Overarching Understanding Goals "The thing I most want my students to understand after this course or year are..." Become an excellent observer by using the sixth sense (emotions) as well as the basic five senses. (Observations are the foundation of science.) Look for and attempt to understand connections in the world. (Everything is influenced by other things, everything is somehow connected.) Consider and assess how she/he personally connects to the world. (Understanding personal connections helps one understand themself and his/her environment.) Record, contemplate and communicate her/his findings to others. (Sharing is an essential human trait.) Throughline for the Culturing/Ecology Unit: What is the value of the land as a biological concept?
Generative Topic Culturing -- Students observe an ecosystem(or part of one) and then plan, recreate it as a terriarium or aquarium or both, and then learn ecological concepts by maintaining and observing ... Teacher challenges Think about it for your work: 1. How might observation play a role in your curricula? In what ways is observation important to what you teach? 2. How might creating an ecosystem or a student created environment work in your curricula?	Unit-Long Understanding Goals "Students will understand..." how to be a "good" observer the value of patiently recreating something, how to record events .... the nutrient cycles food chains and webs the value of the land in its biological concept
Performances of Understanding "Students will build toward achieving the understanding goals by..." Maintaining a journal of observations, events, assignments and opinions/feelings Building a model ecosystem and care for it. Reading classic accounts of nature study. Attempting to document "connections" (needs to define the above) Think about it for your work: 1. How might journal keeping play a role for you in your curricula?	Ongoing Assessment "Students will get feedback on their performances by ..." Peer evaluations Self evaluation Daily interactions w/teacher 3 formal journal assessments 1 formal essay assessment 1 10th grade ecology test/peer and self graded Think about it for your work: 1. How do/could peer evaluations play a role in your curricula? 2. How do/could self evaluations play a role in your curricula? 3. How do/could essays play a role in your curricula?

Pictures of Practice Contents Introduction The Colonial Biography Unit (7th Grade History) A Year of Seventh Grade English A Year of Eighth Grade Science The Jazz Unit Snapshot Using the CCDT to Develop Generative Topics