1. “Rigor in Action” Dan Barber 5 th Grade Teacher Irwin Academic Center Dan.Barber@cms.k12.nc.us danbarber.cmswiki.wikispaces.net

2. R I G O aise the expectations RR G ive appropriate support & guidance pen your focus I ncrease the complexity

3. Complexity through projects Students solve perimeter and area worksheet problems vs. Students design (and build!) their dream house, calculating the perimeter and area of each room in their house. Students identify different community helpers vs. Students each pick a different community helper to learn more about, dress up as that helper, and teach their class what they’ve learned

4. Lord Cornwalis and General Washington have a chance encounter Benjamin Franklin takes a moment to pose with an admirer Betsy Ross displays her flag design

5. Complexity through projects Students solve perimeter and area worksheet problems vs. Students design (and build!) their dream house, calculating the perimeter and area of each room in their house. Students identify different community helpers vs. Students each pick a different community helper to learn more about, dress up as that helper, and teach the class what they’ve learned Students complete a teacher-designed experiment on forces & motion vs. Students design “Leprechaun traps” which, when triggered by a force or motion, will catch a mischievous leprechaun

7. Complexity through projects Students solve perimeter and area worksheet problems vs. Students design (and build!) their dream house, calculating the perimeter and area of each room in their house. Students identify different community helpers vs. Students each pick a different community helper to learn more about, dress up as that helper, and teach the class what they’ve learned Students complete a teacher-designed experiment on forces & motion vs. Students design “Leprechaun traps” which, when triggered by a force or motion, will catch a mischievous leprechaun Students identify geometric solids on a worksheet vs. Students create “geobots” utilizing a variety of geometric solids & write a story about the purpose of their geobot

8. Simon and his "Universal Salamander" Gloria & "SpongeBob Gloria" Brian and his GeoHouse

9. Complexity through projects Students solve perimeter and area worksheet problems vs. Students design (and build!) their dream house, calculating the perimeter and area of each room in their house. Students identify different community helpers vs. Students each pick a different community helper to learn more about, dress up as that helper, and teach the class what they’ve learned Students complete a teacher-designed experiment on forces & motion vs. Students design “Leprechaun traps” which, when triggered by a force or motion, will catch a mischievous leprechaun Students identify geometric solids on a worksheet vs. Students create “geobots” utilizing a variety of geometric solids & write a story about the purpose of their geobot Students write about a hero vs. Students research heroes of September 11 th and create a video celebrating those heroes http://danbarber.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/September+11th+Ten+Years+Later

10. Complexity in pre & post assessments Students complete an exam involving matching pictures of clouds to the correct cloud type vs. Students, over the course of two weeks, take pictures of clouds in/around their neighborhood and create a powerpoint in which they identify cloud types

11. http://danbarber.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/Cloud+Projects

12. Complexity in pre & post assessments Starting with open-ended problems (including material kids haven’t (necessarily) experienced. In the addition problem below, there are three different two-digit numbers in which different letters represent different digits. What digits do A, B and C represent? A A B B + C C B A C A = 9 B = 1 C = 8 Students complete an exam involving matching pictures of clouds to the correct cloud type vs. Students, over the course of two weeks, take pictures of clouds in/around their neighborhood and create a powerpoint in which they identify cloud types

13. Complexity in pre & post assessments Starting with open-ended problems (including material kids haven’t (necessarily) experienced. Identifying what students already know about a topic (reviewing rather than repeating) and any misconceptions they may have (variations of K-W-L) Post-assessing with rubrics:

14. Upper El. Magazine Evaluation Name______________________________ Date____________________________ Areas 4 Exceeds Expectations 3 Meets Expectations 2 Partially Meets Expectations 1 Needs Improvement Sources/ Research Used/cited 4 sources of information AND had a variety of sources (i.e., interviews AND print resources Used/cited 3 sources of information for their story (print, online, or person) Used/cited 2 sources of information for their story (print, online, or person) Used/cited only 1 source of information for their story (print, online, or person) Grammar/ Mechanics Always has correct spelling, grammar, and mechanics (punctuation/ capitalization) Often has correct spelling, grammar, and mechanics (punctuation/ capitalization) Sometimes has correct spelling, grammar, and mechanics (punctuation/ capitalization) Rarely has correct spelling, grammar, and mechanics (punctuation/ capitalization) Effort It is strongly evident a lot of time was put into researching, writing, editing, and publishing this story. There is evidence that additional time and effort was put into researching, editing & publishing this story. There is some evidence that additional time and effort was put into researching, editing & publishing this story. Very little time or effort was put into researching, writing, editing and publishing this story. Writing Style Story has a strong beginning, is logically organized, contains strong supporting details, and has a strong conclusion Story has 3 of these 4 characteristics: Strong beginning, is logically organized, has strong supporting detail, has a strong conclusion. Story has 2 of these 4 characteristics: Strong beginning, is logically organized, has strong supporting detail, has a strong conclusion. Story lacks or has a weak beginning, is not logically organized, lacks supporting details, and does not have a strong conclusion Self-Assessment: ______/16Mr. Dan Assessment: ______/16

15. 3 Exceeds Expectations 2 Meets Expectations 1 Needs Improvement Critical/Analytical Thinking Response is complex and/or imaginative in nature. Response considers and addresses multiple perspectives of an argument or formulates a different view point or perspective on an issue than has already been considered. Response is somewhat complex in nature. Other perspectives of an issue or argument are acknowledged or recognized. Response is simplistic in nature, addresses the question/statement on a “surface” level or is obvious in nature Effort Response exceeds the requirements of the posting (i.e., multiple replies to other postings were given or additional sentences were provided) and/or demonstrates breadth or complexity was applied when the posting was made Response fulfills the requirements of the posting but lacks additional breadth or complexity of thought beyond what is expected Response is short, lacks breadth or complexity, or does not fulfill the requirements of the posting (i.e., is 2 sentences when 3 are required) Writing Style Response is written in a clear and concise manner. Response is easy to read and understand. Most of the response is written in a clear and concise manner. There are some aspects of the response which are difficult to read and/or understand. Response is incoherent and/or written in a confusing/unclear manner. Response is difficult to read and/or understand.

16. Complexity in pre & post assessments Starting with open-ended problems (including material kids haven’t (necessarily) experienced. Identifying what students already know about a topic (reviewing rather than repeating) and any misconceptions they may have (variations of K-W-L) Post-assessing with rubrics. Pick one of these two questions to respond to: 1) What do you think would have happened if the Japanese did not attack Pearl Harbor? or 2) The video mentions that the Japanese attack was not as devastating as it could have been. The Japanese did not destroy the naval base at Pearl Harbor. What do you think would have happened if the Japanese attack had been more devastating or if the Americans were unable to fight back as well as they did? Using student-generated questions to assess for understanding Using R.A.F.T as a strategy for more real-life/authentic assessment Post-assessing with open-ended questions/essays/scenarios:

17. R.A.F.T. RoleAudienceFormatTopic Neil ArmstrongTelevision Audience Talk show Interview Armstrong’s perspective on the moon landing (inc. mission-related anxiety & emotion associated w. their accomplishment) Mission Control Technician SupervisorApollo 11 Mission Report Summary Highlights and lowlights (including loss of contact with Gemini) of mission (from their perspective) President Kennedy CongressPersuasive Speech Address to Congress asking for money to be set aside for mission to the moon and potential impact the success of such a mission could have. American Student (any age) ClassmatesOral Report to class Reflections on Apollo 11 mission and what it felt like to witness it/be a part of it 1) Write a one page summary of the story. Be sure to include any and all important dates and events and explain the significance of those events. Apollo 11 Moon Landing – 5 th Grade Reading 2) Imagine It story assessment on Moon Landing story (multiple choice & some open-ended questions) 3)

18. Complexity in writing Students write to a genuine audience (i.e., students write their own fairy tales and then share those fairy tales with younger students). Students write from a different perspective (i.e., they examine the revolutionary war from the perspective of a British soldier). Two voice poems (i.e., Democrat vs. Republican OR Endangered Animal vs. Housing Development Manager) Variety of writing products [i.e. websites, blogs, tweets summarizing an important concept learned that day (sent out to parents) wordle, poetry, etc.] Other examples? http://danbarber.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/david

19. Select a group to join this evening: 1) Question Matrix group 2) Multiple Intelligences group 3) R.A.F.T. group 4) Point of View group

21. Presenter: 1) Tell a little about the activity and what was expected of students. 2) Share your work sample Audience: 2) Examine the work product through the lens of rigor. Are there noticeable examples of rigor in the work product. 1) Ask any clarifying questions about the activity or work sample 3) Give suggestions for next steps (either ideas for making the activity more rigorous OR logical, rigorous extensions of the activity)

22. R G O aise the expectations RR G ive appropriate support & guidance pen your focus I ncrease the complexity R etire earlyaise the content level

23. Educational Trend/NormRigor Covering many topics on a “surface” level Vs. Valuing depth Exclusively using assigned text books or reading materials Increasing reading/text complexity through the use of primary sources & supplementary reading materials Repeating material Reviewing material Teaching concepts in isolation Interdisciplinary teaching (creating connections between & within content & subject matter)

24. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpog1_NFd2Q

25. Homework Implement Rigor in your class! Be an agent of change! Encourage your colleagues to add rigor to their lessons. Remember, rigor is in the best interest of our children!