preface for omam

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EDIS 5872 Unit Planning Unit Preface Template

UNIT PREFACE & BACKWARDS DESIGN

PLANNING GUIDE


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UNIT PREFACE

SCHOOL PROFILE

Oak High School is located in a mid-size suburban community just outside

Charlottesville, Virginia. It is a public high school serving grades 9-12. The

schools features include science labs, two computer labs, a media center, a full

auditorium, rooms for the band and choir, a ceramics studio, a cafeteria, and twogymnasiums.

Oak High School offers Advanced Placement and dual enrollment classes through

a nearby community college. Adult Education and LED programs are offered in

the evening.

Sports offered include golf, swimming, indoor and outdoor track and field, soccer,

basketball, baseball, volleyball, cross-country, field hockey, wrestling, tennis,

lacrosse, and softball.

Beyond athletics, Oak hosts chapters from a full variety of extracurricular clubs

and groups for its students to participate in, and it annually enjoys high levels of

participation, especially from upperclassmen. Examples include: National Honor

Society, Math Honor Society, Songwriting Club, Quidditch Club, Spanish National

Honor Society, and the National Beta Club.

With a recent addition to the school in 2009 came the addition of a new proram for

students interested in engineering-related careers. The program, called, the Math

Engineering and Science Academy (MESA), invited approximately 50 risingfreshman and 25 rising juniors.

Demographics

Number of Students: 1766

Number Eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch: 296 -- 16.76%

Percent of Limited English Proficient: 126 -- 7.13%

Percent of Special Education: 246 -- 13.9%

Racial/Ethnic Percentages:

- White 1259 -- 71.29%- Black 288 -- 16.3%

- Hispanic 74 -- 4.19%

- Asian/Pacific Island 127 -- 7.19%- Other 16 -- 0.9%


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CLASS PROFILE (Be sure to indicate grade & ability level.)

This unit is designed for a 10 Honors English class comprised of twenty-four

students. Of the twenty-four students, two are African American, two are Asian,

and the rest are Caucasian. At least four of the students are involved with the

MESA program. The students are heavily involved with extracurricular activities

such as track, SCA, and key club.

In general, the students are well behaved and contribute in class. There are

occasional instances when students do not complete reading or miss assignments,

but they normally respond well to correction/confrontation and fix their mistakes

promptly. The students are respectful to both the teacher and each other.

REPRESENTATIVE STUDENT PROFILES (4 minimum; they should reflect therange of the student population in the class and the different challenges they present to effective

instruction.)

Julie is an African American girl who is the most well read out of the entire class.

She is extremely skilled in the area of reading comprehension and vocabulary. Her

hobby is reading books. While she demonstrates knowledge of the content area,

Julie sometimes has difficulty with turning papers and writing assignments in on

time. On one occasion, Julie was 20 minutes late to class because she was in the

library finishing an assignment. I have a strict policy for late work, and we have

had several discussions about the consequences. I have also had a phone

conversation with her mother, which went wellshe was concerned about Julies

missing assignments, but assured me that she would be addressing this issue.

Recently, Julie has shown improvement in this area. She has turned in everyassignment on time for the past several weeks.

Harry is a very shy Caucasian male student who is always very stressed. There

have been several instances where he felt so overwhelmed with school in general

that he has come close to tears. Usually after every class, I try to have a small

conversation with him about the upcoming assignments/life in general. This time

gives him an opportunity to share about how stressed and worried he is about

school. Harry recently has been going to see a counselor for his anxiety, arranged

by his parents, who both seem to be very supportive of Harrys well-being.

Lacy is a model student. She is Caucasian, and based on a conversation with her

English teacher from last year, I found out that Lacy is at the top of her class,

getting a nearly perfect grade in 9th

grade honors English. Whenever she has to

miss class because of an extracurricular event, she always turns in her assignments

ahead of time and asks in advance if theres anything due for the next class. While

there are no particular challenges with teaching Lacy, I want to make sure that


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Lacy is engaged in and excited for the instruction and material, rather than bored

and unchallenged.

Phillip is a Caucasian male student who was placed in the honors class, not

because he demonstrated a capacity to thrive in this setting, but because he was

being bullied in the Standard English class. Consequently, he has difficulty with

the writing assignments, unable to connect ideas or write complete paragraphs. In

order to address this issue, I have encouraged Phillip to come during lunch forindividual writing conferences with me. While these meetings have helped him

improve his writing, he does not seem to absorb the curriculum and instruction of

our class as well as the others. His peers do not like to work with him in groups

and his seatmates have gently addressed that he distracts them with his movements

and comments during class. I have tried contacting his parents, but they do not

seem concerned with this situation. I continue to meet with him, but engaging him

during class is always a challenge. While he does eagerly contribute to class

discussion, his comments are oftentimes tangential and/or very long.

UNITS BIG IDEA & ITS RELEVANCE TO STUDENTS (especially to thoseprofiled above):

Because of the diverse personalities present in this class, this unit is focused on the

theme of friendship. By reading Of Mice and Men, we as a class will be able to

discuss the complexities and implications of a deep friendship, the one between

Lennie and George. We will also discuss the motives behind seeking friendship,

particularly the feeling of loneliness. Through this unit, I hope to engage thestudents in discussing the dreams that bring people together despite differences.

CREATIVITY IN LEARNING & ITS ROLE IN THIS UNIT INACTIVATING STUDENTS IMAGINATION(Include:How do you intend to integrate

some aspect of the arts and/or drawn on students creative resources in ways that activate studentsimagination?)

I want my students to interact with the text with creativity in the following ways:

Creating titles for the different chapters (since Steinbeck does not include them), andmaking a table of contents poster for the book as a group

Making Wordle posters for the different characters in the book as a groupthis is anabstract way in which to describe the characters and capture their respective identities.

UNITS TECHNOLOGY TOOLS/RESOURCES & RATIONALE FOR USE:


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Powerpoint: The students will use this program to create presentations on different

background topics that provide context to Of Mice and Men (Great Depression,

banned books, the 1930s, etc.)

Microsoft Word: The students will use this program to create brochures to

accompany the Powerpoint presentations

Online Journals: The students will use online journals as resources for theirpresentations

UNITS WORKING TITLE: The complexities of loyal friendships


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OVERARCHING (UNIT) UNIVERSAL CONCEPT

These are the overarching big ideas targeted for deeper understanding

ENDURING UNIVERSAL UNDERSTANDINGS(Generalizations about the overarching concept/objective)

Four is a reasonable number for a 2/3-week unit, though you may have fewer or more.

1. Friendships can be formed despite differences

2. Common dreams can bring people together

3. The loyalty of friendship can be complex

4. Loneliness is a universal feeling

CRITICAL CONCEPTS (The conceptual vocabulary necessary for arriving at the enduring understandings)

Identify the number of concepts you feel you can reasonably teach in the length of your unit.

1. Friendship 2. Loneliness 3. Dreams 4. Difficult choices

5. Loyalty 6. Mental state 7. American Dream 8. Companionship

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS (Overarching questions that drive teaching and learning within a course/unit;

these represent the questions for which you want students to formulate answers over the course of the unit.)

The number of questions is negotiable; keep in mind the length of your unit!

1. What is the significance of death in this work?

2. How is the theme of loneliness explored in OMAM?

3. What are different kinds of companionship that exist in society? What are the features of these

relationships?

4. Why is it hard to achieve the American Dream in this context?

5. What is the ultimate sign of friendship?

1. Exploring the bond of friendship in the midst of loneliness and fallen dreams

(The BIG Idea at the heart ofyour unit}

What is the targeted essential skill (your secondary focus)?

2. Analyzing how characters build relationships


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6. Are dreams positive or negative influences in our life?

TOOLS/RESOURCES

Enter your list of possible tools and resources from which you will eventually select those that

best support students deepenedexploration of the critical concepts that lead to more enduring

understandings (see respective parts of the backwards design graphic).

Relevant print texts: Primary:

Of Mice and Men

o Secondary (supporting, excerpts, etc.):Value of Labor article by Jim Goodman

Migrant Farm Worker article by Juan Vicente Palerm

Dreams by Langston Hughes

To a Mouse by Robert Burns

Relevant media (audio/video/film clips, ads, etc.)Of Mice and Men (the movie)

Technology (based on school site evaluation of resources)Computer lab

Projector

TV

Elmo

Supporting handouts (informational, graphic organizers, etc.) (see links under Sample Unit)Phrases and Vocabulary from OMAMhandout

Characterization graphic organizer

Rubric and directions for group research projects

Mini essay prompts


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CRITICAL STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These reflect the big (i.e., general) student learnings (and what you will eventually assess):

cognitive (to know) affective (to feel/value) performative (to do)

Select up to 3 cognitive, 3 affective, and 4 performative critical learning objectives, i.e., what I want my

students to learn. This is the most you would want to tackle in the average unit (e.g., 3-weeks).

COGNITIVE (to know/comprehend/interpret/apply/analyze/synthesize/evaluate)

1. Students will know the components of an essay.

2. Students will know how OMAM relates to themes of loneliness, friendship, and dreams

3. Students will analyze the characters in OMAM

AFFECTIVE (to feel/value)

4. Students will value the complexities of friendship

5. Students will value how dreams can affect peoples real lives

6. Students will feel connected to the text through close analysis

PERFORMATIVE (to do)

7. Students will write mini essays to explore the different themes in OMAM

8. Students will work in groups to explore the background of OMAM

9. Students will create presentation tools on the computer

10. Students will take a final exam on OMAM

VIRGINIA SOLS:Select related SOLs (at your units grade level) that fit into your learning framework.Give them the numbers that they carry in the State Department SOL document.

SOL# SOL Objective

10.1 The student will participate in, collaborate in, and report on small-group learningactivities.

a)Assume responsibility for specific group tasks.b)Collaborate in the preparation or summary of the group activity.c)Include all group members in oral presentation.

10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary texts of different cultures and

eras.

a) Identify main and supporting ideas.


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b) Make predictions, draw inferences, and connect prior knowledge to support

reading comprehension.

e) Identify universal themes prevalent in the literature of different cultures.

10.5 The student will read, interpret, analyze, and evaluate nonfiction texts.

b) Recognize an authors intended audience and purpose for writing.f) Draw conclusions and make inferences on explicit and implied information using

textual support as evidence.

10.8 The student will collect, evaluate, organize, and present information to create a

research product.

a)Use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, synthesize, andcommunicate information.b)Develop the central idea or focus.


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INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIESBrainstorm a list of possible activities (both process and product) that would involve students in the kind of

learnings identified by the course/unit general objectives; actively consult methods texts for activities. Identify

for each the critical learning objective that the activity primarily serves.

ACTIVITIES (Processes & Products)

Processes

Worksheet on characterization (Objective 1)

Group skits (Objective 2)

Group Discussion (Objective 3)

Reading poems, works of non-fiction that relate to

OMAM (Objectives 5 and 6)

Products

Mini essays (Objective 7)

Reflections (Objectives 4 and 5)Group Presentations (Objectives 8 and 9)

Silent Graffiti (Objectives 2, 3, 5)

Group Wordles (Objectives 2, 3, 5)

Final Exam (Objective 10)

RELATED CRITICAL OBJECTIVE/SOL[Identify one that it servesby its number (above)]


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ASSESSMENTSHow will you assess students learning? Brainstorm possible assessment tools and approaches.

Each assessment is defined by rubrics, ideally some of which are co-created; the rubrics developed

form the basis of instructional focus so that students are assessed for what they have been taught.

PROCESS ASSESSMENTS:

FormativeGroup DiscussionCharacterization Sheets

Class Discussion

Reflections

SummativeSilent Graffiti PostersWordle Posters

Table of Content Posters

PRODUCT ASSESSMENTS

FormativeResearch in the library media labMini essay peer feedback

Group work for the presentations

SummativeFinal Exam

Group Powerpoint Slides

Group BrochuresMini Essay

preface for omam

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