Draft 1 Done: 40 000+ Words
This is the tired face of someone who wrote 40 000 words in one month to complete a draft of an education book. The face of someone who did it while also teaching, being a mom, being a wife, taking care of a dog, and trying to eat. This is a tired happy face…
Have I already started rewrites? YUP!
My husband said ‘Oh good, I get my wife back now!’
WHOOPS!
I have already started rewrites. I have added a new chapter about connections across the curriculum and have split several chapters up.
So far, the book has 40+ actual lessons I have used in my class and provides detailed instructions on planning hands-on cross curricular lessons. This is fun!
Here is a sample from the introduction chapter…It outlines what I mean by less is more and what you can expect in my book. I know it will change by the time I get to the final draft, but I thought I would share a bit anyway!
Philosophy: What is Less is More?
When I started to think about how I was going to approach this book, I kept coming back to less is more. Less busy work...more thinking work. Less fancy worksheets…more creative problem solving. Less behaviour...more engagement.
The key to hand-on cross curricular activities is that they dig deeply into topics and allow you to explore student questions. The learning and the path of learning takes on a life of its own. Once you start planning this way, it becomes second nature. You will be able to look at a lesson and tweak it slightly to bring in a hands-on component or layer in new content in an engaging way.
The main point is that through the lens of less is more, you can learn with your students and watch their learning surpass your expectations.
What Can You Expect from This Book?
Throughout this book, you will develop toolkits to help you:
1. Understand the curriculum and build lesson questions from it (Part 1)
2. Build the Core Competencies in your classroom (Part 1)
Critical and Creative Thinking
Collaboration and Communication
Personal and Social Awareness
3. Use materials in new and efficient ways (Part 2)
4. Design activities for different group sizes and different proposes (Part 3)
5. Capture learning in different ways (Part 4)
6. Assess learning (Part 4)
7. Bring it all together in a cohesive lesson plan on a sample black line master (Part 5)
