Summer is time for LEARNING

"Learning never exhausts the mind" 

Leonardo Da Vinci 

Missing Curriculum Team member 

I think the 30+ teachers working on the mathematics curriculum and assessment teams might disagree with Da Vinci after the past 4 weeks....  Leonardo obviously hasn't worked on a PUHSD Summer curriculum team!  We have been busy working on unit plans, unit assessments, district benchmark assessments and daily learning experiences.  For the last four weeks, teachers have poured through all of the curriculum documents, PARCC resources (model content frameworks, evidence tables and PLDs, and sample online assessments), Smarter Balanced released items, and exemplar units to create meaningful units for the PUHSD mathematics students.

Curriculum: To view the revised curriculum, click on the Phoenix Union Mathematics website and click your course. Algebra 1-2 has a new units added to first and second semester that makes the quadratic unit more manageable.  Geometry 1-2 deleted the proof unit (Unit 3) and embedded those standards in all of the units.

Visual model to keep us on track :)

Assessments: To view the revised or new assessments, go to SharePoint (link from work) (Link from home). Algebra 1-2, Algebra 1-2 H, Geometry 1-2, Geometry 1-2 H, Algebra 3-4, and Algebra 3-4H all have updated unit assessments, scoring guides, checkpoint quizzes, and concept recovery assessments.

Learning experiences for students: Algebra 1-2 revised the first semester daily learning experience that align to the new assessments.  Geometry 1-2 has unit plans with aligned artifacts and lesson plans.  Algebra 3-4 is the new curriculum and they have unit plans pretty much done for the first three units and draft unit plans for the rest of the year.  These teachers will be meeting throughout the school year to continue this work.  Here is a sample unit and the rest can be found on SharePoint.

Learning from the Team members  Here is my favorite quote from a geometry teacher during our last day together:

"I was so impressed by how the kids did during the first year of Geometry implementation.  Last year at this time, I was skeptical but now I see the bigger picture.  I see the connections now and why transformations are so important and why it is the basic underpinnings of Geometry."


Thank you to the teachers who completed all of this work! Summer curriculum work is strenuous but we always walk away with a deeper understanding of the curriculum, the instruction needed to meet the demands of the standards and the expected level of mastery.

Algebra 3-4 is Gearing up...

"Do what you always do, get what you always get."- Source unknown 

Over the last two months, Algebra II teachers from across the district have been digging into the AZ College and Career Readiness standards to create a curriculum that is significantly different. These teachers have been learning about the depth of each standard, analyzing the tools from PARCC and Smarter balanced, then created a rich scope and sequence for our Algebra 3-4 implementation year during the 2014-2015 school year. 

The curriculum is ready for review  (see links below) and the summer curriculum team will use the framework to complete the unit assessments for each unit and develop learning experiences that prepare students for the rigor (balance of procedural fluency and conceptual understanding) of the new standards.  As we are winding down for the school year, you can review the curriculum with your collaborative team and start planning.  As the summer teams create materials during the summer, watch for updates on the blog. 

Thank you to the following teachers for the continued dedication to creating rich curriculum and sacrificing their weekend hours to the project.  

Team Member Names
Jessica Peifer Rita Delos Santos Shaun Kunz Juli Schexnayder Aracely Shepherd Shana Rose Jenny Kaiser Paul Wilson  Anne Berg  Jose Villagomez Rekha Alaham Deborah Hannum Jeanette Scott Don Henry Cathey Nicol	Camelback Trevor Alhambra Maryvale Maryvale Maryvale Alhambra North Trevor Cesar Chavez North Alhambra Chavez Trevor North

Algebra 3-4 Curriculum  and Algebra 3-4 Curriculum Honors