I chose to have my unit reflect one of the units my teacher at East Grand Rapids High School

taught. The reason I did this was because I wanted to intentionally differ from what he did, but also
take advantage of some of his effective strategies. I knew I needed a unit that could be covered with
around five lessons. This led me to choose a simplified version of Newtons Second Law. I knew this
topic would be teachable, flexible with regards to lessons I could create, and fit perfectly in a freshmen
physics class.
Once I knew the unit I wanted to cover, I needed to narrow it down to five lessons. Logically
going through the different concepts and material, I decided to eliminate some of the components
sometimes taught. My teacher personally spent two weeks on the subject and still didnt get to the
deeper concepts like coefficient of friction and forces on an incline. His unit has involved several days of
worksheets and review, so I knew I could eliminate some lessons merely by hitting one topic a day. The
convenient part of physics is that the lessons build off each other.
I started with an intro to Newtons Second Law and the equation associated with it. I wanted to
cement in the Second law and the relationship between the variables so I gave the students a lab in
which they could quantitatively witness how F=ma works. The third lesson adds the component of
different type of forces. I wanted students to convey this added concept back to me in a creative way
that involved technology so I came up with the idea of a video assignment. The project allowed
students to find a real world application and then demonstrate it on video, allowing them to reinforce
what they learned in class. My fourth lesson I wanted students to learn in a way that didnt involve me
teaching upfront. I also wanted to encourage students to constantly ask the question why. This made
me think up the idea of having students search for knowledge using different resources and then teach
it to their partner. My hope was that between the two they would cover the learning concept of the
lesson. I also provided a short video that summarized the concept for that lesson, filling in any gaps the
students might have missed. Finally, I knew my lessons needed a little bit more math and conceptual

problems, so I added in a review day. Rather than doing a stereotypical worksheet, I decided to create a
powerpoint that required students to analyze an image and determine its free body diagram. I then
would have one conceptual and one math-based problem relating to the image. In the end, I thought
my lessons did a good job of reaching the students with different activities, which hopefully kept them
engaged and allowed for various expressions of knowledge. In other words, I felt my unit was effective
in using different activities
I felt my worldview was quite limited in making the unit plan. In a public setting I find the best I
can do is have the students ask the question why. In doing this, I hope to lead them towards a grand
Creator. Creating a unit plan that required me to implement a worldview encouraged me to develop a
strategy for expressing my faith in a public school setting. I was disappointed I couldnt be more direct,
but hopefully if they see how much I love the topic, they will learn to love it too, and then learn to love
Who is behind it all.
I developed a personal and professional filter as I tried to shape the lessons both around the
learners and my worldview. I had to mold the lessons so that I could express myself and the students
could express themselves. It proved difficult, but I found much time is needed to develop proper and
effective lessons. It made me realize I cant just hope to take other peoples lessons and use them.
Instead, I need to understand my learners and find activities that will engage all and help them learn not
only the concepts needed, but also, obtain the objectives the State requires. I found this actually makes
lesson planning more fun because it requires me to creatively make lessons that involve various forms of
teaching. If I state tests were all that mattered I would lecture and make sure they knew the material. If
no standards existed, including from the school, I would probably do crazy experiments that dont
actually help learning. The healthy middle ground where both the state and the school expect good
teaching helped me create effective yet engaging lessons. In the end, I learned creative teaching is more
enjoyable for the student and the teacher.