Objectives
Creating a Desire to Write: My Objectives as a Teacher
I want my students to be eager to put down their thoughts and creative ideas on paper. Students typically tend to approach writing assignments with a sense of anxiety. This curriculum unit seeks to implant a strong motivational desire within students to write. I currently teach Kindergarten through fifth grade. This unit is most appropriate for my fifth grade students because it involves three writing exercises, and writing is a critical strand of their Language Arts curriculum and a state-tested standard. It could also be utilized in the fourth grade as a fun writing activity.
I teach three fifth grade classes at my school. Each class meets once a week for forty-five minutes. My unit is designed to be taught over a six week period and will engage fifth graders in writing three different thematic assignments based on the lyrics and contextual significance of the "Bate, Bate Chocolate" song and rhyme.
Having the Desire to Write: The Students' Objectives
I want my students to have the desire to write. One objective will be for them to expand their English vocabulary substantially so that when they write, they will not be at a loss for words. I also want the students to increase their Spanish vocabulary so that they can include Spanish words in their writing exercises. Another objective that my students will have is to develop a solid grasp of the writing process for writing paragraphs. I want them to be so stimulated by both the song "Bate, Bate Chocolate" and the tools that they have acquired that they are eager to write down their thoughts in a variety of ways.
Integrating Subjects
In my district, media specialists, art teachers, music teachers, and physical education teachers must create ways to integrate their primary subject matter with other subjects in the school curriculum. My unit incorporates music with World Studies and English, also referred to as Language Arts. It covers the different versions of "Bate, Bate Chocolate" and its historical significance within Mexican culture. The history of chocolate as it relates to the Aztec history of Mexico is also a primary focal point. In my district, the World Studies curriculum is the History and Social Science course of study for fifth grade students. (To view the standards associated with Music, World Studies, and Language Arts, see Appendix II).
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