Demographic
I teach at a Title 1 school with a student population of about 850. The students take eight classes a year in a block schedule where odd number classes are grouped under odd days of the month, and even number classes with even days of the month. For example, on September 2 nd, the students will go to blocks 2, 4, 6, and 8, and September 3 rd they will report to blocks 1, 3, 5, and 7. Our school serves a transient population, so class sizes can vary drastically throughout the school year. On average, we expect class size to be about twenty to twenty five students. Our school also has issues with student truancy, which makes it difficult to successfully implement a long unit. My unit is designed with these specific issues in mind. The material that will be studied at home, two musical albums, is convenient to access, and the same material will be used over the course of the two week unit, making it easier for a student to catch up if he or she is absent. If you are teaching in an environment with high truancy rates, I believe it's always better to limit your resources, make them easily accessible, and go deep into analysis in the classroom. This unit accomplishes this goal.
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