English Language Arts 6-9: Sample Unit: Is It Fair?

Sample Unit
Is it Fair? In Search of Justice (Grade 9)

Contexts: Personal, Social, Communicative, Historical, Philosophical
Timeline: approximately 6 weeks

Objectives

All of the foundational objectives are developed gradually and continuously throughout the Middle Level. The following learning objectives have been selected as the focus for this grade 9 sample unit.

Speaking

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

use talk purposefully to clarify thinking
use talk to explore own and others' ideas and to express understanding.

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

organize ideas and opinions in appropriate formats in preparation for sharing or presenting orally
connect, describe, and compare own ideas with those of others.

Students will extend their abilities to speak fluently in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

participate effectively in group discussions.

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.

listen with clearly identified purpose in mind
analyze viewpoints and arguments for validity, reliability, and supporting evidence.

Students will extend their abilities to listen effectively in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes.

listen in order to gather information, participate in a discussion, form an opinion, and analyze information received.

Writing

Students will extend their abilities to recognize that writing is a constructive and recursive process.

value their own experiences, opinions, observations, and ideas as sources for authentic writing.

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

select appropriate written formats for use with identified audience and purpose
organize and sequence relevant ideas appropriately within identified formats
consciously attend to the conventions and rules of written language when revising.

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
organize ideas and information appropriate to the chosen format.

Reading

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

value reading as a means of learning and enjoyment.

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

select and use appropriate strategies for constructing meaning from text
reflect on and evaluate their personal and critical responses to what they read
consider others' responses in reshaping and extending their own responses.

Integrated Language Study

Students will extend their abilities to:

recognize and employ a variety of language structures and conventions, adapting them for desired effects in oral and written communication
recognize that language and images can be used to influence others and demonstrate this knowledge in a variety of oral, written, and representational communication forms.

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, and understand how such discriminatory practices affect the various groups and individuals (PSVS)
explore social and economic inequities and their effects (PSVS)
critique texts and other sources of information through recognizing supported and unsupported inferences, warranted and unwarranted assumptions, verifiable and unverifiable data (CCT)
transform their self-assessments and reflections into strategies for action (IL).

Unit Focus and Direction

Middle Level students enjoy evaluating hypothetical situations, seeing patterns, and exploring values. They develop a sense of social identity as they experiment with different moral viewpoints and ideas about justice. They are often quick to judge and sometimes reach conclusions based on an idealism that is characteristic of youth. They are eager to explore ideas beyond their own experiences and to take part in discussions involving larger social issues.

In this unit entitled "Is it Fair?" students explore terms and concepts such as "fair play", "equality", and "obligations". They have opportunities to consider questions such as the following:

Is it fair that people are discriminated against because of their colour, gender, religion, or race?
Is it fair that in some jobs women receive less pay than men for equal work?
Is it fair that innocent children must suffer starvation?

Through reflecting upon experiences of injustice and responding to those injustices, students may ask themselves the following questions:

Have I ever been treated unfairly? How did I feel?
Have I ever witnessed someone else being treated unfairly? What was my feeling?

Students will be encouraged to raise questions, discuss opinions, explore and express ideas, and clarify their thinking as they consider fairness and unfairness in some of the following:

society (culture, race, gender, economic status, religion, politics, health issues)
home and school (peer relationships, family, personal ethics, school issues)
Canadian history (Indian and Métis treatment, Japanese in World War II, immigrants, French/English conflict)
other countries (territorial disputes, racism, political acts).

Throughout the unit, students will engage in the language processes of speaking, listening, writing, and reading in an integrated manner. Representing and viewing are also incorporated to support students' experiences with the language processes. It is important to provide for language study in 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 support.

This unit provides background information and experiences for exploration of the issue of equality that is developed in a sample grade 10 English language arts unit. In addition, this unit has connections with the grade 9 Social Studies unit about causality, which explores the idea of a paradigm and how it forms the basis or criteria for what we consider to be justice.

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 and rubrics

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 tools are included in this curriculum guide. These may be used as printed or adapted to accommodate observation of specific lesson objectives and student needs. Teachers should make students aware of the criteria for their assessment and evaluation 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 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 the 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 variety of resources that are appropriate to the theme and organize these into a classroom collection. Students can choose from these for independent reading.
Select five or six novels appropriate to the theme (four or five copies of each) for students' guided reading experiences.
Secure writing folders and portfolios for student use.
Locate appropriate anthologies and become familiar with applicable sections.
Book two class periods as time for your entire class to spend with you and the librarian in the school library, locating and reading poetry (Lessons Ten and Eleven). Give your librarian advance warning that you will need many anthologies and that your students will be looking for poetry featuring "injustice". (If your school is small, a request for interlibrary loans might be necessary.) Remember to utilize your classroom anthologies of poetry as well.
Collect a large quantity of daily newspapers, preferably as current as the last four to six months (for an end of unit newspaper activity). Consider using the internet for on-line versions of major daily newspapers.
Review videotapes that illustrate some type of injustice and choose one for use in Lesson Eight of this unit.
Review applicable sections of the curriculum guide (e.g., integrated language study, writing process).
If it is necessary to arrive at a letter or number grade for reporting purposes, determine the end-of-unit evaluation criteria (e.g., percentages for speaking, listening, writing, and reading processes and products).
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 (one copy). This provides the group with information about reading the novel, and about group discussions and group roles.
- Individual Reading Schedule (one copy for each member of the group). This is an individual recordkeeping sheet for each student. It provides the teacher and student with information about the students' 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.)
Samples of the above items are 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. Within each lesson of the sample unit, one or two activities provide possibilities for teacher reflection. 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.

The times suggested for each activity are approximate guidelines. Teachers may find it necessary to adjust these times according to their students' interests, responses, and requirements.

Students will need:

a three-ring loose leaf binder with three dividers for mini-lesson information, vocabulary logs, and personal spelling lists
a bound notebook for Reader Response activities
a writing folder and portfolio
a small scrapbook or a notebook which may be used as a scrapbook.

Sample Unit Is it Fair? In Search of Justice (Grade 9)