PATHS IN ACTION
PCG is pleased to offer video resources that demonstrate the Paths curriculum in action. We are grateful to the teachers who opened up their classrooms and the students who courageously agreed to put their learning on film. It is our hope that these videos will provide you with ideas for how to implement Paths specifically and the instructional shifts inherent in the Common Core State Standards more generally.
What is Paths to College and Career?
A 15-minute video describing the key features of the curriculum
A 15-minute video describing the key features of the curriculum
Teaching Academic Discussion
(Grade 9, Module 1)
(Grade 9, Module 1)
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In this video, 9th grade teacher Ani Rosario engages her class in a Round Robin discussion of a Romeo and Juliet assessment prompt, “Is Romeo fortune’s fool?” Students analyze standard SL.9-10.1.c to fully understand what the standard means and what is expected of them during their collaborative discussion. Then students independently write their own response to the prompt in preparation for conversation with their peers. Students participate in three rounds of discussion, each time supporting their classmates in building on their ideas to clearly and persuasively express their thoughts.
Analyzing Nonfiction Texts for Rhetoric, Structure, and Word Choice
(Grade 10, Module 2)
(Grade 10, Module 2)
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In this video, 10th grade teacher Jennifer Hanno’s students analyze five nonfiction texts with a shared central idea of human rights in preparation for the upcoming module performance assessment. Students first form groups and discuss one of the texts, creating an anchor chart with significant examples of rhetoric, structure, and word choice. The anchor charts are then posted around the room and students circulate with their groups in a gallery walk, generating additional observations and adding evidence to each text’s chart. The class ends with a group share out, as students prepare to engage in cross-text analysis of the module’s texts.
Using a Seed Text to Initiate Inquiry
(Grade 10, Module 3)
(Grade 10, Module 3)
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In this video, 10th grade teacher Jennifer Hanno initiates the research process with her students by using the seed text The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, a text that brings to light many moral, ethical, and social issues in science and health care. Students closely read and discuss specific text excerpts and then use the text as a springboard to generate research issues and topics. The Surfacing Issues Tool and Posing Inquiry Questions handout support students as they refine their inquiry questions and select the strongest question to investigate further.
Planning for Writing Using a Mentor Text
(Grade 11, Module 2)
(Grade 11, Module 2)
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In this video, 11th grade co-teachers Jennifer LaManna and Christine Dwyer guide students in the analysis of a mentor text, The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois, in order to strengthen students’ writing skills. The lesson focuses on standard W.11-12.2.b, requiring that students effectively select the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, and quotations to develop their writing on the topic of “double consciousness.” First, students closely examine the language of the standard to clarify its purpose. Then, working in small groups, students create an extended definition of double consciousness and annotate the text for relevant evidence and concrete details. This exercise supports students as they work to fully develop a topic in their writing.