1 / 23

Making Block Scheduling Beneficial in a Four Track School

Making Block Scheduling Beneficial in a Four Track School. Presented by Jim Gniadek & Dawn Ruff. Jim Gniadek Undergrad from St. Xavier University Currently working on ESL endorsement 11 years with Chicago Public Schools 5 years at a four track school

salena
Download Presentation

Making Block Scheduling Beneficial in a Four Track School

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Making Block Scheduling Beneficial in a Four Track School Presented by Jim Gniadek & Dawn Ruff

  2. Jim Gniadek Undergrad from St. Xavier University Currently working on ESL endorsement 11 years with Chicago Public Schools 5 years at a four track school Introduced & implemented block scheduling in 7th grade Reading & math instructor Rochelle Lee grant recipient Dawn Ruff Undergrad from Eastern Illinois University Masters degree in Reading from St. Xavier University 14 years with Chicago Public Schools; 2 years private schools 3 years at a four track school Introduced & implemented block scheduling in 7th grade Reading & English instructor Rochelle Lee grant recipient Currently Instructional Facilitator Introducing…

  3. How can block scheduling be implemented at your school? • You will need the following: • Common prep and lunch times for grade level and two 90 minute blocks scheduled per day • Departmental program needs to be scheduled on the same track-(example: Our 7th grade is all on Track A and our 8th grade is all on Track B) • Teachers must be certified to teach in their content areas (Math, Science, English, Social Studies) • Team effort and collaboration • The following makes block scheduling possible:

  4. Mini-Courses and Block Scheduling • Often referred to as Prep or Specials • Ancillary and Classroom Teachers collaborate to maximize learning and practice • Students receive a four week intensive course in one of the following: • Learning Technology • Gym/Health • Library • Writing Lab • Art • Course changes monthly when tracks change

  5. Chicago Public Schools Statistics • 623 Elementary Schools • 15 of which are year round • 5 multi-track • 10 single track • 115 High Schools • All on traditional calendar • Total enrollment of 420,982 students

  6. Socorro Sandoval School 5534 S. St. LouisChicago, IL 60629773-535-0457 Background Information • Enrollment • 96.2% Hispanic • 2.6% Caucasian • 0.5% African-American • 39.6% ELL (English Language Learners) • 96.3% attendance rate • 92.1% Low income • 26.4% Mobility rate

  7. 7th Grade Morning Schedule • 8:55 - 10:20 Reading with homeroom • 10:20-11:00 Prep (4 week mini-courses) • 11:00-11:10 Homeroom • 11:10-11:30 Lunch

  8. Monday/Wednesday 11:40-1:10 107-Math 117-Science 127-Social Studies 137-English 1:10-2:40 107-English 117-Social Studies 127-Science 137-Math Tuesday/Thursday 11:40-1:10 107-Science 117-English 127-Math 137-Social Studies 1:10-2:40 107-Social Studies 117-Math 127-English 137-Science 7th Grade Block Schedule Monday-Thursday

  9. 11:40-12:25 107-Science 117-English 127-Math 137-Social Studies 12:25-1:10 107-Math 117-Science 127-Social Studies 137-English 1:10-1:55 107-Social Studies 117-Math 127-English 137-Science 1:55-2:40 107-English 117-Social Studies 127-Science 137-Math Friday Schedule…Students and teachers dread this day!

  10. Typical Math Block • 20 minutes-correct homework and review missed problems. • 30 minutes-Present new lesson with 10-15 minutes of guided practice on overhead. • 30 minutes-Assign and complete in-class assignment. • 10 minutes-Correct in-class assignment and assign homework. • Group work: • Skills Tutor • partner quizzes • daily cumulative review problems • problem of the day. • Math short response and extended response practice using T-chart • Whole Class • Small Group • Partners • Individual

  11. XXXXXXXX

  12. Typical English Block • Word of the week…introduce a new word • Partner work using the 4-square • Scope Magazine (Scholastic) plays, writing activities, grammar practice, vocabulary practice • Skills tutor groups use the internet practice program • Grammar Lessons • Review and correct homework • Students learn a new lesson • Assign homework • Journal Writing…students respond to a prompt and share responses • Writing Workshop…work on different types of writing • Extended Response • Using graphic organizers

  13. Typical Science Block START OF CLASS PROCEDURE • More class time to do work means less work that has to go home! • Read the Daily Science Trivia and copy into your science journal. The Daily Science Trivia is located on the board with the use of the overhead. • If an assignment is due, turn it in the tray for your class period. Write down the homework in your agenda. INDIVIDUAL WORK PROCEDURES • Students will be assigned to skills tutor. • Students will be assigned Timed Reading Plus Stories.

  14. Science Cont’d GROUP WORK PROCEDURES • Some of our work is group work • QUIET talking is allowed during group work. • If materials or supplies are needed during group work, someone will be assigned to get supplies. Only one person from each group is allowed out of their seats at a time. • Activities and demonstrations are presented at this time. A discussion of the objectives are discussed while students take notes. END OF CLASS PROCDEURE: • Begin to clean up and put materials away only AFTER you have been given instructions to do so. DO NOT get ready to leave early. • Put ALL supplies, materials, and equipment back in the appropriate place. • Clean up any trash; wipe down your desk if needed. • Remain in your seat until you are dismissed.

  15. Sandoval Assessments • Low Stakes • Learning First • CPS mandated • STEP Assessment • Curriculum driven • Skills Tutor • Internet based practice & assessment • High Stakes • Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) • State Mandated • CPS promotion tool

  16. What does assessment have to do with block scheduling???? During the 90 minute blocks curriculum is based on… • Data driven instruction • Lessons are built on results from STEP and Learning First data • Curriculum must align to standardized tests to ensure student success • Intersession tutoring • Writing Lab (Prep) • Skills Tutor student practice

  17. CPS-Sandoval Scorecard

  18. Putting it all together… • Students love block scheduling…more time to focus, work together in groups, not rushing to beat the clock or get through a lesson…many students have commented, “It’s time to go already?” • Teachers find block scheduling less stressful…able to present a lesson, give an assignment in class to check understanding and still time to review before the block is over.

  19. Websites • Chicago Public Schools www.cps.k12.il.us • Sandoval School www.sandoval.cps.k12.il.us • Skills Tutor www.myskillstutor.com • Illinois State Board of Education www.isbe.net

  20. Contacts: • Dawn Ruff: druff@sandoval.cps.k12.il.us • Jim Gniadek: jgniadek@sandoval.cps.k12.il.us

More Related