S

Integrating Unit Design

with Field Experiences
Jesse Orth and Jackie Chaney
How can I authentically arrange for
field experiences as part of my
curriculum?
Goals:
S Engage in conversation about authentic field experiences
S Identify processes that support integrating field
experiences into a curriculum
S Examine specific examples of field experience integration
S Discuss how these processes can be used, and adjusted,
to meet your needs
S
Authentic Field
Experiences


Engage in conversation about authentic field experiences

What is essential to pulling off an
authentic field experience?
S
Processes for Authentic
Unit Design



Identify processes that support integrating field experiences into a
curriculum

Beginning with
the end in
mindthe why
and how
Moving from Standards to
the Classroom (Backwards
Mapping/ UbD)
Unpacking Standards
Scrolling
Identifying desired
results
Designing authentic
assessments
Designing authentic
learning/field
experiences
Unpacking
Unpacking Standards- Inside Out Method
Wiggins & McTighe 2012










STANDARD
3.NF.3 Explain equivalence of fractions in special cases, and compare fractions by reasoning about their size.
Stated/implied big ideas in NOUNS:
Equivalence of fractions
Cases
Fractions
Size
Stated/implied performances in VERBS:
Explain
Compare
Reason

ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS:
Special

Understandings
The equivalence of fractions depends
on their size in comparison to other
fractions.
Essential Questions
How can you represent a fraction on
a visual fraction model?
What makes fractions equivalent?
How do I best explain/reason about
my comparison?
Transfer Goal(s)
Explain a fraction(s) on a visual model
Compare fractions, based on size, to
determine if equivalent
Reason about their size(s)
Performance Task(s)
Create a visual fraction model to compare two
fractions and record with the symbols (<,>, or
=) to justify your conclusion. Explain how you
know you are correct.
Criteria
Correct placement of fraction(s) on model
Correct symbol (<,>,or =)
Valid explanation
Unpacking Standards
S Unpacking Standards:
S To implement the CCSS with
fidelity requires a close read of
the standards and appendices.
In an effort to further understand
the specific expectation of each
standard, teachers unpacked the
standards by identifying the
verbs, nouns, and modifiers.
This led to a professional
conversation around WHAT was
expected and HOW mastery
would be demonstrated.

Scrolling
Integration Scroll
Scrolling
S Scrolls:
S Science and Social Studies as the
backbone
S ELA and Mathematics embedded in
content
S Authentic opportunities for integrations
S Opportunities for transfer and
performance

S After reading Charlotte Danielsons Framework
for Teaching -Domain 1: Planning and
Preparation, our teachers identified a need to
plan differently! We were disturbed and this
led to the arrangement of learning through Big
Ideas. Grade level teams dove into the
standards, wrote big ideas on post-its, had
conversations about what made sense, and
developed a year-long map of curriculum plans.

Enduring Understandings and
Essential Questions
S EUs and EQs:
S Standards are unpacked. Now
what? What do the students
really need to know and
understand? Teachers worked
diligently to create Enduring
Understandings and Essential
Questions that would be the
foundation of all learning within
units and learning experiences.
These have become the simple
statements that help make the
learning meaningful and
transferable.

Unit Planning
S Unit Planning Process:
S We have a scroll of the year
now what? The old scope and
sequence provided from our
county would not workWCPS
needed to change the way we
arranged for learning.
Understanding by Design was
the answer to this dilemma:
Stage 1- Desired Results, Stage
2- Assessment Evidence, Stage
3- Learning Plan. Many different
planning templates were
developed. This year, a process
for developing a unit using UbD
has helped grade levels
collaborate/plan.

Summative and Formative
Assessments
S Assessment Photo Albums:
S We use a photo album
approach to assessing students
both at the end of a unit and
throughout a unit, as opposed
to just a snapshot of their
learning.

Learning Experiences
S Learning Experiences:
S What really matters are our
students learning? WCPS has shifted
from a place of doing to a place of
learning! Our students are engaged
in meaningful learning experiences
with clear and high expectations.
There is coherence in what they just
learned, are learning now, and will
learn next! The teachers are
empowered to make professional
decisions based on knowledge of the
standards and the students are
equipped to demonstrate mastery!

Field Experiences
S Field Experiences:
S Now that students have had a
variety of rich instructional
experiences within the
classroom, it is time for them to
take their knowledge and skills
beyond the classroom walls.
Students now have the ability to
go afield with a deep and abiding
understanding of what they are
seeing and experiencing. The
field experience will enrich every
aspect of the learning that was so
carefully arranged for throughout
the scrolling and unit
development process.

S
This work in action



Examine specific examples of field experience integration

Sultana and the Chesapeake
Watershed
Courtney Leard; 5
th
Grade
Fountaindale Elementary
S 5
th
grade teacher, Courtney Leard, received a grant through
Sultana for the 2012-2013 school year. Knowing that students
would be participating in a once in a lifetime field experience,
Courtney and her team worked diligently to embed authentic
instruction and learning throughout the yearthat would
maximize the experience. They began by closely examining the
5
th
grade standards and asking key questions
S What are the performance expectations of these
standards?
S Whats essential for students to know and understand?
S What will student do with this knowledge, and how will I
know if theyve mastered these standards?
S What authentic integration and teaching can be done
along the way to prepare them for this experience?
Sultana and the Chesapeake
Watershed
Courtney Leard; 5
th
Grade
Fountaindale Elementary
Sultana and the Chesapeake
Watershed
Courtney Leard; 5
th
Grade
Fountaindale Elementary
Stream Study
James Barnhart; 4
th
grade
Potomac Heights Elementary

S James Barnhart, a 4
th
grade teacher at Potomac Heights Elementary
School, has arranged for a fully integrated experience utilizing a yearlong
theme of Environments. In each of the content areas, Mr. Barnhart and
his team explore the word environments through multiple lenses. In
social studies students explore political, social and cultural environments
and how each of those environments are changed, altered and forced to
adapt. In science, students explore environments through a close look at
their surroundings and how one small change can raise a whole host of
implications. As students depth of knowledge and understanding grows
and expands, Mr. Barnhart asks students to consider the environment of
Hamilton Run alongside our school. Students study every facet of the
stream from water quality to location to human impact. Students will take
numerous trips to the stream to collect data and test various theories. At
the end of the year, students travel to numerous other waterways to
expand upon their understanding of watersheds and the environment. As
a final culminating experience, local leaders are asked to sit in on a
hearing where students present their findings and make
recommendations to protect the health of both Hamilton Run and the
greater Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Stream Study
James Barnhart; 4
th
grade
Potomac Heights Elementary
Wetlands, K-5
Fountaindale
Elementary
Fountaindale is in its first year of building
a wetlands and preparing for a stream
restoration; the idea actually originated
from a student who said, Can we have a
rain garden? From there, resources
and energy aligned. The school has
partnered with 16 community
organizations and sponsored a wetlands
work day in which the learning
community came together to plant,
mulch, and design our Outdoor Learning
Lab. In the spring, students will be
completing their second round of outdoor
learning. We also have two more work
days in which planting will take place.
Next year, the project will grow into
further wetlands curriculum work and the
beginning of the Hamilton Run
restoration.
Wetlands
K-5
Fountaindale Elementary
Wetlands
K-5
Fountaindale Elementary
S
Next Steps


Discuss how these processes can be used, and adjusted, to meet your
needs

Questions
S What questions do you have for us?
S What can we clarify?
S What would you like us to discuss in greater detail?
S What ideas do you have that we can provide feedback on?
S Other?
Our Contact Information
S Jesse Orth
S Potomac Heights & Emma K. Doub Elementary Schools
S orthjes@wcps.k12.md.us

S Jackie Chaney
S Fountaindale Elementary School
S chanejac@wcps.k12.md.us