Step Twelve: SUBMIT!

Submit a polished copy of your GSL (including handouts and rubrics) to Grethel Torrico-Lara at Grethel@spnet.us.  Your lesson will take approximately two weeks to be reviewed.  At that point, you should hear back from Grethel with congratulations or with items to address.

Best of Luck!

Below, post the title of your GSL and when you submitted so we can keep an eye out for your good news! (Be sure to include your name so we know who to congratulate!)

Step Eleven: REVIEW, REVISE, REFLECT

Right now, I imagine you are feeling both exhausted from sitting in front of a computer screen and satisfied with what you have accomplished; however, you have one more step left before submitting your draft- REVIEW, REVISE, and REFLECT.  (And you thought you were worried about Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships!)

Read over your draft to correct any errors (typos, insufficient information in any sections) that stand out; then, give your lesson to someone who trust to be brutally honest with you.  Let them comb over your lesson. They are not attached or familiar with the work; so, they will be able to notice anything that may need to be fixed or revisited.  Consider their expert opinion and make needed changes.

At this point, you have probably read your GSL draft close to a hundred times.  Well, read it one more time- aloud.  Take this time to really reflect upon what the teacher and student will gain from experiencing your lesson.  Will all parties benefit?  If yes, submit.  If no, back to the drawing board, friends.

If you are looking for someone to review your draft, post below with your name and email address.  Another peer, Jess, or I (Kirstin) will volunteer to help you.

Step Ten: Attachments/ Resources

This portion will include EVERYTHING you use in your lesson.  Handouts, presentations, textbooks, novels, and any other supplemental materials that the teacher may find valuable.   Some of these resources may just be for the teacher.  (Refer to the list you made in step one for guidance.)

List the attachments and resources in the order in which the teacher should anticipate using those particular items.  If the resource is included with the lesson (handout/ presentation slides), be sure to mention that it is attached to the lesson.  I also suggest mentioning any type of equipment (Elmo, computer, calculator, etc.) that you use.

This is a good point to reflect upon each of the handouts or presentations you provide during your lesson.  Do you need each handout and presentation or is it simply 'busy work'?

Post questions below.

Step Nine: Scoring Guide/ Assessment

The Scoring Guide or Assessment portion of your GSL should include the various forms of assessment you plan on conducting throughout your lesson.  Think formative and summative assessment in this area.

To review:

Formative Assessment: 'for learning'; informal assessment that closes the gap between where the students are and where the students need to be in the learning process.  Discussion questions, activities, and small quizzes- anything that gives the student to ability to see where he/she needs to improve- before a heavily graded assessment.  Formative assessment doesn't always have to be graded.

Summative Assessment: 'of learning'; formal assessment determines what the student has gained from the lesson.  Standardized tests, unit tests, and projects that are graded are often considered summative assessments.

In this portion of your GSL, mention the rubrics as well as any forms of formative and summative assessment you are including and what they assess.  Create two categories (formative, summative) to organize your assessments.

Post questions below.  Review the GSL gallery on the SPN website for examples.

Step Eight: Essential Skills

The Essential Skills portion will be like a breath of fresh air after the Performance Task section!  On the SPN website (Gold Seal Lessons, Submit GSL) or in the resource page of this blog, you will find the Essential Skills for each core subject. 

Some of your GSL lessons will be interdisciplinary.  Outstanding!  In this case you will need to review other core subject's essential skills to copy and paste into this portion of the GSL. 

Keep in mind, you are only allotted ten essential skills total; only copy and paste the most relevant skills.   Also be sure to include the letters and numbers prior to the skill description when you include each skill in your lesson template.

In recent changes to the GSL format/ submission guidelines, the template indicates that the editor will insert these standards after studying your unit; however, I would assist the editor in this process.  You know best; you are the designer and teacher!
 

Post questions below.

Step Seven: Performance Task- Part Two

The Description of part of the Performance Task is what generates that 'love-hate' relationship between the teacher and the drafting his/ her GSL lesson.  I have found that creating the step-by-step list of how I go about teaching my lesson causes me to really consider (reflect upon) what I do and how I do it (subject and strategy).

Your steps should include texts, handouts, instructional/ learning strategies, supplemental materials, and equipment.  This is the "How-To" part of the lesson; be very descriptive. Review several examples from the GSL gallery on the SPN website to see how other teachers have broken down their lessons.

TIP: Avoid doing daily steps; instead, opt for more specified steps.  This will aid other teachers who may use your lesson when determining the pacing in their classrooms. 

Post questions below.  If you found a GSL on the SPN that you feel models the Description part of the Performance task well, post the title of the lesson below for others to review.

Step Six: Performance Task- Part One

The 'Performance Task' is the meat of the lesson; this portion is split into two parts: Overview and Description.  With this part of the GSL, you will be required to put forth the most thought.  Remember, other teachers are utilizing this part of your lesson the most because it gives an idea of what they will teach and what the students will do, as well as a detailed (almost painfully so) step-by-step set of instructions.

The first part, Overview, is the lesser evil of the Performance Task.  You need to sum up your lesson/ unit into three or four complex, loaded sentences that give the teacher the idea of lesson.  (This should be written in third person point of view.)  Think of this as the first paragraph of a newspaper story; you read this paragraph to determine if you will finish the story.  Apply that analogy to your lesson; a teacher will read your Overview in order to determine if they will use this lesson/ unit in his/ her curriculum.  Be concise, but encompass a description of the unit in whole.  You are 'selling' your lesson!

Post your Overview below.  Comment on another blogger's Overview in regards to effectively conveying the idea of the lesson in an enticing way.

Step Five: Student Learning

This portion of the GSL is where language can get a little difficult.  Here, you must provide what the student will ascertain from your lesson in regards to concepts, knowledge, skills, and behavior.  Easy enough, right? Well, when you start typing, you will realize that you can easily juxtapose concepts, knowledge, and skills.  Aim for at least one student learning statement in each category.

 

Let's break down the terminology to make this step easier to complete.

Concepts: Concepts are the umbrellas that cover knowledge (information, vocabulary) and skills (performance).  For example, for a lesson that includes a concept of explication (or close reading) of text, some of the elements of knowledge will be figurative language (metaphors and similes) and understanding the purpose of different types of poetry (haiku, lament, sonnet).

Knowledge: As mentioned in the example above, knowledge is considered the information or vocabulary needed to understand a concept.

Skills: Students should be able to successfully perform (do) these tasks (skills) at the conclusion of the lesson unit.  For example, comprehending informational texts, utilizing Internet databases for research purposes, fostering effective communication are considered skills.

Behavior: Behavior is a description of how the students should function while engaged in you lesson or unit.  I like to think of this 'how' the students will gain concepts and knowledge.

Post any questions below.

Step Four: Common Core Alignment

Recently, Successful Practices Network changed the format of the GSL to include Common Core Standards.  The lesson can be aligned by standard or strand (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12); I suggest aligning your lesson by standard to remain grade-specific.

SPN asks that each GSL have 3 to 5 standards.  Take a moment to search the Common Core website to determine which standards you can use.

For those of you who are not a English or Math, refer to the History/ Social Studies/ Science/ Technical Subjects literacy and writing area (lower left hand side of site page).

Step Three: The Nitty Gritty

Now that we have what we need (or a good idea of what we need), let's get started with the formatting process of your GSL.  By now you should have saved the GSL template to your flashdrive or DropBox; find the document, and open it in a word processor.

The first page of the document will be the GSL Checklist.  This is a useful tool; however, I have provided you with a modified version that may be of more help.  The modified version is similar to the original for exception of an added 'Editorial Notes' column.

The second page of the template document is the actual first page of the GSL.  As you can see in the left hand corner, you need to establish the subject(s) represented in your lesson as well as the grade levels.  Do that now.

When you have finished, create a descriptive, creative title for your lesson/ unit.   

Post any questions below.

Step Two: Document Tracker and Examples

Using a flash drive or DropBox, upload/ save the template, checklist, and other documents that you will need for your GSL.  These documents are located on the Successful Practices Network website and also in the resource area of this blog.

Keeping all of your documents and drafts in one place that can be accessed with out Internet is always a safe bet.

While you are on the SPN website, take a gander through the gallery of Gold Seal Lessons.  Can you find one that you would be able to use (with modifications) in your classroom in the next month?  When you find a GSL that meets that qualification, create a post below with the lesson's title and three sentence overview of how it can benefit your future unit. 

Also, refer to this GSL as a model to which to refer as you draft your GSL.

Step One: Basic Necessities

A Gold Seal Lesson or Quad D lesson can vary in time ranges; the lesson can be a day-length activity or a two week unit. Just as long as the end product is real-world relevant and the learning process transitions through the Rigor/ Relevance framework, the lesson will qualify as Quad D! 

 

In order to create/ format your Gold Seal Lesson, you need to have the following items in your reach:

1- Basic overview of lesson (Think of this as the first paragraph in a newspaper article. Just jot down the facts!)

2- ALL handouts, presentation notes, presentation slides needed for the unit  (Easy access to these documents will make your life easy during the GSL drafting process.)

3- ALL rubrics and forms of formative and summative assessment that will be used during the unit  (All GSL lessons are to include a rubric of some variety.) 

4- Any other resource you would need to have a successful lesson  (Generate a list of supplemental resources and equipment.)

Resources/ Templates

Below are links to the documents you need in order to create a Gold Seal Lesson.  Save all documents to a flash drive so that you may work on your GSL without internet access.  These documents are also on the Successful Practices Network website.  Many of your lessons include various core curricula; you may need to use a few essential skills from different subjects.  It is recommended that you download the essential skills from each content area onto your flashdrive.

Template and Checklist 

(On the website, upload the Checklist/ Template Word document onto your flashdrive.)

English Essential Skills

Math Essential Skills

Science Essential Skills

Social Studies Essential Skills

Review of R/R Framework 

(This is just a link to a page on the SPN website that reviews the framework.)

Jess' Quad D Powerpoint Presentation (insert link)

Kirstin's Modified Checklist

Question/ Discussion Forum

Hi, friends. 

As you journey through the Gold Seal Lesson writing process, you will have questions or want reassurance of your work thus far.  Use this portion of the blog to post questions or bits of your work.  Other members of the blog will be able to answer your questions or leave comments.  Also, do not be afraid to post helpful hints or links that may have helped you in the drafting process. 

Every idea, suggestion, and question helps!