Standards and Nesting Materials

Many states have recently updated their standards to reflect the needs of 21st century children and young adults. For instance, Iowa's Core Curriculum stresses 21st Century skills across the curriculum.

ISTE and AASL have recently updated their student standards. If you're already addressing the old standards, now is your chance to revisit your curriculum and reconnect with the teachers in your building. It's also a great opportunity to infusion Web 2.0 applications and other new technologies across the curriculum.

Explore the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner from AASL.

1. inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge;
   
2. draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge;
   
3. share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society;
   
4. pursue personal and aesthetic growth.

Students read a graphic novel such as Laika by Nick Abadzis and create their own comic using Comic Life exploring the fact and fiction in the book.

Explore the NETS - National Educational Technology Standards from ISTE.

1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Students wrote a historical fiction book called That A Man Can Stand by Decatur Discovery Academy Grades 7-8 and publish it on Lulu.

Ask Yourself: Are these elements addressed in the curriculum? Where?

These standards matter because they are about...

• nurturing compassion and collaboration
• preparing independent learners
• promoting a love of learning
• stimulating inquiry and thinking

My test for the new standards is whether they could result in motivating young people to go beyond the basics and ask high level questions.
Ask yourself: Will they challenge and engage young people in meaningful activities and assessments? How? Why?

Elements for Nesting

Examine the standards. Think about how they can be combined with content area standards to begin rebuilding and strengthening your curricula nest.

Favorite Parts. Both sets of standards do a great job focusing on the following areas:

• Real World Connections. Emphasis on authentic applications and independent thinking
  • Student Asks - How can I use Web 2.0 technology to access real-time science projects?
    • Use MarsPhoenix on Twitter.
    • Create blogs based on local science such as the Trout Blog, Duck Diaries, Author Visit at Elementary
• Critical Thinking. Focus on high level thinking, problem solving and decision-making.
  • Student Asks - How do I evaluate information about political candidates, so I can make good choices?
    • Today information and misinformation is shared so quickly, it's sometimes difficult to keep track of the facts. Go to Fact Check from Annenberg for an example of a project that helps young people analyze the information presented by political groups.
    • Use PowerPoint-based evaluation tools. Download and explore Website Evaluation Form (PPT), Evaluation Activity (PPT), and Student Sample (PPT) PowerPoint Sidekick. Download and explore Sources (PPT) PowerPoint Sidekick.
• Personal Responsibility. Emphasis on ethical behavior.
  • Student Asks - What are the implications of how I represent myself on a social network?
    • Profile Publisher from ReadWriteThink helps young people learn to create profiles for social networks, novel studies, or other activities. Also, check out the lesson ideas that go with this online tool. Check out sample profile for the character Ikarus Jackson in Wings by Christopher Myers. You can also use a word processor to create a Facebook Profile. Check out the Google Docs templates 1 and 2. Also look at the MacBeth Project for ideas.
• Research. Stresses the research process and associated information skills.
  • Student Asks - How do I find out more about the topics in an historical fiction book?
    • Cracks, Crevices, Caves: Explore Mammoth Cave with Stephen Bishop - Literature WebQuest with the book Journey to the Bottomless Pit by Elizabeth Mitchell.
    • Explore other ReadWriteThink tools like the Letter Generator.
    • Focus on specific information skills using quality nonfiction resources. Go to The Green Hour from the National Wildlife Federation. The Activities Archive contains around 100 articles with podcasts, step-by-step instructions, recipes, and more. Nature Find is a directory of natural areas near where you live. Enter your Zip Code or city for locations and links to websites. Go the Occupational Outlook Handbook online. You can explore hundreds of types of jobs. Also check out What Do You Like? Use the Inspiration-Careers Template to share your findings.

Favorite Parts of ISTE Standards

• Creativity. Emphasis on creativity and original work.
  • Student Asks - How can I persuade my classmates to participate in the Diabetes Walk-a-thon? The key to learning is applying information to new and challenging situations. For instance, young people might create audio public service announcements using elements of persuasive writing. Watch PSAs at YouTube AdCouncil. Use simple technology such as the ReadWriteThink Persuasion Map and the Flip camera.
  • Students share their original work through podcasts through projects such as Radio WillowWeb.
  • Creativity Tool Websites
    • Go animate - Cell Project
    • SlideShare - slide sharing
    • VoiceThread. - multimedia (text, images); sharing; audio narration; commenting (audio and text)
    • Scratch - programming
  • List of Multimedia Creators and Classroom Applications
• Collaboration. Stresses the importance of working collaboratively with others.
  • Student Asks - How can a wiki help us create a more effective local science or history project?
  • Visit The Home of Sylvie, a coho salmon, whose life story has been dramatizing by the fourth and fifth graders of Harborview Elementary School. Students learned about the coho salmon and collaborated to create a fact-based wiki. Wiki means "quick-quick" in Hawaiian. Creators can build and edit wikis very quickly. The technology is simple.
  • Collaborative Timeline tools: CircaVie, Dipity, MagicStudio, Mnemograph, TimeRime, Time Toast, and Xtimeline.
  • Explore the Titanic in the Classroom project.

Favorite Parts of AASL Standards

• Inquiry. Inquiry is at the core of the standards: questioning, exploring, assimilating, inferring, reflecting.
  • Student Asks - Why is the Middle East at the center of so many conflicts? Questioning, exploring, assimilating, inferring, reflecting involves much more than "doing a report."
  • A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park is set in Ancient Korea. Trace the journey of the young character. Compare Korea then and now through maps. Use tools such as Google Earth to bring the world alive.
  • While reading the book Out of the Dust or Bud, Not Buddy, young people may have questions about this time period. Use images from the Library of Congress to bring the time period alive. Record interviews with people in your community that remember this time period. Think about what would happen if book characters interacted. Map their movements and interactions.What was it like to live during The Great Depression?
• Multiple Perspectives & Resources. Focuses on the need for multiple perspectives, resources, and ways of thinking.
  • Student Asks - Is Clean Coal an energy solution or an oxymoron?
  • When a group of young people read different books about a time period such as the American Revolutionary or Civil War, they begin to see different perspectives. They can compare the experiences of the characters, plots, and settings. Consider using literature circles and a wiki to help young people make these comparisons. Explore the Civil War Lit and other literature-rich examples.
  • Resources such as the social network Footnote make primary resources available to young people as they explore history.
  • Read Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs. Also, explore Immigration Stories from ALA. Use Google Earth to explore a possible immigration path between two countries such as Mexico and the United States. Other books might include Grandfather's Journey. Use Google Earth the visualize the journey. Then determine the miles. Create your own map with distance information and drawing.
  • Explore historical events from different perspectives. For instance, trace the steps of immigrants through Ellis Island as well as Angel Island. From what other directions did immigrants arrive in the United States? Look at your own community. How was it formed? Create a document exploring different perspectives. Use GIS tools in your exploration and sharing.
• Curiosity, Pleasure, and a Passion for Learning. Emphasis on personal and aesthetic growth which is great, but difficult to measure in traditional ways.
  • Student Asks - I loved the Harry Potter series as a child and I'm into the Twilight series now, what's the next hot series? I'm ready to read!
  • Incorporate art, music, and leisure reading to promote a passion for learning.
  • Kindergarteners share their passion for reading through Letter of the Week Songs.
  • Use and create Sidekicks:Digital Storytelling such as Tall Talls (PPT).

What kind of nester as you? How will you approach the new standards? Will you develop your own program?
Will you integrate within a single subject area or all areas?
Will you tackle everything at once or will you work in phases?
What are the pros and cons of each approach?

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