Strategies
I will be implementing several different strategies, including technology, for this curriculum unit. The main strategies that I will use are collaborative group work, reading journals, quizzes, and graphic organizers. These strategies will be spaced out during the unit and will serve as formative and summative assessments in addition to a final essay comparing and contrasting the universal themes in each story.
Collaborative Group Work
I will divide each class of approximately 33 students into groups of three or four. My goal is to create heterogeneous groups based on previously collected data. Groups will work together with different roles to complete: scribe, task manager, timekeeper, and researcher. The timekeeper can double as the researcher in groups of three. The scribe will take notes on the discussion; the task manager will ensure that every task is completed; the timekeeper will make sure that the group does not run out of time; the researcher will refer back to the text for evidence or examples as needed. At the end of such work, students will give group members grades based on their performance in their roles.
Collaborative groups will work together on the compare and contrast writing assignment for The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the Sesame Street video, on the compare and contrast writing assignment for non-fiction texts, and on the compare and contrast writing assignment for House on Mango Street and a non-fiction text.
Reading Journals
Students will be required to take structured notes while completing a reading assignment for homework. The format should be familiar by the time we reach this unit, but I will review it again prior to their first reading assignment. All notes must include a page number for future reference. Beyond the page number, I require students to question the text, note important characters and events, make inferences about the text, and record quotations that may be useful for their essay assignment on universal themes. Reading journals will be checked as credit for completing a homework assignment.
Quizzes
As added incentive to read and take notes that demonstrate an understanding of the text, I will administer pop quizzes on reading assignments. The questions will be open-ended and will cover a few major events or characters from the previous reading. Students will be allowed to use their reading journals to complete their quizzes. These periodic quizzes may also include vocabulary that I assign based on the text.
Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers are visual alternatives for students to organize thoughts and ideas. I will provide students with a Venn diagram for their small writing assignments and a compare and contrast chart for their essays on universal theme.
Lesson Plan Format
My lesson plans all follow the seven-step lesson plan because both my district and union require this format. The steps are as follows: Do Now (Warm-up or Anticipation Set); Direct Instruction; Guided Practice; Independent Practice; Closing (including Exit
Ticket); Homework; and Assessment. A cycle of feedback between teacher and student is established when using the seven-step lesson plan that promotes understanding of the material. The teacher can also build lessons on each other using the feedback from previous lessons.
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