Unit Plan: World History - Cold War

Total Number of Students:

○ 26 Students Total
○ 13 Boys
○ 13 Girls

Context of Site:
○ Tamalpais High School
○ Southern Marin County, San Francisco Metropolitan Area
○ 2016-17 Enrollment Data
○ Male: 778
○ Female: 808
○ Low SES: 150
○ ELL: 34
○ SPEC ED: 138
○ 504 Plan: 23

Ethnicity of Students:
○ African American: 3.72%
○ Asian: 8.07%
○ Hispanic: 10.09%
○ White: 69.99%
○ American Indian: 0.50%
○ Filipino: 1.32%
○ Pacific Islander: 0.44%
○ Other: 0.93%

English Language Learners:

○ No students in the class but notes will be included for differentiated instruction
and accommodation strategies.

Students With Special Needs:

○ One student with an IEP. ​AW support; some low grades; accommodated
curriculum in SS, Science and ELA. CAASP standard met in ELA and nearly met
in math.
Subject:​ Social Studies

Grade Level:​ 10

Title of Unit:
Restructuring the Postwar World, Cold War Mini Unit

Unit Plan:
The unit will be delivered over a two week instructional period; the class will meet three
times each week for one 40 minute period plus two 90 minute block periods. There will
be a total of 7.3 hours of in-class instruction and students will be expected to allocate at
least one hour towards out-of-class preparation for each hour of in-class activity.

Unit Summary:
This two-week learning unit assesses the postwar period of 1945-present and considers
how the United States and the Soviet Union competed for economic and military
superiority during the Cold War Era. Students will learn that the United States and the
Soviet Union competed for dominance in the post-World War II world, with important
consequences for other nations.

Students will demonstrate mastery of the content standards and achieve the objectives
of the unit's stated learning outcomes by participating in a series of student​-centered
and teacher-guided activities that enable them to construct their own learning. Working
independently and with their peers in a variety of grouping configurations, students will
participate in whole class discussions, complete a learning stations task, collaborate to
construct a digital timeline, participate in a whole-class simulation, complete reading
and writing assessments, and take part in a variety of other learning activities designed
to help them interpret and develop deep understandings of the unit’s essential question
as well as the key historical, social and cultural concepts associated with the Cold War
era.

Throughout the learning unit, students will apply and develop their 21st Century
skill​-sets for critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication and IMTS in order
to understand the historical significance of the Cold War era, assess its legacy upon
their own lives, and consider questions that will in turn lead to enduring insights,
opinions and understandings about competition, its benefits and under what
circumstances it can become detrimental to the participants.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills

The intellectual skills noted below are to be learned through, and applied to, the content
standards for grades nine through twelve. They are to be assessed ​only in conjunction
with ​the content standards in grades nine through twelve.

In addition to the standards for grades nine through twelve, students demonstrate the
following intellectual, reasoning, re ection, and research skills.

Chronological and Spatial Thinking

1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of
past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.

2. Students analyze how change happens at different rates at different times;

understand that some aspects can change while others remain the same; and
understand that change is complicated and a ects not only technology and
politics but also values and beliefs.

3. Students relate current events to the physical and human characteristics of

places and regions.

Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View

1. Students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical

interpretations.

2. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.

3. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative

interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of evidence and
the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading
oversimplifications.

4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ

information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and
written presentations.
Historical Interpretation

1. Students show the connections, causal and otherwise, between particular

historical events and larger social, economic, and political trends and
developments.

2. Students recognize the complexity of historical causes and effects, including the
limitations on determining cause and effect.

3. Students interpret past events and issues within the context in which an event
unfolded rather than solely in terms of present-day norms and values.

4. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events

and recognize that events could have taken other directions.

History–Social Science Content Standards

Area: Students in grade ten study major turning points that shaped the modern world,
from the late eighteenth century through the present, including the cause and course of
the two world wars. They trace the rise of democratic ideas and develop an
understanding of the historical roots of current world issues, especially as they pertain
to international relations. They extrapolate from the American experience that
democratic ideals are often achieved at a high price, remain vulnerable, and are not
practiced everywhere in the world. Students develop an understanding of current world
issues and relate them to their historical, geographic, political, economic, and cultural
contexts. Students consider multiple accounts of events in order to understand
international relations from a variety of perspectives.

10.9 Students analyze the international developments in the post-WW II world.

1. Compare the economic and military power shifts caused by the war, including the
Yalta Pact, the development of nuclear weapons, Soviet control over Eastern
European nations, and the economic recoveries of Germany and Japan.

2. Analyze the causes of the Cold War, with the free world on one side and Soviet
client states on the other, including competition for influence in such places as
Egypt, the Congo, Vietnam, and Chile.
 3. Understand the importance of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, which
established the pattern for America’s postwar policy of supplying economic and
military aid to prevent the spread of Communism and the resulting economic and
political competition in arenas such as Southeast Asia (i.e., the Korean War,
Vietnam War), Cuba, and Africa.

4. Analyze the Chinese Civil War, the rise of Mao Tse-tung, and the subsequent
political and economic upheavals in China (e.g., the Great Leap Forward, the
Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square uprising).

5. Describe the uprisings in Poland (1952), Hungary (1956), and Czechoslovakia

(1968) and those countries’ resurgence in the 1970s and 1980s as people in
Soviet satellites sought freedom from Soviet control.

6. Understand how the forces of nationalism developed in the Middle East, how the
Holocaust affected world opinion regarding the need for a Jewish state, and the
significance and effects of the location and establishment of Israel on world
affairs.

7. Analyze the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the weakness
of the command economy, burdens of military commitments, and growing
resistance to Soviet rule by dissidents in satellite states and the non-Russian
Soviet republics.

8. Discuss the establishment and work of the United Nations and the purposes and
functions of the Warsaw Pact, SEATO, NATO, and the Organization of American
States.

Enduring Understandings:

○ Two conflicting economic and political systems, capitalism and communism, and
democratic and authoritarian - completed for influence and power after World
War II.

○ The superpowers in this struggle were the United States and the Soviet Union.
The competition for dominance between the United States and the Soviet Union
had important consequences for other nations.
 ○ In Asia, the Americas, and Eastern Europe, people revolted against repressive
governments or rule by foreign powers. These revolutions often became arenas
for conflict between the two superpowers.

○ The United States and the Soviet Union used military, economic, and
humanitarian aid to extend their control over other countries. Each also tried to
prevent the other superpower from gaining influence.

○ The Cold War divided the world. In Asia, the Cold War flared into actual wars
supported mainly by the superpowers. In Latin America and Middle Eastern
conflicts, the superpowers supported opposing sides.

○ The Cold War began to thaw as the superpowers entered an era of uneasy
diplomacy. The Cold War tensions decreased with the fall of the Berlin wall and
the Cold War effectively ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

○ The Cold War lasted almost fifty years; it influenced events in Europe, Cuba,
Central America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and caused repercussions
that still affect our lives today.

Essential Questions:

Theme:

When and how does competition become detrimental for the participants?

Overarching:

○ What are the motivators for competition and how can they turn from beneficial to
detrimental?

○ When can competition leave participants with outcomes that are inequitable
and/or unjust?

○ At what point does competition move from beneficial to destructive?

○ When was competition in the Cold War helpful and when was it detrimental?
Topical:

○ When did the Cold War develop and what were the principal factors that drove its
formation?

○ How did the United States and the Soviet Union compete for superiority on an
economic, ideological and military arms basis in the Cold War Era?

○ How was the Cold War waged all over the world?

○ What were the important consequences for other nations that resulted from
competition between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War
era?

○ How did former colonies respond to the Cold War and liberation?

○ How, why and under what circumstances did the Cold War end?

○ How have events from the Cold War continued to affect our lives today?

Knowledge:

○ Students will gain an understanding of the post-war world in 1945, to include how
the effects of World War II reverberated around the world, intensifying three
earlier trends whose effects persisted well into the twenty-first century:
decolonization, the Cold War, and globalization. Students will further understand
that the war accelerated the decline of European power worldwide and the rise of
the United States militarily, economically, and culturally.

○ Students will understand the economic and military power shifts caused by the
war, including the Yalta Pact, effects of the Potsdam Conference, the
development of nuclear weapons, Soviet control over Eastern European nations,
and the economic recoveries of Germany and Japan.

○ Students will understand the differences between the capitalist-democratic

United States and the communist-authoritarian Soviet Union, and they will gain
insights about the specifics of mutual distrusts, suspicions, and sharp
disagreements between the two superpowers that contributed to development of
the Cold War.
○ Students will understand that throughout Cold War period, there was an
escalation in hostility between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and that the U.S.
and the Soviet Union intervened and competed politically, militarily, and
economically in dozens of nations in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America,
and the Caribbean in an effort to protect their respective strategic interests.

○ Students will analyze and understand the importance of the Truman Doctrine and
the Marshall Plan, which established the pattern for America’s postwar policy of
supplying economic and military aid to prevent the spread of Communism and
the resulting economic and political competition in arenas such as Southeast
Asia (i.e., the Korean War, Vietnam War), Cuba, and Africa.

○ Students will understand and be able to discuss the establishment and work of
the United Nations and the purposes and functions of the Warsaw Pact, SEATO,
NATO, and the Organization of American States.

○ Students will understand and analyze the factors that led to Chinese Civil War
and its outcomes that resulted in the rise of Mao Tse-tung, and the subsequent
political and economic upheavals in China (e.g., the Great Leap Forward, the
Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square uprising).

○ Students will understand and be able to describe the uprisings in Poland (1952),
Hungary (1956), and Czechoslovakia (1968) and those countries’ resurgence in
the 1970s and 1980s as people in Eastern Bloc satellite states sought freedom
from Soviet control.

○ Students will understand how the forces of nationalism developed in the Middle
East, how the Holocaust affected world opinion with respect to the need for a
Jewish state, and the significance and effects of the location and establishment
of Israel on world affairs.

○ Students will understand, analyze and be able to articulate the reasons for the
collapse of the Soviet Union, including the weakness of the command economy,
burdens of military commitments, and growing resistance to Soviet rule by
dissidents in satellite states and the non-Russian Soviet republics.
Skills:

○ Be able to read, interpret and explain the significance of content from primary
source documents associated with the era of the Cold War. When using,
interpreting and/or discussing these documents, be able to distinguish the
differences between valid, specious and/or otherwise fallacious arguments.

○ Analyze primary and secondary historical, literary and cultural artifacts (or
facsimiles thereof) from the era of the Cold War, and apply them for construction
of oral and written presentations. When doing so, students will show their ability
to analyze the different explanations for the Cold War and will demonstrate their
understanding of ​how did the United States and the Soviet Union competed for
superiority on an economic, ideological and military arms basis.

○ Draw conclusions and make inferences about the purpose, underlying intent and
overall effects of various policies, philosophies and actions associated with the
Cold War era. When doing so, be able to recognize the complexities of historical
perspective, and the inherent limitations associated with determining specific
causes and effects. Students can also demonstrate an ability to understand the
meaning, implication and impact of key historical events from the Cold War era;
they can recognize and articulate how these events could have taken different
directions or turned out differently.

○ Be able to identify the principal figures that were involved in key events of the era
and articulate how their actions affected and influenced ideologies, political
thought and societal policies during the Cold War.

○ Determine how events from the Cold War affected people’s lives during that
period and in the decades that followed, and be able to identify how the legacy of
the Cold War still impacts our lives in the current day. As part of this skill-set,
students demonstrate that they can interpret past events within the context of the
era it occurred, rather than solely by relying upon understandings associated with
present-day norms and values.

○ Identify, associate and connect issues from the Cold war to current ideas and
concepts that are part of our lives today. In doing so, demonstrate an ability to
construct connections and draw conclusions, causal or otherwise, between a
particular event(s) and the larger social, economic, political and/or cultural trends
and developments of the historical period as well as the current day.
Performance Tasks:

○ Students will participate in turn-and-talks activities and/or construct short written

responses to prompts at the beginning of class in order to activate prior
knowledge, build anticipation and prepare to learn.

○ Students will work individually to secure and write about a recent article that they
will choose from a newspaper, periodical or online resource. Students will use a
reading strategy of their choice to summarize who and what the story is about,
describe where the event is occurring, and why it is relevant. They will then
connect the article to the essential question of the unit they are studying; they will
include their own thoughts about the article and whether they agree with the
author's ideas. This task offers the teacher an opportunity to assess students'
ability for intellectual skills associated with historical interpretation and their ability
to connect concepts as well as to create understandings that are not solely
based on present day norms and values.

○ Students, working together in small groups on a learning-station exercise, will

prepare individual written products based upon their examination and analysis of
primary and secondary documents, plus other audio and visual resources
associated with key events of the early Cold War era. The teacher will observe
the exercise and review the written product to assess students' ability to read,
interpret, write and orally explain the significance of content from primary source
documents, especially with respect to addressing and understanding ideas
associated with the unit's essential question(s). This will also be a key
opportunity for students to build essential schema and for the teacher to assess
students' 21st century skill-sets with emphasis on their ability to collaborate,
communicate, and think critically.

○ Students will work individually to research, analyze and then prepare a written
product, in digital format and supported with audio-visual media, about a key
event from the Cold War. They will follow by collaborating on a whole-class
basis to prepare and present a Google slide deck that demonstrates their
understanding of cause and effect, connectivity, and how events of the Cold War
affected people’s lives during the era and in the the decades that followed.
Students will utilize all of their 21st Century skill-sets to curate and construct their
own digital interpretation of a Cold War timeline in a way that will persist as a
permanent and reflective representation of their collective learnings.
○ Students will complete a summative assessment designed to measure their
mastery of the unit material, to demonstrate their ability to analyze, evaluate and
interpret information, to synthesize their own ideas, and to tender conclusions
based on what they know. The main component of the summative assessment
will be a whole-class exercise wherein students will be tasked to produce,
perform and present a simulated sixty minute live news broadcast from the early
90’s that presents a retrospective of key events and figures associated with the
Cold War. To demonstrate their mastery of the material, to show that they can
make connections among important ideas from the unit, that they can apply what
they have learned to their own lives, and that they have made the information
their own, student teams will prepare and orally deliver presentations that will be
augmented with audio-visual media. At the end of the simulated broadcast,
students will participate in a writing exercise wherein they will address the unit’s
essential question. Students’ presentations and the post-exercise written product
will be utilized by the teacher to assess students' deep understandings and to
determine their level of transferable knowledge, i.e. their ability to take what they
have learned and apply it to new ideas and situations.

○ Throughout the unit of study, a variety of printed, visual and/or audio content will
be utilized to offer different modalities for learning and to provide opportunities for
students to perform historical research, assess evidence and consider alternate
points of view. Students will use video, photographic and/or audio resources as a
means to make sense of what they learn, to deepen their understanding of core
unit material and to develop transferable knowledge. Students will be challenged
to distinguish between valid and fallacious arguments in historical interpretations,
to identify bias and prejudice in historical preparations, and to consider
alternative interpretations of the past, to include analysis of the media creator's
use of evidence, as well as distinctions between sound generalizations and
misleading oversimplifications.

○ Students will utilize and complete graphic organizers during periods of direct
instruction. This formative assessment will serve as an integrative task for the
student and will offer a rapid means for the teacher to gather feedback about
whether the main ideas from the learning session and the students' perceptions
and understandings of those ideas are aligned.

○ Teacher's classroom circulation, observation, and student questioning will be

utilized daily to monitor and assess student learning and progress.
Learning Activities/Sequence

Resources & Unit Handouts:

○ Printed and digital copies of texts, digital audio versions, textbook chapter
summaries (digital). Printed readings and long-form journalism articles, online
information resources, online primary and secondary source documents,
collateral necessary to conduct simulation(s), video, audio and photographic
resources. Graphic organizers, infographics and worksheets.
Technology Resources:
○ Internet Access, Teacher Laptop, Overhead Projector, Chromebooks, Google
Tools (Chrome, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Classroom, Google Drive, YouTube).
Student Familiarity with Software Tool:
○ Students possess individual gmail and Tam district accounts; they utilize Google
Classroom and Chrome and are highly conversant in a wide variety of
applications

Unit Navigation:

○ This student-centric learning unit is designed to help students construct their own
understandings about the content and make the information their own.
Throughout the two-week learning period, a variety of hands-on exercises and
teacher-guided activities conducted in different grouping configurations will
create a high-engagement learning environment where students can develop
deep transferable understandings about the unit’s key ideas and concepts.
Students will know they are expected to take ownership of their own learning
process; homework and outside-of-class preparation will be key to meeting the
objectives of the unit's academic content standards.

○ Students will utilize Google Classroom as a tangible guide for knowing what to
expect and as a means to navigate through the unit's content. Electronic copies
of lectures, readings, performance tasks, rubrics, class handouts, key terms and
essential questions are all listed and available at anytime for online review or
download. Aside from functioning as a navigable guide for learning, GC helps
students to organize their thinking, prepares them for class participation and
helps them focus on the most important ideas. GC helps all students to assess
what they have learned, to consider what is understood and to ask questions
when there are gaps in understanding. As important, it promotes student
ownership of their learning and offers them with a means to suggest changes,
additions or other edits.
Hook:

○ To engage learners and create a sense of anticipation throughout the unit for the
content and ideas they'll explore, a single thematic hook will be utilized. Students
will participate in turn-and-talks activities and/or construct short written responses
to prompts at the beginning of class in order to activate prior knowledge and
prepare to learn.

Equipping Students:
Students will be afforded different kinds of opportunities for exploration that will equip
them with the tools necessary to demonstrate learning:

○ Paired and small group activities, punctuated with lectures and teacher-guided
whole-class discussions, will offer opportunities for students to share and
exchange their ideas in order to build their understanding about the learning
unit’s key concepts. Emphasis will be placed upon creation of classroom
experiences for collaborative learning where students can exchange insights and
ideas; students will use these opportunities to reflect on what they are learning in
order to coalesce their thinking, build understanding and surface big ideas.
Students will also participate in active, hands-on activities that will afford them
with opportunities to think about what they are doing and apply it to what they are
learning.

○ Students will also work individually. Ample opportunities to review lesson content,
read, and conduct their own research will afford students with opportunities to
organize their ideas, reflect on what they know and consider what they still need
to learn in order to construct their own understanding. This is time when
students will build knowledge by using their own critical thinking to reason and
synthesize information in order to build a roadmap for answers that will allow
them to demonstrate their understanding and mastery of the unit’s big ideas and
core concepts.

Students Evaluate Their Own Work

Students will evaluate their own work as well as their understanding of unit concepts
and lesson material through a series of self-reflection activities:

○ The beginning of class activities will be opportunities for students to think about
what they know and to identify gaps in their understanding.
 ○ Class-wide discussions after lectures will offer time to check in, ask open-ended
questions, clear misunderstandings and listen to the ideas and questions of
others.

○ Students will be afforded opportunities to assess and reflect upon their own
learning as they work together in small group configurations. These occasions
for direct interaction will promote active learning, let classmates practice their
skills for collaboration and communication, provide chances to reinforce what
they know, and offers opportunities to broaden their understanding through
exposure to the points of view and perspectives of others.

○ Printed instructions for activities and rubrics (as appropriate) will be utilized as a
tool for students to monitor and evaluate the execution and quality of their work.
Prior to the beginning of each performance task, printed instructions will be
distributed and students will participate in a short review to understand the
criteria for success and how different levels of achievement are defined. As
students work through each task, they will utilize the instructions (or rubric) to
monitor their output, ensure that the required metrics for skill, knowledge and
understanding are being demonstrated, and to reference what else needs to be
done to improve the quality of their final product.

○ For individual and group work, students will utilize graphic organizers and/or
worksheets to order facts and ideas, to improve their understanding of how
concepts connect, as a means to evaluate their own work by organizing their
thought processes on a visual basis, and to identify gaps or areas where they
need to learn more.

Tailoring Learning To Individual Needs

Every student has different needs; these are general notes and strategies on
adaptations and modifications of content and curriculum available to accommodate
learning needs of Special Need, ELL, and Advanced Learners throughout the course of
the unit experience.

IEP Student:

○ Frequent Teacher Check In and Teacher Proximity: Seat the student near the
teacher such that the teacher can make frequent (light) physical, desktop or eye
contact with the student in order to maintain student's attention.
 ○ Check infrequently and informally with the student to let them know I’m
interested.
○ Advance Notice: Provide the lesson outline in advance. For reading assignments,
develop previewing strategies that break the content into comprehensible units
that the student can read in advance. On occasion, let the student know in
advance that there will be a participatory requirement to which he/she must
respond. For instance, mention before the BOP exercise there it is likely that the
student may be called upon to participate. Use this technique to focus the
student on the near term task at hand.
○ Timer: To help the student stay focused on task, use a simple kitchen timer or a
projection of a countdown device to drive awareness of time allocation.
○ Extra Time To Finish assignments: Allocate extra time to finish assignments; pair
with a self-monitoring strategy to optimize results.
○ Self-Monitoring Strategy: Work with the student to develop a self-monitoring
strategy. For instance, provide a scorecard that the student can use to
self-monitor for staying on task, finishing an assignment on time, or complying
with a teacher directive.
○ Task Modification: Break longer assignments into shorter, more manageable
chunks.

ELL:

○ Use time during classroom circulation to check in with ELL students to ascertain
understanding, offer extra instruction.
○ Offer online resources, i.e. Google Translate to make content more accessible
and comprehensible.
○ Modified Vocabulary List: Modify the vocabulary list to include pictures for visual
cues and/or as appropriate, include Spanish captions and descriptions to
differentiate and make the content more accessible and comprehensible.
○ Spanish Language Summaries: As necessary, augment the performance tasks
with short one or two paragraph that describe and summarize the tasks and
desired outcomes. Similarly, offer Spanish language summary(s) of key topics
and vocabulary words.
○ Peer Learning: Shoulder partnering provides opportunities for interactions where
students can practice hands-​on listening, speaking and responding in a low
stress, low stakes learning environment.
○ Visual Signals: Teacher utilizes visual signals, like countdowns with fingers;
helps ELL students understand classroom requests.
 ○ Seating: Seat ELL students near each other so that they can collaborate in their
native language as appropriate.
○ Consider pairing ELLs as shoulder partners on some occasions; in other
instances, pair the ELL student with an English proficient or native English
speaking partner for scaffolded learning experiences.

Advanced Learner:

○ Curriculum Compacting: Assess what a student already knows about material to

be studied. Create new plans for freed up time to be spent in enriched or
accelerated study. Follow with curriculum that student must still complete to
address learning that is still not known.
○ Independent/Small Group Project: Teacher and student identify problems or
topics of interest to the student, plan a method of investigating the problem or
topic, and identify the type of product the student will develop.
○ High Level Questions: Provide the student with alternative questions that
challenge thinking and engage by requiring him/her to make leaps of
understanding and draw on advanced levels of information. An example might be
to start the student off with an advanced BOP exercise to assess his/her level of
previous knowledge and then make adjustments and/or modifications to the
curriculum based on the assessment.
○ Contract: Make an agreement between teacher and student in which the teacher
grants certain choices about how a student may complete tasks. The student
agrees to use the choices appropriately in designing and completing work
according to mutually agreed specifications.
○ Tiered Instruction/Assignments: The advanced learner is taught the same skill or
concept as the class, but with varied and/or advanced content, process and/or
product. The student is instructed at a level that is based upon prior knowledge
and which prompts engagement and continued growth. (This requires substantial
preparation by the teacher to prep and administer.)
○ Mentorship: Engage the Advanced Learner by enlisting their help to provide
scaffolded or adapted help for Learning Disability, ELL or other Special Need
classmates.

Special Needs: (In Danger of Failing):

○ Model what failure and success look like.

○ Model metacognition strategies.
 ○ Offer iterative work; emphasize iteration and progress over finishing and
completion.
○ Enlist student on ways to improve. Find out how she/he likes to learn and modify
adapt the curriculum as appropriate to accommodate.
○ Expose the learning experience in advance to the student. Review the entire plan
up front. Get the student to commit and then collaborate with him/her to identify
challenging areas of the curriculum. Work together to devise alternate means of
instructing and learning that position the student for success.
○ Gamify or personalize the learning.
○ Help the student create and use checklist
○ Require completion of all classwork and/or revision of all failed work.
○ Find out if there any kinds of assignments that present difficulty; develop
alternative learning strategies.
○ Let the student know I care and am committed to his/her success. Commit to
checking in frequently, and get the same commitment from the student. Team
effort.

Organizing The Work For Maximal Engagement:

○ The learning unit will be structured in an engaging sequence of varied activities

designed to develop and deepen students’ understanding. To facilitate this
organizational approach to learning, students will participate in individual, paired,
small group and whole​-class groupings. Most instructional sequences will be
chunked into a variety of three to four exercises per class session with each
designed to promote active ​learning; all will feature a natural and clearly defined
transition to the next activity in order to maintain student engagement.

○ Instruction in each class will begin with a student-​centered activity designed to

pique learner curiosity, engage the learner on an emotional level, focus thinking
on the unit’s essential questions and big ideas, and create an anticipatory desire
in all students to discover what comes next. This initial activity will be followed by
exercises that pair introduction of new information with opportunities to access
prior learning in order for students to construct their own understanding by
connecting these new concepts with what they already know. Students will have
time to collaborate with one another or work individually to reconsider, revise and
refine their thinking about the most important concepts and ideas that are critical
for mastery of the unit's big ideas and essential questions. Classes will culminate
with reflective activities that offer opportunities for students to self​-assess their
learning and consider what they still want to know.
Reflection:

This unit is packed with content and students need to know where they’re going.
Students will frequently check in to Google Classroom and utilize it as a roadmap and
resource for what they need to know and what they will learn.

A critical concern will be to ensure that the content is comprehensible and accessible to
all students. This means as I plan the teaching strategies, I must consider the needs of
all students and be especially cognizant of those of my special learner. I have planned
for a variety of teaching and study modalities for students who learn differently, be it on
a kinesthetic, visual, language or auditory basis. As necessary, I will use a variety of
classroom management techniques, student interaction strategies and teaching aids
such as graphic organizers, videos, classroom demonstrations and realia to ensure that
the opportunity to learn and comprehend is optimized for every student.

I have created tasks in each lesson that requires students to use and develop all of their
21st century skill​-sets. Activities are designed such that learners must think critically
and use reasoning to find answers and develop understanding. Students will participate
in individual, paired, small group and whole​-class configurations that will require them to
collaborate with one another while concurrently learning about accountability, ownership
of their own education and the importance of individual contribution when participating
in team​-based activities. Communication skills will developed through writing tasks and
by learning in different student groupings that require participants to develop their
speaking and listening skill sets. Learners get plenty of opportunities to utilize their
creative skills in their hands-​on class exercises, individual writing assignments, and
home preparation of class projects. Their IMTS skill​sets are developed and utilized
throughout the unit as they consume media and leverage technology to accomplish
different learning tasks.

Throughout the unit, I must create and take advantage of opportunities to assess my
students’ learning and their understanding of the content. I will use classroom
circulation, questions & answers, and reviews of students’ written products and
performance​-based evaluations as the basis for formative assessments of their unit
progress. The summative assessment at the end of the unit will be an opportunity for
my students to show off what they have learned in a fun and entertaining, yet thoughtful
and introspective way. Of greater importance, the summative assessment will be my
opportunity to evaluate students’ mastery of the content, consider the quality of their
learning, and judge the depth of their understanding.
My intention in the design of this unit was to approach it from a constructivist
perspective with a core strategy of weighting the curriculum with a preponderance of
student-​centered, hands-​on activities that offer plenty of opportunities for learners to
revisit, rethink and revise their ideas about the lesson content. My purpose in so doing
was to enable students to attach relevance and meaning to their learning, and create
truly deep understandings that will allow them to uncover important, transferable ideas
and processes.