The Amazing Z Chart

Alignment of Instruction Requires teachers to plan using goals for learning “What should the student know and be able to do?”

What planning is not: -Activities based - Just following the textbook -Stringing themes together - Doing a Unit

The teacher must understand how to construct objectives that can be stated in measurable terms.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Constructing Learning Objectives – Z Chart Level of Thinking Doing - Verb Unit or Strand Specific Content General Specific BehaviorLearning

Square 1: The Thinking Box General behavior or level at which you want students to be thinking. The only words that will ever appear in this box will refer to a level of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Constructing Learning Objectives – Z Chart Level of Thinking Doing - Verb Unit or Strand Specific Content General Specific BehaviorLearning

Square 2: The General Learning Box This box is usually the broad area of instruction: eg. Cycles, Living Things, Food Groups, Fractions, World Interactions, Story Elements, ___________________, _________________________, ______________, ________________ (Info comes from your standards, or tasks)

Constructing Learning Objectives – Z Chart Level of Thinking Doing - Verb Unit or Strand Specific Content General Specific BehaviorLearning

Square 3: Specific Behavior Box This is the student “doing box” Includes specific activities that demonstrate that students are thinking at the target level Square 3 must match square 1 – Bloom’s Level – match to a Bloom’s activity e.g. Knowledge = listing; application = classify; comprehension = explain

Constructing Learning Objectives – Z Chart Level of Thinking Doing - Verb Unit or Strand Specific Content General Specific BehaviorLearning

Square 4: Specific Content Contains the specific content from the broad area or strand (from each grade level or subject) e.g. Living things = three characteristics of a mammal;

“What is it that students should know and be able to do?” Z-Chart for daily lessons Pacing guides for month to month Horizontal map for the year Vertical maps for year to year

Practice

Practice – Z Chart Level of Thinking Doing - Verb Unit or Strand Specific Content General Specific BehaviorLearning