Properly done, both these systems of instruction require whole group instruction based on some
form of a unit of study.
At the
outset of any unit of study, certain students are likely to have already mastered some of the skills that the teacher is about to introduce, and others may already understand key concepts.
Play with preschoolers can form
part of a unit of study — over on Unschool the teacher they are creating small world play around the theme of Africa check out the little Mount Kilimanjaro included.
At the
beginning of a unit of study, in the first class period where the unit is introduced, have students spend 12 - 15 minutes working in pairs on a device to look up all of the information related to the unit.
In the end, third - graders, who get tested the most, take a whopping 14 standardized tests per year, in addition to «exit tickets» — teacher - generated assessments at the end
of a unit of study.
Assessment is more than paper and pencil tests at the end
of a unit of study.
Teachers meet with students and parents at the end
of each unit of study (a 6 - week period).