Engaging with Standards - Kate Koester

Teacher

Kate Koester is a 7th grade social studies teacher at Olson Middle School. She gives her students multiple opportunities to reach learning targets and review their knowledge before summative assessments.

Teaching Strategy

Kate sets clear learning targets and helps students access those targets several ways throughout a unit. Her curriculum and lesson planning are laid out in a unit outline that is shared with students so that they can also use it to review before summative assessments.

On review days, students work both independently and collaboratively. Recently, students were tasked with reviewing the targets related to the Cold War. Students began the period by thinking of possible assessment questions and writing them on a shared Google Slides presentation. As they came up with their own questions and answers, they reflected on the key ideas that stood out to them and were then able to use their classmates' ideas as a study guide. One student said that she liked this way of preparing for summative assessments because she was able to show what she knew and would be able to use the whole slideshow as a study resource.

Kate uses Kahoot! as a fun way for students to stay engaged with review and assess their own learning. Using their Chromebooks, students answer multiple choice questions and can earn more points by getting to the correct answer more quickly. Even when students answer incorrectly, they are gaining knowledge about their ability to reach the learning targets. Kate then uses the data displayed after each question to address any misunderstandings and provide students with feedback.

Kate’s content review is especially effective when tied back to previous learning experiences. The unit outline shows which class activities and assignments lead up to an understanding of each target. And, since the targets are written based on the MN State Social Studies Standards, it is clear to both students and parents that standards are being met.

See What It Looks Like

Click here to see an interview with Kate about her teaching strategies for standards based instruction.
Additional Resources

Bloomington’s Social Studies Standards