If..Then.. Resource in Lucy Calkins Kit
What is the IF..THEN.. Resource in My Kit??
I wanted to send out details from our latest Lucy Calkins cohort meeting. We went over the "If..Then.." Resource in our Lucy Calkins Kit. Haven't opened this up yet? That is perfectly fine!! Just wanted to share its purpose and hope you find it useful at some point.
Each of our kits contain four units of study. Each unit represents about six to eight weeks of instruction, so there is space for additional teaching to fill in those extra weeks. And that is where the If..Then.. Resource comes in!
This resource has additional units you *could* use to fill in those weeks. They are structured in and an "If.. Then.." way. For example:
IF your learners are conventional readers (level D-G) and you like support comprehension work and high levels of engagement, THEN you might teach this unit after Becoming Avid Readers (Unit 4) as an extension of the character work that children are introduced to in that unit.
Some teachers decide early on in the school year which If..Then.. units they will teach alongside the skeleton four unit books. Other teachers leave space at certain points in the year and choose If..Then.. units based on the needs of their class at that time.
The units in the resource are vertical. Meaning some units are designed for THIRD OR FOURTH. This is a GREAT time to collaborate with your housemates! Pair up with a grade above or below you and plan out a unit with the If..Then.. Resource. I'd love to plan with you all!
Here are a few tips when planning your units from this resource:
Read the unit overview, and note the key skills that are emphasized in the unit. Particularly if you teach upper grades, decide whether you’ll conduct a pre-assessment before the unit begins so you’ll have a sense of students’ facility with these skills.
Consider preparation you’ll need to do, such as read aloud texts you’ll need to gather, and any changes to the classroom library you’ll need to make.
Read the description for each Bend of the unit. As you do, annotate possible teaching points and anchor charts.
Review your annotations, and list teaching points for each bend of the unit. Don’t worry yet if you don’t have the exact number of teaching points you need. You can develop additional teaching points as the unit progresses.
As you plan for each day of teaching, jot ideas for each part of the minilesson, and ideas for conferring and small group work you’ll likely need to do that day
THANK YOU for implementing Lucy Calkins and inviting me into your spaces so I can learn along side of you all! We are over half way through the year and this district initiative has shown a lot of growth in our readers. Great job!!
Again, if you do end up using this resource in the next few weeks- please let me know, so I can plan with you! I want to learn more tips on how to implement these new resources as much as possible.
Have a great week!
Jacque