Strategies
This curriculum unit will engage and educate students using a number of instructional strategies. My focus is at the fifth grade level. The methods I chose for teaching the unit allow for scaffolding for English Language Learners and inclusion students. Differentiated instruction will be applied so all students will be able to access the unit activities. Differentiated instructions will assist the different styles of learning techniques on assessment and reassessment. The structure will allow grouping and regrouping strategies for the purpose of engagement and learning styles.
This unit commences the introduction of academic words to build background knowledge of the concept and displaying an image will hook students’ prior knowledge to the concept. A number of strategies are utilized, including brainstorming for one in cooperative groups because it encourages students to think critically without relying on the teacher. Further, students have an opportunity to do a preview reading along with the image so they can make their connection to key words and topic of the unit. They will also be highlighting vocabulary words and entering side bar notes.
Oral teaching is an element of Diné cultural history and language at its core in this unit. Storytelling accentuates maintaining a balanced connection with our environment, when we make sacred offerings for continued existence. I use this strategy to demonstrate understanding of how telling stories and story structure enables expression of themselves more clearly. Most students are very familiar with storytelling. For example, storytelling of how to live off the land and how to survive in the natural environment were strongly emphasized to the young generation just as we continue to learn about the use of natural resources.
The unit also uses hands-on inquiry experiments using the language learning approach. The student thinking and engagement happens spontaneously. Dissecting the unit activities will be successful for ELL and special education students. Students process the information better as it relates to the bigger concept. First, informational text is used to continue to build background to the key words and the main topic. Concepts are broken down to help students internalize the scientific words better. A close reading strategy is emphasized with students highlighting and taking notes on the sideline. Reading skills and cause and effect are touched upon to back up opinions using evidence and examples from the text. Students continue with the processing of the scientific methods for conducting surveys and developing a hypothesis, and use observation, predicting, describing, and theorizing what they are doing. They will move from simple experiments to complex projects. The simpler experiment is modified and does not involve all parts of the scientific methods because learning concepts from the hands-on experiment is crucial. Small heterogeneous groups will be utilized for discussion and brainstorming. Furthermore, students will be expected to stretch their thinking to interpret, analyze, and comprehend their solutions with mathematic concepts, if necessary. More importantly, the unit will strongly touch on Diné students’ traditional cultural and history where it is relevant to the topic.
In the final week, students will take an educational field trip to bring awareness about addressing the land and environmental issues related to their local surface mining and an affiliated Power Plant Company. The educational field trip is a way to bring first-hand information that is helpful in discussion and explanation of mining operations history. This activity will end with opinion writing. Students use their journal and sketches to assist in performing an opinion writing project and presenting their writings in conjunction with the school’s annual Earth Week festivities.
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