MYP Unit Planner

UNIT TITLE (fun and engaging)

Maus Trap

Unit # (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6)

Teacher(s)

MacDonald

Subject, grade, and level of

class (L, M, H, HH)

Language A, 9th grade, all levels

Start date and time frame

Oct. 22nd (6 weeks)

Stage 1: Integrate significant concept, area of interaction and unit question.

Area of interaction focus

Significant concept

Which area of interaction will be our focus?

What is the big idea of this unit? What do you want

your students to remember 5 years from now?

What is the CONTENT REASON for choosing this

area of interaction?

Health and Social Education: This

unit will be focused on the social
issue of genocide and the
contributing factors for it existing in
our world. Students will be asked to
reflect on the issues of human rights
and how they can be manipulated
under particular circumstances.

How can I express it in a non-content specific way in

order to create an opportunity for an interdisciplinary
conversation?

There are several reasons that cause

someone to follow another.

MYP Unit Question

Why do we follow?

STAGE 2: Backward planning from the assessment to the learning activities through inquiry.
ASSESSMENT:

One essay of 500-1000 words.

Culminating Task:
Which Prescribed Minimum Task are you using?(see
SUBJECT GUIDE)

Task Description:
Describe the culminating task you will be doing
in as much detail as possible (use GRASPS model
to help your create your task)
How is the Area of Interaction (from page 1) you
chose tied into this task?

After learning about the Holocaust and what caused people

to follow during World War Two, students will be charged
with finding another instance of genocide from the last one
hundred years. They will research the genocide and look
for similarities to the Holocaust to answer the question of
why do people follow?
Health and social education is tied to this task because by
can reflect on some of the reasons (both good and bad) that
people follow in our world. They can then begin to think
about how they act when it comes to following and how it
not only affects themselves but also the people around
them.

STATE STANDARDS
What SPECIFIC skills do you want your students to learn during this unit?

COMMON CORE STANDARDS:

RI.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how

it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the
points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
RI.5 Analyze in detail how an authors ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences,
paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
RL.5 Analyze how an authors choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel
plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
RL.6 Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the
United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
W.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

Which MYP assessment CRITERION/OBJECTIVE(s)

will be used for your culminating task? (Letter and Name)see SUBJECT GUIDE

Ex: A - Knowledge

What specific MYP STRANDS will addressed by the

culminating task? (BULLET POINTS under the
CRITERION/ OBJECTIVE(s) in your subject guide)
***choose 1 to 2 that you will focus on for each
CRITERION/OBJECTIVE(s) you chose above.

A: Content
C: Style and Language Mechanics

A: Content
- Analyse the effects of the authors choices on an
audience.
- Express an informed and independent response to
literary and non-literary texts.
C: Style and Language Mechanics
- Use language accurately
- Use appropriate and varied sentence structure.

APPROACHES TO LEARNING:
Using the MYP STRANDS (bullet points) from
above, list at least 2 to 3 skills below that will
become the focus of your teaching toward the
culminating task?
o ORGANIZATION
o COLLABORATION
o COMMUNICATION
o INFORMATION LITERACY
o REFLECTION
o THINKING
o TRANSFER

LEARNING EXPERIENCES
(Formative Assessments)
For each of the APPROACHES TO LEARNING from
above, how will it be measured in order to ensure that
students are proficient by the time the summative
assessment if given?

Thinking: Students need to have a clear

understanding of the unit question before they can
begin to work on the final task.
Organization: Students will use the writing process
in order to organize their thoughts and convey their
learning through an essay.
Information Literacy: Students will need to use
research to identify why people follow in time of
genocide using their findings from research.

Question of the day, homework assignments, in

class discussions, group work, brainstorms, teacher
conferences, quizzes.

TEACHING STRATEGIES
Looking at the skills chosen above in APPROACHES TO LEARNING and the MYP STRANDS, what specific activities
will you do each week to ensure that the students are learning these skills?

WEEK 1:
WEEK 2:
WEEK 3:
WEEK 4:
WEEK 5:
WEEK 6:

Question of the Day, genocide KWL, webquest presentations, image analysis, group
discussions.
Question of the Day, vocabulary practice, grammar exercises, group discussions, annotating
text, independent reading.
Question of the Day, annotating text, critical thinking questions, group work, I wonder
questions, independent reading.
Question of the Day, Holocaust Museum field trip, image analysis, critical thinking
questions, chapter review questions
Question of the Day, vocabulary practice, grammar exercises, preliminary research,
brainstorming, drafting, editing.
Question of the Day, drafting, editing, peer revisions, teacher conferences.

RESOURCES

What resources do you plan to use on during this unit?

How do you plan on using these resources during this unit?

Maus: A Survivors Tale; Art Spiegelman

Diaries or Holocaust survivors
Holocaust Museum; Skokie Illinois
Milgrams Experiment resources
Selections from:
-Arendt The Origins of Totalitarianism and Eichmann in Jerusalem
Internet resources (students found)

STAGE 3: Globalizing our curriculum

Which LEARNER PROFILE attribute does this unit of study help build toward our goal of
creating better GLOBAL CITIZENS?
Students need to be inquirers as they investigate parts of world history that they may not have known
about previously. Students also need to be open-minded to the difficult choices that people had to make in
times of genocide. Lastly, students need to be reflective on world history in order to understand why
genocide happens and how to prevent it.
How does this unit prepare your students to INVESTIGATE THE WORLD?
Students are investigating genocides that have occurred all over the world. They will understand that there
are similarities in all of these genocides regardless of where and when they happened.
How does this unit prepare your students to COMMUNICATE THEIR IDEAS TO OTHERS?
Students need to communicate their ideas throughout the unit in independent writing, group discussions,
and homework responses. At the end of the unit, students will communicate their ideas through the essay
that they will write to provide an answer to the unit question.
How does this unit help your students RECOGNIZE THE PERSPECTIVES OF OTHERS?
Students will need to empathize with others and understand why people followed for both good and bad
reasons during times of genocide. Students will have the chance to speak with a Holocaust survivor and
understanding his perspective and the decisions he made in life.
How will your students have the opportunity to TAKE ACTION with what they learned?
Students will obtain the knowledge of what drives people to follow others and will be able to take action
to stop following when it may cause problems/danger for themselves or others.

Portfolio Opportunities

Will the students be working on a project that they may be able to include in their Graduate Portfolio?
***If so, describe the assignment in detail
What will be collected and included in the students portfolio?
Will it be mandatory for all of the students to complete this project?
What steps will you take with the students to revise and improve these projects to be sure that they are ready to be
included in the students portfolio?

The final draft of the genocide essay can be put in a students graduate portfolio. Students will compare
the Holocaust with another genocide to determine similar factors that caused those involved to follow.
This is a mandatory project that all students must complete. Students will be taken through the writing
process from brainstorming to publishing in order to ensure students turn in their best work.

Guest Speakers

Is there an opportunity to bring in someone to speak to your class during this unit?
Is there someone in the building that might be able to help you with obtaining a guest speaker?

All students participating in this unit will travel to the Holocaust Museum of Skokie IL. While on the field

experience, students will get a guided tour of the museum, ask questions to curators, and hear from a
living Holocaust survivor.