PLC Bytes

PLC Bytes are 7-10 minute presentations designed to be used in Professional Learning Communities (PLC) or faculty meetings. They provide brief-yet-to-the-point overviews of both general and content-specific components of the Colorado Academic Standards. New content-specific PLC Bytes will be highlighted on each content area home page. All PLC Bytes will eventually be archived here.

General Standards and Instructional Support PLC Bytes:

• NEW! Science PLC Bytes are available around the topics: Importance of Scientific Practices, Selecting Science Materials Aligned to CAS, and Developing Assessments Aligned to Learning Experiences in Science. These resources are in the Prezi format and are 5-7 minute segmented presentations designed to be used in professional learning communities (PLC) or faculty meetings. These additional resources can be found in the PLC Bytes section on the "Paying Attention to Practice" Science page.  
• NEW! Mathematics PLC Byte around the topic: Selecting Mathematics Materials Aligned to CAS. This resource highlights an overall process for materials selection based on the Colorado Academic Standards in Mathematics. This resource is in the Prezi format and is designed to be used in professional learning communities (PLC) or faculty meetings to invite discussion and reflection. 
• NEW! Tutorial on the Family and Community Guides to the Colorado Academic Standards*- This quick tutorial video focuses on the Family and Community Guides to the Colorado Academic Standards in all ten content areas. The video shares how to locate these guides and spotlights a few examples of the guides in Science and Social Studies to give an overview on the organization and content of the guides. (*Note-for best results, please view video in Google Chrome)
• Guiding Questions: Conceptual and Factual Questions 
• Vocabulary: a quick review - Promising practices related to acquisition and mastery of vocabulary
• Transforming Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century

The Arts

• “Year-Long Large Music Ensemble Unit Launch”. This topic was chosen based upon feedback from music directors that wanted resources for authentic planning for marching band/choir etc. The Band and Choir Directors from Lake County High School in Leadville, Colorado developed a unit to meet these unique needs. Watch this video for an overview of the unit. (8 minutes 40 seconds)
• Using Art to Teach Colorado History Use this PLC Byte to take a virtual tour of 4th grade district sample units in Social Studies and all the arts disciplines (Dance, Drama Theatre Arts, Music and Visual Arts) as well as a few other great resources that could be used to create dynamic and engaging Colorado History learning opportunities for students. (8 minutes 45 seconds)
• Arts Integration Possibilities - recorded webinar training is just over 22 minutes in length. There are several elements within the training and it is advised that viewers plan to show segments of the webinar as predetermined by team needs. One recommendation is to divide your training based upon the following segments:
  • Overview and Context - Video Timestamp: 00:00  Duration: 9 minutes, 12 seconds
  • Outline of Integration Design Steps - Video Timestamp: 09:12   Duration: 3 minutes, 57 seconds
  • Design Steps Illustrated (More detail and examples) - Video Timestamp: 13:09  Duration: 8 minutes, 39 seconds
  • Readiness - Video Timestamp: 13:09  Duration: 2 minutes, 1 second
  • Design - Video Timestamp: 15:10  Duration: 6 minutes, 4 seconds
  • Final Thoughts - Video Timestamp: 21:14  Duration: 1 minute, 34 seconds  
• Arts Guidebook Tutorials
  • Full Document Walk Through (12m 20 sec)
  • Focus Area I Embracing Arts Content and Rigorous Instruction (4min 54 seconds)
  • Focus Area II- Structuring for Effective Implementation (5 min 4 seconds)
  • Focus Area III-Ensuring Success and Sustainability (4 min 43 sec)
  • Program Self Assessment (4 minutes 43 seconds)
• Celebrating Colorado's Collaborative Creativity: Arts Education Landscape

Comprehensive Health and Physical Education

• Integration of Comprehensive Health This prezi discusses the importance of the integration of Comprehensive Health concepts and skills into other content areas in order to support the development of the "Whole Child".

Computer Science

• Differentiation Strategies
• Computer Science Differentiation PLC Power Point

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  Reading, Writing and Communicating

  • The PARCC Performance Based Assessment Rubrics will ask students to respond to three different writing prompts: a Literary Analysis task, a Research Simulation task, and a Narrative task.  The writing assessment will be different from standardized writing assessments that we have seen previously
  Differentiation Strategies
•  in the state of Colorado; the writings will be based on multiple texts, will include a "reading comprehension" measure in the rubric, and will have a specific task for  narrative writing.   This PLC Byte offers a brief introduction to the rubrics that will be used to assess student writing on the PARCC assessment. 
• Close, Comparative, and Critical Reading - Three Ways to Meaningfully Engage Students in Complex Texts
• Vocabulary: a quick review - Promising practices related to acquisition and mastery of vocabulary
• Reading Fluency: More than Speed

Science

•  Scientific and Engineering Practices

Social Studies

• Using Art to Teach Colorado History Use this PLC Byte to take a virtual tour of 4th grade district sample units in Social Studies and all the arts disciplines (Dance, Drama Theatre Arts, Music and Visual Arts) as well as a few other great resources that could be used to create dynamic and engaging Colorado History learning opportunities for students. (8 minutes 45 seconds)
• Disciplinary Literacy in Social Studies

STEM: Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics

• STEM Curriculum Integration - This presentation contains a brief definition of STEM, STEM integration, and explains 10 different modes of integration.