Teeth: What Big Plans Do You Have for Them?

An Idaho Core Teacher Program Unit Developed by Tammy McMorrow Teeth:What Big Plans Do You Have For Them?

Teeth: What Big Plans Do You Have For Them?

First Grade, Dental Health

Why should I care about my teeth?

Unit Developed by Tammy McMorrow

Indian Creek Elementary, Kuna School District

Kuna, Idaho

The Core Teacher Program

A program of the Idaho Coaching Network

Idaho Department of Education

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Multiple Means of Representation
Provide options for perception
✓Offer ways of customizing the display of information
❏Offer alternatives for auditory information
❏Offer alternatives for visual information / Provide options for language, mathematical expressions, and symbols
✓Clarify vocabulary and symbols
❏Clarify syntax and structure
✓Support decoding text, mathematical notation, and symbols
❏Promote understanding across languages
✓Illustrate through multiple media / Provide options for comprehension
✓Activate or supply background knowledge
✓Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas; and relationships
❏Guide information processing, visualization and manipulation
✓Maximize transfer and generalization
Multiple Means of Action and Expression
Provide options for physical action
✓Vary the methods for response and navigation
❏Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies. / Provide options for expression and communication
❏Use multiple media for communication
❏Use multiple tools for construction and composition
❏Build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance / Provide options for executive functions
✓Guide appropriate goal-setting
✓Support planning and strategy development
✓Facilitate managing information and resources
✓Enhance capacity for monitoring progress
Multiple Means of Engagement
Provide options for recruiting interest
✓Optimize individual choice and autonomy
✓Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity
❏Minimize threats and distractions / Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence
✓Heighten salience of goals and objectives
❏Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge
✓Foster collaboration and communication
❏Increase mastery-oriented feedback / Provide options for self-regulation
❏Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation
❏Facilitate personal coping skills and strategies
✓Develop self-assessment and reflection
Webb's Depth of Knowledge - Level 1 (Recall)
❏Who, What, When, Where, Why / ✓Label / ❏Recite
✓Define / ❏List / ✓Recognize
✓Identify / ✓Match / ✓Report
✓Illustrate / ❏Measure / ✓Use
Webb's Depth of Knowledge - Level 2 (Skill/Concept)
✓Categorize / ❏Estimate / ✓Observe
✓Classify / ❏Graph / ✓Organize
✓Collect and Display / ❏Identify Patterns / ✓Predict
❏Compare / ✓Infer / ✓Summarize
✓Construct / ✓Interpret
Webb's Depth of Knowledge - Level 3 (Strategic Thinking)
✓Assess / ❏Differentiate / ✓Hypothesize
✓Construct / ✓Draw Conclusions / ✓Investigate
✓Critique / ❏Explain Phenomena in Terms of Concepts / ✓Revise
✓Develop a Logical Argument / ❏Formulate / ❏Use Concepts to Solve Non-Routine Problems
Webb's Depth of Knowledge - Level 4 (Extended Thinking)
✓Analyze / ✓Create / ❏Prove
✓Apply Concepts / ✓Critique / ❏Synthesize
✓Connect / ✓Design

Idaho Coaching Network Unit Plan Template

Unit Title: Teeth: What big plans do you have for them?
Created By: Tammy McMorrow
Subject: Health/ELA/Writing
Grade: First Grade
Estimated Length: three and a half weeks
Unit Overview:
I chose dental health because the topic is highly engaging, meaningful, important, and real-life. It’s a topic worth exploring because it transfers to students’ lives now while daily habits need to be taught and internalized, and it’s a topic that affects life forever. Many first graders have already, or will soon be, losing teeth and most are typically visiting the dentist by first grade, which speaks to timeliness of the unit and the transfer to real life. During shared and guided reading, students will be reading appropriate non-fiction texts. During writing workshop, students will be writing about teeth. During our health block, students will be learning specifics about dental health through literature, demonstrations, experiments, and presentations. They will create plans for home dental health care, implement the plans at home, and teach kindergarten students what they have learned through speaking and writing. I will teach the unit in February during Dental Health Month and by that time of year, my students will have many foundational reading, writing, and speaking skills. Many will be well on their way towards first-grade independence, so they will be ready to do the hands-on work that will be required of them. Also, by that time of year I will have already taught opinion writing during Writing Workshop, so the students will not need as much scaffolding when they work on their culminating writing projects.
I teach in Kuna, Idaho in a school with around 45% free and reduced lunch. I have 21 students. Three are on IEPs for both academics and language. Our kindergarten students go to school all day, every other day, which has affected the at-risk population who need consistency.
Unit Rationale:
Key Shift #2:Students will participate in Reading/Writing/Speaking that is grounded in evidence from the text, across the curriculum. This shift is essential to the unit because students will be invited to internalize and transfer their understanding of the content beyond the walls of the classroom. They’ll take the content into their homes, into a kindergarten room, and most importantly into their futures. The reading, writing, and speaking they experience will be the avenue for making this happen.
Dental health is worth exploring because it transfers easily to students’ lives now and forever. Daily habits need to be taught and internalized early before any permanent damage is done. Poor dental health could very well impact future self-concept, finances, and even life opportunities.
Essential Question:
●Why should I care about my teeth?
Enduring Understandings:
●Caring for teeth is a daily life habit.
●You only get one set of adult teeth.
●Teeth will be important your whole life.
●It’s important to have big plans for your teeth. / Measurable Outcomes:
Learning Goals:
●Students will share their opinions and provide evidence in writing.
●Students will clearly present their opinions.
●Students will learn about healthy behaviors.
●Students will assess their own behaviors.
●Students will encourage others to make positive choices.
Success Criteria:
●Students can write a persuasive piece.
●Students can name a topic, write an opinion, share a reason why they should care about teeth, and provide a sense of closure.
●Students can present a topic to a kindergarten student with important details in order to express ideas and feelings clearly.
●Students can document healthy behaviors.
●Students can identify a personal goal and create a plan to help them reach that goal.
●Students can talk to a kindergarten student and encourage him/her to care about his/her teeth.
Student-friendly Learning Targets:
●I can write a persuasive piece about why we should care about teeth.
●I can name my topic, write my opinion, write a reason, and finish my piece.
●I can talk like an expert and present my topic to a kindergarten student.
●I can make a poster that shows what I’ve learned about teeth.
●I can choose a goal and keep track of my progress at home.
●I can help my friends understand how important teeth are.
Targeted Standards:
Idaho English Language Arts/Literacy Standards:
●W.1.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure.
●SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
Supporting Standards
●RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.
●RI.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
●RI.1.2 Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
●W.1.5 With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
●SL.1.3 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.
●L.1.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. / Targeted Standards:
Content Standards (if applicable):
●K-2.H.6.1.1. Identify a short-term personal health goal and take action towards achieving the goal.
●K-2.H.8.1.2. Encourage peers and family to make positive health choices.
●K-2.H.1.1.1. Identify that healthy behaviors affect personal health.
●K-2.H.7.1.1. Demonstrate healthy practices and behaviors to maintain or improve personal health. / Targeted Standards:
Standards for Mathematical Practice (if applicable):
Summative Assessment:
●Summative Assessment Description:Students will write a persuasive piece (book, letter, or brochure) to share with a kindergarten student.
●Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Explanation: DOK Level 4 Extended Thinking: When students write a persuasive piece to share with a kindergarten student, they will be required to design, apply, prove, and synthesize.
●Rubric or Assessment Guidelines: See instructional notes.
Primary Text(s):
●The Tooth Book by Edward Miller
Supplemental materials/resources:
●All About Teeth by Mari Schuh
●Brushing Teeth by Mari Schuh
●Loose Tooth by Mari Schuh
●Flossing Teeth by Mari Schuh
●Taking Care of My Teeth by Terri DeGezelle
●Brush, Floss, and Rinse by Amanda Doering Tourville
●How many Teeth? By Paul Showers
●I Know Why I Brush My Teeth by Kate Rowan
●What If You Had Animal Teeth by Sandra Markle
●Brushing Well by Helen Frost
●Your Teeth by Claire Llewellyn
●The Tooth Fairy Wars by Kate Coombs
●Wibble Wobble by Miriam Moss
●Little Rabbit’s Loose Tooth by Lucy Bate
●Doctor DeSoto by William Steig
●A variety of high-interest literary and informational books from the library will be available for students to look at independently.
Text Complexity Analysis:
Text Description / Recommended Complexity Band Level
The Tooth Book, a picture book by Edward Miller, is a lively introduction and guide to healthy teeth and gums. The author answers questions such as: How would it be to have no teeth? What are primary and permanent teeth? What is tooth decay and how do we prevent it? The text, both in pictures and words, is presented in fun, engaging, and memorable ways that draw the reader in. / What is your final recommendation based on quantitative, qualitative, and reader-task considerations? Why?
The qualitative measures of The Tooth Book place this text at the 4-5 Grade Band Level. However, because this book will be used as a read-aloud with appropriate teacher scaffolding, this text is appropriate for grades K-5.
Mark all that apply:
Grade Level Band: K-5 X 6-8 ☐ 9-12 ☐ PD ☐
Content Area: English/Language Arts (ELA) ☐ Foreign Language (FL) ☐ General (G) ☐ Health/Physical Education (HPE) X
History/Social Studies (HSS) ☐ Humanities (H) ☐ Math (M) ☐
Professional Development (PD) ☐ Professional/Technical Education (PTE) ☐
Science (S) ☐
Quantitative Measure
Quantitative Measure of the Text:
930L / Range:
N/A (K-1 text bands have an N/A) / Associated Grade Band Level:
Grade Band 4-5
Qualitative Measures
Text Structure (story structure or form of piece):
Very complex: Connections between the range of ideas presented is subtle and not necessarily presented in a sequential, predictable fashion. Young learners will need support making those connections. The text features and graphics enhance and are integral to the understanding of the text, although there are some graphics that might distract the reader from the main focus. The teacher will need to help students zero in on the most important information.
Language Clarity and Conventions (including vocabulary load):
Moderately complex: The conventionality is largely explicit and easy to understand. Sentence structure is primarily simple with some complex constructions. Most vocabulary is familiar and conversational. Although the pictures offer good support, many of the Tier 2 and 3 words will require supportive conversations between students and teacher.
Levels of Meaning/Purpose:
Moderately complex: The purpose is implied but easy to identify based on context or source. Since the author adds additional facts that widen the focus of the book, the teacher will want to continually check on student understanding of content and meaning.
Knowledge Demands (life, content, cultural/literary):
Very complex: Subject matter knowledge and intertextuality are made more complex by outside ideas the author adds. Though interesting, additional facts presented throughout the text will require additional background knowledge supported by the teacher.
Possible Major Instructional Areas of Focus (include 3-4 CCS Standards) for this Text:
RI.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI.1.2 Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.
RI.1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
L.1.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. / Below are factors to consider with respect to the reader and task:
Potential Challenges this Text Poses:
Though the text is fun and engaging with a variety of text features and additional facts, students will need to remain focused on the main details and topics.
Students will need support with some of the academic vocabulary.
Differentiation/Supports for Students:
This text will be used as a read-aloud that is repeatedly returned to throughout the unit.
There are some Tier 2 and Tier 3 words that will require some instruction prior to and during the read-aloud.
Think-pair-share will frequently be used to support all learners in comprehending the text.
Students will be asked to make personal connections and use background knowledge to help them understand the text more deeply.
Models, such as sets of teeth, and hands-on learning will be used to assist those who might struggle with comprehension.
Scaffolds and Extensions
UDL Components: / Support for students who are ELL, have disabilities or read well below grade level text band: / Extensions for advanced students:
Representation
●Clarify and support vocabulary
●Illustrate through multiple media.
●Activate or supply background knowledge
●Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships
●Maximize transfer and generalization
Action and Expression
●Vary the methods for response and navigation.
●Facilitate managing information and resources.
●Support planning and strategy development
●Enhance capacity for monitoring progress
Engagement
●Optimize individual choice and autonomy
●Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity
●Heighten salience of goals and objectives
●Foster collaboration and community
●Develop self-assessment and reflection / Representation
●Vocabulary will be supported with specific vocabulary lessons as well as with visuals, models, actions, and sound effects when possible.
●Students will view content through multiple sources: books, videos, pictures, presentations, models, etc.
●Anchor charts will be created and available.
●Think, pair, share will be used to support comprehension of various texts.
●The mentor text will be visited repeatedly.
●Certain students will be given supports for documenting their learning (drawing pictures, dictating to a scribe).
●Students will be repeatedly asked to think about and share their learning from day to day.
Action and Expression
●Students will receive feedback from a writing partner and teacher.
●Students will manage new information in small chunks and have opportunities to revisit and revise their thinking.
●Students will practice giving presentations to peers.
●Students will be given a checklists with picture supports.
Engagement
●Students will be offered choice with the culminating project.
●Students will apply their learning to their home life.
●Students will work in partnerships and groups.
●Students will assess themselves throughout the unit. / Representation
●Students will be provided with additional texts to read in guided reading groups.
●Both fiction and nonfiction read-aloud texts will be available for students to read independently.
Action and Expression
●Students will be given options of additional craft moves from mentor texts for their opinion pieces byway of conferring.
Engagement
●Students will be given opportunities to take content to a larger school audience.
Vocabulary
Targeted Academic Vocabulary (and kid-friendly definitions)
Healthy - not sick
Lifetime - forever / Targeted Content Area Vocabulary (and kid-friendly definitions)
permanent teeth - adult teeth
tooth decay - rot
Plaque - a sticky layer
Cavity - a hole in a tooth
*Post vocabulary on the wall as a reading, writing, and spelling reference throughout the unit (refer to resource often)
*Additional content vocabulary words from the primary mentor text are mentioned throughout the lesson unit plan but are not explicitly taught.

Instructional Sequence