Ashley Rae Richardson
Unit Rationale
EDU 6361
I purposefully choose the theme of negotiating thresholds for this unit specifically the themes of: coming of age and identity. Through this unit, students will
have the opportunity to read a variety of texts- visual and written- and increase their
relation to text skills. This unit will assist in teaching students how to analyze character
development, coming of age, and identity concerns. Opportunities for reflection, creative
writing, and deep inquiry will be provided through this unit, allowing students to relate to
and visualize texts, as well as practice the skill of purposefully reading with or against the
text. Through this unit, I will promote grammar instruction through an integrated
approach- using grammar found in the text studied to spur teachable moments. Book club
groups will be used to promote critical thinking, text-based dialogue, and visualization of
text. Evaluation of assessment will be focused on change and how students demonstrate
their understanding of character development and navigating thresholds, an opportunity
to reflect on their learning in a way that is meaningful to them through learning
objectives that are both measurable and objective. This unit focuses on a subject that is
extremely pertinent for students and therefore will be an influential educational
experience, one that motivates and engages students while promoting higher-order
thinking. This unit is crucial for improving reading level and comprehension skills,
engaging and motivating learners.
This unit draws from a variety of OSPI standards for reading, including but not
limited to reading EARL 1: “the student understands and uses different skills and
strategies to read”, reading EARL 2: “expand comprehension by analyzing, interpreting,
and synthesizing information and ideas in literary and informational text, writing EARL
2.1, 2.2, and 2.3: “adapts writing for a variety of audiences, writes for different purposes
[and] writes in a variety of forms/genres”. This unit also aligns with National Council of
Teachings of English (NCTE/IRA) standards including “Students apply a wide range of
strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their
prior experience” and “Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an
understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the
world”.
Students benefit from this unit because the learning objectives are applicable to
their future education and the content is relevant to their experience. This unit responds to
“the psychological needs of students […it] deals with common human experiences about
the pressures, changes, dilemmas […] that make growing up (and bring grown up) such a
challenge” (Smagorinsky, 2008, 141). At Whitman, we choose texts that are “just right
books” for students, books that contain the appropriate challenge and content for
students. The content for this unit is relevant to students and therefore engaging and
relatable. When students relate to the content, they are more dedicated to their learning
and motivated to learn more. Reading levels are gaining at Whitman, but they are still
lower than standard. Improving reading levels is contingent on students being interested
in reading. This unit, which highlights coming of age and identity, contains content that
all of my students can relate to. Interest in reading will increase time spent on reading and
therefore reading comprehension.
In “My Pedagogic Creed” by John Dewey, Dewey explains his philosophy on
reaching the student and providing the best education for each individual through
enabling the social environment of each student. A course I took on Teaching African
American Students and Culture also emphasized student and culture-focused education.
This method aims to incorporate student’s outside lives and experiences into their
classroom education, creating a fluidity of education and allowing students to feel
represented in their learning and therefore actively engaged in school. Engaging students
to learn is one of the most important jobs of a teacher and can be facilitated by
conducting the educational process in a way that is individual learner focused. Dewey
saw that school material should grow out of the student’s interests, “The child’s own
instincts and power furnish the material and give the starting point for all education”
(Dewey, 1897, 8). Creating education that coincides with the child’s interests will create
a positive, lasting outcome. Often, education is focused outside of the individual and her
experiences. Schooling often focuses on the future and not on the student’s current life.
This type of education can lose its significance for students and interest can wane.
Education must be linked with life experience to remain relevant (Dewey, 1897, 9).
In addition to strengthening student’s reading levels through interest in applicable
content to student’s daily lives, this unit enriches student understanding of others and
increases possibility for empathy. Middle school students are at an age where they are
beginning to understand the context they inhabit, but many require some prompting to
become caring individuals who think of other’s needs and perspectives. Through this
unit, I am “anticipating the need for a more compassionate society” (2008, 145). This
curriculum helps students gain perspectives that are not just limited to own perspective
and therefore increases their understanding of what it means to be a citizen and part of
humanity.
The use of grammar inclusion is central to my unit. By including scaffold
grammar instruction into unit learning, students will learn that “grammar study [can be]
both rigorous and relevant, [can] prompt students to systematically explore language in
texts that are meaningful to them-both as readers and as writers” (Zuidema, 2012, 64).
Using texts that students are using to teach a lesson on grammar allows for a more
integrated approach to grammar lessons, more authentic teachable moments. Grammar
integration can also allow the student to be placed in an authority position, making
grammar less intimidating and distant from text.
It could be argued that students should be engaged in more traditional education
methods and will benefit more from reading and analyzing classic literature. Some may
argue that students do not need to be coddled, that student interests should not be the
focus of education, and that we are doing them no favors by allowing them to read texts
that they can relate to, read against and with the text, and decipher meaning using their
own experience. Some may see more value in traditional education and curriculum. But I
know that this type of unit focus is impactful and important. Many of our students are
below reading level, this curriculum is engaging and will motivate young readers and
bring reading levels up. Classic literature does have its place in my classroom and is
frequently found in my curriculum. But this unit provides students the opportunity to
become lifelong learners, self-motivated and engaged.
References
Dewey, John. My Pedagogical Creed. Retrieved November 28, 2011, from
http://mountainlightschool.wordpress.com/.
NCTE: http://www.ncte.org/standards/ncte-ira
OSPI: http://www.k12.wa.us/Reading/Standards/default.aspx
Smagorinsky, Peter. (2008), Teaching English by Design: How to Create and Carry Out
Instructional Units. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann. ISBN-13: 978-0-32500980-3. ISBN: 10:0-325-00980-5.
Zuidema, Leah A (2012). The Grammar Workshop: Systematic Language Study in
Reading and Writing Contexts. English Journal: 101.5, 63-71.
Unit texts:
Alexie, Sherman (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York:
Little, Brown.
Gary Paulsen (1987). Hatchet. New York: Bradbury Press.
Haddon, Mark (2004). The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. New York:
Vintage Contemporaries.
LaRochelle, David (2005). Absolutely Positively Not. New York: Arthur A. Levine
Books.
Lee, Harper (1960). To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Satrapi, Marjane (2003). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. New York: Pantheon
Books.
Smith, Betty (1947). A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. New York: Harper.
Talbot, Mary M & Talboy, Bryan (2012). Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes. Milwaukie, OR:
Dark Horse.
Writing with Pictures: http://www.palleschmidt.com/2011/06/interviewed-laura-leegulledge.html.