Guide to Curriculum Units by Fellows of the Yale National Initiative 2005

"Discovering Self Through Poetry" is a three part investigative unit for grades seven and eight. The goal for this unit is to develop students' self-esteem as students master global and local poetry skills. This unit should be incorporated in the teacher's lesson plans during an entire school year. The lessons in this unit will incorporate grammar, creative and formal writing, as well as oral speaking. The poems in this unit are divided under three thematic headings:

• Who Am I? Discovering who I am through my heritage
• Who Am I? Discovering who I am as an individual with emotions
• Who Am I? Discovering my potential to achieve

As a culminating activity for this unit, each student will present a portfolio containing creative and formal writings and art samples.

(Developed for Language Arts, grades 7-8; recommended for English and Language Arts, grade 7, and English and Language Arts, grade 8)

The intent of this unit is to incorporate a poetry reading and writing workshop into a 6th grade Language Art curriculum. The workshop includes four main components: 1. Poetry reading. 2. Poetry writing. 3. Student portfolio. 4. Oral presentation. Students will write their own poetry using the themes found in other poems. Their work will be stored in a portfolio, and they will have an opportunity to do oral readings during a school assembly in February.

The first goal of the unit is to expose students to poetry written by poets of color that deals with the issues of youth, family and society. The four poems selected to serve this purpose are: "John, Who is Poor" by Gwendolyn Brooks, "Children's Rhymes" by Langston Hughes, "Dark People" by Kattie M. Cumbo, and "You Know, Joe" by Ray Durem. These poems will be used as models to introduce students to the poetry writing workshop. Additionally, illustrations will be used as a tool to assist students with analyzing and synthesizing the poets' message and as a guide to developing ideas for their own poetry.

(Recommended for Language Arts, grade 6.)

The poems in this unit explore three aspects of home: leaving the familiar, remembering, and being the one left behind. The unit is especially suitable for high school students who have experienced disruption in their lives. Whether through divorce, immigration, or moving to follow a parent's job, most of our students have felt the emotions depicted by the poets. Seniors who anticipate the end of their high school careers may be captured by these poems. The unit also gives non-immigrant students the opportunity to share the emotions of leaving with fellow students who have left their homes thousands of miles behind.

In terms of poetic craft, this unit focuses on concreteness and metaphor. Poetic devices such as assonance, consonance, anaphora, end stopping, enjambment, meter and rhythm, and various forms are also introduced through the poems. Many poems center on objects, often described in concrete detail. Students see that poetry is grounded in the real; they also make the leap to metaphor that strong poems engender. Twin culminations of each section are an essay and a poem the student writes which illustrate her understanding both of the prominence of image, and of the depths to be gained through metaphor. Linking theme and craft through an experience that is central to their lives engages students' interest and encourages them to grow both intellectually and emotionally.

(Developed for English and Language Arts, grade 7; recommended for Reading and Language Arts, grades 6-8)

The poems in this unit explore three aspects of home: leaving the familiar, remembering, and being the one left behind. The unit is especially suitable for high school students who have experienced disruption in their lives. Whether through divorce, immigration, or moving to follow a parent's job, most of our students have felt the emotions depicted by the poets. Seniors who anticipate the end of their high school careers may be captured by these poems. The unit also gives non-immigrant students the opportunity to share the emotions of leaving with fellow students who have left their homes thousands of miles behind.

In terms of poetic craft, this unit focuses on concreteness and metaphor. Poetic devices such as assonance, consonance, anaphora, end stopping, enjambment, meter and rhythm, and various forms are also introduced through the poems. Many poems center on objects, often described in concrete detail. Students see that poetry is grounded in the real; they also make the leap to metaphor that strong poems engender. Twin culminations of each section are an essay and a poem the student writes which illustrate her understanding both of the prominence of image, and of the depths to be gained through metaphor. Linking theme and craft through an experience that is central to their lives engages students' interest and encourages them to grow both intellectually and emotionally.

I am a special education teacher at East Rock Global Magnet School in New Haven, CT. I currently co - teach in the 8th grade. This unit is being developed to expose my students to new ways of communicating and expressing themselves, as well as understanding how to interpret what others are expressing through their poetry. In this cross curricular unit I plan to introduce reading and writing poetry to my students in English class. I will then continue to use poetry to teach different time periods of Black History as the subject matter or time of authorship relates to that period. We will concentrate on the Middle Passage, Slavery and the Underground Railroad, Emancipation, Harlem Renaissance, Jim Crow and Civil Rights to present day. I will have the students interpret the meaning of the poetry as well as create their own poetry in their response to the literature, which is a skill needed for the 8th grade Connecticut Master Test (CMT) and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) in 10th grade.

(Developed for Cross Curricular Language Arts and Social Studies, grade 8; recommended for Language Arts and Social Studies, grades 5-8)

This is a curriculum unit whose objectives are to instruct eleventh and twelfth grade vocational students in the analysis and writing of poetry. The poems used to teach the elements of poetry are chosen largely from the canon of traditional poets of American and British origin, and from several anthologies of poems about working.

Complementing the teacher-centered classes on analysis is a workshop format, which capitalizes on concepts and skills taught. In this workshop setting, students are provided with contemporary models of poems, both amateur and professional, whose themes are based on specific careers: carpentry, culinary arts, cosmetology, computer networking, dental and nursing assisting, engine technology, technical drafting, financial services (insurance and accounting), public service and technical services. Additionally, poems on labor and the workforce in general are referenced.

This unit spans a fifteen-week period in a block schedule, is implemented in two thirty to forty-minute periods per week-one at the beginning of a week, and one at the end. It is fully adaptable to a school year structured in two semesters.

(Developed for English, grade 12; recommended for English, grades 11-12)

Throughout my experience teaching middle school English, one of the complaints that I have heard often from students is how difficult it is to understand poetry. However, understanding poetry and the ability to speak and write intelligently about it are major requirements of many standardized tests; the ability to demonstrate this knowledge is also evidence of higher order thinking, which is a trait that teachers work diligently to cultivate in their students. The objective of this unit will be to provide students with tools so that they can feel confident in their ability to read, understand and speak intelligently about poetry and other types of literature. This curriculum unit is designed to be approximately six weeks long and was created with the middle school student in mind, particularly the seventh graders that I teach. Completion of this unit will provide students with specific comprehension tools (visualizing, clarifying, connecting to prior experiences) that will help them perform literary analysis of all kinds while also introducing them to the basics of poetry.

A colleague of mine said that when teaching, it is best to help students go from the ego out. In other words, begin with something that students can in some way recognize as familiar. Once we have shown them how they are related to the bigger picture, that connection provides a foundation for the later learning that will occur with texts that do not possess that same sense of connectedness. Whether students can identify with the anger in Sylvia Plath's "Daddy" or sense the care in the voice of the father-like speaker in Rudyard Kipling's "If", the theme of fatherhood provides a foundational theme that everyone can, in some capacity, relate to.

Developmentally, the care that fathers can give is crucial to middle school students. Not only will this study give students necessary tools for analyzing and understanding poetry, but it will also encourage them to persevere with hope in spite of their individual experiences (or lack thereof) with their own fathers.

(Developed for English, grade 7; recommended for English, grades 7-9)

This unit will scrutinize crimes against humanity by examining poetry of the oppressed, specifically poetry from the African American Experience through the Jim Crow Era, and the Holocaust. As the two atrocities against humanity are presented, the students will read poems that represent the emotional and physical hardships that humans have experienced throughout time. We will specifically examine poems written by African Americans from the twentieth century, and victims and survivors of the Holocaust. The unit will span six weeks, with the examination of poems related to these crimes as the thread that runs continuously throughout the semester. By examining the poems for voice, theme, figure, and symbol the students will gain a deeper knowledge of the emotions and the voice of the oppressed, as well as the historical background of these crimes. The unit will use paintings, drawings and photographs to help tell the story of each crime. Some of the poems will be ecphrastic while others will describe remembered scenes. The students will read and analyze the poems as well as write their own poems from the point of view of the oppressed. In exposing the students to the Jim Crow Era and the Holocaust simultaneously, the hope is that they will gain a perspective about humanity from the oppressed point of view, realizing ultimately that crimes against humanity are not specific to certain populations; they are crimes against both individuals and the soul of all humanity. Through hearing the voice and becoming the voice students will gain perspective, empathy and self-knowledge regarding the human condition.

(Developed for English, grade 10; recommended for English, grades 9-12)

This unit is designed for tenth or eleventh grade students. Students examine poetry and prose that relate to three main themes: the reasons men and women go to war, the pain and death many soldiers face, and the effect of war on men and women. In addition, students gain knowledge of World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War. They also reflect on their feelings about patriotism and the current situation in Iraq. Students research and present in groups additional war-related poems and write an essay.

Students examine eleven poems from various war poets and study technique, structure, and theme. The poetry selections contain a variety of styles and poetic devices including a sonnet, a ballad, and free verse. Included in this unit are selections from Tim O'Brien's collection of short stories, The Things They Carried. Lessons emphasize class discussion, interpretation, analysis, and a well-developed notebook.

(Recommended for English, grades 10 and 11.)

The year 2005 marks the 150th publication anniversary of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass—the seminal, much revised volume that helped shape American poetry. The voice was distinctive and brave—introducing a new verse form and giving voice to a mythic America and the democratic principles that would sustain it. This unit provides an introduction to the poetry and thought of the "good gray poet," exploring the legacy of his ideas and their relevance to today's high school students. In his innovative approach to poetry, Whitman looked forward to future poets, who continue a tradition of close observation, celebration, tolerance, and dissent. Whitman is thus read alongside poems by Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, as well as contemporary poets like Galway Kinnell, Lucille Clifton, Yusef Komanyakaa, Nikki Giovanni, Marge Piercy, Jimmy Santiago Baca, and Sharon Olds.

The unit emphasizes the role of creative thinking and the craft of poetry. Students' appreciation of poetry and language is enhanced through creative exercises and discussion groups. At the same time, critical reading and analytical skills are developed, preparing students to apply knowledge of poetry in new situations. The final multimedia project involves experimentation with how text, image, sound, and digital technology change how we think about poetry.

(Developed for American Literature, grade 11; recommended for English and Creative Writing, grades 9-12)

Created for eighth graders but adaptable for high school students, this unit uses a study of the sonnet to introduce the concept of form in poetry and its importance to the poem's overall impact. Specific sonnets are presented in three groups. The first is used to teach the structural rules for sonnets. A second group of sonnets is suggested for closer readings, with questions provided to guide students in understanding how the sonnet's form aids poets in conveying meaning. A third group shows deviations from the strict sonnet form, and students are encouraged to consider why poets made these deviations. To demonstrate an understanding of the sonnet form and the implications of that structure, students will write original sonnets.

(Recommended for English/Language Arts, grades 8-12.)

The Inspired Voice: Invoking Poetry through Music curriculum unit is designed to engage students by using music as an entry point for poetry. The unit also encourages students to discover and use their own creative voices as they begin to think about the sources of inspiration for others. The classroom activities solicit personal responses to music, explore music in the context of poetry, and provide a space for students to experiment and create. Students develop and practice skills as they identify literary elements, use details to speak about a work, and understand the historical engagement of poetry, music and the musical influences in poetry.

The unit is divided into seven sections: Silence, an exercise in recognizing voice; The Good Song, a close look at music; Medium and Purpose, an introduction to performance poetry; Same Song, Different Medium, an experiment with form; A Survey of Voice: Harlem, Beat, Last Poets and Hip-Hop, and Slam, an analysis of poetry and its musical influences throughout the eras; A Battle of Voice: Harlem, Beat, Last Poets and Hip-Hop, and Slam, a poetry competition; and A Poetry Concert, where students create and perform original work. The unit may be completed in about fifteen ninety-minute classes.

(Developed for Pre-AP English and Creative Writing, grades 9 and 12; recommended for English and Creative Writing, grades 9-12)

This twelve week unit that I have written on poetry has evolved into being a wonderful experience for me and will be for the kindergarten student. It can be used in other grade levels as well and adapted to any learning style. What you will find to be unique is the different ways to teach reading using poetry. There are several reading skills involved in the unit. These skills have been embedded throughout the unit to ensure that the student gets to practice them. Also, they will be exposed to the enjoyment and fun that poetry reading has to offer. The poetry is emphasized through listening and using drawing to convey their understanding of it. A portfolio will be developed from this. A field trip will be taken to the Carnegie Museum of Art. This will help with the drawing portion of the portfolio and will provide a basic foundation for ecphrastic poetry (visual art objects connected to the poetry writing). There is a strategy section with help for you and the student to get the maximum benefit from each skill or poem in my unit. The poetry form is included and an example of the format. The poems are simple and can be used to teach other themes such as weather or shapes. The lessons that are included have items that can be constructed. So there are creative activities that can be adapted to suit your teaching style. I have also added suggestions on developing poetry using the ecphrastic influence. Take a look at this unit and enjoy the endless ideas for making poetry that has meaning to the early childhood student.

(Developed for Reading, grade K; recommended for Reading and Language Arts, grades K-2)

Building Blocks for Poetry: Vertical Team Sequencing for Effective Poetic Analysis is a model of implementation that recognizes that knowledge required for adept poetic analysis must be acquired over significant and consistent periods of exposure to varied engagements with poetic texts at sequential levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation). Hence this curriculum proposes the use of a single work, presented in a progressing structure of poetic analysis from the ninth to the twelfth grades-not as a packaged plan, but as a purposeful process.

This process involves six layered readings of a single work of poetry, poet's works or period. Through a concentrated adaptation of skills relating to poetry analysis from ninth to twelfth grades, this curriculum supports backward design and offers a snapshot of how English teachers might smoothly collaborate to align vertically curricular goals using a single work at each grade level, so that students ultimately gain necessary analytical skills for notable advancement. Many poems might be used to illustrate this unit's purpose; however, two works are used, Edgar Allen Poe's "To Helen" (1831) and Hilda Doolittle's "Helen" (1924).

(Developed for AP Literature and Composition, grade 12; recommended for English and Language Arts, grades 9-12, and AP Literature and Composition, grade 12)

People of Spanish ancestry are fast becoming the largest ethnic group in the United States. It has therefore become important that we develop a means to teach our children more about this group of people. In order to understand the current culture of Spanish speaking people we must understand the history from which they came. I chose to focus on the people from Mexico, and the celebration of Cinco de Mayo.

This unit is a cooperative teaching tool for the Spanish teacher and costume teacher of Rogers Performing Arts School. He will focus on teaching the language while teaching the history. I will focus on teaching the culture and fashions both historically and current while learning the language. Our students will collaborate on hosting a cafe with others in the building and reach out beyond the school to the community as a whole.

(Developed for Spanish and Costume Design, grades 6-8; recommended for Spanish and Inter-Departmental Project, grades K-12, and Costume, grades 6-12)

One of my goals as an art teacher is to help my students recognize that human experience is a shared phenomenon. This is important because it connects them to their artwork, their world, and themselves. Art reveals a range of ever-changing images and attitudes as artists express opinions of themselves, their social surroundings, and their place in the spiritual world. Each on a quest to interpret the world they live in. My overarching goal in this unit of study on the Ceramic History of the Olmec Culture is that students are able to understand how these ideas are revealed through their art and how throughout the history of art, we find similar patterns that can be useful in helping us develop relevant perceptions of people in their specific historical context.

Within this unit of study, students will be given the skills necessary to be able to interpret works of art. By providing students with the vocabulary to talk about art, they will be empowered to articulate the formal qualities of the work. They will be able to not only understand but provide appropriate responses to such critical thinking questions as: How does a utilitarian object such as the Bottle with Carved Jaguar-Dragon Paw Wing Motif, from the Early Formative Period of the Olmec culture, end up in an art museum? What are the established criteria for a piece of ancient pottery for example, to be considered worthy of museum status? Who is it that defines these statues?

Through a series of studio-based lessons, students will understand the technical aspects of clay bodies, designing and constructing forms, and kiln firing. Each student will complete a number of ceramic pieces, which reflect the ideas, and traditions of the Olmec culture. The products will be a contemporary expression of how they interpret the world they live in as response to these ideas and traditions learned in this unit.

(Developed for Ceramics and Studio Arts, grades 9-12; recommended for Ceramics and Studio Arts, grades 9-12)

This unit is designed to introduce the genre of non-fiction by teaching biographies. The biographies of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera will be used. Two biographies of Frida Kahlo will be read aloud by the teacher. The students will complete KWLS charts to synthesize their understanding. They will also create summaries of each book as well as create a Venn Diagram comparing the two books. The biography of Diego Rivera will be read in small groups. Each group will create a presentation on the life of Diego Rivera. Students will also each be assigned a short biography to read and summarize. Finally each student will create an autobiography by using entries that correspond to the letters of the alphabet. This is a great unit to tie in Reading and Art. The students will enjoy reading about the interesting lives of these two famous Mexican artists.

(Developed for Reading, grade 6; recommended for Reading and Language Arts, grades 5-7)

How much time do we really devote to reviewing how a current society has been affected by another? This unit's work is all about reviewing and reflecting of what the Mesoamericans have contributed to our society especially in the state of Texas.

Civilizations get created slowly as people get together share their knowledge, improve their living conditions and progress together. This unit is an exploration of what happened to a particular civilization that existed before Cortez discovered Mexico, the indigenous Indians known as Mesoamericans. Students will explore and research the art, skill and ingenuity of these peoples quite extensively. The lessons are devoted to three rich cultures, the Olmecs, Mayas and Aztecs. Students are to investigate what makes a civilization tick... scrutinizing what clues these ancient civilizations had, with looking at carefully the architecture, sculpture, communication, and hierarchy structure of daily life.

(Developed for General Art and Magnet Graphic Design, grades 6-8; recommended for Fine Arts, Spanish, and Social Science, grades 6-10)

This unit begins by focusing on the ballgame, the first team sport, played by Mesoamericans over 3000 years ago. The ballgame of the Olmecs and other Mesoamerican people predates the Olympic Games of Greece. This ballgame served a dual purpose; these games were important as social events for people to come together and support their team; and these games also served as a way for warriors play together to maintain their superiority. This duality of sports is seen again in the nineteenth century in the philosophy of the men involved in creating the Modern Olympic Games. Although centuries pass the philosophy that sport is important to both the citizen and the nation is a theme that continues. The duality of sports philosophy sees sports as preparing the young athlete to take his place in the world. According to this duality sports teaches the values of order and disorder; violence and tenderness; beauty and repulsiveness through wining and losing and by working with others for a common goal. By teaching sports in school the values of society would be disseminated and reinforced. The events of the 1936 Olympics; the Black Power salute of the 1968 Olympics; and Tlatelolco were all against the back drop of sports.

(Developed for Civics and World Cultures, grades 9-10; recommended for Spanish and Foreign Language, grades 9-12)

I teach 7th and 8th grade Spanish in an inter-district communications and technology magnet school in New Haven. The World Language program in the middle schools is a two-year course, which is the equivalent of the Spanish I course in the high schools. I see my students five days per week, in 47-minute periods.

Because family is part of one's identity, it is something each and every one of my students can relate to in some way. When learning a language, family is always a major topic. While its practical definition varies from culture to culture, and from situation to situation, the concept of 'family' is universal. This important theme of 'family' is often seen in art, literature, film, music, and other media, and offers much insight into the values and cultures of the people portrayed, as well as into those of the artists. Incorporating the 5 Cs with Mexican and Mexican-American art will help students learn Spanish in a cultural context by keeping them engaged in a culturally authentic setting. Using visual aids lessens the need for English translation and encourages vocabulary and language retention in an interesting and meaningful way.

(Developed for Spanish, grades 7-8; recommended for Spanish, grades 7-12)

The study of Cortés' invasion of Mexico reveals characters that are larger than life. Hernán Cortés, Doña Marina, his interpreter, and Montezuma prove to be extraordinary people. Their remarkable story speaks from various primary documents from Spanish and Native American sources. Many times history texts do not reveal the origins of historical data. Fascinating stories and their sources can become 'generalized', marginalized, or omitted entirely from the historical survey in a quest to accommodate an all inclusive correctness. Thanks to the variety of primary sources and scholarly work available, the Spanish invasion can be revisited in light of modern social mores. Cortés wrote five letters to the King of Spain. From his letters we learn what he saw and accomplished. Perhaps, most importantly we gain a cultural perspective on the Spanish and the Mexica- the natives at the time of the Spanish invasion. Bernal Díaz, a subordinate of Cortés wrote and revised a memoir later in his life from which we gain additional perspective on Cortés, Doña Marina, Montezuma, and Díaz. We gain an additional and Native-American perspective from the work of Bernardino de Sahagún, a Franciscan friar, who in the 1560's, compiled native accounts of the invasion as part of a twelve book encyclopedia. These sources are the basis of at least some of the scholarly work of secondary authors such as Hugh Thomas, Anthony Pagden, Gérard Chaliand and Tzvetan Todorov. Through these sources and secondary authors, teachers and students can discover the complexities of the Aztec world, the conquistador's culture of greed and power, and the means by which the Columbian Exchange spearheads into mainland Mexico. Moreover, current and universal issues of governance, social strata, economy, religion, and gender can also be investigated. Exploring works by these authors through proven reading strategies will provide high school students and teachers a vehicle by which to gain insight into the multiple perspectives of the major players and the primary issues of the Spanish invasion of Mexico and sharpen reading skills. In this unit, primary and secondary accounts of the major players and events are offered for review with lessons that emphasize reading strategies. The target audience is grades 9-12. Some material may be appropriate for middle school.

(Recommended for History, grades 9-12.)

This curriculum unit delves into the history of Mesoamerica in order to relate population dynamics and disease to the Aztec Empire. Students will investigate the types of disease that came to the New World and how these diseases impacted the native people and directly affected their populations. The Spanish conquest also disrupted the Mesoamerican ecosystem by the flora and fauna that were introduced.

By using the Mesoamerican people as an example of population dynamics the students can see how density dependant factors such as disease, competition, and food availability directly affected these people. Density-dependent and density-independent factors affect a population and also help determine the carrying capacity of the environment. The stability of an ecosystem also plays a role in determining the population and carrying capacity.

(Developed for Biology, grades 9-11; recommended for Biology, grades 9-11)

"The Influence of Mexican Muralists on WPA Art" is an interdisciplinary unit that uses art to help students to understand the economic, social, and political changes that occurred during the Great Depression. It is designed to be taught in Social Studies classes and may be adapted to American History, World History, Cultural Geography, American Government, Psychology, as well as 2-D Art. In American History, it is part of the story of the New Deal. In World History and Cultural Geography, it provides the highlights of 20th century Mexican culture. Lessons on symbolism, influence, and tone include a variety of strategies for both advanced and challenged learners.

An overview of the work and influence of Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera, David Siquerios, and Jose Orozco, is discussed in the context of economic, social, and political events including the Mexican Revolution, Communist Revolution, the Great Depression, and the post war industrialization of the United States. Internet sites are provided for mural examples of their work in the United States..

The outstanding mural work of the Mexican artists in the 1920's and their connection to many prominent Americans opened the door to government financed art projects during the Great Depression. Initially, the United States government created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a New Deal building project and later added an art section to beautify the many public buildings constructed.

Many of the murals still exist today in public buildings (Treasury and Interior Department Buildings in Washington, D.C.) and especially Post Offices all over the nation. There were over 50 murals created for the Chicago schools. I have provided a web address for locating the Post Office projects in your state. In Appendix 7, I have included 5 examples of Florida murals that I personally photographed. I am planning a field trip to the local murals, some of which have been restored.

(Developed for American History, grade 11; recommended for American History and World History, High School grades)

As students work through this unit they will grapple with the question: During a time of crisis, discord, or terror, should I speak out and stand up for what is right and put myself and my family in danger, or should I keep quiet, cooperate, and ignore my principles so that I can protect myself and my family?

The students will deal with this question by reading accounts of real life examples of people who put themselves at risk, even died, by standing up and speaking out for justice. The two real life examples are: "The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson"—an account of the future baseball star who changed the face of baseball who, while serving in the army, was charged with disrespecting an officer in connection with his refusal to sit in the back of a bus. Jackie put his entire baseball career on the line by standing up for his dignity and the dignity of African-Americans. The other example is of an Austrian man who refused to serve in the German army during World War II because he considered such service a desecration against the teachings of Christ. After we study these real life stories, we will delve into a fictional examination of the above question, using Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. In this unit, students will work cooperatively, do presentations, lead the class in discussion, and write a research paper about people being abused and what should be done about it.

(Developed for Literature and Composition, grade 12; recommended for English and Language Arts, grades 11-12)

(Recommended for English/Language Arts, grades 11-12.)

This unit surveys United States History with special emphasis on the recurrent struggle to balance our precious civil liberties with the security needs of the nation during times of war. The unit is designed to help students to:

• Understand the main purposes of government.
• Know the specific freedoms that they and all Americans possess.
• Recognize specific abridgements of their personal rights.
• Distinguish between legitimate and tyrannical abridgements in their personal rights, in accordance with their own personal values and American precedents.
• Develop the ability to evaluate historical situations and draw these distinctions in ongoing units throughout the school year.
• Understand why governments might legitimately restrict freedoms in time of crisis such as wars.
• Learn that, oftentimes, these issues involving the critical balance between freedom and security lack moral and even constitutional clarity.

(Developed for U.S. History, grades 9-11; recommended for U..S History, High School grades)

This unit makes use of the works of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke as a means of approaching the concepts of civil rights and civil liberties. The students read and critique the works of these men through the philosophers' own quotes. This gives the students the opportunity to work with the actual language of these philosophers, without having to read long passages of their work.

The unit touches upon the English Civil War as well as the background of both men to illustrate the kind of dichotomy that can exist between two points of view forged in similar circumstances. This dichotomy allows for the comparison of the two men in terms of their experiences and their work, thus opening new levels of understanding to the students.

The unit is designed to be taught to 9th grade World Civilizations students, but could be applicable in many History or English classes. This unit deals in part with the origins of our modern civil rights and liberties in America, and therefore could be applicable as well in a government class.

(Developed for World Civilizations, grade 9; recommended for Social Studies and History, High School grades)

This unit is written for a high school science class, consisting of students grades nine through twelve. To stimulate interest amongst students and integrate science with other subjects, it is designed to engage high school science students in learning about science-related topics involving issues of both safety and civil liberties. This unit is divided into three different aspects specific for each student based on their particular shops/majors.

This unit will be taught from a vocational perspective. I also hope to make students aware of the many ways in which science is important in their lives. I intend to use this curriculum unit to heighten awareness of how science often poses new problems and new solutions for American goals of protecting civil liberties.

(Developed for Science, grade 11; recommended for Science and Vocational Shops, grades 9-12)

This unit initiates an Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition course. We begin with issues of civil liberties in students' lives - in school, in their communities, and in our country now at war. Using primary philosophical and governmental documents, students will observe the chronological evolution of ideas and gain the confidence to grapple with Advanced Placement level literature.

Every day, students meet with various kinds of authority that, without their input, regulate and define their options. In response, young people seek to understand and test, in the words of John Stuart Mill, "... the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over an individual." As a bridge from their personal experience to literature, the unit provides opportunities to learn first about persons familiar such as our namesake, Asa Philip Randolph, who have engaged in the struggle for liberty. The unit then considers the activist expressions and experiences of poet Langston Hughes. We conclude with a survey of readings that simultaneously voice questions regarding the legitimacy of power and that initiate students into the world of Advanced Placement multiple choice and essay questions.

(Developed for AP English Literature, grade 12; recommended for AP English Literature, grade 12)

This unit explores one way in which people who are trying to control or eliminate another people will destroy their books. In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Calaban urges Trinculo and Stefano to kill Prospero and burn the library. Calaban says; "take away his books first for without them he is sot." We will look at how the "first target of the tyrant is the library." A look back in history will prove this point. From an examination of fire, to the symbolism of the book, to the fiery destruction of books, students will discover the value of the written word. The unit will show that burning books is the physical incarnation of censorship and often even genocide. They are part of seemingly incessant efforts to destroy and censor information that rightly is freely available to every human.

(Developed for Language Arts, grade 9; recommended for English and Language Arts, grades 9-12)

"Racial profiling and Terrorism" is a curriculum unit designed to address the law enforcement actions of police and government agents toward Muslims and Arabic men in the war on terrorism. It describes the history of racial profiling in the United States. Students explore the legality of racial profiling and debate its effectiveness.

Students are able to research and prepare an essay on racial profiling and discuss ways to eliminate its practice in the United States. They also learn how to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner when they encounter racial profiling in ways that infringe upon human rights and civil liberties.

(Developed for Health Education, grades 9-12; recommended for Social Studies and Health Education, grades 9-12)

This unit is designed for the study of American history in the Advanced Placement class and uses the tenets of postmodern philosophy as a means for exploring varying perspectives on civil liberties as they relate to national security. The College Board tests students on the Advanced Placement exam as to their ability to be young practitioners of the discipline of history. It is at this point that I think postmodernism has a role to play. Postmodernists view language as a rhetorical tool that can be manipulated to confront any conventional form of truth, as it is always open to interpretation. The very foundation of this nation is built, in some respect, on this principle.

Using these ideas the unit is designed to accomplish a couple of important goals. First, we want to help students learn about information and interpretation in American History. My students and I can explore and understand that civil liberties are given meaning by the context in which they exist; moreover, no laws or set of rules have meaning in and of themselves, but rather are interpreted in a way that gives them meaning. Next we can use this proposition to help construct substantive essays using sound argumentative writing techniques. The College Board exam is broken into three parts, two of which hinge on superior writing skill. Once students understand that proper social studies essays require both appropriate information to substantiate an argument and the ability to communicate that argument clearly they will be better prepared to tackle the challenges of the AP US History exam.

(Developed for AP U.S. History and Social Studies, grade 11; recommended for AP U.S. History and Social Studies, grades 10-12)

This curriculum unit will cover the core curriculum areas of Social Studies, Reading, Speaking and Writing. Students will be required to read literature, view documentaries and films and write short passages regarding the experiences of African American soldiers in the Civil War. Students will be required to engage in reading, writing, dialogue and discussion. The unit will also cover certain aspects of the Drama and Art curriculum: a variety of lessons will include art presentations of drawings and paintings as well as dramatizations and re-enactments of the Civil War literature we read. Our culminating assessment of major lessons will involve the creation of a classroom museum: students will be responsible for researching Civil War information via library resources and the internet to locate historical documents and artifacts for replication.

(Developed for Social Studies, Reading, and Writing, grades 6-8; recommended for Elementary and Middle School, grades 5-8)

After the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, the Federal government enacted, with a minimal amount of Congressional hearings, far reaching legislation designed to help fight terrorism. The legislation gave the government, especially the executive branch, an unprecedented amount of power to arrest and detain people who were thought to be terrorists or who were suspected of having pertinent information. Some of those detained may be subject to special military tribunals.

This unit, designed for an 11th grade United States History class, looks at previous uses of military tribunals and asks several questions. First, at what times and under what circumstances have military tribunals been used? Second, what type of prisoner is subject to this type of tribunal? Third, what are the civil rights of the persons detained and subjected to military tribunals and on what grounds may the government act?

This unit refers to three earlier uses of military tribunals. The first is a tribunal used by Andrew Jackson during his occupation of New Orleans in the War of 1812 (1815) at which a civilian was tried. The second tribunal was convened to try the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination, all of whom were civilians. The third tribunal, that of the German saboteurs who were captured on Long Island and in Florida during World War II, is important because it has been used as a precedent for the actions of the Bush administration regarding the rights of detainees and the extent of executive power. Students will then compare these examples to procedures that are permitted under the USA PATRIOT Act.

(Developed for U.S. History and AP U.S. History, grade 11; recommended for History and Social Studies, grades 10-12)

My goal for this curriculum unit is to focus on the power of education and to drive home the idea that being educated about the rights and freedoms that we have as citizens is vital to sustaining the civil rights for which our predecessors have fought.

This unit will focus on the struggles African Americans faced after the Civil War, during Reconstruction, and the Progressive Era. The curriculum attempts to reveal the true challenges faced by African Americans, especially after emancipation and Reconstruction. Often in the primary grades, the focus is on a more simplistic series of events: slavery, emancipation, and the Civil Rights Movement. This focus diminishes the political struggles that are so vital to understanding historical complexity. The lessons and activities in this unit are for fourth grade students but could be adapted to any upper elementary grade.

(Developed for Virginia Studies, grade 4; recommended for Social Studies and History, grades 4-6)

The curriculum unit "Dilemma of a Democracy: Freedom and Security" is planned for a fifth grade class in preparation for their class participation in Law Day. The unit will consist of three areas: Rights and Responsibilities (Constitution in Daily Life), Civil Liberties during Wartime (Civil War and Cold War Cases) and Privacy and Public Information (Privacy and the Patriot Act).

The theme of civil liberties during wartime is presented in a framework that engages fifth graders in a learning process, inviting them to reflect on past practice while encouraging them to take an active stance in learning history. Each week part of the lesson will be conducted in the fifth grade classroom with follow-up lessons and activities in the computer lab. Participation in this unit will help students make connections between historical events and their daily lives, and encourage them to use technology as a tool for thinking in meaningful ways. As students investigate examples from our history, they will develop opinions about rights and responsibilities, safety and security, and privacy and public information. Ultimately, I hope it prepares them to appreciate, but not take for granted, the freedoms they enjoy, especially in areas of communication, entertainment and technology.

(Developed for Social Studies and Computers, grade 5; recommended for Social Studies and Computers, grade 5)

This unit is designed for an eleventh grade scholars' English class. Targeting civil liberties in America, students will get an overview of civil liberties through the wars in which the U.S. has been involved. Arthur Miller's attack on McCarthyism, The Crucible, in the existing curriculum, will serve as the basis for this study culminating in an original narrative where the students will have to defend their own civil liberties. Through the course of examining the play students will study dramatic structure.

Included in this study are the Nicholas Hytner film of The Crucible, video viewing guides, study questions for each act of the play, two writing assignments, an essay exam, and an oral presentation. Necessary materials are the above-named film and copies of The Crucible. All other information is included.

(Developed for English III Scholars, grade 11; recommended for English, grade 11)

Today's young people are fascinated with space. However, their information is often inaccurate coming from science fiction television and movies. They also do not believe that they will ever use the Mathematics and Science that they study in school. The goal of this unit is to teach Mathematics using accurate information about the stars. While broadening their knowledge of both Astronomy and Mathematics, I hope to increase their interest in careers related to both fields.

This unit is designed for PreCalculus students but could easily be adapted for use in other middle or high school Mathematics classes. I teach on a 4x4 block schedule. This means that I teach students 90 minutes each day for 90 days. The lesson plans included in this unit are designed for this time period but could easily be adapted to a shorter time period. Topics covered include scientific notation, equation solving, the Pythagorean Theorem, units of measurement including Astronomical measurement units and knowledge about the stars including distance, luminosity and velocity.

(Developed for Pre-Calculus, grade 11; recommended for Pre-Calculus, grade 11, and Algebra II, grades 10-11)

Space is a difficult concept to teach middle grades students. In this unit students will deepen their understanding about the solar system, galaxy, and universe. They will compare our sun to other stars and extend their understanding of the motion of the solar system to include its motion within our galaxy. Students will extend their understanding of planets and stars to include the overview, structure, and age of the universe. They will continue to develop their scientific inquiry skills by gathering and synthesizing information from teacher recommended websites and other sources about how planetary systems and stars form and then explaining how stars produce energy.

Throughout this unit, students will continue to develop scientific habits of mind by considering and discussing the limitations of scientific knowledge about the universe gained from the use of technology. In particular, they consider the changes in our understanding of the universe throughout history and as a function of our use of technology. The major thrust of this unit is to have my students work towards mastering critical thinking skills. Throughout this unit multiple assessment techniques such as writing, group work, discussions, demonstration models, and real life problem solving will be used to assess student mastery of material presented.

(Developed for Earth Science, grade 8; recommended for Earth Science, grades 6-8)

This unit is designed for Hospital/Homebound Students in grades nine through twelve, who are enrolled in Environmental Science, Earth Science, Geology, and Astronomy. It can be taught in three weeks and can be adjusted to lower grade levels. This unit is aimed at getting more young people interested in sciences that are generally offered as electives .This unit is user friendly and hopes to correct false science through teaching and modeling good science.

This unit will address the origin and characteristics of the Solar System. It will attempt to identify places in the Solar System where volcanoes exist. It will also obtain data and images from spacecraft missions to learn about volcanoes in far outer space. Volcanoes found on Earth and in space will be studied. There are many people who are unaware that there are volcanoes in outer space and who do not understand volcanoes on Earth. This unit will enlighten students about volcanoes, here on Earth and in space. Students will compare the similarities between Earth and space volcanoes. They will discover what drives or provides the energy for both kinds of volcanoes. They will identify the roles heat and plate tectonics play in the formation of active volcanoes. They will use the principle of radioactive dating to calculate the age of rocks. The decay curve will be used to differentiate between older and younger volcanoes. This unit will discuss tidal heating and the dreadful Greenhouse Effect. Manipulatives, interactive CDs, and astonishing videos will be used to enhance student learning of the science behind some of the most powerful forces in the Universe, volcanoes.

(Developed for Environmental Science, grades 9-12; recommended for Astronomy, Geology, and Environmental Science, grades 9-12)

How did the Universe begin? What was the early Universe like? What is the Universe made of? How old is the Universe? What is the fate of our Universe? These compelling questions have stimulated thought throughout human history, but it is only within the last half a century that these questions have resided within the respectable pursuits of scientific inquiry.

The study of cosmology attempts to determine the origin and fate of our Universe and the very nature of time and space. Teaching cosmology to high school students offers the perfect opportunity to introduce students to the explorative nature of the scientific approach and the evolution of scientific knowledge. This unit is designed for high school physics courses at varying degrees of mathematical and conceptual sophistication but it can also be simplified conceptually so that it serves as an introduction to cosmology for a freshman general science course.

The current advances in cosmology instill the very nature of the scientific approach and the promise of scientific discovery. It is essential to introduce our students to the wonders of the cosmos as they are currently being discovered and to generate enthusiasm about the remarkable scientific advances. This course will attempt to impart to the students the most contemporary understanding of the state of the Universe. An additional purpose is to discuss and develop the subtle scientific reasoning that allows scientists to make the claims they do about what we currently know.

The unit is written for first year physics courses, comprised of 11th and 12th graders, and can be adapted to different levels by increasing or decreasing the sophistication of the mathematical and conceptual ideas that are presented so that it is appropriate for gifted, honors or general first year physics courses. This unit will be presented at the end of the year once students have covered the basic concepts of Newtonian physics and improved the students' mathematical skills in algebra and geometry. There are supplemental materials and topics for discussion that are particularly intellectually challenging that are meant for an Advanced Placement or second year physics course. By the end of the unit, students will have engaged in a variety of activities and discussions about the fundamental nature of the Universe.

(Developed for Scholars Physics and Gifted Physics, grades 11-12, and General Science, grade 9; recommended for General Physics, Scholars Physics, and Gifted Physics, grades 11-12, and General Science, grade 9)

The goal of this unit is to create an interdisciplinary approach for some elementary astronomy and algebra skills to make learning algebra more interesting, as well as, to get students to understand and learn that algebra is truly used in a variety of subjects and real-world situations. By the topics being linked together, it should encourage students to become personally involved in understanding open-ended astronomy and algebra investigations. The unit is developed for an eighth grade Introduction to Algebra and Algebra I class. The approach of an interdisciplinary unit is to make learning algebra interesting through astronomy.

The mathematics objectives that will be taught in this unit are powers of ten, perfect squares, perfect cubes, writing numbers in exponential form, writing exponential numbers in expansion form, converting numbers to scientific notation, converting scientific notation to a number, multiplying and dividing numbers in scientific notation, adding and subtracting with scientific notation, solving equations, substitutions, speed, distance, density, units of measurements, converting units, and determining ratios.

The astronomy topics that will be taught are temperature scales, light years, astronomical units, velocity, density, Newton's Laws of Motion, Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion, and The Doppler Effect.

(Developed for Algebra I, grade 7; recommended for Introduction to Algebra and Algebra I, grades 7-8)

Dreams Toward the Stars: A View of the Solar System From Earth was written as a thematic unit for students from first through fifth grades, and with some slight modifications, it can be offered to students through high school. It is an overview study of the planets in our Solar System, our Sun and two constellations, the Big Dipper and the Crux, the Southern Cross. Lesson plans have been included to teach students about astronomers from ancient to modern times, and about the discoveries that astronomers have made, and so willingly share with us, how the North Star and the Southern Star were used for navigation, and what NASA and the space industry is doing on a daily basis to add to our education about our Solar System.

I have integrated reading, writing (language arts), math, science, social studies, and art into this unit, so that it can be taught cross-curriculum.

(Developed for Cross Curriculum, grade 2; recommended for Cross Curriculum, grades 1-8)

This unit will use the idea of constellations as a vehicle by which to teach basic astronomy content to middle school French language students. Other foreign language teachers are encouraged to use this framework and adapt the vocabulary to suit the teaching of any other language. Learning will be centered around the constellations, those imagined images one can form by connecting the star dots in the sky. Students will learn names of stars and constellations, the concept of magnitudes of brightness, the names of all 20 brightest stars in our sky, light-year distance relations, and why our views of the stars changes over the course of a year; that learning will revolve around the foundation of constellation images.

This information that is otherwise meaningless to the average middle school student will now feel meaningful. Students will relate the factual information to the pictures they will see in the sky; in this way constellations will become the ultimate memory tool! Students will not learn the vocabulary because they memorized it, but instead, because they used it. Meaning-based learning is fundamental, and students remember vocabulary that they need. The unit will culminate in several different art-based projects designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of learners.

This unit is designed for middle school French language students.

(Developed for French, grade 8; recommended for French, grades 7-8)

Through this curriculum unit on Astrobiology, the study of existing life and the potential for new life in the Universe, middle school students can learn about biological, Earth, and physical science concepts in one integrated unit. This three-week curriculum is designed for 7th grade students, but can be adapted easily for 5th through 9th grade students. Activities include games, interactive computer simulations, and hands-on experiments, all of which can be done in a regular classroom without special laboratory facilities.

Students will develop their own definition of life, identify critical elements needed to sustain life, and then examine reasons why Earth has life and other planets in the Solar System do not. Students will investigate habitability factors such as size of a planet, distance of the planet to its star, brightness of the star, amount of energy absorbed and reflected by the planet, presence of plate tectonics and magnetic fields, and the planet's orbital and rotational motions. Students will create their own "planetary shopping list."

(Developed for Science, grade 7; recommended for Science, grades 5-9)

In this unit, there are two items of astronomy and how to use the statistical tools of regression analysis to verify that these are facts and not mere opinions. The first topic is centered around the Titus-Bode Calculation that states that the planets in our solar system follow a simple relationship between their order and distance from the sun.

The second topic discusses the "Big Bang" theory, which states that the Universe expands according to a linear equation with the slope equal to the Hubble Law. Since this topic covers time, distance and velocity, with a little further analysis, we can calculate the age of the Universe.

I have included simple charts so that the teacher may just hit on the similarities as well as regression analysis for a more advanced high school class enrolled in statistics or other advanced math course. The bibliography contains many web sites that give detailed information on the various aspects of the module.

(Developed for Statistics and Probability, Regression Chapters, grades 11-12; recommended for Statistics, grades 11-12)