Monday, December 1, 2008
Curriculum Project--Handout
Montclair State University
Department of Curriculum and Teaching
CURR 530: Principles of Curriculum Development
FINAL CURRICULUM PROJECT
Created by: Maria Debowska & Jill Friedman
Department of Curriculum and Teaching
CURR 530: Principles of Curriculum Development
FINAL CURRICULUM PROJECT
Created by: Maria Debowska & Jill Friedman
Our project / presentation is a combined effort and therefore will be found in part on Maria’s blog and in part on Jill’s blog.
- This handout – appears on both blogs
- The memo, which discusses the need for change – Maria’s blog
- The video, which illustrates the improvement in the unit based on the original and the revised lessons – Jill’s blog
- The new lesson, based on the UbD template – Maria’s blog
- The old lesson, which had plenty of room for improvement – Maria’s blog
Works Cited
"Edutopia: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on Motivating People to Learn.” 2005. 18 Nov. 2008 <>.
Friedman, Thomas L.. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. New York: Picador, 2007.
Hammer, Bradley. "Why The Blog Beats The Essay in Writing Class." Star Ledger 2 Sept. 2007.
McTighe, Jay, and Grant Wiggins. Understanding by Design (Expanded 2nd Edition) (ASCD). Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 2005.
Schmoker, Michael J.. Results Now: How We Can Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching And Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, 2006.
Friedman, Thomas L.. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. New York: Picador, 2007.
Hammer, Bradley. "Why The Blog Beats The Essay in Writing Class." Star Ledger 2 Sept. 2007.
McTighe, Jay, and Grant Wiggins. Understanding by Design (Expanded 2nd Edition) (ASCD). Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 2005.
Schmoker, Michael J.. Results Now: How We Can Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching And Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, 2006.
We hope you enjoy our presentation!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Results Soon
Although Schmoker holds a relatively pessimistic view regarding the majority of teachers’ performances in his book Results Now, it is hard to dispute some of his arguments. As an English supervisor, I would plan on asking the teachers in my department to read the book and discuss it afterward. Prior to reading the book, I would ask teachers to brainstorm the qualities of “good” teaching they have experienced and/or witnessed in our schools. Like Barry, I would then preface the book study with a warning that the book delves into what is missing from teaching today. Although most teachers can certainly handle Schmoker’s criticisms, I would not want to convey the message that I share all of his negative sentiments toward teachers today.
I would emphasize Schmoker’s concern that teachers are typically not monitored closely enough in regard to their instructional practices and adherence to standards. According to Schmoker, “What teachers know-what they have learned- isn’t developed or refined on the job on the basis of collaborative, empirical processes….some of the most incontrovertibly important practices aren’t monitored, or reinforced; they are allowed to recede into insignificance as poor or popular practices creep in to take their places,” (A). Since teachers are rarely asked to reflect upon their practices, other than during relatively infrequent and brief classroom observations, it would make sense to provide time in which they could share strategies, concerns, and ideas.
During book talks, I would ask teachers to identify a list of common practices that they and others would be better off abandoning. Next, I would ask teachers to identify a single practice that they could personally try to improve upon or discontinue in their classrooms. At a later date, I would ask them to reflect upon the changes made and share the results with the other teachers. Teachers would benefit from having discussions and brainstorming sessions like these in regard to their most effective and ineffective practices.
Another concern I share with Schmoker is that students are not doing enough actual reading and writing in school. He describes the “Crayola Curriculum” and how teachers rely too heavily on literature-based arts and crafts, as opposed to focusing on what is most important: reading, writing, and talking. It is rather alarming that Kati Haycock of the Education Trust and her research team discovered that “[c]oloring was the single most predominant activity in the schools they had observed—right up through middle school,” (p. 87).
When I first started teaching Language Arts, I was surprised that so many veteran teachers focused on artistic projects. In many cases, instead of seeing any writing on bulletin boards in their classrooms, there were projects that mostly contained illustrations—such as the book covers and mythology shields Schmoker mentions. Since it is all too tempting to get swept up into that type of mentality, teachers need administrators to remind them what is most important.
In an effort to help redirect teachers, I would provide ongoing reading and writing workshops to help them focus on the academic priorities. In my last district, a consultant came in for a series of writing workshops and on the first day he explained that the number one goal by the end of eighth grade was for students to be able to write a clear, logical five-paragraph essay. We looked at student writing samples from the state and took time to evaluate student work together. The consultant visited once per marking period, so there was a helpful sense of continuity. By the end I felt like I’d actually learned a lot about teaching and evaluating writing—neither of which I’d learned all that much about in my graduate teacher education program.
As a supervisor, I would offer a similar type of workshop series for my Language Arts/English teachers. As Schmoker suggests, “it’s not enough to ‘assign’ writing; we must teach it,” (95). Although it is easy to point fingers at these teachers for assigning too many “non-literary” activities after reading books, many clearly require assistance in rethinking how to “teach” reading and writing. It is the administrators’ responsibility to find ways in which they can receive such assistance.
According to Richard Vacca, “Adolescents entering the adult world in the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history,” (p. 51). Assuming this is true, it will be even more critical for educators to invest significant time and energy toward developing rigorous curriculum and to reflect upon their classroom practices on a regular basis. Teachers cannot “unlearn” many of the flawed patterns that have been refined over decades on their own; they must be able to rely upon administrators to help them discover new and improved perspectives and strategies.
I would emphasize Schmoker’s concern that teachers are typically not monitored closely enough in regard to their instructional practices and adherence to standards. According to Schmoker, “What teachers know-what they have learned- isn’t developed or refined on the job on the basis of collaborative, empirical processes….some of the most incontrovertibly important practices aren’t monitored, or reinforced; they are allowed to recede into insignificance as poor or popular practices creep in to take their places,” (A). Since teachers are rarely asked to reflect upon their practices, other than during relatively infrequent and brief classroom observations, it would make sense to provide time in which they could share strategies, concerns, and ideas.
During book talks, I would ask teachers to identify a list of common practices that they and others would be better off abandoning. Next, I would ask teachers to identify a single practice that they could personally try to improve upon or discontinue in their classrooms. At a later date, I would ask them to reflect upon the changes made and share the results with the other teachers. Teachers would benefit from having discussions and brainstorming sessions like these in regard to their most effective and ineffective practices.
Another concern I share with Schmoker is that students are not doing enough actual reading and writing in school. He describes the “Crayola Curriculum” and how teachers rely too heavily on literature-based arts and crafts, as opposed to focusing on what is most important: reading, writing, and talking. It is rather alarming that Kati Haycock of the Education Trust and her research team discovered that “[c]oloring was the single most predominant activity in the schools they had observed—right up through middle school,” (p. 87).
When I first started teaching Language Arts, I was surprised that so many veteran teachers focused on artistic projects. In many cases, instead of seeing any writing on bulletin boards in their classrooms, there were projects that mostly contained illustrations—such as the book covers and mythology shields Schmoker mentions. Since it is all too tempting to get swept up into that type of mentality, teachers need administrators to remind them what is most important.
In an effort to help redirect teachers, I would provide ongoing reading and writing workshops to help them focus on the academic priorities. In my last district, a consultant came in for a series of writing workshops and on the first day he explained that the number one goal by the end of eighth grade was for students to be able to write a clear, logical five-paragraph essay. We looked at student writing samples from the state and took time to evaluate student work together. The consultant visited once per marking period, so there was a helpful sense of continuity. By the end I felt like I’d actually learned a lot about teaching and evaluating writing—neither of which I’d learned all that much about in my graduate teacher education program.
As a supervisor, I would offer a similar type of workshop series for my Language Arts/English teachers. As Schmoker suggests, “it’s not enough to ‘assign’ writing; we must teach it,” (95). Although it is easy to point fingers at these teachers for assigning too many “non-literary” activities after reading books, many clearly require assistance in rethinking how to “teach” reading and writing. It is the administrators’ responsibility to find ways in which they can receive such assistance.
According to Richard Vacca, “Adolescents entering the adult world in the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history,” (p. 51). Assuming this is true, it will be even more critical for educators to invest significant time and energy toward developing rigorous curriculum and to reflect upon their classroom practices on a regular basis. Teachers cannot “unlearn” many of the flawed patterns that have been refined over decades on their own; they must be able to rely upon administrators to help them discover new and improved perspectives and strategies.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Reflection on Understanding By Design Lesson Plan
Having no experience with this type of planning in the past, I thought it was a bit of a challenge coming up with the Understandings and Essential Questions first. I fully admit that I have been guilty of focusing most of my lesson plans around activities and projects that happened to correspond with the available texts, as opposed to giving careful enough consideration of the end results. There were certainly times when I stopped to ask myself what the long-term value of specific lessons were, so following the backward design would be helpful in the future because it poses the "So What?" question on a regular basis.
Although I'm still feeling a bit uncertain about whether or not I included enough information in the Learning Plan section, as well as the general cohesion of this particular unit, the concept of backward design makes a lot more sense than what I was doing before. I think it will take some practice to get the hang of this type of planning, but it seems well worth the time and effort.
Although I'm still feeling a bit uncertain about whether or not I included enough information in the Learning Plan section, as well as the general cohesion of this particular unit, the concept of backward design makes a lot more sense than what I was doing before. I think it will take some practice to get the hang of this type of planning, but it seems well worth the time and effort.
Understanding By Design Lesson
Title of Lesson: The Diary of Anne Frank
Grade: Level 8
Curriculum Area: Language Arts
Time Frame: Three weeks
Developed By: Jill Friedman
Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)
Language Arts Literacy Standards
(3.1 D.1) Read grade-level text orally with high accuracy and appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression.
(3.1 D.2) Read increasingly difficult texts silently with comprehension and fluency.
(3.1. E.1) Monitor reading for understanding by automatically setting a purpose for reading, making and adjusting predictions, asking essential questions, and relating new learning to background experiences.
(3.1.G.1) Differentiate between fact/opinion and bias and propaganda in newspapers, periodicals, and electronic texts.
(3.1. G.2) Compare and analyze several authors’ perspectives of a character, personality, topic, setting, or event.
(3.1. G.4) Locate and analyze the elements of setting, characterization, and plot to construct understanding of how characters influence the progression and resolution of the plot.
(3.1. G.5) Read critically by identifying, analyzing, and applying knowledge of the purpose, structure, and elements of nonfiction and providing support from the text as evidence of understanding.
(3.1. G.13) Interpret text ideas through journal writing, discussion, and enactment.
(3.1. H.2) Analyze a work of literature, showing how it reflects the heritage, traditions, attitudes, and beliefs of its authors.
(3.2. A.2) Write multi-paragraph compositions that have clear topic development, logical organization, effective use of detail, and variety in sentence structure.
(3.2. A.3) Generate and narrow topics by considering purpose, audience, and form with a variety of strategies (e.g., graphic organizers, brainstorming, technology-assisted processes).
(3.2. A.4) Revise and edit drafts by rereading for content and organization, usage, sentence construction, mechanics, and word choice.
(3.2 A.5) Utilize the New Jersey Registered Holistic scoring rubric to improve and evaluate their writing and the writing of peers.
(3.2 A.6) Compose, revise, edit, and publish writing using appropriate word processing software.
(3.2 A.7) Reflect on own writing, noting strengths and setting goals for improvement.
(3.2 C.1) Use Standard English conventions in all writing, such as sentence structure, grammar and usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling.
(3.2 D.1) Gather, select, and organize the most effective information appropriate to a topic, task, and audience.
(3.2 D.3) Write responses to literature and develop insights into interpretations by connecting to personal experiences and referring to textual information.
(3.2 D.9) Demonstrate writing with clarity and supportive evidence when answering open-ended and essay questions across the curriculum.
(3.2 D.15) Review scoring criteria of relevant rubrics.
(3.3 A.6) Respond orally to literature.
(3.3 A.7) Participate in class discussion appropriately.
(3.4 A.1) Demonstrate active listening behaviors in a variety of situations (e.g., one-on-one or small group).
(3.4 A.2) Demonstrate active listening by analyzing information, ideas, and opinions to determine relevancy.
(3.4 A.4) Recognize persuasive techniques and credibility in oral communication.
(3.4 A.5) Listen to determine a speaker's purpose, attitude, and perspective.
(3.5 B.5) Compare and contrast media sources, such as film and book versions of a story.
Essential Question(s)
Overarching Questions:
• What is leadership?
• What is tolerance?
• What is heroism?
Topical Questions:
• What are the qualities of a democratic versus tyrannical leader?
• Why is tolerance important for people among different backgrounds, cultures, races, and religions?
• How can people display heroism on a personal level and in regard to others?
Understandings
Overarching Understandings
• Leaders must earn their followers’ trust and loyalty.
• Tolerance of others helps build strong foundations with and maintain peace among various groups of people.
• Everyone has the ability to exercise acts of heroism.
Related Misconceptions
• All leaders deserve respect and should be followed.
• Stereotypes have more validity if close friends or family believe in them.
• Acts of heroism are only worthwhile if they are conducted on a large scale.
Knowledge
Students will know…
• Key historical background about the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler.
• How to analyze political propaganda.
• Various ways in which people assisted those persecuted during the Holocaust.
• How different victims of the Holocaust reacted to their crisis.
Skills
Students will be able to…
• Define dictatorship, propaganda, prejudice, anti-Semitism, genocide, and tolerance.
• Identify the qualities of democratic versus tyrannical leaders.
• Evaluate the roles of survivors and rescuers during the Holocaust.
• Analyze Anne Frank’s perspective during the Holocaust through her writing.
• Create a "voice" for Miep through journal entries.
Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)
Performance Task Description
Goal: Consider the role that Miep Gies played for Anne Frank and her family.
Role: Miep Gies
Audience: Peers
Situation: Consider Miep’s perspective prior to, during, and after hiding Anne Frank and her family.
Product/Performance:
• Create a series of six journal entries in which Miep Gies provides her thoughts and insights regarding the impact of the Holocaust on her life in Holland, as well as her decision to hide the Frank family and the others from the Nazis. (The first journal entry should be written prior to her involvement with Franks, the second through fifth journal entries should be written during the Franks’ hiding, and the sixth journal entry should be written after the Franks were found and taken to concentration camps.)
• Journal entries need to be based on historical facts, as well as information gleaned from Anne’s perspective in The Diary of Anne Frank.
• Students will then be randomly assigned a name of one of the people hiding in the Annex. Each student will read a peer’s journal entries from Miep from their assigned perspective, and write a brief reaction paper stating his/her opinions of Miep’s ideas and interpretations.
Standards
(3.2. A.3) Generate and narrow topics by considering purpose, audience, and form with a variety of strategies (e.g., graphic organizers, brainstorming, technology-assisted processes).
(3.2. A.4) Revise and edit drafts by rereading for content and organization, usage, sentence construction, mechanics, and word choice.
(3.2 A.5) Utilize the New Jersey Registered Holistic scoring rubric to improve and evaluate their writing and the writing of peers.
(3.2 A.6) Compose, revise, edit, and publish writing using appropriate word processing software.
(3.2 A.7) Reflect on own writing, noting strengths and setting goals for improvement.
(3.2 C.1) Use Standard English conventions in all writing, such as sentence structure, grammar and usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling.
(3.2 C.2) Use a variety of sentence types correctly, including combinations of independent and dependent clauses, prepositional and adverbial phrases, and varied sentence openings to develop a lively and effective personal style.
(3.2 D.1) Gather, select, and organize the most effective information appropriate to a topic, task, and audience.
Other Evidence
• Timeline of major events during the Holocaust using on-line research and PowerPoint
• Quizzes & tests based on readings and class notes
• Large & small group discussions
• Diary entries from perspectives of those hiding in the secret annex (excluding Anne)
• Double-entry journals: reflections based on quotes from Anne Frank’s diary
• Essay comparing and contrasting Anne Frank’s diary and excerpts from the film version
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?
• Prior to the unit, students studied certain aspects of the Holocaust in previous grades.
• During the unit, daily goals will be posted on the board.
• After the unit, students will go on to study primary sources written during other modern day genocides.
• There will be an interdisciplinary culminating project done in conjunction with the students’ Social Studies class.
• Future units will cover the themes of tolerance and heroism.
How will you hook students at the beginning of the unit?
• Watch and discuss excerpts from ABC video titled Prejudice: Answering Children’s Questions.
• Students will write a journal entry about a time in which they either experienced, witnessed, or heard of an act of prejudice.
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?
• Show students examples of written and televised Nazi propaganda.
• Read and analyze children’s poems from the Holocaust from I Never Saw Another Butterfly.
• Read primary accounts and watch video excerpts of Holocaust survivors telling their tales.
• Watch the film The Diary of Anne Frank.
How will you cause students to reflect and rethink? How will you guide them in rehearsing, revising, and refining their work?
• Students will use self-assessment and peer-assessment rubrics during class discussions.
• The writing process will be implemented and revisions will be required.
• NJ Holistic Scoring Rubric will be used for the compare/contrast essay.
• Peer-evaluation will be used for the performance assessment prior to the “publication” of Miep’s journals.
How will you help students to exhibit and self-evaluate their growing skills, knowledge, and understanding throughout the unit?
• Journal assignments will include personal reflections in regard to the reading.
• Students will have opportunities to reflect upon their written assignments using self-assessment rubrics.
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?
• Students will choose which aspects of the Holocaust they would like to focus on in Miep’s journal entries.
How will you organize and sequence the learning activities to optimize the engagement and achievement of ALL students?
• Historical background will be provided first, and students will create their time line as a reference for the rest of the unit.
• Then, students will read The Diary of Anne Frank and work on supplemental written assignments.
• Next, students will compare/contrast the diary with film excerpts.
• Lastly, students will work on Miep’s journal entries, and use peer critiques to help assure that their writing is believable, both historically and based on what we know about the people involved.
From: Wiggins, Grant and J. Mc Tighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (ppk)
Title of Lesson: The Diary of Anne Frank
Grade: Level 8
Curriculum Area: Language Arts
Time Frame: Three weeks
Developed By: Jill Friedman
Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)
Language Arts Literacy Standards
(3.1 D.1) Read grade-level text orally with high accuracy and appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression.
(3.1 D.2) Read increasingly difficult texts silently with comprehension and fluency.
(3.1. E.1) Monitor reading for understanding by automatically setting a purpose for reading, making and adjusting predictions, asking essential questions, and relating new learning to background experiences.
(3.1.G.1) Differentiate between fact/opinion and bias and propaganda in newspapers, periodicals, and electronic texts.
(3.1. G.2) Compare and analyze several authors’ perspectives of a character, personality, topic, setting, or event.
(3.1. G.4) Locate and analyze the elements of setting, characterization, and plot to construct understanding of how characters influence the progression and resolution of the plot.
(3.1. G.5) Read critically by identifying, analyzing, and applying knowledge of the purpose, structure, and elements of nonfiction and providing support from the text as evidence of understanding.
(3.1. G.13) Interpret text ideas through journal writing, discussion, and enactment.
(3.1. H.2) Analyze a work of literature, showing how it reflects the heritage, traditions, attitudes, and beliefs of its authors.
(3.2. A.2) Write multi-paragraph compositions that have clear topic development, logical organization, effective use of detail, and variety in sentence structure.
(3.2. A.3) Generate and narrow topics by considering purpose, audience, and form with a variety of strategies (e.g., graphic organizers, brainstorming, technology-assisted processes).
(3.2. A.4) Revise and edit drafts by rereading for content and organization, usage, sentence construction, mechanics, and word choice.
(3.2 A.5) Utilize the New Jersey Registered Holistic scoring rubric to improve and evaluate their writing and the writing of peers.
(3.2 A.6) Compose, revise, edit, and publish writing using appropriate word processing software.
(3.2 A.7) Reflect on own writing, noting strengths and setting goals for improvement.
(3.2 C.1) Use Standard English conventions in all writing, such as sentence structure, grammar and usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling.
(3.2 D.1) Gather, select, and organize the most effective information appropriate to a topic, task, and audience.
(3.2 D.3) Write responses to literature and develop insights into interpretations by connecting to personal experiences and referring to textual information.
(3.2 D.9) Demonstrate writing with clarity and supportive evidence when answering open-ended and essay questions across the curriculum.
(3.2 D.15) Review scoring criteria of relevant rubrics.
(3.3 A.6) Respond orally to literature.
(3.3 A.7) Participate in class discussion appropriately.
(3.4 A.1) Demonstrate active listening behaviors in a variety of situations (e.g., one-on-one or small group).
(3.4 A.2) Demonstrate active listening by analyzing information, ideas, and opinions to determine relevancy.
(3.4 A.4) Recognize persuasive techniques and credibility in oral communication.
(3.4 A.5) Listen to determine a speaker's purpose, attitude, and perspective.
(3.5 B.5) Compare and contrast media sources, such as film and book versions of a story.
Essential Question(s)
Overarching Questions:
• What is leadership?
• What is tolerance?
• What is heroism?
Topical Questions:
• What are the qualities of a democratic versus tyrannical leader?
• Why is tolerance important for people among different backgrounds, cultures, races, and religions?
• How can people display heroism on a personal level and in regard to others?
Understandings
Overarching Understandings
• Leaders must earn their followers’ trust and loyalty.
• Tolerance of others helps build strong foundations with and maintain peace among various groups of people.
• Everyone has the ability to exercise acts of heroism.
Related Misconceptions
• All leaders deserve respect and should be followed.
• Stereotypes have more validity if close friends or family believe in them.
• Acts of heroism are only worthwhile if they are conducted on a large scale.
Knowledge
Students will know…
• Key historical background about the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler.
• How to analyze political propaganda.
• Various ways in which people assisted those persecuted during the Holocaust.
• How different victims of the Holocaust reacted to their crisis.
Skills
Students will be able to…
• Define dictatorship, propaganda, prejudice, anti-Semitism, genocide, and tolerance.
• Identify the qualities of democratic versus tyrannical leaders.
• Evaluate the roles of survivors and rescuers during the Holocaust.
• Analyze Anne Frank’s perspective during the Holocaust through her writing.
• Create a "voice" for Miep through journal entries.
Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)
Performance Task Description
Goal: Consider the role that Miep Gies played for Anne Frank and her family.
Role: Miep Gies
Audience: Peers
Situation: Consider Miep’s perspective prior to, during, and after hiding Anne Frank and her family.
Product/Performance:
• Create a series of six journal entries in which Miep Gies provides her thoughts and insights regarding the impact of the Holocaust on her life in Holland, as well as her decision to hide the Frank family and the others from the Nazis. (The first journal entry should be written prior to her involvement with Franks, the second through fifth journal entries should be written during the Franks’ hiding, and the sixth journal entry should be written after the Franks were found and taken to concentration camps.)
• Journal entries need to be based on historical facts, as well as information gleaned from Anne’s perspective in The Diary of Anne Frank.
• Students will then be randomly assigned a name of one of the people hiding in the Annex. Each student will read a peer’s journal entries from Miep from their assigned perspective, and write a brief reaction paper stating his/her opinions of Miep’s ideas and interpretations.
Standards
(3.2. A.3) Generate and narrow topics by considering purpose, audience, and form with a variety of strategies (e.g., graphic organizers, brainstorming, technology-assisted processes).
(3.2. A.4) Revise and edit drafts by rereading for content and organization, usage, sentence construction, mechanics, and word choice.
(3.2 A.5) Utilize the New Jersey Registered Holistic scoring rubric to improve and evaluate their writing and the writing of peers.
(3.2 A.6) Compose, revise, edit, and publish writing using appropriate word processing software.
(3.2 A.7) Reflect on own writing, noting strengths and setting goals for improvement.
(3.2 C.1) Use Standard English conventions in all writing, such as sentence structure, grammar and usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling.
(3.2 C.2) Use a variety of sentence types correctly, including combinations of independent and dependent clauses, prepositional and adverbial phrases, and varied sentence openings to develop a lively and effective personal style.
(3.2 D.1) Gather, select, and organize the most effective information appropriate to a topic, task, and audience.
Other Evidence
• Timeline of major events during the Holocaust using on-line research and PowerPoint
• Quizzes & tests based on readings and class notes
• Large & small group discussions
• Diary entries from perspectives of those hiding in the secret annex (excluding Anne)
• Double-entry journals: reflections based on quotes from Anne Frank’s diary
• Essay comparing and contrasting Anne Frank’s diary and excerpts from the film version
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?
• Prior to the unit, students studied certain aspects of the Holocaust in previous grades.
• During the unit, daily goals will be posted on the board.
• After the unit, students will go on to study primary sources written during other modern day genocides.
• There will be an interdisciplinary culminating project done in conjunction with the students’ Social Studies class.
• Future units will cover the themes of tolerance and heroism.
How will you hook students at the beginning of the unit?
• Watch and discuss excerpts from ABC video titled Prejudice: Answering Children’s Questions.
• Students will write a journal entry about a time in which they either experienced, witnessed, or heard of an act of prejudice.
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?
• Show students examples of written and televised Nazi propaganda.
• Read and analyze children’s poems from the Holocaust from I Never Saw Another Butterfly.
• Read primary accounts and watch video excerpts of Holocaust survivors telling their tales.
• Watch the film The Diary of Anne Frank.
How will you cause students to reflect and rethink? How will you guide them in rehearsing, revising, and refining their work?
• Students will use self-assessment and peer-assessment rubrics during class discussions.
• The writing process will be implemented and revisions will be required.
• NJ Holistic Scoring Rubric will be used for the compare/contrast essay.
• Peer-evaluation will be used for the performance assessment prior to the “publication” of Miep’s journals.
How will you help students to exhibit and self-evaluate their growing skills, knowledge, and understanding throughout the unit?
• Journal assignments will include personal reflections in regard to the reading.
• Students will have opportunities to reflect upon their written assignments using self-assessment rubrics.
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?
• Students will choose which aspects of the Holocaust they would like to focus on in Miep’s journal entries.
How will you organize and sequence the learning activities to optimize the engagement and achievement of ALL students?
• Historical background will be provided first, and students will create their time line as a reference for the rest of the unit.
• Then, students will read The Diary of Anne Frank and work on supplemental written assignments.
• Next, students will compare/contrast the diary with film excerpts.
• Lastly, students will work on Miep’s journal entries, and use peer critiques to help assure that their writing is believable, both historically and based on what we know about the people involved.
From: Wiggins, Grant and J. Mc Tighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (ppk)
Friday, October 10, 2008
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