Overarching Understanding Goals for the Year "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 Cell Unit: What are the parts of a cell?
Generative Topic "The Cell Play" or "How a Cell Makes a Protein"     Think about it for your work: 1. How might a play help you communicate your subject matter?	Unit-Long Understanding Goals "Students will understand..." What a cell is and see real examples The differences between plant and animal cells The parts of a cell -- Names The function of the parts of a cell How a cell goes about making a specific protein How cells group to make tissues, organs, systems, and organisms
Performances of Understanding "Students will build toward achieving the understanding goals by..." Doing a lab viewing human cheek cells (their own) and onion cells Researching the functions of one cell part in depth and detail Writing a "script" for the cell part as part of a play describing how a cell makes a specific protein Writing an essay describing how a cell makes a specific protein   Think about it for your work: 1. How might student plays and essays be a part of your curricula?	Ongoing Assessment "Students will get feedback on their performances by ..." Formative and Summative evaluations of the lab by the teacher Peer and teacher review of the "script" Peer and teacher review of the rehearsals and actual play Rubric of essay criteria developed by Mr. McWeeny and the English teacher   Think about it for your work: 1. How do/could formative or summative evaluations play a role in your curricula? 2. How do/could peer evaluations play a role in your curricula? 3. How do/could essays play a role in your curricula? 4. How do/could rubrics 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