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.