ENGLISH Unit Planning Exemplar Lessons

Discover The Core Professional Development, Curriculum Planning and Instructional Tools ENGLISH Unit Planning Exemplar Lessons SAMPLE This document is a sample for demonstration purposes only. Grades 6-8 Discover The Core Professional Development, Curriculum Planning and Instructional Tools Exemplar Lesson Materials ENGLISH Grades 6-8 SAMPLE for demonstration purposes only. Table of Contents Introduction...................................................................................................................................................1 Unit Exemplar Introduction ...........................................................................................................................3 Unit Exemplar Annotated .............................................................................................................................4 Weekly Exemplar Introduction .....................................................................................................................5 Weekly Exemplar Annotated ........................................................................................................................6 Lesson 1 Exemplar Introduction ...................................................................................................................7 Lesson 1 Exemplar ��9 SAMPLE ©2012 Catapult Learning SAMPLE English Teacher Resource Guide iii Introduction Welcome to the Grades 6-8 ELA Understanding the Common Core Standards materials. These documents were developed by Catapult Learning to provide you with support and guidance as you work toward implementing Common Core standards instruction in your classrooms. The materials included are: an example of a 7th grade Unit Plan map, a Weekly Plan map, and the first three individual lesson plans a teacher would develop to begin the school year. SAMPLE ©2012 Catapult Learning SAMPLE English Teacher Resource Guide 1 SAMPLE 2 SAMPLE English Teacher Resource Guide ©2012 Catapult Learning Unit Plan Map Unit Plan Map Units of study may vary in length depending on the theme, materials the teacher wants to include and the number or complexity of the Common Core standards the teacher wants to address. Typically, units of study are addressed over a four to 8 week block of time. In middle school grades the timeline for instruction may also be impacted by block scheduling. The purpose of the unit plan is to: • Collect a discrete chunk of instruction under the umbrella of a larger theme, and bring the theme to life with an Unit Plan Map essential question the teacher can use to engage students in exploring and researching the topic • Illuminate the connections between the unit’s key concepts and the Common Core State standards • Define a summative assessment the teacher will use as evidence of learning The unit theme is the “Big” idea the teacher wants to address. It is closely tied to the essential question. The essential question demonstrates the importance or benefit of the unit of study. It provides a springboard for intense inquiry and is not answerable with a yes-no response. It is also a question that should be answerable throughout our lives. The key concepts are ideas (and sometimes skills) that students should possess when the unit is completed. They help teachers “step down” from the standards, to provide a framework for lesson planning. Unit Plan Map The standards are taken directly from the CCSS and are especially important to the unit of study. Because of the holistic nature of the instruction, other standards may also be addressed, but the focus standards are the ones the unit is designed to support. The summative assessments are planned with specific standards in mind (In this 7th grade Unit, an argumentative essay has been chosen because it directly relates to one of the major Common Core writing standards. Also, the ability to write an effective argumentative essay is a key factor in a student’s achievement in high school and college). Unit Plan Map Unit Plan Map ©2012 Catapult Learning SAMPLE English Teacher Resource Guide 3 Unit Plan Unit Plan Unit Plan Unit Plan Unit Plan 4 SAMPLE SAMPLE Grade: 7 Unit: 1 Title: The Quality of Life Dates of Instruction ___________________________________ Essential Key Concepts Question • Authors working in a variety of genres, cultures, and time periods have investigated the idea of what • Authors provide evidence in their texts that supports English Teacher Resource Guide Resource EnglishTeacher What makes life constitutes a “good” life. their thinking. worth living? • Text genre and structure can help an author express point of view. • Authors can employ a number of rhetorical strategies to • Even simple words and phrases may have deeper meanings that require further investigation. make arguments more persuasive and compelling. Summative Assessment Code Standard “Should the quality of life be defined by the person himself or society in general?” RL. 7.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. Have students answer the question by assuming a side or position and using unit reading texts, RI. 7.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major journal notes, etc. to write an argumentative essay defending their point of view. sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas. RI. 7.8 Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the Students are scored on the following: reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims. 1. Quality of introduction (i.e., thesis statement, background, problem definition) W.7.1., Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. 1.a., 1.e. 2. Body paragraphs that clearly support and refute claims a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. 3. Conclusion/summarization e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the 4. Basic structure and transitions argument presented. 5. Vocabulary usage W.7.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, 6. Grammar, spelling and punctuation and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. 7. Use of sources (relevant and reliable) SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. ©2012 Catapult Learning Catapult ©2012 L.7.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. L.7.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. L.7.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. Weekly Plan Introduction Weekly Weekly Plan Now that the unit theme, the standards and key concepts, the essential question, and the unit summative assessment have been identified, it is time to begin to “drill down” from those relatively general ideas and be more specific about what the first week of instruction should cover. Where before, the unit plan contained large key concepts to be learned, the weekly plan begins to break them down into more discrete content and practice objectives. This plan is addressing what the teacher wants the student to know and be able to do. For example, the essential question moves from the very general, “what makes life worth living” to the more specific, “whether it is better to be dead or totally under the control of others.” Plan Introduction Weekly In this plan we identify materials that will support the essential question and learning objectives. The materials selected support the Common Core expectations for text complexity and comparing the way information is presented in both literary and informational texts as well as media. Core vocabulary is extracted for direct instruction based on its relevance to the topic and how it exemplifies tier 2 (high frequency-multiple meaning words) or tier 3 (low frequency-content specific words). Suggested activities have been written for the unit, with specific standards and texts in mind. These show how specific content can be used to help students learn the skills described in the standards. Evidence of learning activities are intended to demonstrate evidence of student learning and are not all that can be done, but rather Weekly Plan Introduction Weekly representative of ways the teacher can assess student understandings. Weekly Plan Introduction Weekly Weekly Plan Introduction Weekly ©2012 Catapult Learning SAMPLE English Teacher Resource Guide 5 Weekly Plan Weekly Plan Weekly Plan Weekly Plan Weekly Plan 6 Grade 7 Unit 1 Week 1 Title: The Quality of Life Dates of Instruction: __________________________ Weekly Question Content Objectives Practice Objectives Is death preferable to a life Students will know... Students will be able to... SAMPLE SAMPLE controlled by others? • That authors project a point of view through their writing • Read and discuss a short story and a newspaper article relating to the weekly question • That reading various

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