Working on the Work Lesson Gallery

Working on the Work Lesson Gallery

Kindergarten students in Amy Weaver's class listen intently as a local soldier shows them photos and describes what life is like for children in the Middle East. Because he was an uncle of one of the students in the class, the children had sent letters and other items to the soldier in Afghanistan during the year, and he stopped by to visit after his return from duty. Salem Community Schools values interaction with community members not only in kindergarten, but through all grades. By emphasizing the Design Quality of Affiliation and including individuals and groups from outside the school walls to participate, teachers emphasize the real-life aspects of the lessons they teach.
For the past 20 years SHS S.A.D.D. has provided anti-destructive decision messages for the community by using the SADD sack project. Brown paper bags are given to elementary students who draw messages on them. The sacks are then judged and prizes are given to class winners and grade winners. A small prize is given to every student who helps with the project. The sacks are then returned to the JayC store to deliver the messages to the community. This activity is one of many in the district which feature the Design Quality of Affiliation by encouraging connections among students of different age levels as well as connections with the community.
Second grade students in Linda Ralston's classroom gather around Salem Mayor Judy Chastain who read to them at Bradie Shrum Elementary School recently. Dressed in a crown and cape, Chastain is one of several "Royal Readers" who have visited Ralston's students this school year. Salem Community Schools values the willingness of community members to interact with students. Upcoming activities which feature community members and teachers working together include Career Day speakers at Salem High School on March 8 and judges for History Day Contests at the middle and high school on March 16 and 20.
While students learn much about history from their textbooks, nothing compares to having a first-hand connection to important events which occurred decades before they were born. On February 2, Salem High School students from five classrooms experienced events from World War II from the perspective of Frank Walker, a soldier who was in the Pacific for the flag-raising at Iwo Jima. " I think it is pretty significant for them to be able to hear a man talk who not only fought on Iwo Jima, but witnessed both flag raisings at the top of Mt. Suribachi," said SHS history teacher Mark McKay who organized the presentation. Walker told about his experiences and answered questions from 175 students who attended the 70-minute session.
WLKY-TV Anchor Abby Miller interviews an SHS art student for an upcoming story about Salem High School for Channel 32's High School Cribs feature. The feature on SHS is scheduled to air on Tuesday, February 20 at 6:00 a.m. The television team visited SHS in mid-January to get information and pictures. Physics teacher John Calhoun's students demonstrated their Rube Goldberg machines, and Jane Spencer-Pierce's students displayed some of their of award-winning art work. A three-point shooting contest with two outstanding senior athletes and the school's walking track which is open daily to community members will also be included in the broadcast.
Several students from the Salem Middle School SADD group participated in their Adopt-A-Highway project on Wednesday, October 25. The middle school SADD group schedules a trash pick-up along local highways four times each year. Our local Coca-Cola sales rep and district manager help sponsor the activity by providing the student organization $200 each time for their work cleaning up highways. SMS SADD sponsor Kevin Albertson hopes his students learn the importance of volunteering, the importance of keeping our environment clean, and the importance of not littering. "Hopefully they also gain an understanding that they can make a difference," Albertson commented.
Twelve Bradie Shrum Upper Elementary students showed their spelling talents recently as they participated in Indiana's 14th Annual Spell Bowl. Local fourth and fifth graders competed at Borden under the leadership of BSLE teachers and Spell Bowl sponsors Julie Shell, Eric Ashabraner and Bev Sweeney. At the same time, other Indiana students tackled the same words at other sites all over the state. Salem students boasted four perfect and two nearly perfect scores in the competition. Over 120 Bradie Shrum Upper Elementary students began working toward the Spell Bowl in August, and 16 attended practices for 13 weeks to master the spelling of 750 different words.
Salem Middle School students got a taste of how life after graduation works recently during activities connected to a Reality Store project on Wednesday, October 25. Each student was given a career, income, family and list of expenses, then turned loose to shop for required living expenses at various booths manned by local community members These booths included real estate, automobiles, insurance, child care, food and other necessities and leisure activities. In preparation for the Reality Store itself, the Grade 8 students completed interest inventories to find their work preferences and looked at their grade point averages to see if they were on track for their chosen career path.
Upper level Spanish and French students from Salem High School pose for a group photo on the campus of Indiana University. During ISTEP testing, the students and their teachers, Doris Duffy and Joanna Schmidt, took advantage of the opportunity to sit in with IU students in their foreign language classes. The Salem students experienced first-hand what real college-level classes are like and learned about career opportunities associated with college majors or minors in French and Spanish. The high school students also toured the campus, visited SHS grads to get a feel for dormitory life, and practiced their language skills at lunch reading menus in French and Spanish.
On Tuesday, August 8, 2006, nearly 180 administrators, teachers, school board members and instructional assistants participated in a full day of professional development at The Inn at Spring Mill State Park. A highlight of the day was a presentation by Ginger Morris on the history of schools and the community's long-time emphasis on quality education for local youth. In small groups, teachers shared success stories which brought to life the district's beliefs that, "We expect more; we treat each other with respect, and we work together." The day also included introductions of new staff members, discussions about what things teachers would like to see more of in their classrooms.
With ISTEP testing just around the corner, a sophomore practices for the Graduation Qualifying Exam in Lori Hazelip's English 10 CP class at Salem High School. For high school students, a passing score on this 10th grade exam is required to earn a diploma. Salem students and teachers in all buildings are concentrating on the Indiana State Standards in English/Language Arts, mathematics and science in preparation for the exams. The testing is mandated by the state for all students in grades 3-10. While the testing window includes the last two weeks of September, the Graduation Qualifying Exam and most other grade-level tests are given to students on September 19-21.
On Tuesday, August 8, 2006, nearly 180 administrators, teachers, school board members and instructional assistants participated in a full day of professional development at The Inn at Spring Mill State Park. A highlight of the day was a presentation by Ginger Morris on the history of schools and the community's long-time emphasis on quality education for local youth. In small groups, teachers shared success stories which brought to life the district's beliefs that, "We expect more; we treat each other with respect, and we work together." The day also included introductions of new staff members, discussions about what things teachers would like to see more of in their classrooms.
Salem High School juniors and seniors in Judi Howey's psychology class test out the board games they designed as a review activity at the end of the unit on memory. The class studied the various types of memory in the unit, then divided into groups to apply what they had learned and demonstrate how the types of memory work. Many of the students in the first semester psychology classes are scheduled to take Psychology II second semester, which is offered for both high school credit and college credit. Psychology II is one of several course in which students can earn dual credit from Indiana State University or Ivy Tech State College. Others include English, physics, and anatomy and physiology.
Working together to help one another learn has been a successful strategy for students at Salem Community Schools. Here, two sixth grade students at Salem Middle School collaborate on a culminating activity in Jim Gwaltney's grade six science class recently. Following a unit focused on the study of biomes, which is a sixth grade academic standard, students selected any biome and created a display to represent it with pictures, text and other constructions. Working together, or affiliation, is included as one of the 10 Design Qualities teachers use as a part of Working on the Work to better connect students to their class work and help them improve academically.
Salem High School was named one of 160 "Best Buy" high schools by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. The formula includes student academic performance based on SAT participation and scores, graduation rate, ISTEP scores, and attendance rates--along with per-pupil expenditures and at-risk population statistics. Even more exciting, SHS was selected from those 160 Best Buy schools to be included on their "Honor Roll" of 37 schools who excelled academically relative to their funding levels. "Honor Roll schools have encouraged students to be achievers in spite of the higher percentage of students facing some extenuating circumstances outside the school," the chamber stated in the Best Buy report.
Two Salem Middle School social studies teachers posed in Washington, D.C. with Ninth District Congressman Mike Sodrell. On September 21 and 22, Deb Wrye and Kevin Albertson met with members of the Indiana congressional delegation to inform them about the benefits of smartDesktop, a program both use to plan instruction, find resources, assess student learning, and connect to other "We were thankful for the strong support we felt from the delegation and for the powerful presentations that Deb and Kevin made for us, " reported John Keller who leads the implementation of smartDesktop as Director of Instruction for the Indiana Humanities Council. More info at www.smartdesktop.org
Sophomores in Luke Kimmel's class discuss truth tables for conditional statements in a unit on logical reasoning in his Honors Geometry class at Salem High School. With ISTEP testing set for September, SCS teachers at all buildings are working to prepare approximately 1400 students in grades 3-10 for the required tests which begin in mid-September in mathematics and English . Students in grades 5 and 7 will also be tested in science. Parents can help students do well on the exams by sending them to school on testing days well rested and with a healthy breakfast.
Workers are wrapping up the renovation of Salem Middle School this month. A new wing comprised of state-of-the-art classrooms featuring science, computer and industrial technology labs are enhancing student experiences in those classes. This classroom wing and the relocated office area were completed in time for the beginning of school in mid-August. Work is now nearly completed on the new gymnasium and locker rooms as well as on the conversion of the former office area into tutoring rooms. The project began approximately 18 months ago.
One of the key concepts of the Working on the Work framework is the value of students working together, as demonstrated by these students in Juli Shell's Bradie Shrum Upper Elementary classroom. This concept of affiliation can be applied in a common project on which students must work together to be successful, or assignments which require students to work with parents or other adults in the community. This kind of interaction with others not only helps the student become more engaged in the lesson, but it also helps the student develop important future employability skills for working together with others on the job.
A key component of Salem Community Schools' career development curriculum is an in-depth career research unit in Zoma Barrett's Grade 8 careers and technology class. Students not only investigate future job options, but also do self-analysis to identify their own personal strengths and job motivators. Students use technology skills to produce a brochure and other materials to be included in their career portfolios. A ninth grade Orientation to Life and Careers class builds on this portfolio which is used by counselors to assist students in picking high school courses as well as post-secondary options.
Helping out at the women's shelter on South Main Street, Salem High School students from Cheri Gumaelius's class spent a class period cleaning up and planting flowers recently. The students are members of a Human Development class which includes an emphasis on service learning. Providing opportunities for students to connect with their community is becoming more and more common at SCS as teachers not only promote volunteerism, but also make learning more authentic by connecting lessons to the real world.
Salem Middle School teacher John Hammond discusses his lesson with Schlechty Center Senior Associate Marilyn Hohmann at the SCS Wow Celebration Fair on April 13. The fair featured exhibits from each teacher showcasing an engaging lesson based on the 10 Design Qualities. By designing lessons that students find more interesting, challenging and meaningful, teachers are making learning more enjoyable, while making the subject matter stick with students longer. Nationally recognized education reform author Phillip Schlechty developed this new way of re-designing schoolwork which he calls Working on the Work, or WOW.
Engaged by using the computer to find the places bats could live, a second grade student in Ava Kinney's class applies important technology skills while at the same time learning about animal life. As a part of the two-week unit on bats, second graders participated in activities on several bat websites selected by the teacher to help them to discover information about bats in a new and different way than traditional lessons. "This is also a great way of using our computer and technology skills while learning fun facts about bats," Kinney said. She listed the design qualities of choice and of novelty and variety as important aspects of the lesson.
Students at both elementary and middle school levels have been working on entries for the Courier-Journal's Young Authors competition. Student write their stories and publish them in bound booklets. Seventh grade students in John Hammond's language arts class spent their class period on February 15 reading and evaluating each other's stories, then choosing the winning entries to be send to the contest as representing Salem Middle School. Working on the stories for the Young Authors competition not only meets several Indiana Academic Standards for language arts, but also employs several design qualities. These include affirmation, content and substance, organization of knowledge, novelty and variety, and authenticity.
As a part of their social studies lessons, third grade teachers Kathy and Crystal Mikels have been engaging their students in discussions about how changes happen in the world. In a unit about famous inventors, their students researched a particular inventor mentioned in the textbook. The students displayed their knowledge by making presentations to the class and by creating a poster. Design qualities included were Affirmation, Novelty and Variety, Content and Substance, Choice, Clear and Compelling Standards, Organization of Knowledge, Product Focus, Authenticity, and Protection from Adverse Consequences.
During a walk-trough at Salem High School, Principal Jim Ralston and Superintendent Stanley Bippus chat with students about their coursework. The juniors in Rosanne Quatroke's Honors English class were finishing up a writing project in the computer lab. Engaging students in meaningful work is a district-wide priority, and staff members at all levels work together to improve teaching and learning by using the Working on the Work framework. Administrators visit classrooms frequently to see first-hand the impact that Working on the Work is having on teaching and learning at Salem Community Schools.
In a lesson featuring the Design Qualities of Content and Substance and Organization of Knowledge, SHS science students build models to enhance their concept of the molecular structure of DNA. Lab groups in Greg McCurdy's Genetics class worked collaboratively in small groups to assemble components of the model that were then brought the parts together to build a large piece of DNA. The activity is preliminary to conducting laboratory work in which students work with real DNA from viruses, bacteria, and human sources to conduct experiments in genetic engineering. The lesson also included an emphasis on the Design Quality of Product Focus.
Students in Lisa Cooper Honors English 10 classes relived a page from Shakespeare on Friday, January 14. The class recreated the banquet from the masked ball where Romeo and Juliet first met. Pairs of students chose an aspect of Elizabethan feasting such as masks, costumes, music and food. Besides providing this item for the banquet, the students will use the research as the beginning step for a grade 9 research paper over the Elizabethan culture. By including the design quality of Authenticity, the lesson encouraged students to become more engaged in the content. first-hand, This WOW lesson along with others from SCS teachers will be featured at the WOW Celebration Fair in April.
Focusing especially on the Design Quality of Affirmation, Marji Morris created a WOW lesson for her seventh grade language arts students that included writing an original folk tale and presenting it to fourth grade students. The middle school students studied storytelling, created a list of characteristics of successful folk tales, and created a rubric for evaluating their stories. The lesson helps students to synthesize information as readers and to consider exactly who their audience will be as writers. Fourth grades students included those in the classrooms of Donna Brewster, Bethany Hamilton and Sheryl Holsapple.