UNIT PLANUnit Topic:Reviewing various articles Grade: 5 Unit Theme: In the News

Unit Goals: A general understanding of different writing formats, structures, critical thinking, and perspectives.

Lesson Title Specific Outcomes Methods/Activities/Procedures Resources Assessment StrategiesLesson 1: Navigating the Newspaper

1. Students will be expected to speak and listen to explore, extend, clarify, and reflection their thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences.• explain and support personal ideas and opinions

APK: Five to ten items will be written on the board. Each group will have a newspaper. The students will have a scavenger hunt, to explore the newspaper. See appendix I.Introduction: A brief overview about news will be given to the students as an introduction to the new unit. The information will cover: where news can be found, how it comes in different formats, media, and accessibility. Students will be placed into groups of 4-5 during class; they will work in these stations for the remainder of the unit. Each group will be given a newspaper as part of the first activity. The goal of this activity is to identify where the index is located, and list the different sections of a newspaper. The format and layout will be analyzed, and discussed. Each station will be given recipe cards to jot down their answers.Development: After understanding the anatomy of a newspaper, each group will choose an article that they find interesting and take turns with shared reading. While one group is participating in the guided reading, the other students will be reading their articles and circling any words that they are unfamiliar with. Closure: Teacher will explain the journal process, as part of the student’s homework. Teacher will give the students an exit ticket: They must write on the white board their favorite part of the newspaper or least favorite before they leave the class. If the

- Five newspapers

- Independent writing journals

1. Students will be expected to speak and listen to explore, extend, clarify, and reflect on their thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences.* Students will be provided with journals that they will document information or homework in on a weekly basis during this unit. Journals will be collected by the teacher at the end of each week to monitor students’ understanding*Students will write a brief summary in their journals about what they have read. Students will elaborate on their personal thoughts, feelings and opinions on the piece of writing read.

“In the News”

Theme Unit Plan

Literacy 3113

Stewart West

October 16, 2013

Stephanie Stewart

Lesson 2: Critical Listening & Comprehension Skill Builder

1. Students will be expected to speak and listen to explore, extend, clarify, and reflect on their thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences.• listen critically to others’ ideasor opinions and points of view

students do not wish to write this on the board, they can either do this task orally or on a sheet of paper.MIs: Kinesthetic learners, interpersonal learners, verbal linguistics.APK: Group discussion on world events that the class has seen in the media, newspaper, or in journals within the last few weeks. The purpose of this discussion is to get the students thinking about what makes it into news headlines. Notes will be jotted down on a chart by students in a KWL chart drawn on the board. Introduction: After the discussion, the teacher will read an article from the local newspaper to his/her students. Students will be taking notes while the article, based on a world event, will be read by the teacher in a read aloud activity. The students will also be provided with a photocopy of the article in order to follow along. Students have to listen critically and will be asked questions based on what was read. This will clarify their feelings and ideas.Development: The class will be split into two groups. Students will participate in a trivia game by responding to questions regarding articles read in class. This will help develop critical thinking skills, and active listening skills. Each team will have the opportunity to discuss and articulate their answers. If they do not agree, students will have to respectfully try to explain their side of the argument. This activity’s purpose is to create excitement, and interest in the unit topic. Closure: Students will be given be given an independent writing exercise to be completed in their journals as homework. If there is remaining time after the trivia game, students will be given that time to start this task. If they

- Newspaper article along with photocopies for the students to follow along.

- A variety of newspapers will be provided for the closure activity.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

http://www.canadaeast.com/

1. Students will be expected to speak and listen to explore, extend, clarify, and reflect on their thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences.*Students will gain reading and critical thinking skills from participating in class.*Students will have the opportunity to orally share their thoughts and understanding of the writer’s views during class discussion. *In order for all students to have the opportunity to participate, students will partake in independent writingin their journals about the writer’s perspectives. Students will write about their understanding, thoughts, realizations, and feelings towards the newspaper writer’s perspective(s).

Lesson 3: Journalism & Conducting Interviews

2. Students will be expected to communicate information and ideas effectively and clearly, and to respond personally and critically.• contribute to and respond constructively in conversation, small-group, and whole-group discussion, recognizing their roles and responsibilities as speakers and listeners

do not complete the writing exercise in class, it will be completed as homework.MIs: interpersonal, verbal linguistic, intrapersonal, logical mathematical APK: Create a KWL chart with students on the subject of “journalism”. The teacher will write down what the students know, wonder before beginning with the guest speakers. Introduction: A local journalist and newspaper photographer will be the two guest speakers. They will discuss the technologies, such as cameras, recorders, film, music, and writing tools that is required for interviews and photojournalism. They will articulate upon the skills needed to succeed in this profession. The guests will also provide a short demonstration on how to use some of these technologies. This is an oral language activity.Development: During the guest speaker presentation, students are to write down 5 key points from the presentation in their journals. This is an independent writing activity. In small groups, students will discuss the key points, and each group will come up with 1 interview question for the guest speaker. Groups will then have an opportunity to ask their questions and participate in a group discussion. Closure : Complete the KWL chart by filling in the L category.The final project, which is due at the end of the unit, will be introduced to enable students the opportunity to begin brainstorming ideas. A rubric will be provided as a guideline. Students are expected to be working on their final project throughout the unit. See appendix II.MIs: Spatial, verbal linguistic, interpersonal,

- Chart Paper (KWL)

- Guest Speaker

- Journals

- Handout for final project (appendices II)

2. Students will be expected to communicate information and ideas effectively and clearly, and to respond personally and critically.*Students will respond to questions in their journals. These questions will require students to think critically. * Students are to independently read over the final project handout for homework*Students will contribute to the guest speaker presentation, respond constructively to the discussion. During this process, students will recognize their responsibility as a speaker as well as a listener.

Lesson 4: Journalism & Conducting Interviews Cont’d

2. Students will be expected to communicate information and ideas effectively and clearly, and to respond personally and critically.• contribute to and respond constructively in conversation, small-group, and whole-group discussion, recognizing their roles and responsibilities as speakers and listeners

• Engage in, respond to, and evaluate oral presentations.

kinesthetic.

APK: Class discussion on open-ended and closed-ended questions. What is an open-ended question? Why use open-ended questions? What is a closed-ended question? Should an interview consist of open-ended questions, or closed-ended questions? Or both?Introduction: Teacher will “interview” a volunteer from the class by asking a series of questions (see appendices II). Alternative: If no students want to be interviewed, then the teacher could respond to the questions his/herself. As a shared writing activity, the class will then summarize the interview in column format. The teacher will model creative writing techniques. Development: Students will be placed in groups of 3, and assigned a role (interviewer, interviewee, and recorder). The interviewers will have a few moments to come up with some questions to ask the interviewee. Once students have their questions ready, they will interview their classmate, while the “recorder” jots down some key notes. The groups will then collectively write a short article summarizing the interview. This guided writing activity will allow the teacher an opportunity to work with each group and develop their creative writing skills. Closure: Students will complete an independent writing task in their journals, and respond to the following:

If you could interview anyone, alive or deceased, who would it be and why?

List 10 questions that you would ask that person?

- Interview Questions (appendix III)

- Journals

2. Students will be expected to communicate information and ideas effectively and clearly, and to respond personally and critically.*Students will participate in a shared writing activity that will require them to communicate clearly and effectively. * Students will be reminded of the final project. Materials and resources will be provided to take home

Lesson 5: Confronting Prejudice, Stereotypes, and Bias in the Media.

3. Students will be expected to interact with sensitivity and respect, considering the situation, audience, and purpose.• identify examples of prejudice, stereotyping, or bias in oral language; recognize their negative effect on individuals and cultures; and attempt to use language that shows respect for all people.

How many open-ended questions were on your list?

Students will have an opportunity to share their journal entries with the class.MIs: Kinesthetic, interpersonal.APK: Teacher will ask the students to help her define the new vocabulary: prejudice, stereotyping, and bias. Teacher will encourage word identification, by encouraging students to use phonic knowledge to decode unfamiliar words. Teacher will also provide background information, about each word, such as their origin. This is a word work activity.Introduction: Students will be introduced to a specific magazine article that deals with a specific stereotype, prejudice, or a bias.(Ex: Bullying in schools) Students and teachers will be engaged in a shared reading activity. Each student will have a photocopy of the chosen magazine article. The teacher will have a larger copy of the magazine article on the smart board, for students to see. Teacher and students will read together. Teacher will create a list of ideas, on the white board, asking students to brainstorm, “How does this article have a negative effect on the main subject/culture in the article?” and "What could have been changed to correct the stereotype?" Students will take turns volunteering an answer, by raising their hands.Development: Students will be split up in pairs. The teacher will give them 10 minutes to interview their partner to find out at least three things that they didn’t know about him or her.A brief discussion will be followed.Closure: As an exit ticket, students are asked to participate in an independent writing activity. The teacher asks them to share, in their journals, what they have talked about in their small groups. They will write about the 3 things they have learned about their partner.MIs: Spatial, interpersonal, verbal linguistic,

- Magazine article (1 copy for the smart board, one photo copy per student)

- Journals

-Whiteboard/marker

-Projector-Smart board

3. Students will be expected to interact with sensitivity and respect, considering the situation, audience, and purpose.*With the teacher's direction, students will identify examples of prejudice, stereotyping or bias within a newspaper article. They will also recognize the negative effect on individuals and certain cultures.*Students will participate in a small group activity/interview that will require them to communicate their feelings clearly and effectively with their partner. Students must use language that shows respect for their partner. * Students will respond to the peer interview in their journals. This process will get them to think critically about their potential prejudice against their partner.* Students will begin to start brainstorming ideas for their final projects and their progress will be monitored.

Lesson 6: Understanding different styles of news-related texts.

4. Students will be expected to select, read, and view with understanding a range of literature, information, media, and visual texts.• select, independently, textsappropriate to their interests and learning needs

interpersonal, intrapersonal.

APK: Student will enter the classroom, and resume with their usual groups. Photographs from newspapers, journals, and National Geographic will be placed at each station/group. The actual article that accompanies the image will be absent. On the board will be three questions: Why do you think pictures are important? What makes this picture interesting? In your opinion, why does the news use pictures? The students will have the first few minutes of class to observe the photographs and draw conclusions inside their journals. Following the independent writing inside their journals, students will share their ideas of what the photographs may be articulating and why imagery is important with the rest of the class.Introduction: This lesson will focus on different types, and styles of news-related texts. Important elements that make up an article will be studied in greater detail, such as the use of imagery in the news, and column formatting. The teacher will introduce students to an array of article materials consisting of: research Journals, online articles, and National Geographic, and other informative magazines, which all cover world news from different perspectives. The idea behind this is to give students the ability to start developing their critical thinking, vocabulary, and reading skills furthermore. A PowerPoint presentation by the teacher will introduce the formats of the new texts to ensure that students know how to navigate the new material, and choose their materials for future references wisely.Development: Each of the students will be provided with magazines, newspaper and or journals. They are then to think about how these

Various texts such as:

- Journals

- National Geographic

- Online articles from:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

http://www.canadaeast.com/

- Newspapers

4. Students will be expected to select, read, and view with understanding a range of literature, information, media, and visual texts.* Students are expected to think critically and complete their daily independent writing exercise sin their journals.*Students are expected to be selecting texts that interest them, as references, to aid with the final project.*Students will continue to work on their final projects and their progress will be monitored.

differ from the articles they have read in previous classes from newspapers. They will discuss the different imagery and formats within their groups, what they like and dislike. The students will also be expected to discuss how different cultures are represented in these different texts.Closure: As an exit ticket, students will have to select a favorite article from any of the texts provided during class. They will write a short description in their journals about why they chose that article. This exercises purpose is to get the students thinking about ideas they can incorporate into their final projects. Students will also have to bring in three texts as references for next class, whereas they will be working on projects in class.MIs: Naturalistic, spatial, verbal linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal.

Lesson 7: Unit Project & Conclusion

10. Students will be expected to use a range of strategies to develop effective writing and other ways of representing and to enhance their clarity, precision and effectiveness.* Use a range of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, and presentation strategies.*demonstrate a commitment to shaping and researching pieces of writing and other representations through stages of development and refinement.

APK: Teacher and students will discuss the different processes used to create an effective, moving, and engaging piece of writing. The ideas will be written on the white board. KWL chart will be used to access prior knowledge from previous classes.Introduction: Teacher will give a short description of the technologies available for final projects if the student wishes to use them. While students have a few minutes to think about their technology options, the teacher will go from station to station, reviewing, and approving the references that the students brought in for class. The students that forgot to bring in the three references can go skim through the texts the teacher brought in.Development: Students will share ideas for their final project with their stations, and write down what other students liked or disliked about their project. Students will then work independently, or with their group and construct their project by using other classmate’s prior constructive criticism. Once the draft has been approved by the teacher, the student will begin the final copy of their project that they will be presenting at the end of the unit. This will be an independent writing activity.Closure: As an exit ticket, teacher will check in with each student to monitor student progress. If there are any outstanding issues, they will be clarified.MIs: All MIs touched on.

- Chart paper for groups, along with materials for projects based on preferences.

- I.e. camcorders, cameras, recorders, microphone, paper, construction paper, Bristol board and articles from many sources.

10. Students will be expected to use a range of strategies to develop effective writing and other ways of representing and to enhance their clarity, precision and effectiveness.*Students will engage in independent writing. *Teacher will assess references brought in which will give an understanding of students understanding of the researching task.*Students will continue to work on final project, and their progress will be monitored via drafts, organization, and research on topic to date.

Lesson 8: Unit Project & Conclusion Cont’d

10. Students will be expected to use a range of strategies to develop effective writing and other ways of representing and to enhance their clarity, precision and effectiveness.*use technology with increasing proficiency to create, revise, edit, and publish texts.

APK: Classroom discussion on the importance of technology in the writing, and publishing process for current news. This discussion will help the students with their final finishes for their projects.Introduction: Students will be put into groups of two, to peer edit each other’s projects for any remaining mistakes that were unseen. This will also help students clarify parts of their projects and pull together their ideas. Students will have the opportunity to spend one on one time with the teacher to demonstrate what technologies they are using. If use of some technologies is not clear, this time will give students the opportunity for better understanding.Development: Students will be given the remainder of class time to put together the final pieces of their projects. Students will be working on writing, reading, and adjusting the layout. As well as working with technology, and imagery. This is an independent writing activity. No journal entry will be required in this class; focus will be strictly on final projects. Closure: If students did not complete the project during class time, they will have to finish it as homework. For next class, projects are due. Students will be expected to bring in their project and share it with their classmates. Projects will be shared with the school.MIs: Interpersonal, intrapersonal, spatial, verbal linguistic, kinesthetic…

- Chart paper for groups and provide materials for projects based on preferences.

- I.e. camcorders, cameras, recorders, microphone, paper, construction paper, Bristol board, articles from multiple sources.

10. Students will be expected to use a range of strategies to develop effective writing and other ways of representing and to enhance their clarity, precision and effectiveness.*Students will begin to finish projects, and their progress of drafting, revising, and creating will be assessed.*Students are expected to present, and hand in their final project at the end of this unit, which is the following class.

Lesson 9: Unit Project Presentation Day

10. Students will be expected to use a range of strategies to develop effective writing and other ways of representing and to enhance their clarity, precision and effectiveness.*use technology with increasing proficiency to create, revise, edit, and publish texts.

APK: There will be no APK for this class. Students will be given the first few minutes of class time to prepare to present their projects.Development: Each student will be provided the opportunity to share their work with the class, and/or school in the hallway gallery.

- TVs

- Projectors

- Smart board

10. Students will be expected to use a range of strategies to develop effective writing and other ways of representing and to enhance their clarity, precision and effectiveness.*Students will be assessed based on a rubric that was provided with the introduction to the project. The students’ ability to create a product using skills from previous lessons will be assessed.

Appendices I

Newspaper Scavenger Hunt Questions:

1. Find an article that discusses a local sport team.

2. Find an article that discusses current political events.

3. Find an article with a money-related topic.

4. Find an advertisement for a 2 bedroom apartment for rent.

5. Find an engagement announcement.

6. Find an article with a crime-related topic.

7. Find the weather report for tomorrow.

8. Find an ad for a community event.

9. Find an employment advertisement.

10. Find the date of the newspaper.

Appendices II

Final Project Handout

Each lesson will help students learn & form ideas for their final project.

Students are to complete ONE of the following:

1. Create a collage or picture board on Bristol board describing an in the news topic that you enjoyed learning about. Provide paragraphs or drawings. Student will write a short description about the images chosen or drawn. This can be done in pairs or individually.

2. Create a class newspaper including interviews from family and friends with the interview being on a topic of interest. The newspaper must incorporate important elements discussed in class. If students wish to work in pairs, strive for 5 pages, individual works can be 3.

3. Students can work in pairs, act out or video tape a 5-7 minute interview. Topic discussed can be of their choice; however they have to apply what they have learned about interviewing skills. Students may want to incorporate music to their video if needed.

4. Student can create an article for National Geographic or a journal magazine. Their topic can be on culture, health, astronomy, animals, technology or any other approved topic. They will have to incorporate drawn images or photographs. Technology to do so will be provided by the teacher.

* If none of the above options as liked please go see teacher with your project idea about “in the news”.

DUE: end of the unit.

Appendices III

“Mock Interview” Questions:

1. How old are you? (closed-ended question)

2. What is your favourite type of food? (closed-ended question)

3. Describe the most exciting thing you did last summer. (open-ended question)

4. If you could be any animal in the world, what would it be and why? (open-ended question)

5. Do you have any siblings and if so how many? (closed-ended questions)

6. Describe the nicest thing that you have done for someone else. (open-ended question)

7. Describe the silliest prank you have played on someone. (open-ended question)

8. What is your favourite movie and why? (open-ended question)

9. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would that be and why? (open-ended question)

10. Do you have any pets? (Closed-ended question)

11. If you could have any animal for a pet, what would it be and why? (open-ended question)

12. If you could give advice to a parent or guardian, what would it be? (open-ended question)