TitleIII Technology Literacy Challenge Grant

Learning Unit

Overview | Content Knowledge | Essential Questions | Connection To Standards | Initiating Activity | Learning Experiences | Culminating Performance | Pre-Requisite Skills | Modifications | Schedule/Time Plan | Technology Use

OVERVIEW

 This unit has been developed to give students a foundation in which they need in order to grow in to successful citizens. The unit is aimed toward remedial students who are viewed as "high risk" students, not only for academic failure, but for failure outside the brick walls of any middle school. Preparation for the 8^th grade English Language Arts Assessment will take place through analysis of literature. This unit will inspire in students a sense of responsibility which influence the choices they make in regard to their future. The students receive Speech Services 2x’s weekly for Language Therapy. A lesson could be taken out of this unit. The entire unit will take approximately 34 Speech sessions to complete.

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

 Why do School Districts dedicate themselves to providing each individual with opportunities to realize their maximum potential for personal growth and social responsibility?

Why is responsibility an essential quality a student must have in order to become academically successful?

Why can the choices students make for themselves determine the outcome of their life?

When does what you are doing now begin to impact your future?

CONNECTIONS TO NYS LEARNING STANDARDS
List Standard # and Key Idea #: Write out related Performance Indicator(s) or Benchmark(s)

 English Language Arts

Standard 1 - Language for Information and Understanding

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

Intermediate - Listening and Reading

1. Listening and reading to acquire information and understanding involves collecting data, facts, and ideas, discovering relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and using knowledge from oral, written, and electronic sources.

Students:

• interpret and analyze information from literature for young adults, as well as reference materials, audio and media presentations, oral interviews, graphs, charts, diagrams, and electronic data bases intended for a general audience
• compare and synthesize information from different sources
• use a wide variety of strategies for selecting, organizing, and categorizing information
• distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information and between fact and opinion
• relate new information to prior knowledge and experience
• understand and use the text features that make information accessible and usable, such as format, sequence, level of diction, and relevance of details.

Intermediate - Speaking and Writing

2. Speaking and writing to acquire and transmit information requires asking probing and clarifying questions, interpreting information in one's own words, applying information from one context to another, and presenting the information and interpretation clearly, concisely and comprehensibly.

Students:

• produce oral and written reports on topics related to all school subjects
• organize information according to an identifiable structure, such as compare/contrast or general to specific
• develop information with appropriate supporting material, such as facts, details, illustrative examples or anecdotes, and exclude extraneous material
• use the process of pre-writing, drafting, revising, and proofreading (the "writing process") to produce well-constructed informational texts
• use standard English for formal presentations of information, selecting appropriate grammatical constructions and vocabulary, using a variety of sentence structures, and observing the rules of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

Standard 2 - Language for Literary Response and Expression

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.

Intermediate - Listening and Reading

1. Listening and reading for literary response involves comprehending, interpreting, and critiquing imaginative texts in every medium, drawing on personal experiences.

Students:

• read and view literature from a wide range of authors and genres
• understand and identify the distinguishing features of the major genres and use them to aid their interpretation and discussion of literature
• identify significant literary elements (including metaphor, symbolism, foreshadowing, dialect, rhyme, climax) and use those elements to interpret the work
• recognize different levels of meaning
• read aloud with expression, conveying the meaning and mood of a work
• evaluate literary merit based on an understanding of the genre and the literary elements.

Intermediate - Speaking and Writing

2. Speaking and writing for literary response involves presenting interpretations, analyses, and reaction to the content and language of a text. Speaking and writing for literary expression involves producing imaginative texts that use language and text structures that are inventive and often multi-layered.

Students:

• present responses to and interpretations of literature, making reference to the literary elements found in the text and connections with their personal knowledge and experience
• produce interpretations of literary works that identify different levels of meaning and comment on their significance and effect
• write stories, poems, and literary essays that observe the conventions of the genre and contain interesting and effective language and voice
• use standard English effectively

Standard 3-Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

Intermediate - Listening and Reading

1. Listening and reading to analyze and evaluate experiences, ideas, information, and issues requires using evaluative criteria from a variety of perspectives and recognizing the difference in evaluations based on different sets of criteria.

Students:

• analyze, interpret, and evaluate information, ideas, organization, and language from academic and nonacademic texts, such as textbooks and public documents.
• understand that within a group there are many different points of view depending on the particular interests and values of the individual, and recognize those differences in perspective in texts and presentations (e.g., in considering whether to let a new industry come into a community, some community members might be enthusiastic about the additional jobs that will be created while others are concerned about air and noise pollution that could result.)
• evaluate their own and others' work based on a variety of criteria (e.g., logic, clarity, comprehensiveness, conciseness, originality, conventionality) and recognize the varying effectiveness of different approaches.

Intermediate - Speaking and Writing

2. Speaking and writing for critical analysis and evaluation requires presenting opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information, and issues clearly, logically, and persuasively with reference to specific criteria on which the opinion or judgment is based.

Students:

• present (in essays, position papers, speeches, and debates) clear analyses of issues, ideas, texts and experiences, supporting their positions with well developed arguments
• monitor and adjust their own oral and written presentations according to the standards for a particular genre (e.g., defining key terms used in a formal debate)
• use standard English, precise vocabulary, and presentational strategies effectively to influence an audience.

Standard 4 - Language for Social Interaction

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.

Intermediate - Listening and Speaking

1. Oral communication in formal and informal settings requires the ability to talk with people of different ages, genders, and cultures, to adapt presentations to different audiences, and to reflect on how talk varies in different situations.

Students:

• listen attentively to others and build on others' ideas in conversations with peers and adults
• express ideas and concerns clearly and respectfully in conversations and group discussions
• use verbal and nonverbal skills to improve communication with others.

Intermediate - Reading and Writing

2. Written communication for social interaction requires using written messages to establish, maintain, and enhance personal relationships with others.

Students:

• write social letters and cards to community acquaintances
• use appropriate language and style for the situation and the audience and take into account the ideas and interests expressed by the person receiving the message
• read and discuss social communications of other writers and use some of the techniques of those writers in their own writing.

INITIATING ACTIVITY

 The students will engage in a before, during, and after strategy. The students will prepare for a guest speaker by using collaboration in the form of think-pair-share as they will develop questions to ask of a person who teaches in a local prison. During this presentation the 3 minute pause strategy will be utilized every 10 minutes to help students assess what they are learning.

LEARNING EXPERIENCES
In chronological order including acquisition experiences and extending/refining
experiences for all stated declarative and procedural knowledge.

 Acquisition Experiences

Students will listen to Pink Floyd’s song "Another Brick In the Wall" periodically when they forget their mission in school. This will be used as a mnemonic strategy for improving memory.

Students will construct meaning for the word responsibility through brainstorming after a lead in hook question is asked. A list will be made by a recorder. (one class period, 35 minutes.)

Students will construct meaning for the word responsibility through the development of a central idea graphic organizer. After these are completed the students will share them out loud. (35 minutes)

Students will discover the different types of responsibilities their classmates have at home by going on a human treasure hunt. (35 minutes)

Students will understand the meaning of choice by using the strategy of concept attainment. This will involve presenting examples and non-examples. A graphic organizer will be used. (35 minutes)

Students will analyze where responsibility is lacking as they listen to the poem entitled "Growing Pains". This poem will be presented in the same manner the ELA Assessment is to be administered. The students will listen to the first reading, listen again and take notes, then answer questions. (35 min.)

Students will link their acquired knowledge of responsibility to a situation where a lack of responsibility is evident in a short story. "Low and High Achievers" is the name of the short stories. The students will use the strategy of compare/contrast here .The students will answer comprehension questions in writing. (3,35 minute sessions)

Students will use DRTA (Directed Reading Thinking Activity) to make inferences while listening to a longer story entitled "The Birthday Box". This story will be presented the same way a story would be presented during the 8^th grade ELA Assessment. The concept of future will be attained. Comprehension questions will be answered in writing.(3-4 ,35 minute sessions.

Students will use appropriate software to learn parts of speech. A link strategy will be used to help the student remember correct sentence structure.

Students will create a brag sheet. They will participate in pair/share to learn about their partner’s brag sheet. The strategy of K-W-L will be utilized so the students can first write what they know and what they want to know about their partner. The last part will be filled in with what they learned about their partner. (3, 30 minute sessions) The students will introduce their partner to the class and give an oral biographical report about their partner.( 2, 35 minute sessions)

Extending and Refining Experiences

Students will look for articles in newspapers, magazines and online databases (ex. EBSCO Online) that report about people who have made a variety of different choices in their lives. The students will choose positive and negative articles. The students will read the articles and write their opinions about each article using abstraction, analyzing errors, classifying the articles into right/wrong categories. The entire lesson will involve comparing and contrasting different choices people have made and how their future was effected by these choices. The students will be urged to link the concept of responsibility in with this lesson. (4, 35 min. sessions)

Summative Assessment

At the end of the unit the students will write a true/false assessment based on the concepts of responsibility, choice, and future. These are pragmatic language concepts that are difficult to measure. The students will utilize the strategy of think-pair-share throughout this exercise. The students will take a test they haven’t worked on.

CULMINATING PERFORMANCE
Include rubric(s)

 The students will be asked to include the concepts of responsibility, choice, and future in their writing of an autobiography. The students will be using the process of investigation in their writing. The meaningful use task of investigation will be utilized as they look back on their own life thus far and explore some of the choices they have made in the past. The students will be looking at the historical aspects of their life. The writing will also be projective in nature as they express where they want to be in the future. This written piece will be completed using the following steps: brain storming and using the brag sheets the students developed earlier in the unit. prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The oral presentation of this autobiography will conclude the culminating experience. ( 6-8, 35 min. sessions for writing piece). The oral presentation will take (5, 35 min. sessions.)

Rubrics - Investigation Task

Rubrics- English Language Arts- Culminating Performance

4- Student consistently shows understanding of intermediate level of written text. Student can interpret and analyze a variety of texts, using literary elements. The student can synthesize information from related texts to draw conclusions and form insightful opinions, using support from previous lessons. Writing is well organized, developed maturely. Language is sophisticated and powerful. There are few or no errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation.

3- Student shows general understanding of intermediate writing tasks. In his writing the student can infer, predict, draw some conclusions, make connections between texts using some support from related lessons. Writing is organized, and developed with appropriate vocabulary used. There is some variety in sentence structure and some sense of voice. There are minor errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation; however, these errors do not interfere with comprehension.

2 - Student shows partial understanding of intermediate level written work. Student can locate information, make basic references and inferences from past lessons. Student can make a few connections between different texts, using limited support for ideas. Student writes on a few familiar topics; writing shows some focus and basic organization. Simple sentence structure and very basic vocabulary are used. Student follows some rules for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Some errors do interfere with comprehension.

1- Student shows minimal understanding of intermediate level writing tasks. The student can locate and recall some details and stated information from past lessons. The student attempts to construct short and extended responses. The student presents some unsupported responses and opinions. Writing consists of brief, general, and repetitive statements. Basic vocabulary that is used reveals difficulty in organizing thoughts. Errors in Spelling, grammar, and punctuation interfere with both readability and comprehension.

Rubric for Oral Presentation, Last section of the Culminating Experience

PRE-REQUISITE SKILLS

 Students should have knowledge of the following items prior to starting this unit:

Ability to read

Ability to write

Knowledge of sentence structure

Note taking skills

Listening skills

Communication skills

Writing steps outlined by Dr. Bob Fulmer

MODIFICATIONS

 Modifications are made regularly with the students I work with. For deaf students the written material should be provided prior to the lesson so the interpreter can skim the material. The reading passages listed are aimed at the secondary level in terms of reading ability. Less difficult passages could be found for students who do not read at grade level. Due to new standards I aim high even for remedial students! When publishing the culminating performance it is helpful to have the students go to a computer lab so that they can all publish at once.

UNIT SCHEDULE/TIME PLAN

 The unit will take approximately the entire first 3 semesters of the school year. The students I work with are seen twice weekly for 40 minutes. Each unit I realistically attached 30 minutes because time is required to take attendance, distribute materials, etc. Right now I would estimate that it would take 34 Speech sessions to cover all the material in this unit. It is a good idea to encourage students to use study hall time to work on lessons but not a requirement. The students usually have more than enough academic work to complete during study hall time. Preparation time is needed to properly plan lessons and to gather materials. The best time of year to do this unit is at the beginning of the year. The point is to lead the students into investing time on their schoolwork. Since Speech Students need to be evaluated each year for CSE there is a break in the teaching cycle during January & February. Therapy takes place but the students are doing more independent work at that time. A good time to begin the culminating experience would be late March or early April.

TECHNOLOGY USE

The technology used:

1. Microsoft Word
2. Microsoft Works
3. Microsoft Publisher
4. Gamco- Parts of Speech Computer Game
5. Davidson -Grammar Games
6. Queue – Practical &comprehensive Grammar Review 1&2
7. Video camera- to tape oral presentation of culminating experience
8. Cassette player- to play song written by Pink Floyd, "Another Brick in the Wall".

9. Online databases (ex. EBSCO Online)

Bibliography

Fulmer, Bob, ed. Teaching Writing: Grades 3-12. Lake George, New York: Edlink, Inc., 1997.

Little, Jean. "Growing Pains." Glencoe Literature: The Readers Choice, Course 2. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000. 133 - 135.

Murdock, Carol Kidder. Strategies for Adolescent Vocabulary Expansion. Oceanside, CA: Academic Communication Associates, 1991.

Pink Floyd. "Another Brick in the Wall." The Wall. Sony/Columbia, 1977.

Yolen, Jane. "Birthday Box." Glencoe Literature: The Readers Choice, Course 2. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000. 175-178.