Professional Development for TIIP2 Lorena Street ElementaryOn this page you will find a summary of the various professional development activities that Lorena Street School engaged in as part of our TIIP II Grant. Professional Development ActivitiesMusic Center Summer InstituteThe Music Center 2011 Institute for Educators was a 5 day professional development under the guidance of Music Center lead teaching artists Beth Sussman (music), and Sharon Diskin (mime). A variety of learning processes were utilized, including experience, inquiry, creation, performance, reflection, making connections, and assessment. The institute sessions focused on lessons created for Carnival of the Animals by Camile St. Sainz and on lessons created for Peter and the Wolf. These lessons engaged our team in music and mime exercises that provided us with tools that could be integrated into our teaching, adding another dimension to the elementary curriculum. Story Pirates Play/ Write ProgramThe Story Pirates program creates a high level of student engagement through the use of dramatic arts techniques as a pathway to meaningful literacy learning, specifically in writing. Goals for individual lessons are revealed theatrically to students through the use of characters acted out, letters from characters requesting help solving a problem, and games that provide a meaningful premise for the use of a particular skill. These tools are utilized in replacement of the traditional lecture or question and answer session and rely heavily on active student participation. Story Pirates begins their school program with an all-school performance and culminates their work by creating original performances based on the writing of selected students who participated in the program. We began by working closely with Story Pirates educational consultants who observed our current methods for writing and vocabulary instruction. We reflected together on these lessons and identified key literacy goals to focus on. With their support, writing lessons were overhauled to reflect a more dynamic, engaging learning process for our students. In addition to teacher professional development, Story Pirates developed a parent institute to strengthen student support systems. Document Actions
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