 5, and 6 for grade 1; Saved Units 4, 5, and 6 in the L Drive; Completed rubric for unit 5; Started rubric for unit 4 and 6
Tomorrow's Goals: Complete rubric for unit 4 and 6; Look over mapping for grade 1; Complete units 7, 8, and 9

Language Arts- Today's Accomplishments: Completed Units 7, 8, 9, 10; Completed rubric for unit 4 , 6, 9; Started rubric for unit 7; Began unit 11 Tomorrow's Goals: Complete rubric for units 7, 8, 9, 10, ; Continue to revise mapping for grade 1; Complete unit 11; Begin units 12, 13


Arts/Music- Monday we convened and reviewed the information provided by Jared (in his absence), about how to proceed with Primary Years planning. We were left the template and Lynne Fusco provided us all with enough copies to begin planning unit by unit.Stephanie Safko and Robert Meyers took a trip over to HHS in order to obtain textbooks on Music Education for more ideas on how to flesh out the music unit planning. Lynne Fusco and Tasha Leggard continued to work on units 1 & 2 of the Kindergarten Visual Arts planning. In the afternoon a few primary level teachers came to give us information and fine tune the planning we had completed thus far. We compared and contrasted our planning and theirs to ensure uniformity of the PYPs. Tomorrow we will have Fran Cohen back and plan to move forward with our planning.

July 24-Curriculum Committee Summary

The following is a summary of the activities and plans of the Hoboken Curriculum Committee for Thursday, July 23rd, 2008.

LANGUAGE ARTS - Team A worked steadily and completed all units for the fifth grade in the revised pyp format. They plan to review and make necessary revision on Monday.Team B continued to work on units for ninth grade,.Looking forward they will conduct research connecting literary works in coordinate to tenth grade themes; Recreated Template for PYP planner; Started and Completed Unit 3; Completed Rubric for Unit 1; Completed Rubric for Unit 3; Began unit 4, 5, and 6
Goals for Monday: Complete unit 4, 5, and 6; Begin unit 7

PHYS ED/HEALTH- Today we completed the Health portion of the Seventh and eighth grade curriculum. Next week we will move on to the primary grades one through four. We will use the PYP format as a guide and we forsee that the template will be helpful.

SOCIAL STUDIES- The group had a very productive day, all but two units in the 6th and 7th grade are complete. Since we reworked the map we all seem to be working quite nicely, and we working well together.We have broken up into groups of two and three to work on units. Thank you for your feedback this morning, it was very helpful.

SCIENCE- Completed rubrics for units 1, 2, and 3 for seventh grade science to correlate with NJCCCS; Completed units for ninth grade to correlate with NJCCCS; Complete unit 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 for first grade; Completed units 1, 2,3, 4, and 5 eleventh grade; Completed formal lab report templates for grades 3-5 and 6-8

Our Plan and Goals: Complete units for grade 1; Complete eleventh grade units and initiate rubrics; Initiate unit plans for second grade.

WORLD LANGUAGE- We corrected and typed Units # 4 and 5 for the 7th grade curriculum. The 7th grade curriculum is now completed and ready to be submitted. Also, we worked on the first two units of the curriculum for the 8th grade. The units themes are as follow:
a. Unit 1-Theme: Community
b. Unit 2-Theme: TV Shows and Movies
In addition, we started to work on unit #3. These units will be revised, and typed on Monday. Also, the rest of the units for the 8th grade will be finalized.

ARTS/MUSIC-
·MUSIC: Completed the general topic mapping of all units in grades K-5
·VISUAL ARTS: Completed the general topic mapping of all units in grades K-5
·THEATER & DANCE: Completed the general topic mapping of all units in grades K-2

Standards and Details
·MUSIC: Completed the detailed table mapping of all units in grades K-5
·VISUAL ARTS: Completed the detailed table mapping of all units in grades K-5
·THEATER & DANCE: Completed the detailed table mapping of all units in grades K-3

MYP Turnkey training- As we finished the mapping fro K-5 and approach planning for 6-10, we began our day on Thursday with a crash course of the MYP Arts guide.
Many questions were answered and misconceptions cleared, for example:
MYP is NOT an honors course for certain students, but a teaching philosophy and method of learning for ALL Hoboken students, grades 6-10.

AIMS are our hopes and desired outcomes that a student may experience through the learning and are not measurable or testable
OBJECTIVES are goals that MUST be measured through assessment; man of the MYP Objectives overlap with NJCCS.
AREAS OF INTERACTION are specific lenses through which a teacher will guide the students’ examination and exploration into a particular subject.
A UNIT should try to address only ONE, or at most TWO Areas of Interaction in a particular unit.
WHY? Imagine putting on 5 pairs of glasses. Do you think you could see clearly? Well, an Area of Interaction should be considered to be one pair of glasses. We put them on to look at a particular topic within a certain subject. It narrows are point of inquiry and helps us focus on a specific way of looking at something. By trying to cram in many Areas of Interaction within one unit, the inquiry becomes clouded, muddled, and the connections are vague and contrived. This does not provide the student with a deep and meaningful investigation into a topic.

OTHER TOPICS
·We addressed the needs of our schools to properly meet the expectations for delivering a successful MYP in Hoboken; these needs will be expressed once the mapping is completed and a comprehensive list can be generated

Curriculum Summery - Wednesday July 23

The following is an update of the activities of the Curriculum Committee for Wednesday, July 23:

Technology- Our committee finished the 6th grade curriculum unit plans today and would like you to review them over the weekend if possible to ensure we are heading in the right direction. We mapped out the curriculum for the 7th grade and have slight changes to the original curriculum map that we are working from. We will submit any adjustments to you for your review. One thing we noticed on the map was a lack of technology curriculum in the 9th grade thru the 12th grade. We are not sure if this was because of a lack of technology people in the spring or if technology is supposed to be infused within the curriculum. We will address this tomorrow.

World Language- We revised and corrected Units # 2 and 3.Themes: Leisure and Vacations and Clothing for the 7th grade Curriculum. Also, in addition to the revision and typing process for units 2 & 3, our group was able to develop 2 more units (4 & 5). The themes of these units are: Home-Unit 4 and Health-Unit 5. Therefore, the World Language-Language B for the 7th grade is now complete. Once again, the allocated time was used wisely. I believe that we are making a remarkable progress with the World Languages Curriculum.

Phys Ed/Health- Today the Physical Education team worked on the eighth grade curriculum. We also created new mapping which we have saved and will relay to Denise. At his point it seems as though our planning of the curriculum is consistent and conducive to our needs. We think it would be helpful to created the ninth and tenth grade curriculum within the next week at which point we will review our progress and see if changes have to be made. Our future concerns deal with the primary grades and keeping the planning consistent yet specific to those needs.

Language Arts- Our group split into two teams today for efficiency. Team A continued to work on the design templates for all 5th grade units. Researched novels, based on lexile scores appropriate to the grade. They also entered essential questions into the revised PYP format. The plan is to continue working towards completion of the fifth grade curriculum. Team B consulted the History team with a mind towards coordinating the two curricula. They also conducted research matching literary works to social studies themes, as well as cross curricula projects. The plan is to complete the unit designs for ninth grade.

Social Studies- As discussed this morning, the world history mapping is complete (grades 6, 7, 9). I have attached it for your review. We followed the guide from the National Council for History Education and The IB Humanities Curriculum to create mapping and full year course questions. We plan to edit existing units and continue writing units tomorrow.

Mathematics- Today we completed two more MYP Unit Plans for the 7th Grade. Also, we added some of the units we have completed to the L Drive. We made sure that we were hitting all the standards for each topic and grade. Tomorrow: We plan to finish up the 7th Grade MYP Unit Plans and begin the 8th grade. We will continue to make sure that we fulfill all the NJCCS for mathematics as we continue planning our units going forward.

Curriculum Summary- July 22

The following is an update of the Hoboken Curriculum Committee for July 22, 2008:

World Language- 1) We revised and corrected Unit # 1-Theme: The family for the 7th grade Curriculum. 2) We were able to type the unit in each of the templates and it is now ready to be submitted. Also, we completed unit # 2-Theme: Clothing. Again, this unit was developed using the template system that is in place (MYP and UBD). Both units contain the rubrics as required by the IBO organization and the interdisciplinary NJCCCS. Furthermore, we started to work on unit 3 for the 7th grade curriculum. Today, as always we used the time wisely and in a very productive manner.

PE/Health- Today, our group finished 5th & 6th grade PE & Health unit planners by updating the CCCS along with some minor finishing touches. We are more than half way complete with 7th & 8th grade PE & Health unit planners. 7th & 8th grades will most likely be finished tomorrow.

Mathematics- We have completed MYP Unit Plans for grade 6 and have begun the Unit Plans for the 7th Grade. Also, we have complete the Drafting by Design from the Big Idea for grades 6-11. Tomorrow: The plan for tomorrow is to complete the MYP Unit Plans for the 7th grade and begin the Unit Plans for the 8th Grade.

Science- Completed general rubrics for eighth grade; unit plans and assessments with specific rubrics for sixth grade.; majority of unit projects for seventh grade; units one, two, and three for seventh grade science to correlate with NJCCCS; units one, two, and three for ninth grade to correlate with NJCCCS; Revised K-5 unit maps; Completed specific assessment rubrics for units one, two, three, and four for eighth grade.
Our Plan and Goals:Create specific assessment rubrics for seventh grade.; Complete specific assessment rubrics for eighth grade; Complete unit projects for seventh grade; Continue working on units for seventh grade; Complete ninth grade units; Initiate K-5 units.

Language Arts- Accomplishments:
* Revised the 1st grade Curriculumn Mapping Sheet
* Translated our unit into PYP format
* created a detailed curriculum map with all of the Reading/Language Arts components for 1st grade
* Began to create the rubric for Unit 2

Goals for Tomorrow:
* Complete the rubric for Unit 2
* Review 1st grade curriculum mapping sheet
* Transfer written Unit 2 onto L drive (if template is completed)
* Begin to work on unit 1

Social Studies- After our meeting this afternoon we have made some changes to the plan for the social studies curriculum. We have decided that we are going to align the curriculum with the National Council for History Education, put together by a very well respected group of authors, educators and historians. This will work as a framework for the curriculum and after much discussion we all feel that thsi is the direction to go in. As a result, we will need to revamp the mapping and we hope to have that done by midday tomorrow. Additionally, some members of the group met with the 9th grade Language Arts team, and a meeting is set with Jared Ramos for next week to discuss performing arts.

Technology- The group continues to work on unit plans for the 6th grade curriculum. Susan plans on starting 7th Grade tomorrow as Michele and I finish up 6th grade. Once the 6th grade is complete we would like you to review our plans in order to ensure we are moving along on the right track. We mapped out the 7th grade so we have a smooth transition from one year to the next. We are reviewing the curriculum map as me move along and adjusting as we see necessary. We will let Denise know of any changes so she can adjust the master map.

Curriculum Summary: Monday July 21

The following is the July 21 update on the activities of the Hoboken Curriculum Committee:

World Language- Things that were accomplished today:

1) We revised and corrected several 6th grade thematic units

2) Also, we started to work on the development of the thematic units for
grade 7. Unit # 1 – Theme’s name “The family” was completed using the MYP
and the UBD templates. The unit contains the rubrics as required by the IBO
organization and the interdisciplinary NJCCCS.

3) In addition, we started to work on unit 2 for the 7th grade curriculum.


Language Arts- The language arts group spent a very productive day inputting missing but relevant data in the MYP Unit plans for the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. We also, reviewed and updated curriculum maps with Denise's assistance.We believe this work will be completed by tomorrow morning. At that time we plan on doing a final review of all documents related to this work.When satisfied with the final product we will divide into two groups, one working on Ninth grade and upward, the other working fifth grade and downward.

Language (Grades 1-5)- Today, we completed Unit 1 of LA for first grade using the MYP format. Tomorrow, we will transfer our Unit to the PYP format as you agreed upon in our small group meeting. In addition, we have begun to add/modify our timeline map to better follow the first grade concepts.

Mathematics Group- Today as a group we complete the Drafting a Design from the Big Idea for 11th grade Algebra 2. We also starting to convert the the Drafting a Design to the MYP Unit Plans. So far we have complete one and half unit plans for sixth grade.
Plans for July 22-Tomorrow we plan to complete the MYP Unit Plans for the sixth grade and begin the Unit Plans for the 7th grade. It is our hope that by the end of the week we will have finished MYP Unit plans for grade 6-9.

Technology Group- Today we worked independently on units as we divided them last week.In progress currently for 6th grade: September: Keyboarding October, November, December: Internet Use and Safety
Completed: May: Computer History
Issues: Mapping needs revision as map does not reflect MYP concept of technology (design process) but more of a traditional "computer skills" concept. We need to develop some ideas of design projects for 6th grade and work them in to the units.

Health/Physical Education- The physical education/ health curriculum group has now completed the following unit plans for both 7th and 8th grades: Soccer, Football, Fitness, Nutrition, Net sports In addition to the above we added the softball/baseball unit planner for 5th and 6th grade.
Tomorrow we will make revisions on the unit planners for the 5th and 6th grade to articulate the areas we spoke about today. Our goal tomorrow will be to complete all revisions on 5th and 6th grade. By the end of the week we will have completed the Physical Education/ Health portion of the unit planners for 7th and 8th grade .

Social Studies- This was quite a productive day for the group. With the addition of some fresh minds we were able to complete the 6th grade (pending your review of course). Thank you for stopping in to meet with us it was very helpful. Wwe will be moving on to the 7th grade tomorrow and hope to have that finished this week. In the next few days we will decide if it is more beneficial to split up into sub-groups or to continue working as a whole.

Arts- Today was very productive. We set out to define the mapping for grades 3-4 and were successful in meeting our goal. Our ideas are even organically beginning to spill over into the 5th grade, which we will definitely nail down tomorrow.

The highlight of today was actually an ice-breaker session between the teachers. To keep things in perspective, I handed out a questionnaire to everyone with the following questions:

1. Why do you love music/theater/dance/art?
2. What is your first memory, or your best memory, about being in the arts?
3. Why do you think music/theater/dance/art is important?
4. What about music/theater/dance/art would you like to share with your students?

We shared our responses and here are some observations:
• We are passionate about our content area, thinking of ourselves as teaching artists who all still love to perform and exhibit/showcase our own work.
• Students will be more likely to subscribe to a curriculum in the arts when a teacher is consistently sharing their own passion for it.

We also agreed that there should be an exposure element for each grade, meaning that the students should be exposed to a certain number of works and be expected to identify the title, artist, period, date, and culture from which it comes. The method of helping the students learn this information will vary according to age level, but the expectation will build within our students not only the capacity to memorize art information, but become well-educated in their understanding of various pieces and exposure to different styles, cultures, and time periods. We talked about 3 per year, but the quantity of work studied may even rise depending on grade level. This is still in discussion. At minimum, having the students study 3 pieces a year from K-8 will result in them being able to identify fully 27 pieces by the time they enter high school. Another possibility could be 3/year in K-2 (9); 4/year in grades 3-4 (8); 5/year in 6-8 (10); 6/year in 7-8 (12); and 7/year in 9-12 (28). This would total 67 works of art by the end of high school.

Curriculum Team Summaries

The following are Content Team summaries of the Curriculum Committee Meetings. Summaries are written by a representative of each content group and sent to Dr. Petrosino at the end of each day. This information is then shared with all members of the Curriculum Committee.




Thursday, July 17, 2008
ARTS Curriculum Mapping Team

Jared Ramos (theater)
Tasha Leggard (dance)
Lynne Fusco (visual)
Fran Cohen (visual)
Stephanie Safko (music)
Robert Meyers (music)

We’ve completed our objective of working through our first “chunk” of grades (K-2) based on the standards breakdown. We will return to define the units and lessons once we complete the general mapping for grades 3-12.

Our objective is to finish mapping the curriculum units based on our themes for 3-5 grades on Monday, July 21. Given the progress we’ve observed, there is the possibility that we won’t finish the 5th grade mapping until Tuesday. However, once we have this completed, we’ll be in a much better place to begin tackling the next chunk of curriculum fro the MYP grades (6-10). As we begin mapping for this area, I’d like the team to think a little more specifically about the unit objectives, as we will be aligning them not only with the NJCCS, but also with the MYP aims and objectives. We also need to take into account the Areas of Interaction and so I expect this part of the process to take almost double the time it took us to map grades K-5. I believe this to be time well spent in order to maintain the integrity of our subject areas and to design units that will truly challenge the students not only to meet the standards but surpass them.

It’s been wonderful to see how although the team has different expertise in their arts backgrounds, we’ve come together passionately to begin to create a curriculum for the arts that connects relevantly to the other content areas of education, and which maintains the integrity of our respective crafts. I’ve enjoyed watching how the seemingly arduous task of approaching this assignment has streamlined itself into a machine that is producing results more efficiently as we grow accustomed to our method of organization. I am truly looking forward to what develops in the week to come.


Thursday, July 17, 2008
Social Studies Curriculum Mapping Team

Good afternoon,

The meeting with the library was extremely informative an productive. We hope to have the list of headings to them early next week.

Damian, Mark & I completed half of the units for the 6th grade and are confident that the 6th grade & 7th grade will be finished next week.

Everything seems to be falling into place nicely.

Enjoy your weekend!
The Social Studies Group


Monday – Thursday July 14th-17th
Language A Curriculum Team

Martin Shannon
Andrea Canonico
Fiona Stephens
Denise Toles
Anabel Gomez
Jenissa Wilson
Vincent Casessa
Kathy Kelly
Kate Kezmarsky
Ed Barfield
Gabriela Taglieri


Monday:
Used the mapping done previously and began to work on the Drafting by Design for each unit in the sixth grade.
Used NJCCCS & MYP standards to fit the draft and MYP Unit Planner.


Tuesday:
Reviewed previous days work, made some corrections and add-ons.
Typed and completed the units for the sixth grade Drafting by Design template.
Started the seventh grade Drafting by Design template.
Used NJCCCS & MYP standards to fit the draft and MYP Unit Planner.


Wednesday:
Reviewed previous days work, made some corrections and add-ons.
Typed and completed the units for the seventh grade Drafting by Design template.
Matched the NJCCCS standards and MYP standards to make sure it was all covered in the units.
Continued to type the MYP Unit Planner for the sixth grade.
Discussed and used the grade appropriate book lists to plan and implement in the units.


Thursday:
Reviewed previous days work, made some corrections and add-ons.
Completed 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Drafting by Design templates.
Matched the NJCCCS standards and MYP standards to make sure it was all covered in the units
Discussed and used the grade appropriate book lists to plan and implement in the units.
Matched intercultural awareness with all the 8th grade units.
Revised unit names for the 8th grade mapping.
Revised the big idea questions for the 7th - 8th grade mapping.


Thursday, July 17, 2008
Mathematics Curriculum Mapping Team

Dr. P,

The Math Team completed drafting forms from UBD for the following areas today:
All of Geometry was completed. We began the 11th Grade Algebra 2 and completed 3 of the 4 unit based on the previous mapping. Next week the goal is the finish up the Algebra 2 and begin the two electives for senior year: College and PreCalculus

Mark, Lou, Howard


PS-Regarding the math interviews- there are two set for next week-Monday and Tuesday both @ noon @ the HS-Thanks!

Thursday, July 17, 2008
Science Curriculum Mapping Team

Veronica Ramos
Kelly Sogluizzo
Meghna Patel
Charlotte Yates
Bess Mitsakos
Romy Marchasani
Jayshree Amin
Helen DeRose

* Completed the 6th grade science unit plans to correlate with NJCCCS.
* Connected content to one of the district’s text book.
* Proceeded to document the unit plans.
* Created general rubrics for the science assessment criteria.
* Initiated project assessment research and documentation.
* Turn key strategies for lower elementary unit planning.
* Revised time line on 8th grade mapping.
* Initiated writing unit plan for 8th grade.

Our plan and goals:
· Continue connecting content to district text books.
· Initiate 7th grade unit plans.
· Continue writing unit plans for 8th grade.
· Complete project assessment research

Curriculum Mapping Summary

The following are Content Team summaries of the Curriculum Committee Meetings- Wednesday, July 16. Summaries are written by a representative of each content group and sent to Dr. Petrosino at the end of each day. This information is then shared with all members of the Curriculum Committee.

Arts Curriculum Committee

Jared Ramos (theater), Tasha Leggard (dance), Lynne Fusco (visual), Fran Cohen (visual), Stephanie Safko (music), Robert Meyers (music)

This morning, we set out to tackle the mapping for the arts in grades K-2. The team spent the first 30 minutes of the day researching best practices, curricula, and lessons on the Internet, that would help us brainstorm the goals—and activities to achieve those goals—for each grade and within each arts discipline. While the team was researching, I organized the standards we studied yesterday on the wall. We wanted to take those standards and post them along with two new columns that were to be filled out based upon our research: Goals, and How? To our fortune, a group of kindergarten and one first grade teacher passed by the room and gave their input about the things that are personal goals within their own classrooms, and how they go about achieving them, describing specific lessons and activities that not only are effective in instruction, but also address the NJCCS. Once the team returned, we incorporated the new research into the columns that were begun based on the teachers’ suggestions.
Looking at our goals and some ways to achieve them, we began to approach the map, recognizing some overall connections and themes that were appearing in the age group. We decided to create an overarching general theme for the tackled grade group (K-2), labeling it “Me and My World.” This decision was based upon the realization that the skills we wanted the kids to develop at this young stage really centered on exploring themselves, their communities, and their environments. This approach also seemed to flow very well into the philosophy that the students would eventually experience in the MYP.

Our breakdown:
ME AND MY WORLD
Kindergarten: My Self
My Body
My Feelings
My Actions
1st Grade: My Home
My Family
My Heritage
My Culture
My Pets and Animals
My Space
My Stuff
2nd Grade: My Community
My Friends
My Environment
My Dreams

The subgroups above not only provide us with thematic “chunks” that help organize the year, but also unify our approach to the unit and lesson creations within each of the arts areas. Additionally, many of these subgroups were inspired by the themes appearing in the mapping of other subjects, thereby creating ample opportunities for cross-curricular learning.

In our desire to keep the integrity of the subjects and to really lay a strong foundation, we did not get as far as we hoped today. While we laid the general mapping of topics for K-2, we only got specific with lesson ideas and subunits – connecting them to the NJCCS – for grade K. We intend to complete grades 1 & 2 tomorrow morning, and then begin 3-4 in the afternoon.

Updated Schedule:
1-2; 3-4 – Thursday, July 17
5-6; 7-8 – Monday, July 21
9-12 – Tuesday, July 22

World Languages –Language B –Curriculum Mapping Team
Wed. July 16, 2008

Tania Trinidad, Geidy De la Rosa, Isabel Bruno

Today we met to organize and to develop the unit planner for grade 6 and we were able to finish 2 complete thematic units following the recommendations of the MYP. These two units are fully interdisciplinary and were also drafted using the Understanding by design template and the NJCCCS for World Languages and Inter-disciplinary subjects.

Technology Group–Curriculum Mapping Team
Wed. July 16, 2008

The technology group is in the formation process. Members will initially include Susan Imholz, Michelle McGreivey and Robin Piccapietra.

Today's work revolved around becoming familiar with the IB MYP Technology program guide and the NJ CCCS for Technology. The CCCS relate largely to computer technology and somewhat to the technology design process. In MYP, technology refers mostly to the design process. The NJ CCCS list the first bechmark years as fourth, eighth and twelfth grades.

The committee discussed with Dr. Petrosino the nature of technology education as a separate entity yet also integrated throughout the curriculum and the responsibility of all teachers. The group will reach out to teachers at various grade levels to determine what skills are developmantally appropriate for students in the primary grades as the NJCCCS specify nothing before 4th grade.

Tomorrow: start analyzing existing map and flesh out topics appropriately for grade levels starting with grade 4.

Social Studies –Curriculum Mapping Team
Wed. July 16, 2008

Good afternoon,
Damian, Mark & I are beginning to solidify our group for social studies. We spent the afternoon together gaining perspective and plotting a course of action. We found some inconsistencies between the available resources for the middle years and the mapping, are are working to sort them out. We remain positive that the we will be able to do that.
We are coming up with good ideas and a plan.

Enjoy your afternoon,
The Social Studies Group


Science –Curriculum Mapping Team
Wed. July 16, 2008

Veronica Ramos, Kelly Sogluizzo, Meghna Patel, Charlotte Yates, Bess Mitsakos, Romy Marchasani, Jayshree Amin, Helen DeRose

1) Completed the 6th grade science unit plans to correlate with NJCCCS.
2) Connected content to one of the district’s text book.
3) Proceeded to document the unit plans.
4) Created general rubrics for the science assessment criteria.
5) Initiated project assessment research and documentation.
6) Turn key strategies for lower elementary unit planning.
7) Revised time line on 8th grade mapping.
8) Initiated writing unit plan for 8th grade.

Our plan and goals: Continue connecting content to district text books, Initiate 7th grade unit plans., Continue writing unit plans for 8th grade, Complete project assessment research

Mathematics –Curriculum Mapping Team
Louis Taglieri, Howard McKenzie, Mark Schartner

As a group we worked together to complete four units for Grade 10 Geometry. We have been using the Drafting a Design from Big Ideas to plan our unit. Currently we have complete grades 6-9 and only have one more unit left to complete Geometry.

Tomorrow:

We will continue to use the Drafting a Design from Big Ideas to complete the final unit in Geometry and begin the Algebra 2 unit plans. Also, we will begin to transfer our Big Ideas to the MYP unit plan.


Language A –Curriculum Mapping Team

Martin Shannon, Jenissa Wilson, Andrea Canonico, Vincent Casessa, Kathy Kelly, Kate Kezmarsky, Fiona Stephens, Ed Barfield, Denise Toles, Gabriela Taglieri

Monday:
Used the mapping done previously and began to work on the Drafting by Design for each unit in the sixth grade.
Used NJCCCS & MYP standards to fit the draft and MYP Unit Planner.

Tuesday:
Reviewed previous days work, made some corrections and add-ons.
Typed and completed the units for the sixth grade Drafting by Design template.
Started the seventh grade Drafting by Design template.
Used NJCCCS & MYP standards to fit the draft and MYP Unit Planner.

Wednesday:
Reviewed previous days work, made some corrections and add-ons.
Typed and completed the units for the seventh grade Drafting by Design template.
Matched the NJCCCS standards and MYP standards to make sure it was all covered in the units.
Continued to type the MYP Unit Planner for the sixth grade.
Discussed and used the grade appropriate book lists to plan and implement in the units.

Physical Education –Curriculum Mapping Team

Melanie Alberto-Kolmer, Janice Shikhman, Beth Tomlinson, Marni Rosenblum, Ryan Sorafine

We have completed all of the 6th grade Unit Planners which include the following topics:

Physical Education: Football, Net Sports (Volleyball, Tennis & Badminton), Soccer, Basketball, Recreational Sports, Golf, Movement, Cooperative Games

Health:Fitness, Nutrition, Body, Growth & Parenting, Relationships & Character Development, Drugs, Alcohol & Tobacco, Communication, Diseases & Health Conditions, Leadership, Services & Safety

As we were completing some of our lessons, we realized we could create 5th grade unit planners as well.

For 5th grade, we have completed the following health units:
Body, Growth & Parenting, Communication, Diseases & Health Conditions, Drugs, Alcohol & Tobacco, Relationships & Character Development, Leadership, Services & Safety
Today we are going to complete all of the 5th grade unit planners before moving onto 7th grade.
We feel our group is very efficient at how we work together. We are working cooperatively as a group in our individual roles.

Today was the first meeting on the summer for the Hoboken Curriculum Committee. The Committee will meet for the next month (July 14-August 14) at Calabro School and will make significant progress toward adding more detail to the curriculum mapping that was finished at the end of the 2007-08 school year. Over 50 district faculty were on hand for the first day. The group included about 20 new members to the Committee. Over the next three days, there will be a new member orientation headed by Dr. Petrosino while the veteran members of the Committee will continue with curriculum articulation. Today, the Committee completed 6th grade MYP planning while Primary and Secondary areas of focus for the new members were decided upon.