Three Goals in One Lesson

Tomorrow we will be joined by Cynthia Peters, our guest expert and presenter, to discuss very innovative and effective ways to integrate academic skills in the process of implementing activities that relate to their real-life interests or occupational-prep goals.

In order to get the most out of our upcoming three-day discussion, “Three Goals in One Lesson,” you are invited to and encouraged to explore the following  resources :

  1. A link to Cynthia’s January, 2019 Webinar “Where CCR Math and ELA Skills Overlap”
  2. The PowerPoint slides used in that Webinar
  3. Handout 1: Brief Review of Integrated Learning
  4. Handout 2: Sample Activities

This specific, hands-on” discussion will focus on integrating learning through the following objectives that will guide our dialogue:

      1. Analyze and examine activities and lessons that reinforce math and English language (reading, writing, speaking) skills in activities that relate to real-life and occupational contexts,                          2. Create and share noteworthy practices, activities, and models that emphasize integrating academic skills into occupational contexts.

Moderators in the Reading and Writing, Math, and Teaching and Learning LINCS communities, cordially invite you to explore the above resources and to join them in welcoming Cynthia Peters, Editor of The Change Agent and long-time adult-education teacher and trainer, for a lively three-day exchange on how to best integrate instruction among our adult learners! Although you may read what is posted, in order to participate in the discussion, please be sure to become a member of at least one or all of those communities.

Jeri Gue, Reading and Writing CoP                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Susan Finn-Miller, Teaching and Learning CoP                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Brooke Istas, Math CoP

Comments

Hi Jeri,

I'm looking forward to this discussion. Your link to resources takes us to Cynthia's webinar PPT but not the recording, which is also available on the nelrc.org home page or directly here. It's worth the listen!

Thanks for hosting this,

Andy

Welcome to our first day together to discuss extraordinary resources and practices to guide you in integrating academic skills among adults who are preparing to succeed in the workplace or other environments of their choice.

Leading this discussion is our guest expert, Cynthia Peters, Editor of The Change Agent.  Cynthia has worked with regions, states, and cities across the U.S. to provide professional development to adult education teachers on a wide variety of topics including math, digital literacy, and civic participation. She has taught an online persistence course and delivered PD face-to-face as well as by webinar. She is a long-time teacher in adult education and has taught ABE, GED, and ESOL, and has participated as guest “speaker” in many LINCS communities over the years. Welcome, Cynthia!

Joining her here are moderators of three LINCS communities who are sponsoring this activity: Jeri Gue (Reading and Writing), Susan Finn-Miler (Teaching and Learning), and Brooke Istas (Math).

We remind you that we have posted online resources to support our three-day discussion.  Cynthia's webinar recording is also posted.  Please continue to explore those materials as we go along.

Cynthia, Thank you for sharing the wonderful materials posted online. In Handout 2, you share a story “Help Me Mom,” which nicely integrates reading and math within a real-life context of shopping. Though written by an ESL student, do you think this and similar reading would work with ABE students as well?  Also, Would you encourage adult learners to write stories such as these and then ask them how math might be related to what they have written? Any suggestions on adding math and writing to other short passages like this one?

Colleagues,  this discussion is designed to have you not only dialogue with Cynthia and others but also contribute samples and ideas on how you will apply integrated learning in your program as we explore samples of how the process works! Please consider how you might contribute ideas on integrating instructions among your students.  Some things to consider:

  1. The first page of Handout 2, “Many Ways to Say It,” describes a wonderful activity that encourages students to use math terminology in creative ways. Please reply to today’s thread with examples of what students might say in response to the instructions. 
  2. Please add a comment on how having students illustrate their sentences might increase their learning.
  3. Share your impressions of how the activities related to the first reading, “Help Me Mom,” integrate learning among student. Also, share any other skills that might be integrated into this reading activity.

I look forward to this discussion!  Please share your thoughts!

Jeri

 

 

I like these connections and the pictures.   I am wondering where the "first reading" is, since that link takes me to several files in Google Drive and none of them seem to be "Help me, Mom."   

I'm a huge fan of connecting language to visuals.  There's a "routine for reasoning"  called "connecting representations" where students match different representations of the same math idea.   (Searching in vain for the one I made with exponents... https://docs.google.com/document/d/1scYfFi_ZiVFqyMYInmKc9LSEr8U5W2V2FeBZ6SbVREs/edit?usp=sharing   is a rough I made...)   

Susan, I am also a lover of connecting language to visuals. In fact, I love the idea of connecting all kinds of learning to visuals since most of our adults learn better than way. Your examples of using visuals to illustrate exponents is wonderful. In my practice, I often had student themselves illustrate the concepts they were learning. Your sample integrates learning styles/intelligences, for sure.

I wonder how you or others among us might integrate exponents into a real-life or even an occupational context that would appeal to our students. I'll put on my "thinking cap" and try to come up with something, but I would love to be inspired by others here, too! Thanks!

BTW, responding to your question Susan, the "Help Me Mom" reading is in Handout 2 on the site. Leecy

Susan,

"Help Me, Mom" is in Handout 2, second page.

I also value connecting language to visuals - for students of all levels.  There is a great graphic of connecting representations here.

Thank you for sharing!

Jeri

Good morning, everyone. And, Jeri, thanks for your questions.

Yes! I think it is definitely worthwhile to have ABE students read this piece and write in response to a similar prompt. In my experience, so many students of all backgrounds have insecurities and self-doubt about math. Inviting students to write on the topic will help them process their fears, share their stories, perhaps see that they are not alone, and begin to get a little more flexibility in that place where they have a frozen idea about themselves (namely, that they are not "good" at math). The beauty of this piece by Abir Yousef is that she is so real about her feelings, but she is not stuck. It's a great model for students to use if they are going to tell their story about math. In her case, she is confident about math and has the unusual background of being supported (and not traumatized!!) by her math teacher, but she has to work on her English to be able to do math in this country. 

In terms of writing practice that integrates math, I like the idea of writing true statements about data that you see represented in charts of graphs. This cultivates an important CCRS skill that is required across disciplines -- being able to accurately represent evidence. So, for example, answering the questions in the comparison shopping piece is a great way to practice writing, practice using math concepts, and practice citing evidence from the text.

The first activity in the handout -- "Many Ways to Say It" -- is *so* generative in both math and writing skills. I urge you to try it -- here in this forum and then in class. You'll see that the activity generates rich lessons in math and English expression, and it creates opportunities for both ESOL and ABE learners to practice.

Cynthia

I'll give the "Many Way to Say It!" a try, Cynthia. Great activity. Thanks!
  • Dana has twice as many siblings as Sylvia.
  • Sylvia has half as many siblings as Dana.
  • Dana has more siblings than anyone.
  • Mario has fewer siblings than Sylvia and Dana.

I love the practice of using language to creatively express numerical expressions! There are so many options. Leecy

Thanks, Leecy! You surfaced so many math and English learning opportunities. For example, "half" and "twice" are related. You could re-write your last two using the > and < symbols. Using the word "than" (and not getting it confused with "then"). When to use "fewer" vs. "less." The construction of the phrase "as many as" -- that's gotta be a hard one for ELLs. 

So much great stuff to unpack and practice here!

 

I think another word we could use is double, and discuss double, twice and 2 times as many as all meaning the same things.  This is challenging in the ABE classroom, as well as, the ESL.  I find the often want things to say exactly what examples you reviewed did or be easy to find on a handout or from a list.  This would encourage them to break out of that mold. 

Hello all,

I would like to push my other mathematical minded teachers and see if they can think of ways to incorporate the comparison shopping or the poultry farm activity into a deeper, richer, algebra activity.

If so, let's share our thoughts.

Brooke Istas
Moderator, Math and Numeracy

Good Evening Colleagues,

We've had a great beginning to our discussion!

Tomorrow, we will examine together the story “Using Math to Start a Poultry Farm.”   This is found in Handout 2, beginning on page 4.  

Tomorrow’s discussion will provide multiple examples of integrating academic skills with occupational preparation. Get your questions and comments ready!

Jeri

 

 

Good Morning and welcome to day two of Three Goals in One Lesson!

Today, we will focus on integrating a variety of academic skills into job preparation, specifically, farming. The Handout 2 student story, “Using Math to Start a Poultry Farm,” will guide our discussion.

Cynthia, thank you for joining us again today!  This story is an excellent example of integrating academic skills with job preparation, in this case, farming. In your experience, what challenges do instructors often face in integrating instructions among adult learners?

Colleagues, - 

  1. Reply to today’s prompt by responding to the questions posted on the last page of Handout 2.
  2. What academic skills were integrated into this activity? (See examples but add ideas of your own)
  3. Post an additional math or other academic skill that could be integrated in this lesson.
  4. Comment on your experience reviewing this integrated activity. What stood out the most as you explored the resources?

Please share your thoughts!

Jeri

Thanks for your question, Jeri. I think one of the hardest things for teachers might be finding materials that feel relevant to your students. This poultry farm piece, for example, might not seem relevant if people think of it as only for people who want to start a poultry farm. But if we take it as an example of an entrepreneurial venture, then maybe more learners could relate. If you are going to start any business, you have to take into account all the same things that Mustafa (the author of the poultry article) did. For example, your start-up costs, your one-time expenses, repeating expenses, revenue, etc. You can find downloadable spreadsheets, etc. that I developed for teachers to adapt as needed here: https://changeagent.nelrc.org/in-the-classroom/lesson-packets/#packet16

A spreadsheet is a great way to organize information, which is a good skill in both math and English class. And...it's an incredibly important job/career skill! So, as a teacher, you can be clear with your class: We're working on this not because you all might go out and become poultry farmers, but because in lots of jobs, you'll need to organize information on sheets like this. You'll need to read columns and row, and think in conceptually similar ways. You'll need to make calculations about real-life things.

As teachers, you can't meet everyone's specific job-preparedness skill, but you can generalize from specific examples and show how the underlying concepts might be similar across different jobs. Having this sort of clarity of purpose about a lesson plan and communicating that to students is a key persistence driver as well. Students will connect to the material because they see how it matters to them specifically, even though they will never even consider poultry farming as a career! :)

 

Thanks, Cynthia. You are so right that teachers can't meet everyone's specific needs, but they can certainly have students practice skills that relate to many different areas. When the idea of differentiation became popular, so many people resisted implementing it because they believed that the term meant "individualization." Not at all! As we are happily experiencing, differentiation, which I believe you are proposing, has to do with offering many choices, as those spread before guests in an inviting feast! :) Leecy

I really appreciate the way that this lesson can be adapted in so many ways to extend the skills that it implemented. I also love that the passage is written at a very reasonable reading level so that most students are not likely to struggle much with comprehension in order to work the math and other skills included in the activities. 

In response to one of today's questions, following are a few possible added activities related to building trades. I hope others will add comments and additional activities in other occupational areas.

1. Working with others in your group, write six math problems using the information in the lesson. 2. Think of recent home-repair expenses that you have had. Replace the items used in the lesson sentences with those in your experience.  Lesson Sentences
a. I bought 100 bags of chicken feed at $35 per bag.
b. I bought PVC pipes to use as chicken feeders which cost $400.
c. I installed a $900 solar panel and many other things.   My Sentences a. Last week, I bought two window blinds at $ 38.90 each. b. I need 35 boxes of wood-laminate flooring which cost $52 each to cover the floors in two rooms.  c. The builder installed four $87 ceiling fans, two $27 kitchen and bathroom faucets, and other things in my new house yesterday. 3. Change the sentences to a different time period (in progress, future, general past). 4. Write six new problems related to the information you used in your home-repair sentences. 5. Plot out the areas of your dream home. 6. You need to leave careful instructions for home owners in order to finish a project in their home. Provide details on what they need to buy to finish the project. Work alone or with others to complete the activity.   I can envision students completing similar projects in health, computer literacy, trucking, and many, many other fields. Leecy

Leecy -- great ideas about more ways to talk about square footage. I love the idea of changing sentences to different time periods, of students creating their own problems, and plotting out their dream home. There's also gardening! You need to know square footage to decide on how much mulch you need, how much fertilizer, etc. I bet a lot of our students are gardeners!

Thanks, Cynthia. In fact, I teach a Real Life Math course for Pre-K-5 teachers. Several of them develop math activities for those itty-bitty kids who plot out a garden, measure perimeters and square footage, and more. I can only imagine the fun that those kids have not only learning math but also enjoying the veggies of their labor! Lecy

Thank you Leecy!  These are great examples and extensions to the activity that teachers can use immediately.

I also like your earlier comment in “All About Choices” where you clarified the difference between differentiation and individualization.  There is a difference and the lessons that Cynthia has provided are examples of how we can differentiate.

Jeri

Sorry I missed day 1, but I did enjoy going back through and reading answers that were given!  Thanks for the insight.  

The first academic skill I see in this lesson is reading and vocabulary.  I appreciate that the lesson includes a reading background page from the Change Agent!  I think it will build vocabulary for many students using words like poultry, expenses, square yards, organic, and spreadsheets.   Some pre-teaching of vocabulary would be necessary depending on your level.  I like the lessons use of square feet and making use of the are and even adding the one square foot for the top picture.

  It may be good to add a tree to the yard or something if you wanted to make them do a composite figure.  They would then end up with an L shape chicken pen.  This would allow the perimeter and area of a more complex figure to be used.  

I may make them make a list of the times they could use a skill like this in their lives.  How could they use finding area, and spreadsheets with their jobs, kids, or lives?  What would the questions they would need to answer be?  

In addition, career-wise, I might have a discussion with them about the time he has spend getting ready to start a business.  My ABE students need reminders of the persistence it would take to undertake a project like this.  I would review the steps he has taken and how he planned each step.  I would ask them if they desire to start a business, what planning and steps would they have to go through to so legally? This may lead to more writing as list writing, business plans, resources in the community and how to obtain help starting a business. 

I enjoy using the change agent in lessons and think this is a good resource. 

Kelly Close  

 

Kelly -- Lots of great ideas here. I wonder if it would work to cut up the grid to make it into a different shape -- like you suggest, making it more complex. I love the creativity that could come about with students adding trees, etc. 

And your last point about considering how much time these things take. That is an excellent point. Time management is a challenge for all of us, and we usually think things will take less time than they really do. So bringing in a reality check about time makes a lot of sense -- and it's helpful for students working on their academics and job readiness. 

I especially appreciate you zooming out from the classroom and noticing what resources are in the community for people wanting to start small businesses. Even if no one ever starts a business, it still points to this idea that community resources *exist.* So when students face a different problem, they might think to search for help in the community. 

Thank you!

Cynthia

Thank you for sharing your ideas, Kelly!

You offered a great example of how to integrate a more complex figure with the L shaped chicken pen.  Also, beginning with a discussion focused on real life is a great “hook.”  Students have much more “buy in” when what we do in our classrooms is immediately applicable to their lives.

Jeri

It has been another great of discussion and ideas.  Thank you to everyone who has contributed.  Tomorrow we will focus on how to implement what we have learned and how you can implement the ideas we have discussed so far.

I look forward to the continued sharing of ideas and resources!

Jeri

Good Morning and welcome to day 3 of Three Goals in One Lesson!  

Today, we will focus on implementation. Today is your turn to contribute resources and ideas that demonstrate how you will integrate activities in your instruction so that we all can provide you with feedback, encouragement, and ideas to expand on what you post. Consider the consultation a free service to help you get started!   So, colleagues:

  1. Post a topic related to an occupation interest that is likely to appeal to your students.
  2. Suggest a short original or published reading passage, ideally written at a 5th- to 7th-grade reading level, that informs students in an occupational area. Links to resources are welcome!
  3.  List a few activities that could be added to the reading to encourage students to integrate academic skills related to the occupation.
  4. Please feel free to ask questions and get help as you go along. We are a learning community, so asking is encouraged!!!

Below are some resources you will find helpful:

  • BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English - Reader 1: This reader contains nine original stories written specifically for adults at the beginner to grade 1.5 reading level.  Note: BC Reads also has other stories written for student at other levels.
  • Day in the Life Videos: Day in the Life videos are short clips featuring professionals talking about their jobs. A brief description of the career is provided along with information about the knowledge and skills required, career path, median annual income and future growth potential. Videos are grouped into sectors.
  • Stories published in Connection Literacy and Work for developing an educational program that links literacy and work in a meaningful way for students.
  • Integrated Education and Training: A Career Pathways Policy & Practice.

Please keep in mind that this discussion will continue to be open, so don’t make this your last day. Instead, consider today as a start to your continued interaction on implementing integrated instruction using community resources and feedback along the way.

Please share your ideas and resources!

Jeri

I look forward to reading what others post here! Together, we could build a real treasure chest of integrated activities!   I am an avid supporter of Open Educational Resources. I chose content from oercommons.org, which is posted with the following Creative Commons license/attribution: NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License. That means that users can use and modify the content freely, as long as they provide attribution to the source and share the new content under the same license.   HEALTH OCCUPATIONS: PULSE OF LIFE (ABE/ESL) Source:https://www.oercommons.org/courses/habits-of-the-heart -> http://www.oercommons.org/courses/habits-of-the-heart/view: Pulse of Life-Procedures Reading   INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDENTS Step 1. Go http://www.oercommons.org/courses/habits-of-the-heart/view.  Step 2. Read the instructions under "Procedure" for teachers to help students measure their pulse rate.  Step 3. Practice the procedure on yourself following the instructions given. Ask for help if you need it or want it.   ACTIVITY I (Reading, writing, speaking, and math)   When you feel comfortable measuring your own pulse, you become the teacher. You will teach others in your group how to measure pulse rates.   Step 1. In writing, change all of the instructions under Procedure to commands. Become the teacher giving commands to students. For example: (a) You might change "Compare the heart rates of students in the class" to "Compare your heart rate to others in the class." (b) You might change "Have the students collect pulse rates from various adults and list this on another graph" to "Collect pulse rates from others and list list the results on another graph."  Step 2. Change roles with others in your class, where you become the student and they become the teachers, one at a time.   ACTIVITY II (Writing)   Write 8-10 sentences about what you learned in this activity. What do you want to learn next?   ACTIVITY III (Math) I hope that those here who teach math might add ideas on how to expand this information so that students practice and develop more math activities. I think that activities dealing with ratios, time, and averages would be a good start.    Leecy

I understand there has been some difficulty with the links posted this morning, so I am re-posting them:

BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English - Reader 1

Day in the Life Videos

Connection Literacy and Work 

Integrated Education and Training: A Career Pathways Policy & Practice

I apologize for any inconvenience.  Enjoy!

Jeri

Hello colleagues, This has been a valuable discussion. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far, especially our guest, Cynthia!

We all know how important it is to be able to read graphic information. I've long believed that having learners create their own graphs is a great way for them to learn how to interpret graphs. Students can conduct a survey on a topic of interest within the class or outside of class. One group I worked with surveyed adults and teachers throughout the program about their views of hip hop. After collecting the data, learners created graphs and presented the findings to the class. The students had to decide whether to present their data as a bar graph or circle graph. They also raised questions about the graphs and figured out various percentages. Another activity might be to have learners summarize their findings in writing. You can find an article I wrote about this lesson in the Equipped for the Future Toolkit. 

Another project involved students completing the O*Net Interest Profiler and then collecting data from their classmates on the results. The graphs students created were super interesting since they illustrated who in the class had work profiles that were similar and different. Students were then able to write about their own profile. 

I'd love to hear additional graph creation ideas!

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, Teaching & Learning CoP

Susan and Colleagues,

There have been some wonderful lessons and activities discussed today!  A while ago I came across an Employability Skills Self Check.  It is actually published by a Canadian company, but it is a very useful free document.  After completing checklists three categories of employability skills, students then write SMART goals and create three skills profiles graphs.  There are teacher notes and example exit tickets included.  These are great tools to incorporate reading, writing, employability skills, and graphing.

Jeri

As we close this activity (not the discussion!!!), we want to thank Cynthia for all of her help in guiding us through the process of integrating instruction among our students. Thanks, also, for sharing the valuable resources posted online. Please continue to share your thoughts and ideas!  Best wishes from all of us!

Jeri Gue, Reading and Writing CoP

Susan Finn-Miller, Teaching and Learning CoP

Brooke Istas, Math CoP

 

Hi Everyone -- so sorry I was out yesterday! I appreciate the chance to share with you all and see all the creative ways you are deploying content in the classroom. It really is inspiring. 

Another source of free materials is The Change Agent lesson packets, which you can find here: https://changeagent.nelrc.org/in-the-classroom/lesson-packets/

These packets group together Change Agent articles in new and creative ways, and the activities that accompany them are all CCRS-aligned. 

Another way to engage your students in an authentic writing experience is to have them submit articles in response to The Change Agent's "Call for Articles." We publish a new "Call" every August and February, and you can find it here: https://changeagent.nelrc.org/write-for-us/ 

The "Call" that's up there now has a deadline that already passed, but a new one will be published soon. The theme of the March 2020 issue is "Stand Up and Be Counted," and it will focus on the census and the elections and other ways that community members can make their voices heard.

When students write in response to the prompts, they are developing important CCRS skills, including writing for a specific audience and replying deeply to a specific question. We encourage students to tell a story from the heart -- one that will be interesting and compelling to their peers who will be reading the magazine. If they choose a research topic, they should include sources. It's great practice for students to try out finding and using their voice. We embrace beginning literacy learners! If the Call looks overwhelming for your students, you could use it as an opportunity to come up with strategies for facing and decoding a complex document. For example, scan for important information, such as the deadline and the word count. Choose one question to try to understand. There is no need to understand all the questions. Even if students don't write for The Change Agent, you will have brought in an authentic document and supported them to unpack it at least a little. They'll take those strategies with them to the next hard document they come across. 

best wishes,

Cynthia

Cynthis, thanks for sharing so much great information among us here. 

Your post this morning mentions wonderful free resources offered by The Change Agent, which aligns materials to CCRS. So many of us feel challenged to do that in our practice.

In your Webinar, you shared the fact that many of our activities address the same skill expressed in both math and ELA standards though stated a bit differently in each one. I think students (and teachers) can really benefit from noticing how they are meeting those standards and many others as they complete any activity. Leecy