Teachers' Common Core Planning Toolkit
A guide for elementary teachers
Step Three: Sharing the Knowledge and Leveraging Technology
You have decided what students will know by the end of your unit. Ask yourself “How do I want students to show what they know?” Deciding early on the method for sharing helps you to tailor lessons accordingly. If, for example, students are going to write an explanatory piece for their final performance task, you may need to re-visit some writing mini-lessons about transition words as part of the unit. Or, if students are to create a short public service announcement you will need to incorporate lessons about using the technology to do that, as well as speaking with expression and fluency, and crafting an effective and powerful message.
Technology definitely has its place in the Common Core. Consider these questions in your planning:
- Can technology enhance or augment the learning in the unit? Are there digital texts available to read, for example? Will you use a document camera or interactive white board for close readings?
- Can technology be used to communicate student learning? (either as part of outreach to the community, or a key part of student projects and performance tasks)
- Will technology be used to access information?
- How will you balance instruction for unit content with instruction in the use of technology? (If the unit you are putting together is for the fall, use it as an opportunity to produce a whole-group project that makes use of a new technology tool. Everyone learns how to use the tool together, and it then becomes an option for later individual projects.)