The Understanding by Design Unit/Lesson Template

Title of Unit / Introduction to Word Geography: Section 1 Themes and Elements of Geography / Grade Level / 6th Grade
Curriculum Area / Social Studies / Time Frame / 5 days (53 minute class periods)
Developed By / Jeff Kubeny
Rationale for retooling current lesson
I am choosing to retool my lesson on the 5 themes of geography and six essential elements using the UbD model because only 40% of my 6th grade students (25 total) new all 7 continents and 5 oceans on a recent quiz (after time to study for the quiz). I want to add a new strategy (performance assessment) to help them learn this important topic and assess them in a different way other than wrote memorization.
21st Century skills or Classroom Instruction That Works strategies used
·  21st Century Skills:
1.  A critical thinker
2.  A problem solver
3.  An effective communicator
4.  An effective collaborator
5.  A self-directed learner
6.  Information and media literate
7.  Globally aware
·  Classroom Instruction Strategies that Work:
1.  Informal grouping (Think, Pair, Share and Reader Recorder, Reporter) and Formal grouping (Performance Task)
2.  Homework and Practice (Collaborative)
3.  Providing Recognition (Response System Quiz/Certificates of Achievement)
4.  Setting Objectives
5.  Providing Feedback (Rubric)
6.  Nonlinguistic Representation: Generate Mental Pictures- (PowerPoint)
7.  Summarizing and Note Taking
Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)
Content Standards
Social Studies –A) Geography: People, Places, And Environments Content Standards: Students in Wisconsin will learn about geography through the study of the relationships among people, places, and environments.
Understandings / Essential Questions
Overarching Understandings / Overarching / Topical
·  Geographers have specialized ways to view and interpret information about the world. / ·  Why do people live where they live in this specific region?
·  How did the languages, customs, and traditions evolve?
·  How did religion shape culture and government? / ·  In what ways does geography help us understand our world?
·  How are the five themes of geography interrelated?
Topical Understandings
·  Geography is the study of people, places, and environments.
·  Geographers try to answer the questions, "Where are things located?" and "Why are they there?"
·  Geographers use five themes and six essential elements to organize their information.
Knowledge
Students will know… / Skills
Students will be able to…
·  Identify the five themes of geography using mnemonic “MR HELP”
Ø  M-Movement
Ø  R-Region
Ø  HE-Human Environment Interaction
Ø  L-Location
Ø  P-Place / ·  Apply the five themes of geography to a specific scenario
Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)
Performance Task Description
Goal / ·  You goal (within the scenario) is to highlight the five themes of geography for a particular city and country and make them appealing.
Role / ·  You are a member of an advertising agency (you create the name of agency).
Audience / ·  The target audience is the 2012 Summer Olympic Selection Committee.
Situation / ·  You need to persuade the 2012 Summer Olympic Selection Committee to pick ______city (choose) in ______country (choose) to be the host city (over all other cities and countries in the world).
Product/Performance / ·  You need to create a PowerPoint presentation in order to persuade the Summer Olympic Selection Committee to pick your city to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Standards / ·  Your PowerPoint presentation should…
ü  Have a descriptive title with group members
ü  Provide a two- to four-sentence description of the theme represented on their slide (one for each of the five themes)
ü  Include at least one example that relates the theme to things students already know about (e.g., their hometown, transportation, world regions).
ü  Each slide must include at least one image. The image’s source must be cited if taken by a book or another Web site.
Other Evidences
1.)  Rubrics–checklist/rating of completion of required materials and components for task.
2.)  Mr. Help pre-assessment and post-assessment
3.)  Section Assessment, Pupil Edition p. 9
4.)  Take an on-line quiz @ClassZone.com or URB (Unit Resource Book) p. 38
Learning Plan (Stage 3)
Where are your students headed? Where have they been? How will you make sure the students know where they are going? / o  Goals: Read and post the Essential Question: “In what ways does geography help us understand our world?”
o  Diagnosis: Use K-W-L chart to see what students already know (or think they know).
o  Diagnosis: Give a Mr. HELP pretest
How will you hook students at the beginning of the unit? / §  Play the song “Help” by The Beatles
§  3-Minute Warm-Up: (show TT1 transparency and ask students to tell me about the geographic conditions in the Los Angeles region).
§  Connect to Your World p. 5 Pupil edition
§  Think, Pair, Share: Pair Activity-Ways of Thinking About Geography Teacher Edition p. 5
§  Power Presentations DVD-Rom: Media Gallery, Interactive Reading Flip Cards
What events will help students experience and explore the big idea and questions in the unit? How will you equip them with needed skills and knowledge? / v  Use Frayer Model (Word Squares) for vocabulary enrichment
v  Use the Find Main Ideas graphic organizer @ClassZone.com to respond to the key questions
v  PowerPoint tutorials (www.actden.com/pp and www.paducah.k12.ky.us/curriculu/PPoint/): teach them to do background research, plan, and draft
How will you cause students to reflect and rethink? How will you guide them in rehearsing, revising, and refining their work? /
  • I will have the students rehearse their PowerPoint to make sure they are timely and contain the requirements.

How will you help students to exhibit and self-evaluate their growing skills, knowledge, and understanding throughout the unit? / Ø  Reflect on their experience in Mr. Kubeny’s Blog: http://KubsKorner.blogspot.com by answering the question: “How does what you learned connect to other learning’s?”
How will you tailor and otherwise personalize the learning plan to optimize the engagement and effectiveness of ALL students, without compromising the goals of the unit? / Using PowerPoint presentations is a great way to accommodate students with different learning styles.
I have allowed the students to pick their city and country for the performance assessment and name their ad agency.
The PowerPoint will appeal to various modalities.
I have used a variety or resource materials to accommodate different knowledge and skill levels to help students understand a complex concept.
How will you organize and sequence the learning activities to optimize the engagement and achievement of ALL students? / I will organize the learning of all students through the logic of “coverage” fashion. I have followed the sequence of the textbook, use hands-on activities, move from facts and basic skills to more advanced concepts.
Please include a narrative of your lesson if it warrants further explanation as well as all handouts, assessments, and activities you have prepared thus far. / There are WebQuests that students may want to explore in @ClassZone.com to follow up this lesson.
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From: Wiggins, Grant and J. Mc Tighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (ppk)