How much time do we waste in interpreting the Australian Curriculum and pitching the learning at the appropriate balance? I mean, getting the pitch absolutely right for the year level intended and yet being responsive for the class cohort! How do we revise content without lowering expectations? How do we challenge every student without losing half the class in the first ten minutes?
I have to admit, in the past I’ve struggled at times, wondering if the learning progression is at the right pitch. Not too easy that I am wasting learning time and boring more able students, but not too high that I lose most of the kids, and too many would require support. Often when beginning a unit, the initial lessons can easily become a little too easy, yes, we need to revise content quickly, but I’ve really been thinking about this and how to maintain a high level. How to really strike that balance where review happens but stretch and intentions are set in the learning progressions projected for that year level, where they don’t stoop below, is challenging and a skillful balance.
I know that when I have been planning and collaborating on lesson learning progressions in the past, there have been great conversations about the level, and always supporting students to meet the lesson objectives at a high expectation and a high intention.
I don’t want to cram in too much content into any single lesson, but review, plus stretch is a real wrestle I’m sure others battle with also. It requires looking at the learning progressions, projections for the year level, unpacking the achievement standard, and aligning with content descriptors whilst taking into consideration elaborations, and/or previous exemplar tasks. Wow, now there’s some significant time gone into research! All of this even before establishing your students’ variety of skillsets!
One reliable classroom tool I find very handy to use is a well constructed anchor chart! It’s not just a visual its also a reference tool for kids to use later to revisit the learning. When I present it, I ask what students notice, and it’s an instant conversation starter. I can use it to gauge where students sit on the progression: who’s confident, who’s unsure, and what ideas need unpacking.
That’s exactly why I’ve included an anchor chart in my free Fractions lesson — it’s a tool for clarity, conversation, and confident pitch. The anchor chart generally allows me to get a sense for where the kids are at and what concepts/skills require more clarity, more explanation, or extra examples. It helps me differentiate content to extend high achievers. My goal for high achievers is to think about concepts flexibly, broadly & with increased depth, rather than accelerating them into the next year level curriculum.
I’ve attached a link to my anchor chart here on Fractions 0-1 Number Line from my Year 3 & Year 4 Freebie lesson: Equal Distance, available for download on my TeachBuySell site. Find it here and let me know how your planning or your lesson goes!
And, the next time you sit down to plan, I ask you to ask yourself — are my students practising something they’ve already mastered, or stretching what they know into new territory?
Let’s keep the conversation going about what pitch-perfect really looks like in practice!
Mrs Rowntree 