SDC 321
Fall 2008
Key Assessment: Unit Plan
Above Standard
Student Example
Curriculum and Teaching
Table of Contents
Teaching Philosophy 3
Overview 6
NYC Performance Standards 8
Theory 9
Routines and Structures 10
Assessment 12
Technology 12
Differentiated Instruction 12
ELA Regents 13
Sequence and Scope 14
Lesson Set 1 14
Lesson Set 2 33
Lesson Set 3 49
Lesson Set 4 59
Lesson Set 5 65
Lesson Set 6 74
Lesson Sets 7-13 85
Unit Project 120
Rubric 122
Metacognitive Reflection 132
Bibliography 134
My Teaching Philosophy
Teaching is not only a profession; it is also a way of life. To be an educator one has to be prepared to become a professional learner. My teaching philosophy revolves an ever-changing constructivist classroom. A sense of community, a student level matched curriculum, and positive reinforced classroom management are the foundation to my classroom.
Conducting a constructivist classroom has many tiers. The first tier is making sure that a sense of community is created in the class among the students and myself. In my classroom I make sure that my students know that I am the facilitator and their educator; however, I also make them aware that I am there as a scaffold to help them reach their full potential and that I am also there to learn. Once this level of respect is established, I begin working on the second tier which is creating learner independence, as well as peer dependence. Learner independence occurs when students in my classroom have developed strong habits of mind and work habits and can be completely self-reliable in their work. More importantly, however, is peer dependence; by this, I do not mean that my students are completely disabled without a friend to help them out with studying or the assignment at hand. No, peer dependence occurs when a student needs a second opinion and has his or her peer community to turn to. This becomes relevant when I conduct reading/writing workshops, group projects and various other assignments in my classroom. Hence, the students become the scaffolds. They learn and share new strategies to tackle the literary works taught in my class, leaving me the role as that extra push my students sometimes need to make the connections in the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
To reach the higher cognitive levels of the taxonomy, I believe the curriculum should mirror the reading and writing levels of the students being taught. Being an ELA teacher, there is a wide range of material to choose from. However, if I begin to notice that my students are not grasping the material being presented and cannot make the analytical connections that I have put before them, it becomes time for me to adjust my curriculum. I do like to challenge my students; however, I do not set them up to fail. If I notice my 10th grade English class is reading on an 8th grade level, I’ll assign a novel in between the two. This way, I keep the work similar to the material being done throughout the school and I help keep my students alert and challenged.
Keeping my students alert and challenged makes for enthusiastic classroom discussions and sometimes leads to behavioral problems. In my classroom, I enforce positive reinforcement. Therefore, when a discussion does get out of hand I give my students praise for having such strong opinions, but I tell them to use their inside voices and to remember the number one rule in our class, which is respect. At this point most of my students calm down and collect themselves. However, there will always be one or two to stick out like sore thumbs. At this point, I ignore the students who continue to misbehave and continue to give praise to those who are making valuable contributions to the classroom discussion. Once this student or students realize that they are not getting my attention and are not achieving their goal of disrupting, they raise the white flag and rejoin the discussion, which makes it a more constructive day. My reaction in this situation also works in many other situations. I find that having a positive reinforcement view of classroom management is the most affective form in my classroom. For this reason, this tactic is the sole form of reinforcement used in my classroom.
I take great initiative in making my classroom feel like a community apart from the communities my students come from where they have to abide by preset rules and conventions. Ergo, in my classroom they are a part of the rule creating, which always start with respect. From there, the working peer community begins to grow. I make sure to assign projects and assignments that reinforce this sense of community and challenge their cognitive skills simultaneously.
Overview
When creating an English Language Arts unit, one can see that the content is very cross-curricular. The cross roads between literature and history has been one that has always interested me. For this reason, I have decided to create a unit that focuses on the idea of art imitating life or the reverse, life imitating art. These ideas become relevant when studying Early American literature. The literary works of this era were all written in a time of constant change and development (i.e. religion or power struggles). The two literary works I feel reflect the themes of my unit are The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Crucible” Arthur Miller. Hawthorne’s piece is about a young Puritan woman who commits adultery with an esteemed Reverend and refuses to reveal his identity. As a result, she gets publicly humiliated by having to wear a scarlet A on her dress where ever she goes. This novel challenges the major tenets of Puritanism by exploiting elements of faith, revenge, and alienation. Miller’s play is about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Through his play, he portrays the events leading up to the many unwarranted executions. This work also explores some of the themes Hawthorne uses in his work. In addition to these major works, I will use smaller works such as the authors’ biographies, as well as historical explanations of the time period and related events. To introduce “The Crucible” I have decided to use some of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales to explore the different visions of witches. Supplemental readings, as those just listed, are vital in ensuring the students’ understandings of the literary works put in front of them.
As stated above, the general theme of the unit is art imitating life. This theme calls for the students to answer three essential questions: How is history reflected in art? Why is it important to see the many point of views of history as portrayed by authors? How does literature shape our opinions of history? In addition to answering these questions, the students will be able to analyze how the various literary elements enhance the effect of a literary work. They should also be able to communicate both written and orally, their ideas, understandings and opinions in a clear and effective manner. These goals are in accordance with the NCTE and IRA Standards of learning, as well as the NYC Performance Standards for an ELA classroom (See next page).
The unit is geared toward an on-level 10th grade ELA class of approximately 20 to 25 students and is approximately 9 weeks long. Because my unit is based on a relatively small class size, a large amount of the class work will be done in class. The unit schedule is as follows:
4 weeks- Scarlet Letter
4 weeks- “The Crucible”
1 week- Unit Project
Because I am basing my lesson on the school in which I am doing this semester’s observation (Vanguard High School), the class sessions are blocks of 1 hr. and 20 min.
NYC Performance Standards for ELA Classrooms & Associated Lesson SetE1-Reading
· E1C-Read and comprehend informational materials. / All Lessons
E2- Writing
· E2A- Produce a report of information.
· E2B- Produce a response to literature.
· E2E- Produce a persuasive essay.
· E2F- Produce a reflective essay. / Lesson 6, 13
Unit Project
E3- Speaking, Listening, and Viewing
· E3B- Participate in group meetings.
· E3D- Make informed judgments about TV, radio, film. / All Lessons
(E3D) Lesson 5
E4- Conventions, Grammar, and Usage of the English Language
· E4A- Independently and habitually demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English
language in written and oral work.
· E4B- Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness. / All Lessons
(E4B) Lessons 6, 13, Unit Project
E5- Literature
· E5A- Respond to non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive and critical processes.
· E5B- Produce work in at least one genre that follows the conventions of the genre. / All Lessons
E6- Public Documents
· E6A- Critique public documents with an eye to strategies common in public discourse. / Lesson 1, 7, 13 and Unit Project
E7- Functional Documents
· E7A- Critique functional documents with an eye to strategies common to effective functional documents. / Lesson 13 and Unit Project
Theory:
From this course’s reading assignments and the observational experiences I have had during the scope of the Educational program, I have come to realize that I am a believer in a student-centered learning. Milner writes:
At the heart of the difference between the traditional classroom and one based on student-centered principles is a conception of learning as an active process of constructing meaning by taking in new information, connecting it to prior understandings, and then testing the new knowledge by applying it. Learning is not waiting for the revelation but making it, not uncovering knowledge but creating it. Learning is active and productive, not passive and receptive. pg 8
I feel these few lines express my thoughts on teaching and learning. My unit is wholly designed on an open and dynamic classroom where the students are active participants in their learning. For instance, the foundation of my unit is based on in-class reading. The reason I decided to do this is two-fold. Firstly, there is a shortage in materials and books in many schools. Secondly, doing all of the readings in class ensures that all of my students are up-to-date with the reading (reading in class makes students active in the learning process even if they do not want to be). It also allows me to see the various reading levels of my students, which can lead to needed adjustments in my curriculum.
In addition to in class reading, a high percentage of my unit consists of group activities. Following each major reading portion, there are activities designed to explore the lessons’ aim/goals. The students have to work together to find the textual evidence and to present their findings to the rest of the class. I have even incorporated student-centeredness in the individual projects. The individual projects are the 3 main writing assignments for the unit and as part of the requirements there are mandatory peer review sessions. During these peer reviews, students will read the work of their classmates and give positive, constructive feedback to enhance their future drafts.
Routines and Structures:
Everyday, there will be an agenda for my classroom. It will start with the students entering the class to answer the anticipatory set that will be written on the board. They will answer the prompts individually in their notebooks and then will discuss with their neighbors until the class is ready for a full group discussion. The anticipatory sets are to get the students in the proper state-of-mind for the days focused topic. They are designed to aid the students make personal connections with the work being done in class, which can lead to a more satisfying learning experience. Sometimes the anticipatory sets will be to share the previous night’s homework.
After the full class discussion of the anticipatory set, the in class reading will begin. For the reading of the Scarlet Letter, the class will use the Popcorn Reading Method (discussed later in Sequence and Scope). For the reading of “The Crucible”, there will be a set schedule devised to ensure everyone has a turn to read aloud. After each portion is read, there will be a follow-up discussion and an activity. The activities are designed to further build on the general topic of the lesson. Some activities will require more than one class session. Any activities that require presentations will be done informally. Informal presentations will help the students become accustomed to speaking in front of crowds and communicating information they have learned.
The students will also be required to keep reading journals. This a trick used to enforce active reading. While reading the Scarlet Letter students will take notes of important quotes, questions they may have regarding certain chapters, interesting occurrences, and unfamiliar vocabulary words. The journals will remain in the classroom unless the students want to take them home to review what has been done in class. Taking notes in the journals will count towards their final grade. The journals for “The Crucible” will be for literary responses. They will write personal responses about something that interested them in the act that was just read. Practicing literary responses will prepare them for their Unit Project.
To wrap-up each session, students will either hand in whatever work was done during the class or will be given a brief description of what to expect during the next class meeting. As they exit, students will pick-up homework handouts or hand in completed handouts.