The Amazing Z Chart

1. The Amazing Z Chart

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

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

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

5. Bloom’s Taxonomy

6. Constructing Learning Objectives – Z Chart Behavior Learning Level of Thinking Unit or Strand 1 2 General Doing - Verb 3 Specific Content 4 Specific

7. 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

8. Constructing Learning Objectives – Z Chart Behavior Learning Level of Thinking Unit or Strand 1 2 General Doing - Verb 3 Specific Content 4 Specific

9. 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)

10. Constructing Learning Objectives – Z Chart Behavior Learning Level of Thinking Unit or Strand 1 2 General Doing - Verb 3 Specific Content 4 Specific

11. 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

12. Constructing Learning Objectives – Z Chart Behavior Learning Level of Thinking Unit or Strand 1 2 General Doing - Verb 3 Specific Content 4 Specific

13. 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;

14. “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

15. Practice

16. Practice – Z Chart Behavior Learning Level of Thinking Unit or Strand 1 2 General Doing - Verb 3 Specific Content 4 Specific