English Language Arts 6-9: Sample Unit: Growing Up

Sample Unit Growing Up Around the World (Grade 8)

Contexts: Personal, Social, Philosophical
Time Line: 5-6 weeks

Objectives

The foundational objectives develop gradually and continuously throughout the Middle Level. The learning objectives identified below have been selected as the focus for this grade 8 sample unit.

Speaking

Students will extend their abilities to recognize that talk is an important tool for communicating, thinking, and learning.

use talk to clarify thinking
use talk to explore own and others' ideas and to express understanding
use talk to share feelings and opinions.

Students will extend their abilities to practise the behaviours of effective speakers.

adjust pitch, rate, and tone to suit a variety of purposes, audiences, and situations
summarize ideas discussed and justify own view.

Listening

Students will extend their abilities to recognize that listening is an active, constructive process.

demonstrate willingness to be active listeners.

Students will extend their abilities to practise the behaviours of effective, active listeners.

adapt listening and focus according to purpose and situation
keep an open mind and consider ideas that differ from their own.

Writing

Students will extend their abilities to practise the behaviours of effective writers.

organize and sequence relevant ideas appropriately within identified formats
reflect upon own writing, and revise for clarity of meaning and appropriate detail by adding, rearranging, or deleting ideas
respond sensitively and constructively during peer conferences by: making at least one positive comment before offering suggestions for improvements, and focusing on the writer's identified needs and questions.

Students will extend their abilities to write fluently and confidently for a variety of purposes and audiences, employing appropriate formats.

write to express feelings, ideas, and opinions, and to explore ideas
write for a variety of familiar and extended audiences.

Reading

Students will extend their abilities to recognize that reading is an active, constructive process.

recognize that reading is an active process in which readers interact with the text to construct meaning within the context of their own understanding and experiences.

Students will extend their abilities to practise the behaviours of effective, strategic readers.

independently draw on prior knowledge and experiences when constructing meaning and responding to text
select and use appropriate strategies for constructing meaning from text
make and confirm or correct predictions
recognize main ideas
reflect on and evaluate their personal and critical responses to what they have read, and consider alternative interpretations
consider others' responses in reshaping and extending their own responses.

Students will extend their abilities to read fluently and confidently a variety of texts for a variety of purposes.

make thoughtful and critical responses to the content and writer's craft in a wide variety of material, and clearly support personal and critical responses with reference to the text.

Integrated Language Study

Students will extend their abilities to understand the factors that influence oral, written, and representative language choices.

recognize that context is an important determinant of correctness and appropriateness of language choices and usage
understand that colloquial language and dialects are the informal and conversational language and vocabulary of specific regions, locales, or groups of people.

Common Essential Learnings

Many of the objectives for English language arts also develop knowledge, skills, and processes related to the C.E.L.s of Communication, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Values and Skills, and Independent Learning. In addition, other C.E.L.s may be emphasized, depending upon the unit topic or theme. Objectives related to the C.E.L.s for this sample unit are stated below to provide direction for teachers. However, emphasis on particular C.E.L.s within a unit does not preclude the development of other C.E.L.s.

The following objectives related to the C.E.L.s were selected for this sample unit:

refine their understanding of stereotype, bias, and prejudice (PSVS)
respond sensitively to the ideas, comments, and products of others (PSVS)
relate ideas from reading, discussing, viewing, and listening experiences with prior learning and life experiences (C)
compare similarities and differences in experiences, ideas, objects, or events (CCT)
make decisions based on knowledge of their own needs and interests (IL).

Unit Focus and Direction

Middle Level students are often wholly absorbed in their own growing up experiences. They feel that changes and dilemmas are happening only to them. Because they are developing and changing physically, emotionally, morally, ethically, socially, and cognitively, it is difficult for them to recognize that their peers are going through similar growing up processes. A variety of reading, writing, listening, and speaking experiences offers students opportunities to discover that they are not alone and that growing up, anywhere in the world, can be difficult.

As well, Middle Level students find it difficult to maintain an objective perspective about themselves and the situations in which they find themselves. Through other young fictional and nonfictional characters and their particular situations, students are able to distance themselves from their own growing up experiences, and recognize that others have similar concerns and problems. By comparing their own experiences and situations to those of young people in a variety of cultures, including their own, students become more reflective and objective about what they are experiencing.

Throughout the unit, students engage in the language processes of reading, writing, listening, and speaking in an integrated manner. It is important to provide for language study in the context of the language processes as it is relevant and required. Some suggestions are made in the lesson plans; however, teachers will need to determine their students' needs and ability levels to decide when and where to provide language study instruction and support.

Students will need:

one three-ring binder with three dividers for mini-lesson information, Vocabulary Logs, and personal spelling lists
one bound notebook for Reader Response activities
one writing folder and one portfolio.

Adaptive Dimension

The Adaptive Dimension empowers teachers to make adjustments in a variety of areas in order to meet individual student needs. Throughout this unit, teachers will make adjustments as required in learning environment, instruction, curriculum topics, resources, or assessment and evaluation. The duration of the adaptation may range from five minutes of individual assistance to whole class instruction over an extended time frame. See the introductory section of the curriculum guide for more information about the Adaptive Dimension.

Instructional Strategies

Throughout this unit teachers will use a variety of instructional strategies. Each lesson includes some methods from each of the following strategies: direct instruction, indirect instruction, independent study, and interactive instruction. Instructional Approaches: A Framework for Professional Practice (Saskatchewan Education, 1991) provides detailed information about each of these strategies and describes methods of instruction that fit into each strategy.

Assessment and Evaluation Strategies

This unit provides opportunities for the use of the following strategies:

self-assessment, peer assessment, teacher assessment

observation checklists

anecdotal notes

writing portfolios

rating scales

Reader Response Journals

individualized spelling and vocabulary records

oral presentations.

Teachers should monitor and record student progress by using a variety of assessment tools on a daily basis. Regularly collected data provides information upon which to base instructional decisions and student reports. Sample assessment forms, which may be used as printed or adapted to fit specific lesson objectives and student needs, are provided within this curriculum guide. Teachers should make students aware of the criteria for their assessment early in the unit. Whenever possible and appropriate, students should be involved in establishing these criteria.

Resources

The bibliography lists resources that are suitable for this sample unit; however, teachers may find it necessary to select other resources that are more appropriate to their students' needs and interests, that are already known by the teacher or that are more readily available at this time.

Note: The bibliography that accompanies this guide will be updated regularly to include suitable new releases. Teachers are encouraged to select resources from the bibliography and from their own repertoire of literature, considering the needs and interests of their students.

Teacher Preparation

Select a wide variety of resources, print and non-print, that are appropriate to the theme and organize these into a classroom collection. As well as novels, include magazines, anthologies, mature-content picture books, and a range of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and video and audio recordings. Students can choose from these for independent reading.
Select five or six novels appropriate to the theme (four or five copies of each depending upon class size) for students' guided reading experiences. Choices may be made from the bibliographies or from other available, appropriate resources.
Select a variety of resources appropriate to the theme for teacher read-alouds throughout the unit. (It is essential for teachers to read the selections prior to reading them aloud to the students. This prevents any surprises and enhances the effectiveness of the read-aloud.)
Determine how class times and procedures will be structured. Some considerations include the structure and organization of the writing process; the time and organization for Reader Response, Literature Circles, and independent reading; the number of oracy activities and their structure; how language study will be integrated; expectations for Vocabulary Logs and personal spelling lists; and assessment and evaluation of the unit. (Teachers may wish to determine some or all of the procedures in collaboration with students; however, it is useful to have considered the possibilities beforehand.)
When selecting resources, consider gender balance, Indian and Métis content and perspectives, and the Adaptive Dimension.
Prepare a unit overview handout for students (see Lesson 1 for an example).
Prepare a Literature Circle folder for each Literature Circle group. The folder, to be kept in the classroom, should contain the following items:
- Literature Circle Information Sheet, which provides the group with information about the reading of the novel and about group discussions and roles.
- Individual Reading Schedule (one copy for each member of the group), which is an individual recordkeeping sheet for each student. It provides the teacher and student with information about the student's reading progress.
- Role Sheets for each of the following: Discussion Co-ordinator, Summarizer, Language Master, and Recorder. (Alternative roles may be chosen depending upon students' abilities and needs.)
- Literature Circle Projects sheet (one copy for each member of the group; see Lesson 9 for an example). This informs students about daily projects and their choices for an end of the unit novel celebration project.

Using different coloured paper for each folder item makes for easy reference when the teacher is explaining their uses. See samples of the forms described above in the Reading section of this curriculum guide.

Teacher as Reflective Practitioner

Observations made during daily classroom instruction and learning help teachers to question and reflect upon their practice. When teachers ask questions about such things as the effects of their instruction, student engagement in activities, and student progress, they find ways to improve their practice and make learning more rewarding for their students. Following each lesson in the sample unit, one or two questions provide possibilities for teacher reflection; teachers may use these or ask their own questions depending upon their purposes and needs. Often, teachers record their observations, questions, and reflection in journals or notebooks as a means of maintaining continuous records of decisions that have helped shape their practice.

Activities in the Unit

The suggested times for activities within each lesson are approximate and are intended to serve as guidelines. Teachers may need to adjust these times according to their students' needs, interests, responses, and requirements.

The following chart outlines the activities in this unit. These activities will provide students with integrated experiences in writing, reading, speaking, and listening.

Writing

anecdote

poem
speech or letter

Reader Responses
Reading

sustained silent reading of short selections and Literature Circle novels
independent reading selections

Speaking

Reader Responses

discussion during Literature Circles and during peer and teacher writing conferences

group presentations
Listening

during pair, small group, and whole class discussions
during storytelling and Authors' Circles
in Literature Circles and writing conferences
for instructions

Writing anecdote poem speech or letter Reader Responses	Reading sustained silent reading of short selections and Literature Circle novels independent reading selections
Speaking Reader Responses discussion during Literature Circles and during peer and teacher writing conferences group presentations	Listening during pair, small group, and whole class discussions during storytelling and Authors' Circles in Literature Circles and writing conferences for instructions