Redkudu

· How is an individual’s character defined?
· How does an individual’s character influence society?
· Why is an individual’s character important?

This is a great challenge. I'm not as well read in the literature of this period as I'd like to be, but just looking at my collection of readings, I can think of four that would allow students to examine how the authors addressed these issues at the time, and then to compare those works to their own opinions/ideas about the answers to these questions.

I think I'd look at Self Reliance for addressing the first and third questions. Civil Disobedience for the second, especially the section where Thoreau creates 3 categories of people and the ways in which they serve the state, and discussing his own act of civil disobedience and the realizations his night in jail brought him about character and spirit. You could even talk about perceptions of religion and faith and bring in Dickinson's "Some keep the Sabbath going to church..." poem. Whitman's I Hear America Singing could probably be worked in there, and is always a good one to have students read so that the Langston Hughes reply later makes sense.

I know from having finished my 2nd 6 weeks planning for English III that we are going to spend a lot of time with the Declaration of Independence and growing ideals of individuality and personal responsibility/rights that came about from it, before we swoop into transcendentalism, especially Self Reliance.

The one thing I don't have right now that I wish I did was some sort of very contemporary companion piece to any of these, which either reflects or re-imagines the thoughts and ideas of the time. Any ideas on that?

Ms. Q: Update

I have been away--I was able to attend the ASCD summer conference on differentiating instruction in Salt Lake City this past weekend. I have posted about my learning experiences here and will have more coming soon, please check it out!

I have an even better understanding of UbD and differentiation and plan to work these into my plans shortly. I am currently working on plans for Unit 3, which will focus on the Rise of Individualism--covering works such as Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman, and Irving. My trouble with this unit is the idea of individualism and the good versus evil concept my textbook offers as the theme. I am not opposed to the study of individualism as good versus evil, in fact it ties right into things like political corruption and reform we will study concurrently in AP US History. My issue is how do I cover such a wide range of material in a very short amount of time.

If you were to cover this idea and the following Essential Questions, what works would you consider to be most peritnent from the time period?

Essential Questions
· How is an individual’s character defined?
· How does an individual’s character influence society?
· Why is an individual’s character important?
Essential Understandings
· Character is defined by the choices and actions of an individual.
· Character can be influenced if the individual allows it to be influenced.
· Romantic and transcendental literature sought to examine and explain the concept of individualism.

Redkudu

I think you just gave me my focus question! What choices did a person have during the time of the novel, and how are they similar/different to the choices we have today? (I'll have to finesse that a bit.)

This will be the first time they will have done any substantial research in the year, so my plan is this (still developing, so still without a lot of detail):

1. I will provide the students a list of questions to be answered, and the group they will research. We will do an activity of some sort about finding reliable sources, summarizing, citation.

2. We will spend a day or two in the library. Day 1 will be book research, day 2 computer research.

3. Day 3 will be compiling the info in the classroom. I think we will make some sort of class graph - where each group contributes their findings to a graph which will hang on the wall. Probably something like average household income, maybe level of education (or opportunity for higher education?).

4. At this point they will have a good foundation for the time period, and we can begin reading the novel. About halfway through the novel, we'll pause classroom instruction (but not reading) to repeat the process with research from today. Then they will be ready to compile the info into the "report" form I'll specify and turn it in. I think each student should do some written reflection on the focus question. This might also be a good time to review embedding quotes, so they can use data from the research to support their analysis. We can use in-text citation there.

Okay. Now we're cooking. I'm going to think about this some more and come up with the concrete details. I think that at this point I am going to try to build in some sort of research activity into all units for the rest of the year, culminating in a major research paper.

Ms. Q: Research

The mini research project sounds interesting. I like the idea of incorporating the minority angle, but it doesn't really tie into Gatsby, but your overriding focus does--what choices did a person have at the time and why would s/he make the choices s/he did.

You mention, as a goal, having students synthesize the infromation into a written and visual product--how do you teach this? In small chunks? Give it to them all at once? Build slowly on all skills as the year progresses?

Looking at my planning for next year, I am trying to teach research skills across the year and culminate in a large scale project for the end of the year. So, for instance, as we cover primary source material throughout the year--I plan on having the students work on research skills slowly:

1. Summarizing--focus on finding the gist of the info being presented and incorporating this into their writing
2. Note Taking
3. Citing Sources--each time we use a source, we will practice citation writing
4. In Text Citing of sources

I am hoping the more of this we use over the course of a year, the better it will be when it comes to the end of the year.

Redkudu: Mini Research

I don't have the idea fully fleshed out yet, so feel free to make suggestions (and ideas would help too!). Looking at my end goal, I'd like to see three things: students collect information from reliable sources, report the information in paragraph form (if not in full research paper form), and transfer the information into some type of graphic representation. At this point, the idea I have is to put them in small groups, or even pairs. I would like them to research different groups: African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic-American, Anglo-American, etc. I want them to find the answers to several basic questions, the answers to be based on info from the time of the novel (Gatsby), and today.

Questions will be issues like household income, opportunity for education, opportunity for business ownership, commonly held employment, pioneers, etc. So in the end they will get a sense of the difference in opportunities, social and financial, available to different groups since the time of the novel, if that makes sense. For instance, what were the opportunities available to Hispanic Americans at the time? Could they go to any college they wanted? Could they work at any job they wanted? Could they go to any restaurants, stores, events?

Basically, I want the kids to discover and discuss the difference in opportunities available, and transfer that to Gatsby, and theorize what he had to do to get where he ended up and why he did it. They would prepare a 1-2 page report of their findings, and then create a bar or pie graph for each time period, and a Venn diagram for the comparison, I think. The purpose here is to show me they are able to synthesize the info they collect into a visual and written analysis.

You can see it's all still very abstract. I'm worried it doesn't tie together well, but I still like the idea. Any thoughts?

Ms. Q: Keeping Novels Going

Your mini research idea is a great one, as it should sustain student interest in the novel and introduce research, which will be covered more in depth later in the year. Can you remind me of your plan for the mini research project?

I have used many different techniques to keep a story going and interesting. Here is a short list of things I have used in the past:

1. Show a video clip of an important, foreshadowing, or mysterious scene. For Huck Finn I have showed the clip where the fight occurs between the two farm families, where Huck's friend dies and he has to confront his idea of society's ideal of right and wrong again. I stop is just after the boy dies, so the students are literally on the edge of their seats.
2. Have students get into pairs after the first few chapters have been read. Each partner chooses a character and then these "characters" journal back and forth to each other throughout the remaining reading. Students predict, infer, question (both the characters and the author).
3. Bring in outside resources--stop reading the novel for a day or two and bring in something from history or today that relates and have a discussion about it, how it relates to novel, and what it might signify for the outcome of the novel.

These are just a few of the ideas I use to keep the reading interesting.

Redkudu

Your use of the stories to practice speaking in class is a great idea. It's too bad you don't get more time for this unit - some of the Native American speeches would be great for this as well. Thanks for the clarification of your assessment. It helped with some ideas I've been working on for my English II Antigone unit. You know that I have this Native American unit all planned out so if I can help with anything (my handouts, etc.) let me know. (I have one ready for the Bradstreet poem that has questions in the margins to be answered after reading that prompt annotation and analysis if you want to look at it. I think I told you about it - you fold it in half to read, then open it back up to analyze.) I love this literature. For a very brief time I studied Anthropology in college, so the myths and folklore are near and dear to my heart.

I know what you mean about choosing what elements to teach. I have the same problem, and struggled with it. I've decided to do something like your Plan 2. I look over the works I'm going to teach in the unit, and find those elements that are most strongly represented. Then I prepare my exams and skills tests with the tasks I know I want the students to be able to successfully achieve. I always use an unfamiliar piece for assessment - they should be able to take what they've learned and apply it to anything, I believe. Then I work backward, looking at the pieces I'll use in my teaching, and finding places where I can emphasize the elements.

I had also thought about something like your Plan 1, teaching everything with each unit, but after careful consideration decided that doesn't really seem to allow for good, specific practice, and seems to put too much on the student's plate all at once. For myself, I decided I want to build up. I'm hoping that will facilitate retention.

Now I'm up to planning for Gatsby, and I'm stuck. One of the things that's always hardest for me is continuation. I can get the novel started, but always feel it begins to lag, and I haven't yet come up with a good activity that spans the length of the novel. That's why I'm considering the mini-research I mentioned. I'll be teaching Gatsby just before the winter holidays, so I won't be able to do anything too extensive, but I thought the mini-research could facilitate discussion of some of the themes in the book, and prepare the students for a larger research project in the spring.

What do you do with novels? How do you keep the kids/the lesson from lapsing in the middle?

Ms. Q

what is your purpose and intent for these two [performance] assignments?

Great question and one which has me reviewing my understanding of UbD assessments. My intent and purpose with both assignments is to ensure their understanding of the Essential Understandings. Looking at the oral storytelling assessment, I want students to retell the story orally, as this is the format Native Americans used. The only purpose oral telling has is to get them practicing their speaking in class and I have designed this for them to do in groups, so each person has support. The creation of a myth will show evidence of use of the criteria used in the myths we study in class. After reading 3-4 myths, they will create a chart listing the elements found in common. From this chart they will create their myths.

The other performance assessment, creating a poem/sermon, will build on the idea of culture, society, and individuals within a society, which will be a theme running throughout all units this year (both Eng III & US His). This will be assessed using a rubric, created after learning the structure of a poem/sermon. I am still working on rewriting my rubrics, as they did not assess the understanding I was trying to get the students to know.

The overall purpose of the unit is to get students to understand (know) the cultural beliefs held by both parties (Native Americans and European colonists) and to be able to reiterate those back to me, as well as to start creating their own written set of beliefs. I am plannning for this to lead to conclusions about how culture beliefs are defined, conveyed, and used.

To assess the literary aspect of the myths and the other works, students will be writing a response comparing oral storytelling and the historical narratives.

Truth be told--this is the unit I dislike teaching the most. This is the area of literature I know the least about and I find it personally unengaging. It was hard for me to come up with assessments to assess true understanding.

Note--my unit plan does not have any learning activities outlined as of yet, I am working on those once I have the overall plan for all units outlined. I want to make sure my themes run through all units, as I need to have something unifying the whole year, besides it just being American Literature.

The "Question for the Teacher" sheet sounds interesting. How do you conduct that activity?

I have struggled with how to get my students to ask questions when they are still not understanding something. This year, I have decided to implement a "Question for the Teacher" handout. There are several ways I could do this: 1) create a sheet with several "Question for the Teacher" boxes and give a few to the students at the beginning of the quarter. They could then write their questions and turn them in inconspicuously when turning in other work, 2) have a box labeled as "Question for the Teacher" box with slips of paper beside it and allow them to write questions and put in box, or 3) have them write questions at the bottom of homework/tests. I have tried #3 before, but have not had a good experience with it. Most students either skip over that section or rush through it and ask a knowledge based question, when the real question they still have is one of concept understanding. I am leaning most to #1, as I think the confidential factor involved would best suit my students.

Here is an issue I was discussing with myself today--teaching the "elements of literature." As I was combing through my literature text (which is half of my problem) I was baffled by some of the choices of "elements" chosen for certain pieces. It is hard for me to focus on one element over the others, when I know there are several illustrated in key ways, but I also don't want to overload my students learning by addressing all of the elements used. So, I came up with two plans, but have not yet decided which one I will choose for the year.

Plan 1:
Teach all elements in a unit, before getting into the actual "American Literature," using short pieces of selections we will study at length later. This will give the students a brief intro to all elements and many of the works to be read. My plan would be to teach all elements, have students reproduce a compendium of elements for reference throughout the year, and then test them on said elements using other pieces of writing (transference). Then as we go through the units of literature have assigned elements for students to look for in all works. (each student is given 2-3 elements OR groups of students given a list and they are the ones looking for elements and will share with the rest of class)

Plan 2:
Choose one or two elements to teach in minilessons before beginning the unit. Focus on these one or two as the unit progresses. Remember to come back to these throughout subsequent lessons.

The hardest part for me in plan 2 is choosing which ones to focus on. Not all pieces of a unit will have the same elements portrayed as prominently as others. Also, if students have a good understanding of hyperbole why waste time teaching it as part of a unit, when it can simply be looked for in the unit. I don't know if I am being clear about my difficulty with this issue, but I know, as I have been planning, this has been the hardest part of the planning.

Redkudu

Whew! Finally all moved in and with shiny internet too! I was beginning to have withdrawal pains.

The opportunity of having the APUSH class aligned with your English III class is a rare one. I always wish we could somehow align better in our History and English classes.

I see you're using the UbD questions. I happened across them at Huffenglish the other day. Very interesting. They certainly add a depth of purpose and intent to a lesson.

Question/observation about your performance tasks: I know it's a time-honored tradition to have students create original compositions in the style of what they're currently reading. (Somebody always trots it out with Shakespeare.) But I'm wondering (as I've taken an increased interest in my own assessments and activities for the next year), what is your purpose and intent for these two assignments? Is the purpose and intent for students to gain some greater understanding of the literature itself? If so, how is writing a version of their own going to do that, and what results/insight will you expect to see modeled, and how? (In other words, how are you assessing these, and toward what end?) For example, you say "Group telling of a past/present/future cultural myth—either real or created by the group—based on a list of criteria created by class." From this I assume your purpose is to have the students recognize elements of Native American folklore/myth. I'm doing this myself: teaching specific examples of Above and Below/Diver creation stories from several tribes. (Comparing how creation is attributed based on location: which tribes had tales of crawfish or turtle diving to find mud, which had tales of a woman falling from the sky and animals making land for her to live on, etc.)

So then, I suppose my suggestion/thoughts on this would be to question how this activity is going to make them more aware of the characteristics of this type of literature, and, conversely, how comparing the beliefs of the Native Americans' folklore/myth allows for greater comparison/contrast to the beliefs of the colonists. I see you're using a chart on the beliefs of the Native Americans vs. the colonists for comparison as well. Will the students be attempting to point out how those beliefs are illustrated in the literature they are reading? Those are the questions that come to mind when I look at your performance tasks - not completely clear on what the intent is.

The "Question for the Teacher" sheet sounds interesting. How do you conduct that activity? I do something similar with my students, after assigning an exam or project. I let them write any and all questions on the board, then make their peers answer all they can from the directions I've given. But yours sounds connected to the textbook somehow. I'd be interested to learn more.

Ms. Q: Unit 1--Colonial Literature--Plan

Here is a brief outline for unit 1. I have titled it colonial literature, even though Native American lit is part of it. Still working on a different title. I have 8 days to cover this unit, 90 minutes each period. There will have to be an end of unit assessment which will eat up at least 1/2 a period, but more likely a full period. Let me know your thoughts, suggestions, etc.

Unit 1: Colonial Literature
UbD Filter
Why study colonial literature?
· Native American myths—because myths are part of every culture.
· Shows a difference between beliefs and culture of Native American thought and European thought.
What makes the study of American colonial literature universal?
· Taking over something (especially land and people) has been occurring since the beginning of time.
· Without colonization, the USA would be very different
What’s the Big Idea implied in the skill or process of reading colonial literature?
· All cultures express their beliefs in an effort to convey these beliefs.
What larger concept, issue, or problem underlies a study of colonial literature?
· Many different cultures came together to create the “American” culture.
What couldn’t we do if we didn’t understand colonial literature?
· How Native Americans became a displaced minority.
· How the culture of American has changed throughout the years.
How is colonial literature used and applied in the larger world?
· It is used to determine how life was lived during this period.
What is a real world insight about colonial literature?
·
What is the value of studying colonial literature?
· Gain a sense of who founded our nation.
Essential Questions
· How is a culture defined?
· What has helped define American culture?
· Where do people get their beliefs?
· How are beliefs passed from one generation to another?
Essential Understandings
· Although depicted as savages by Europeans, Native Americans had their own belief systems, around which their societies were built.
· European colonists and their belief systems were as diverse as the Native Americans.
· All literature is rooted in a culture.
· Many modern stories use ideas from past stories.
Essential Knowledge
· Author’s purpose
· Structure
· Metaphors
· Myths—creation
· Historical narrative
· Storytelling
Essential Skills
· Reading with a purpose—determine a culture’s belief system
· Literary analysis—author’s use of structure to tell a story
· Writing to convey understanding of content
Works Studied
· The World on the Turtle’s Back (Iroquois creation myth)
· The Way to Rainy Mountain (Momady-short story)
· La Relación (de la Cabeza—historical narrative?)
· Of Plymouth Plantation (Bradford—historical narrative)
· To My Dear and Loving Husband/Upon the Burning of My House (Bradstreet—poetry)
· Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (Edwards—sermon)
Acceptable Evidence
Performance Tasks/Projects
· Group telling of a past/present/future cultural myth—either real or created by the group—based on a list of criteria created by class.
· Create a poem/sermon depicting cultural beliefs of teenagers today—following criteria in rubric.
Quizzes/Tests/Academic Prompts
· Vocabulary Quiz
· Knowledge/Comprehension Test
· Writing Prompts (1 per section OR literary analysis)
Other Evidence
· Chart on cultural beliefs of Native Americans versus colonists
Student Self Assessment
· Elements covered—page 129 textbook--students will list all elements covered into student journal and will write what they know about each. If there are elements they don't know or are confused about they will highlight them and write them on a "Question for the Teacher" sheet.