Planning for Understanding – Backward Design
Step 1: What is it we want students to understand, know, and be able to do?
Unit Title: National History Day Appx. timeframe for unit: 6 weeks/work done both at school and at home
The student will come to understand that…
History is not static and contains multiple perspectives
An interest based, hands-on, student-centered learning opportunity teaches real world skills and helps in knowledge acquisition.
Determining the validity and accuracy of primary sources and secondary sources from a wide variety of resources helps knowledge acquisition.
Driving Question for the Unit: This will focus on the theme of the contest each year.
What role has debate and diplomacy (the successes, failures, and consequences) played in our history?
(The understandings serve as justification for the unit for our students. We know why we’re teaching it, but do they know? This should answer the question, “why is it so important that we study this stuff?)
Significant content (the know) / Learning Targets (the be able to do)(Think “key vocabulary” What terms would you hope students could discuss intelligently as a result of this unit?)
Diplomacy
Debate
Consequences
Academic Vocabulary:
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Annotated Bibliography / Significant learning target(s):
(source – from course-level outcomes:
Becoming experts on their research topic: presenting their research to teachers, students, and judges
Understand historical patterns, periods of time, and the relationships among these elements.
Understand cause and effect relationships and other historical thinking skills in order to interpret events and issues.
· Interpret, analyze, and evaluate historical issues.
· Determine the validity and accuracy of primary sources and secondary sources and evaluates them for bias.
· Analyze cause and effect to explain why events occurred and the impact on future events.
Related skills
Use critical thinking skills to conduct research, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate technological tools and resources.
· Identify real-world issues and analyze technological resources for developing and refining questions for investigation.
· Effectively use multiple technological resources to develop a systematic plan for conducting research. Develop possible solutions or a complete product to demonstrate knowledge and skills.
· Use technology to gather, analyze, and assess data and its effectiveness to design, develop and test possible solutions that assist students in making decisions.
· Analyze and evaluate information from a variety of perspectives and resources in order to assess multiple solutions and investigate them from differing viewpoints.
Read for a variety of purposes and across content areas.
Use knowledge of purpose, audience, format, and medium in developing written communication.
Produce a coherent message.
Effective speakers use clear language to organize and connect their thoughts and ideas.
· Choose language and vocabulary appropriate to the message and the audience.
· Pronounce words correctly.
· Adjust volume to purpose and audience.
· Adjust rate to convey meaning.
· Add stress (emphasis) and inflection to enhance meaning.
· Shape information to achieve a particular purpose and to appeal to the interests and background knowledge of audience members.
· Develop several main points relating to a single thesis.
· Use notes or other memory aids to structure the presentation.
Step 2: What evidence will we accept that students actually do understand, know and are able to do what we established as goals for the unit?
Authentic measures like performances, reflections, presentations, demonstrations and compositions tend to provide evidence of the types of skills that reveal understanding (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, creation, etc.) These are frequently culminating tasks, but do not have to be.
Traditional measures like worksheets, objective tests, repetitive exercises and publisher-created materials, at best, get you only part-way there
Culminating Task:National History Day Project / Evidence of (what new knowledge or skills)
Use critical thinking skills to conduct research, solve problems, and make informed decision
Use knowledge of purpose, audience, format, and medium in developing written communication.
Produce a coherent message.
Artifact 1:
Topic selection and thesis statement / Evidence of:
Artifact 2:
Note sharing and information sharing session with the teacher / Evidence of:
Produce a coherent message.
Artifact 3:
Process Paper / Evidence of:
Use knowledge of purpose, audience, format, and medium in developing written communication.
Artifact 4:
Annotated Bibliography / Evidence of:
Artifact 5:
Presentation to class / Evidence of:
Produce a coherent message.
Step 3: What steps will we take with our students to prepare them for demonstrating new understandings, knowledge and skills by the end of the unit?
Step#Duration / Student does… / Teacher does… / Resources needed
1
Day 1
45 minutes / Picks a topic based on interest / Introduce the project
Guides students and answers questions as needed / Laptop computers and a variety of history books
2
Day 2
45 minutes / Narrows down the topic and connects it to the overall theme. Focuses on a specific issue. / Shows student examples of the chart:
Theme
Interest
Topic
Issue / NHD.org website and Infocus projector
3
Day 3
45 minutes / Listens and takes notes on the review of sources and how to use iowaaeaonline.org
Students can use the rest of class to work on research / Presents a review of primary sources and secondary sources.
Presents a review on how to use www.iowaaeaonline.org / www.iowaaeaonline.org and the infocus projector
4
Day 4
45 minutes / Listens and takes notes as needed
on MLA citation and annotated bibliography
Students can use the rest of class to work on research / Presents a review of MLA formatting using the resources on www.iowaaeaonline.org
Introduce an annotated bibliography using www.nhd.org / www.iowaaeaonline.org
www.nhd.org
Infocus projector
5
Day 5 to 15
This work can be done in class on set days but the bulk of the work will be done as HW / Begins research, takes notes, compiles information that pertain to the topic and help focus on the issue / Guides students and answers questions as needed / Laptop computers and text sources from AEA based on student topics
6
Day 16 / Decide on project format: individual or group?
Documentaries, exhibits, paper, performances, or website?
Decisions based on area of talent, skill and interest / Shows students samples of each type of project format / Sample projects from past years
www.iowaaeaonline.org
infocus projector
7
Day 17-27 / Work on the final project / Guide students and help as needed / Materials for students in need, after school work days, laptops as needed for students to complete the work
8
Day 28 / Write a process paper / Explains the 4 parts of the paper
Show students process paper samples / Process papers samples both from previous classes and on www.iowaaeaonline.org
9
Day 29-31 / Share project in class / Set up the classroom for sharing sessions and give students an overview of the evaluation sheets for the projects / Evaluation sheets and feedback forms
9
Day 32-33 / Share projects at the Meredith Middle School History Day nights / Set up judges for the event, work with grade level teams to set up exhibit spaces and sharing rooms