Instructional Minute
October 11, 2022
May 19, 2026
Content Matters!
Cultural Shifts in a Professional Learning Community
Strengthening Our Work Together
Our work continues to center on sharpening our focus on results and strengthening our collaborative culture. As teams, this means getting clear on what students must learn, using common assessments to gather meaningful evidence, and working together to respond to student needs. This also requires a shift from independence to interdependence, moving from discussion to shared commitment and collective responsibility for student learning.
PLC's at LSD
At LSD, the six key shifts we have been exploring in our Instructional Minutes reflect our commitment to the Three Big Ideas of a PLC by strengthening how we learn, collaborate, and respond to student needs together. As we continue shifting from teaching in isolation to learning collectively, from focusing on coverage to focusing on student learning, and from individual responsibility to shared accountability, we are building a stronger collaborative culture across our schools and teams. These shifts help us align our practices, use evidence and student data more intentionally, and engage in continuous improvement that directly impacts student achievement. Through this work, LSD is deepening its commitment to ensuring every student experiences high levels of learning through the power of collaborative professional practice.
Supporting a Culture of Learning
“The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is developing the ability of school personnel to function as professional learning communities.” - Richard DuFour
“Collaboration is a systematic process in which educators work together interdependently to impact their classroom practice in ways that lead to better results for students.” — Richard DuFour
Instructional Moves That Strengthen Our Culture of Learning
Teacher Moves that Bring PLCs to Life
Individual Teacher Moves
These moves support the shift from teaching to learning and help teachers intentionally gather evidence of student understanding.
- Clarify the learning target before instruction
- Ask purposeful, higher-order questions
- Use frequent checks for understanding
- Model thinking aloud during instruction
- Facilitate structured student discourse (turn-and-talk, accountable talk)
- Collect and analyze quick evidence of learning
- Adjust instruction in response to student evidence
- Reflect on what students learned—not just what was taught
Team Teacher Moves
These collaborative moves align directly to the PLC focus on collective efficacy and shared responsibility.
Before Instruction (PLAN Together)
- Unpack standards and define essential learning
- Create common learning targets
- Agree on one instructional strategy to implement
- Anticipate student misconceptions together
- Develop common checks for understanding
- Decide what evidence of learning the team will collect
During Instruction (TEACH Together)
- Implement the agreed-upon instructional move
- Collect comparable student evidence across classrooms
- Observe patterns in student thinking
- Support one another through coaching, walkthroughs, or peer observation
After Instruction (REFLECT Together)
- Analyze student work collaboratively
- Discuss which teacher moves had the greatest impact
- Identify students who need additional support or extension
- Determine next instructional steps as a team
- Share successful practices across classrooms
Steering Committee Flyers
K-8 Math Steering Committee
We are looking forward to seeing you at the next Math Steering. Please look for an email from Ms. Sarah Kentner. The K-8 Math Steering Committee meets on the last Tuesday of every month!
9-12 ELA Steering Committee Meeting
We are looking forward to seeing you at the 9-12 English Steering Committee Meeting , which takes place virtually the last Thursday of the month. Please look for an email from Steering Chair Suzy Khoury to join virtually.
9-12 Math Steering Committee
K-8 Science Steering Committee
The K-8 Science Steering Committee will be held on the last Thursday of every month
at 4:15 pm. Please look for an email from Steering Chair Catherine Cole Adams to join virtually.
Pacing at a Glance for this Week's Instruction
The documents attached outline K-8 curricular resources, standards and pacing. This can also be found by clicking here on the LSD website. *Please note that pacing for Illustrative Math powered by Kiddom and Reveal Math will become available as the year progresses.
9-12 Pacing Documents
The document attached outlines 9-12 curricular resources, standards and pacing. This can also be found by clicking here on the LSD website.
Workshop Model Lesson Plan Form to Assist in Planning Lessons
A resource to use as you see fit.
The Instructional Minute Newsletter will be sent out every Tuesday at 7:00am.
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