Plan lessons, assessments, interventions and connect to the Common Core alll in ONE place!

Metria Learning provides a fantastic tool for educators to quickly implement the Common Core State Standards into their lesson plans in Microsoft Word. By simply installing the add-in from the Microsoft Store, teachers are able to search for, examine, and include the CCSS into their lessons. They are provided with a direct insert of the standard, learning target, and an I Can Statement for the standard. They then only need to fill-in their own vocabulary information, instructional notes, and practice of the standard(s). This helps to make ELA and Math CCSS lesson planning so much easier.

The goal of the website sounds impressive: create year long CCSS unit plans in minutes, customize free resources, etc. However, there are some hurdles to accessing the resource. Currently you have to have the newest version of Microsoft Office to access the free resource. Metria says ‘Coming Soon’ is a version that would work through their website. They also have paid membership with greater features in the future. I have no concrete idea what these will entail. The free resource gives you access to a blank master of a lesson plan; the teacher can customize it for their own class. Once the document is open, you insert ‘My Apps’ and select ‘Metria Learning.’ The app feature is why the newest version of Word was necessary. The app walks a teacher through the lesson by providing a menu of options, starting with a Common Core standard. Each item can be added to the lesson plan document. Once added, the text can be edited, so the lessons are not pre-scripted lessons, but a framework of lessons that make writing lesson plans less daunting to teachers new to the Common Core. The app also prompts with tangible examples of learning activities and objectives for each of the standards.

This is a useful program for educators interested in seeing how their lessons, assessments and re-assessments after intervention have worked. Metria is a data-driven program that will hopefully allow teachers to see results quickly and help students remedy their proficiency as quickly as possible when needed. One thing that could serve teachers better is if Metria allowed teachers to share units and data with one another, as it is just set up to share data with administrators and parents. Particularly in the case of curriculum mapping, it is important for teachers to be able to share and coordinate lessons with one another. Lastly, I believe that if students and parents were able to see their progress, they would need a little education on Common Core standards and what being “proficient” in any given topic means. There should be support for parents on the Metria website so they can better understand the program the school has chosen to use.