Monday, February 18, 2019

Dear New Teacher: Everybody Uses TPT

Dear New Teacher:

Everybody uses TPT eventually. There's some good stuff out there, and we know you are tired. It's ok. Everybody uses TPT, but the good teachers don't use the lessons as they are. You have to refine them a bit for your standards and your students.

1. Read your standards. Just because the lesson addresses your standard with a little number or a word match, you are NOT in the clear for relevance or rigor. You might need to add or tweak a few things to make it work. Or, the lesson might just flat out be rotten and need to be thrown out.

2. Consider  the rigor of texts. I know we aren't supposed to talk about Common Core here in Texas, but Appendix B has a book list that can give you a pretty good idea of what grade level material looks like.

3. Think about the questions you can ask and how you can model the skills and strategies for students. Look at how your state assessment phrases the stems and answer choices and all the various ways the questions are asked. The lead4ward IQ is a powerful tool. 

4. Think about what your students need and are interested in. But you already know that. :)

Love,
Shona

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