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The Unit Preface

Components of the Unit Preface:
(These components are described in detail in this document)
a. School, Class, and Student Profiles [including a minimum of 3 student profiles that reflect specified
diversity attributes]
b. Big Idea (the concept and primary skill being targeted) & its Rationale
c. Texts (Primary and Supplementary)
d. From the Backwards Design template
e. Creativity: Its role in learning and its function in the unit
f. Technology Use & its Rationale
g. Unit Working Title

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A: School, Class, and Student Profiles

School:

Buford Middle School, second home to hundreds of flourishing students, is a Charlottesville City School that
serves grades 7-8. The average class-size is 19.5 students and one teacher.
The Charlottesville City Schools are 50% female and 50% male. 42% of the students are black, 36% are
white, 10% are Hispanic, 6% are Asian/Pacific Islander/Hawaii, and 6% are classified as other. Gifted
education students make up 29% of the population, special education students make up 12% of the population,
and ESL students make up 13% of the population. There are more than 45 languages spoken in the
Charlottesville City School system.
Approximately half of the students at Buford Middle School participate in at least one school sport, and
75% of students participate in an extra-curricular activity during the school year.

Class:
The class this unit plan is developed for is a 7
th
grade honors class. There are approximately 18 students. The
class is two-thirds male within a racially and ethnically diverse classroom. There are great variety in students
dedication to learning. Some students get by with as little work as they can, while others overdo it.
There are several students reading below grade level. Lack of motivation is a common problem. There
are also a few rowdy students who often laugh at one of their more socially awkward classmates. Both classes
struggle with having all of the students voices heard.
In each class, there are only a few more extroverted students who contribute to the discussions while the
rest of the class remains silent.

Students:

Dimitri is a 7
th
grader in the English class at Buford Middle School. He is an ELL student who has basic
communication skills but has limited vocabulary and does not speak up in class very often. He immigrated to
the U.S. three years ago and has less exposure to reading in English than other students might have. Dimitri thus
reads two grades below his reading level. Carrying himself with a quiet demeanor, Dimitri is a dedicated
student who needs help in finding more literature and vocabulary to keep him up to speed.

Paris is a 7
th
grader in the English class at Buford Middle School. She comes from an African-American
background and has had to repeat the grade so this is the second time taking this class. Paris, outspoken and
well-regarded by her classmates in social settings, sometimes comes into class with aggression or anger that can
disrupt the classroom setting. When asking or answering questions of others, she often exhibits a negative
attitude and expresses frustration at having to repeat activities that she has already taken last year. Sometimes
this mood turns into apathy and withdrawal from learning. She is two years behind on her reading level and her
writing scores similarly lag behind her classmates.

Eli is a 7
th
grader in the English class at Buford Middle School. He comes from a background of poverty and
does not have a computer or printer at home. His parents also do not attend parent-teacher conferences or back-
to-school night because they are often working and have busy schedules. Eli sometimes seems unfocused during
class, a mind filled with distracted thoughts and nervous energy, often trying to talk and joke with his
classmates rather than doing work. He seems to learn better when there is more movement in the classroom.



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B: The Big Idea, Targeted Skill, & the Rationale
This is the section of your unit plan where you identify and rationalize your central foci.

- Primary focus: The World Around You

- Secondary focus: Word Choice



As adolescents become more inquisitive about the world around them, it is important to
give them the tools to express their thoughts to others. With its primary focus on setting and
word choice, this unit will give students opportunities to discover the paint strokes that will show
how the world around them can be a vibrant and vivid place. They will also understand that it is
essential to respect the unique perspectives that their peers bring to the each situation.
The goal of this unit is thus to have students continually practice finding the right words
to describe the world around them. This will involving drafting a vignette, two poems, and a
short story. Students will choose one of these works to revise and include in a class anthology.
There will be important mentor and model texts that serve as guides to creating a vivid portrait of
a particular place or moment in time. They will participate in literature circle discussions that
explore the creation of other worlds in fiction. This unit adheres to SOL standards of
purposefully choosing vocabulary and information to fit ones purpose. Extending out into the
world outside the classroom, the unit will help students learn ways to express their unique
perspectives to members of the community around them. As a first unit, it is a broad enough
topic that it will likely re-emerge throughout the school year.

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C: From your Backwards Design Template

ENDURING UNIVERSAL UNDERSTANDINGS

Students will understand that...

1. Students will understand the power of language to describe the world around them.

2. Students will understand that each person views the world with a unique perspective.

3. Students will understand that literature is a path to exploring alternate worlds.

CRITICAL CONCEPTS


1. setting
2. metaphor
3. simile
4. sensory detail
5. word choice

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ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS


1. Why is it important to describe the world we live in?


2. Why is it important to understand the perspectives of others?


3. Why is it important to read fiction?







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CRITICAL STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES


COGNITIVE (to know and understand)
1. Students will understand that word choice can bring a vivid perspective to a scene or
place.
AFFECTIVE (to feel/value) & NON-COGNITIVE
2. Students will value the unique perspective each person brings to his or her surroundings.
3. Students will feel that they are an important voice in the classroom community.
4. Students will value literature as a path to exploring alternative possibilities.
PERFORMATIVE (to do)
5. Students will be able to describe the impact of an authors choice of words.
6. Students will be able to practice the authors craft of choosing vocabulary and
information purposefully.
7. Students will be able to use prior and background knowledge as a basis for new learning.
Standards: Select at least 2 related SOLs and CCSs (at your units grade level) that fit into
your learning framework. Give them the numbers that they carry in the State Department SOL
document/CCS Website.

SOL# SOL Objective

1. 7.5 d) Describe the impact of word choice, imagery, and literary devices including
figurative language.
2. 7.7 g) Select vocabulary and information to enhance the central idea, tone, and voice
3. 7.5 f) Use prior and background knowledge as a context for new learning
CCS# CCS Objective

4. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative
and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds
(e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
5. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3.D
Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to
capture the action and convey experiences and events.

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D: Texts (Primary and Supplementary)

Relevant print texts:
o Primary:
The Rules of the Game by Amy Tan
Where Im From by George Ella Lyons
Ode to Salt by Pablo Neruda

Literature Circles (Other Worlds):
All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
Alices Adventures Underground (First 2 chapters) by Lewis Carroll
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury



Relevant media (audio/video/film clips, ads, etc.)
Citizen Kane (opening scene)


Models (Texts, graphic organizers, etc.)
Model text of vignette


Technology (based on school site evaluation of resources)
Overhead projector
Tablets
Smartboard




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E: The Importance of Creativity & Its Role in this Units Learning

Creativity is essential to the ELA classroom because it allows students to see learning as
something that surpasses strictly factual knowledge that they may have experienced in their
previous classrooms. I think that creativity means moving beyond the literal to make
connections among different ideas. When students are encouraged to think in this creative
way, they will feel more personal investment in their learning. Whether it be through
personal writing or other means of artistic and analytical expression, they can develop
ownership over their own education more so than within the traditional teacher-knows-all
model of learning.
Teachers should also be creative in their use of materials and teaching strategies so that
they can reach a multitude of student interests and learning preferences. In my unit, I am
using model poems for how students might express themselves through the free-verse form.
For a summative assessment, I am having students revise a short story, poem, or vignette that
they have written. This will allow them to think creatively about their past and write a piece
that they truly call their own.


F: Technology Tools/Resources & Rationale for Use

While I have an ambivalent view of technology in the classroom, I do think that its
greatest strengths include speed, student-driven learning, and the ability to easily view visual
material. Drawing from my experience in my Teaching with Technology class, technology
allows teachers to quickly gather information (e.g. Google surveys and Google documents) for
ease of grading or paperwork. Technology also creates multiple venues for student expression,
whether it be through blogs or student-made films. It is also an excellent resource for showing
films or pictures in the classroom, perhaps on a SmartBoard. In my 4882 placement, the teacher
has used the Smart Board for these purposes and I feel that the students are definitely more
engaged in class when this occurs.
I think a weakness of technology is that it is prone to glitches that can take up valuable
class time. In schools equipped with tablets, students frequently use their tablets but also have
numerous glitches or dead spots on their screen so that the devices are non-functional. It may be
better for students to simply use a sheet of paper or keep a written journal with their ideas. I think
that in my classroom, I will use technology to present visual media and have students type their
memoirs. In the present moment with fast-moving technology and distractions all around us,
however, I believe that the unquiet think to do would be take these lessons from technology
and use them to re-invent our connection to the physical text itself. For example, in one of my
lessons, I will have students read a physical text but use highlighters to point out different
themes. This is a practice of contemporary data-mining that preserves our emotional connection
with the book or story in its physical form.



G: Units Working Title

Writing My World