Student Teaching

Integrated Unit Plan Format

Department of Educational Foundations and Curriculum

EDCS 442: Student Teaching
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Directions: Please fill out the Integrated Unit Plan in its entirety, paying particular attention the pre/post test assessment section. Once complete, please post the final plan to your LiveText account. The final grade for Student Teaching will not be submitted to the Registrar’s Office until this requirement has been fulfilled.

Integrated Unit Author
Teacher Candidate:  Kelly A Slover Cooperating Teacher: Ms. Heidi Rikard School & District: Selah Junior High School			Grade Level:  9th Grade English University Supervisor: Dr. Kim Jones Date: Fall 2009
Integrated Unit Overview
Unit Plan Title		Night By Elie Wiesel
Approximate Time Needed 5 Weeks
Materials Needed
Printed Materials	Wiesel, E. (2006). Night. New York: Hill and Wang. Hill and Wang Teacher’s Guide to Night. New York: Hill and Wang.
Supplies	125 copies of the book Night; Computer lab and library access
Internet Resources	http://netfiles.uiuc.edu/alhiggin/www.index2.htm (WebQuest Link)
Community Resources must be used (UP 7c, 9, 14d) Guest speakers, mentors, field trips, etc.	Public library School Computer lab No guest speakers, mentors or field trips planned.
Other Resources	Document camera, Whiteboard/pens, Copy machine
Integrated Unit Questions
Theme	What is the theme of your unit? Night (the Novel) and The Holocaust
Essential Question	What was it like to live as a Jew during the Holocaust and what did I take to survive?
Unit Questions	Guiding questions for your Integrated Unit. What was it like to be Jewish during the Holocaust? What was is like in a concentration camp? What kind of personal strength must it have taken to survive?
Content Questions	Content area or definitional questions. How do we understand what we read? What strategies help with reading comprehension? What is meta-cognition?
Subject Area(s) (List all subjects that apply)
Include all subjects targeted by your Intergraded Unit Plan.
Literacy (English, reading, writing, presenting, listening), Communication, Technology, History

Rationale & Purpose of the Unit

The purpose of this unit on Night by Elie Wiesel is to work with the students to enhance their understanding of how they comprehend text materials. This text was chosen previously by the district as a “required reading” book for the 9th grade classes to be studied. It is both developmentally appropriate for the students as well as thought provoking and relevant. By reading the is text and participating in the activities planned in this unit, students will gain a better understanding of how they comprehend as readers, as well as gain a deeper understanding of humanity as it relates to the Holocaust specifically. Included in this unit are components of not only English and Literacy, but also communication, technology, and social studies/history. Activities throughout this lesson support the Constructivist philosophy by providing students with meaningful learning experiences in which they are encouraged and allowed to develop and explore their own understanding of the text. Some direct instruction is required; however, students are grouped in cooperative learning groups and participate in discussions regularly. They practice strategies and make choices in their work, and are encouraged to be responsible and self-starting individuals. One example of such activities include the Holocaust WebQuest at the beginning of the unit in which students work cooperatively to search the WebQuest site, take notes, and create a literary response to the information they learned. They are responsible for time management, task delegation, and ultimately of presenting their final creative product and information to the class in a neat and organized fashion.

Integrated Unit Summary/Introduction

The students will read the book Night by Elie Wiesel with guided support from the student teacher. Within the text, students will be covering how the lives of Jewish people changed throughout the Holocaust as well as discovering how and why individuals survived and what this means. Students will experience new comprehension strategies by practicing independently and in groups. They will be able to demonstrate their understanding in group discussions and creative literary responses. Essential and unit questions are answered and explored through the variety of activities, such as the WebQuest, Found Poem, Socratic Seminar, and essay writing.

Goals: I expect students to be responsible and respectful individuals because of their newfound understanding of what it means to be compassionate and humane individuals. I would enjoy seeing them using some of the reading and comprehension strategies that we will cover throughout the unit, and to have t hem work with integrity and purpose. It is essential that they develop as readers and respect one another within the classroom as readers and writers.

Values: I want my students to learn the importance of personal integrity and self-worth. I want to see this demonstrated through their consistency of turning in quality work, and participation in the classroom. I want them to respect one another’s differences and support their classmates in their learning environment.

Skills: I want my students to construct literary connections with the text and demonstrate evidence of this understanding. They will work cooperatively together in order to understand meta-cognitive reading processes such as thinking about how they understand a piece of text and to reflect on what they read and understand.

Cultural Sensitivity: Students will be culturally sensitive because of the nature of the unit, being it discusses genocide and the deliberate persecution of an entire population, women, children, etc. I will support and demonstrate the importance of cultural sensitivity by example.

Relevancy: 9th grade students seems to have a kind of innate curiosity about the Holocaust, and being that they studied it the previous year in 8th grade, I plan to build upon their prior knowledge by providing engaging and relevant lessons for the students to actively participate in. Quality management and support within the classroom will also help the students participate and be motivated.

Content Expertise and/or Prerequisite Skills

Students will have varying levels of prior knowledge about the topic to begin with. They will begin the unit by doing a WebQuest to activate their prior knowledge from the previous year if they have any. They will need to possess skills to operate a PC and follow directions. They need to be proficient readers and writers in order to read and respond to the text. Ultimately, students must have a positive attitude and be willing to participate in daily learning activities in order to succeed in the unit.

Procedures
Outline your weekly lesson plans in the table below. If your integrated unit is longer than five weeks, please add new cells to the existing table. NOTE: You need to include a pre-assessment and post-assessment instrument, as well as sample rubrics for papers, journal entries, and any other projects/writing assignments. Your assessment tools must be included in this unit plan.
Week 1
Learning Activities	Learning Objective	Assessment/Comments
Day One: Holocaust Pre-Test and Class Discussion; assign vocabulary notecards	Activate Prior Knowledge about Holocaust and WWII	Pre-test is the assessment that will be documented for the student growth report. [attached]
Day Two: Introduce Holocaust WebQuest and groups; begin working in lab	Students use media and resources to build schema as a pre-reading exercise.	A presentation and writing piece will assess their progress during this activity. [Assignment sheet and rubric attached]
Day Three: Computer Lab; continue WebQuest	Same as above	Same as above
Day Four: Computer Lab; continue WebQuest [collect Night vocabulary notecards]	Same as above	Same as above
Day Five: WebQuest presentations	Students work cooperatively to present and demonstrate the information they learned about the Holocaust.	[Rubric attached] – 20 points total, group activity, but students are scored individually.
Week 2
Learning Activities	Learning Objective	Assessment/Comments
Day One: QuickWrite: “And so it goes…” (p.99) Distribute Night books to class and discuss “Author’s Purpose” using “PIES” acronym with quotes from preface/foreword.	Students will demonstrate understanding of why the author chose to write the piece: Persuade, Inform, Entertain, or Share a personal experience and give evidence from the text.	Each group will discuss with the class what their specific quote meant and the type of “Author’s Purpose” it demonstrates.
Day Two: Active Reading Activity and handout. Read part of chapter 1 in class. Students will finish reading for HW.	Students will demonstrate comprehension of the text through the use of a graphic organizer.	Active Reading Handout – homework 20 points.
Day Three: (not part of unit plan) Mrs. Doll (counselor) in to talk about high school credits. QuickWrite: “Simple Truths” (p.105)	Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills and literacy response (to a poem) by writing for 5 minutes.	(At least three…) students will share responses aloud to the class. The teacher may choose to respond and share as well.
Day Four: Listen to audio recording of chapter 2 and complete the Active Reading Guide	Students will demonstrate listening comprehension skills by completing the active reading graphic organizer.	Active Reading Handout (same as above)
Day Five: Vocabulary Quiz and Reading Check on Ch. 1 & 2; collect Active Reading Guide	Students will demonstrate evidence of reading and listening comprehension by taking a quiz.	Quiz and Reading Check Attached – 20 points total.
Week 3
Learning Activities	Learning Objective	Assessment/Comments
Day One: Night Chapter 3 Monitoring Inner Conversation Strategy with “Post-it Notes”	Students will demonstrate understanding of meta-cognitive processes – thinking about how they think.	Students will use strategy for class discussion and assignment the following day.
Day Two: Creative Literature Response – poster activity	Students will demonstrate reading comprehension by creating a poster in cooperative learning groups.	Students will present the information to the class the following day.
Day Three: Presentations of Literature Response	Same as above	Students present info to the class.
Day Four: QAR strategy for Chapter 4 of Night	Students will demonstrate evidence of reading comprehension	Students will complete a QAR handout and will participate in classroom activity/discussion the following day.
Day Five: QAR seminar discussion.	Same as above	Classroom Discussion
Week 4
Learning Activities	Learning Objective	Assessment/Comments
Day One: Listen to audio recording of Chapter 5 of Night.	Students will demonstrate listening comprehension skills.	Study questions
Day Two: Fact/Question/Response Chart for Chapter 6-7 of Night	Students will demonstrate critical thinking and questioning skills to support reading comprehension.	FQR Worksheet
Day Three: Reading Check over chapters 5 – 6	Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills as well as effective communication.	FQR Discussion and Study Questions
Day Four: Listen to chapters 8-9 of Night. Begin reading “Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech”	Students will demonstrate listening comprehension skills.	Take notes on speech for seminar the following day.
Day Five: Socratic Seminar “Nobel Peace Prize”	Same as above	Classroom Discussion: Socratic Seminar.
Week 5
Learning Activities	Learning Objective	Assessment/Comments
Day One: Introduce Character Analysis Essay	Students will demonstrate understanding of the writing process and critical thinking skills to respond to literature	Essay
Day Two: Work on Thesis Statements	Same as above	Essay
Day Three: Work on Topic Sentences	Same as above	Essay
Day Four: Work on CD/CM	Same as above	Essay
Day Five: Work on R. Draft	Same as above	Essay
Week 6
Learning Activities	Learning Objective	Assessment/Comments
Day One: Peer Edit Essays	Students will use critical thinking and will work collaboratively.	Essay
Day Two: Essay Work Day	Students will demonstrate understanding of the writing process and critical thinking skills to respond to a piece of literature.	Essay
Day Three: Night post-test	Students will demonstrate new understanding about the Holocaust and WWII.	Post-test is the final assessment that will be documented for the student growth report. [attached]
Day Four: Extended Write and Found Poem	Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills to respond to literature and effective communication	Extended Write and Found Poem
Day Five: Poetry Reading with Found Poems	Same as above	Found Poem Discussion Final Essays DUE!

Lesson Plans
[See attached lesson plans.]
Technology Used and Rationale for its Use
Technology in this unit is first used as a pre-reading and background knowledge activator. Students are participating in a WebQuest in which they use internet sites to gather information and respond in a creative, literary way. Accessing the internet is a skill that is invaluable to students in that it is everywhere, and they need to practice gleaning useful and relevant information to support their thoughts.
Differentiated Instruction Meeting the Needs of All your Learners!
Resource Student	Additional time may be required for students with a learning disability. It may be required for them to get support in the reading outside of the class, and for them to use a more structured response guide (depending on the work assigned). Also, allowing the student to work with a partner or group may help the student achieve success. Supporting the student with differentiated instruction and additional modeling may be effective as well.
Non-Native English Speaker	Because this is an English class, students with ELL needs will likely need support from the ELL teacher in order to complete assignments. Tests, quizzes, etc. may need to be translated and extended as well as the text being read aloud in class. Students may work in groups in order to comprehend the text better, and students may choose to participate in activities such as handouts in their native language to be translated.
Gifted Student	Additional materials may be provided to the gifted students, such as extended response questions, projects or research assignments. These students may do an extension project in which they research more thoroughly the Holocaust and present to the class their findings – this way they are working for a purpose. An additional teacher-approved text may be read as well, such as a biography or other non-fiction piece.
Implementation Plan
Before the unit is implemented, it is important to assess the students’ background knowledge. This will be done through a unit pre-test. We discuss historical information from the Holocaust, what they already know and what they want to learn. This is not a pre-test for a grade, but rather for discussion and participation purposes. Throughout the course of the unit, students will be supported in their reading and comprehension by in-class discussions and activities. Reading is varied between home and school, so the students’ responsibility in work is scaffolded as the unit progresses. They will have more individual responsibilities as the end of the unit approaches. A variety of “reading check” quizzes will assess comprehension and participation throughout the unit to monitor progress. At the end of the unit, the students will be writing a Character Analysis essay analyzing the main character of Night, Elie Wiesel to demonstrate what they have learned from the text. They will support their thoughts with information from the text. Similarly, they will take a unit post-test with similar information to the pre-test to assess how much they have learned over the course of the unit.
Parent/Home & Community Involvement
While it is ultimately the student’s responsibility to assure they are completing their work and participating in the unit, I expect parents will support their student at home in reading and completing homework. I have made myself available to discuss student grades with parents via a parent letter that went home. They are aware that they may contact me via email or phone. For individual students, I may need to contact parents if discipline becomes an issue, which could potentially occur. Another form of parent contact that is supported at the school is a post-card. These post-cards are available to the staff to sent home to parents as a “way to go” for their student. This is a form of positive behavior management as well as parent contact.
Classroom Management
Context of the community and student information Community - Selah Junior High School is in Selah, WA The population of Selah is about 5,400 people. While there is not a significant amount of diversity, there are some migrant families and Hispanic families in the area. It is considered a rural community. The community seems to highly value education. I will be working in a 9th grade English classroom. Students - Class sizes are between 23 and 28 students. The needs of the students I will be teaching vary greatly depending on the class period. There are several students with behavioral disorders, several ELL students (3-4), and a couple of students with special needs including a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome. In order to establish relations with student interest, etc, the students were asked to complete an interest inventory and introduce yourself essay. This will allow me to gain a better understanding of student’s interests and needs. Similarly, contact with the family is made via a letter home and on the night of Open House. Classroom Environment The classroom is laid out with the students facing the front of the classroom in learning groups of 4-5 students each. There is a whiteboard in the front of the classroom, and materials such as staplers, pencil sharpener, tape, and the student work inboxes are located to the right. The teacher’s desk is in the back right corner of the classroom so she can monitor what is going on from her desk. There are literary posters and pictures on the wall with text so students have a variety of exposure to different types of print. Furniture can be easily rearranged to accommodate the learning situation. They do sit in learning groups primarily, but for the purpose of a test, they are able to move their desks apart. At some point the desks may be arranged in a circle, or pushed to the back so students can sit on the floor. Selecting a few pieces of exemplary work to post on a regular basis will allow students to have a chance to have their work displayed, but will not over-crowd the walls of the classroom. There is also a bulletin board in the hallway. There are enough textbooks for each student to have a copy at home, and a for there to be an in-class set. Unused materials are stored on shelves and in cabinets in the classroom. Materials are available to students as needed and at teacher discretion. Classroom Rules/Procedures (UP 13) Selah Junior High School has a “touchstone” called “The Spartan Way” which is a list of “rules” to live by. These are the only rules in the classroom and support all necessary criteria. They are as follows: Selah Junior High School is a community where we stand up for each other and challenge one another to be our best. We treat each other with respect. We work hard, develop our talents, and aim for excellence. We do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, even when no one is looking. We strive to make our school a safe and positive place for everyone. We are the Spartans, and this is the Spartan Way! Classroom Procedures Procedures related to academic work Material required daily for class: This information is posted on the door before students enter the classroom; it is their responsibility to come prepared to class. Each week they get 10 points for participation and preparation, and risk losing these points if they choose to come unprepared to class. Homework completion: It is expected that students complete and turn in homework as it is assigned. They may choose to use a “late work pass” to turn in a assignment late for possibility of full credit. They are allowed three per trimester. Makeup work: (allowed and how graded): Makeup work is allowed if the student was absent, to be turned in within as many days as the student was absent for. As stated above, homework passes are available to be used. Students are allowed three per trimester. Incomplete work: Work that is incomplete will be graded as such and is at risk for earning a lower grade than a fully completed assignment. Occasionally work may be graded as participation and preparation points, in which case, it cannot be made up with a late work pass. Sharing work with others. This is absolutely NOT tolerated unless they are working in groups. If students are caught cheating they will be warned and the assignment will be awarded a zero grade. If they are caught again, they will be referred to the administrators. How do you collect/return students’ work? The students turn in their work to a basket, and it is handed back to them by the teacher during quiet work or SSR time. Procedures related to classroom management In paragraph format, explain your action plan for the following areas of classroom management: To begin each class period, students enter the classroom and immediately sit at their desks to write the agenda from the whiteboard in their planner. Thye will then grab their daily journal, which is stored in a bin in the back of the classroom. They will open to a new page and write the date while the teacher takes attendance. The teacher will then describe the warm up and students will work on the task at the beginning of the period. The task varies from 2-3 minutes to 5-10 minutes depending on the type of activity. Students will need to practice coming in and getting straight to work and may need to be reminded as to what their responsibilities are at the beginning of the class period. What is your procedure for getting your students’ attention? In order to get the students’ attention, I stand in the front of the classroom and in a loud voice say, “Ladies and gentlemen, will you please…” and then follow with whatever the direction may be. Generally it is followed with “will you please give me your attention.” Raising my hand in the air to command attention while saying this lets the students know that it is time for them to be quite and time to pay attention to the teacher. What rules and procedures will govern the work places in the room and for various tasks? The Spartan Way guides the classroom conduct, as described before; however, when students are at their desks they must mind their neighbor’s personal space and work with integrity and respect for one another and the classroom. Procedures related to classroom conduct: Where students sit: Students have assigned seats that change typically every two to three weeks. What students should do before the bell rings to begin class: Students write the agenda in their planners and pick up their journals to begin an entry task. Leaving at the bell: Students are to be personally dismissed by the teacher, not by the bell. They will push their chairs in when directed. Drinks, food, gum: Food and drinks are not permitted unless it is water. Gum is allowed as long as it is not seen or heard. They lose the gum privilege for the day if they do not abide by this rule. Tardiness/absences: These are handled through the attendance office. Any work that is missed they must make up in a timely fashion. Asking for help: Ask a neighbor first, then ask the teacher! RAISE YOUR HAND! Consequences of rule violation(s): Depending on the severity, disciplinary action may be taken such as change of seating, loss of privileges, call(s) home to parents, or referrals to the administrators. Bathroom: Students have four privilege passes they may use to go to their locker or the restroom for each trimester. They can receive up to 30 points extra credit for not using these passes. Who may move around the classroom? During work time in the classroom students are fee to move around to sharpen pencils, get a drink, etc. when an adult or teacher is talking, students remain in their seats listening actively. What will happen if someone’s movement in the classroom is disruptive to others? Participation points may be deducted if behavior disrupts other learners. Disciplinary action then may be taken. Overall, the classroom should be a welcoming and supportive place for students to feel comfortable learning and sharing experiences with one another. It should be a safe environment for them to explore learning while establishing a strong work ethic, integrity and respect for all.
Assessment Summary
Compare pre-test and post-test scores showing anonymous, individual scores and percent of gain from pre-test to post-test. Also, include the individual percent gained in learning and the group overall increase in learning. Note the other types of assessments and your comments on their variety and success. Following is an example of a past student’s Student Assessment and Student Growth report: Student Assessment A. Prior Knowledge: Students had some prior knowledge about the Holocaust, and many knew the leader of the Nazi party. Many students were not familiar with specific concentration camps, what a ghetto is, and what conditions in the concentration camps were like. Many of them expressed interest in learning more about the topics covered in the pre-test. B. Measuring Student Progress Student progress will be measured through participation, homework assignments, presentations, projects, group work, and tests/quizzes. Each student will receive daily preparation and participation points based on their performance, group collaboration, and overall attitude in the classroom. Similarly, students will be monitored on a daily basis to be sure they are working to their full potential. C. Pre- and Post-Test Summary The pre-test results were used to modify the planning and teaching of this unit. Before administering the pre-test, I had planned which lessons I wanted to teach and how long I wanted to spend teaching each lesson. After reviewing the pre-test results, I modified my lesson in order to give enough time for the students to learn about each topic because their test scores showed that most of the topics were unfamiliar.