Creative to the Core

From OER Commons Wiki

Creative to the Core: Reformatting Writing Genres Through Art and Science Workshop For Middle and High School Teachers Part of San Francisco Unified School District's (SFUSD) SLANT Initiative

Photos from Creative to the Core Workshops

About SLANT: On July 19-23, 2010 San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD, in collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences, the de Young Museum, 826 Valencia, KQED, ISKME, and the Exploratorium launched the SFUSD Summer Institute: Science, Literacy, Arts iNtegration in the Twenty-first century (SLANT) Initiative for Pre-k through 8th Grade Teachers to explore and investigate science and art integration. Participants received resources to use in the classroom and on field trips as they plan lessons with grade level colleagues. In addition to the Summer Institute 2010, SFUSD offered Follow Up Workshops for Teachers throughout the 2010-2011 school year, as well as a subsequent 2011 Summer Institute and Follow Up Workshops throughout the 2011-2012 school year.

1st day

• 4:00-4:20 Introduction and Art & Science Improv warm up Different Things
• 4:20-4:45 Create concept maps around creative and expository writing for an object from the De Young Museum's Highlands Collection collaboratively
• 4:45- 4:50 Reformatting- Highlands Art to expository writing online curricular resources: Exploring the New Guinea Highlands: Art, Science and Conservation Classroom Resources
• 4:50-5:40 Reformatting- Highlands Art, moving from creative to expository writing via Observation & Evidence. Write labels for Highlands collection and share in small groups.
• 5:40-6:00 Discussion, Reflection, Call to Action- try out reformatting in classroom, bring a science artifact that relates to the sea from your classroom or personal experience

2nd day

• 4:00-4:15 Sharing student reformatting writing examples from their own classrooms
  • Discussion Questions: What genre was used for this writing assignment? Does it have a authentic audience and purpose? What other genres could be used?
• 4:15-4:45 A review of Creativity to the Core OER: http://www.oercommons.org/browse/keyword/creativity-to-the-core
• 4:45-5:00 Group Activity Poetry Building in Aquarium using real science content.
  • At the Coral Reef ­tank read excerpt from Threads from the Web of Life by Stephen Daubert. Compare & contrast relevance of each writing type using real science content
• 5:00-5:10 Overview of Reformatting Task,based on deYoung structure, but in reverse. Teachers chose eco-system;facilitators provide content specific vocabulary
• 5:10-5:40 Observe, Reflect, Write short narrative/story using Evaluation of Narrative Essay Descriptors from OER Commons Creative to the Core Narrative vs. Expository Texts
  • The student:

1. Describes a place that he or she knows well.
2. Presents an accurate view of the place.
3. The student describes the place in such a way that anyone reading the story can visualize the surroundings.
4. Writes in the first person voice.
5. Tells a story or relates an anecdote.
6. Uses familiar or informal language.
7. Uses standard conventions of written English.
8. Uses appropriate grammar and punctuation.
9. Presents a finished product that is neat and organized.
10. The student produces a creative description.

• 5:40-6:00 Share out, Post narratives & labels on School Loop w/ lesson examples, etc. Reflections and evaluations