Four Seasons Unit
Unit Framework Assignment
By: Anne Wartman
Introduction
For this assignment I created the Four Seasons unit, which is an
interdisciplinary, thematic unit designed for students in the second
grade. When deciding what theme to choose I used a variety of
criteria.
* I wanted to somehow include nature. We all know that children
spend too much time watching television and playing video games.
Even students who do spend a lot of time outdoors may only be
participating in highly structured activities (Little League, Pee-Wee
Football) and do not appreciate nature for its own sake.
* I obviously wanted a theme would integrate several content areas.
Specifically I wanted to include some art, music, and writing lessons.
Activities that focus on creativity are a great way to let students who
have different types of intelligence shine.
* Because I am planning on becoming a media specialist I tried to fit
the library in more than one activity and paid special attention to
information literacy standards. Actually, these lessons could be taught
by a wide range of teachers: the classroom teacher, the media
specialist, the art teacher, the reading teacher, or the music teacher.
* The idea of a year-long thematic unit appealed to me after our class
watched the video about the Pilgrim unit. Therefore I needed
something that could support lessons for an entire school year.
* In our current educational climate the standards are very important,
so of course I needed to design activities that would meet a variety of
state guidelines. I made a point to include these in each lesson.
* Finally, I wanted a topic that would tangible to the students.
Because second graders are still fairly young I felt they would learn
more with subject matter that is very real to them.
When I reflected on my criteria the four seasons seemed like a natural
fit. Obviously a year-long unit has a bit bigger scope than this
assignment required. I picked lessons to share that I feel best
represent the goals of the unit. There is an initial activity, four lessons
that would go on throughout the year, a lesson for each season, and a
culminating activity. If this unit was truly put into practice I would
make sure to add several things. There would certainly be more
science lessons included. Also, I would love to add activities about
different culture’s holidays that occur throughout the year to meet
more social studies standards. Math is another content area that could
be represented with better depth. I would definitely want to take at
least one field trip, probably to a state park. If we could visit once a
season it would be wonderful. Despite the additions that could be
made I do feel the lessons I have selected provide a good overview of
the key themes of the unit.
Why will students care?
A major theme of this course has been the importance of authentic
and meaningful assignments. I believe students will be naturally
interested in the four seasons. They are already a big part of their
lives, physically and emotionally. The unit can go in so many different
directions that it would be easy to add elements of student choice,
both in topic and in the choice of assignment. At the beginning of
each season the students could share what aspect interests them the
most. For winter it might have been snow, which would be why I
included the winter activity on snowflakes. Or students may have
expressed an interest in poetry, which would be why I used the
summer lesson beginning with hearing the story Frederick and ending
with the students doing their own creative writing. In addition, I tried
to use as many content areas as possible. Standards were met for
science, information literacy, music, visual arts, social studies, math,
and English.
Unit Objectives
You will notice for each lesson I have included specific activity
objectives, or goals. There are also some general objectives that the
unit as whole should strive for.
* Students will understand that nature and art (including visual art,
music, and writing) influence each other.
* Students will learn that the passing of the seasons can be marked by
natural signs.
*Students will learn that the passing of the seasons can be marked by
cultural signs.
Thematic Teaching
There are several reasons why I believe a thematic unit is the best
method to reach my objectives.
* The seasons naturally blend into multiple content areas.
* The lessons will directly correspond with nature. They will be very
tangible and concrete for the students because their experiences will
reinforce our learning.
* There is room in the unit for a wide variety of students to succeed.
The assessment is not based on tests, there is a lot of collaborative
work, and students can express their learning through several means.
Dealing with diversity
Even in an all white, upper middle class second grade classroom there
is an unbelievable amount of diversity. The diversity just multiplies
when students come from different ethnic or socioeconomic
backgrounds. I think my unit would be successful for a wide variety of
learners mainly because I tried to add a large element of student
choice throughout the lessons, and I put a focus on collaborative
learning. If a student hates to write, they can draw a picture. If they
do not read well, they can work with a partner. Additionally, in the
children’s fiction titles I selected (see resources page) there are many
different groups represented: boys, girls, African-Americans,
Hispanics….and mice.
Assessment Plan
There are two major assessment pieces for my unit. They are a
portfolio and a journal. I feel that these are both very well suited to
the nature of a year-long unit. They are progressive and cumulative.
I could meet with the students occasionally to check up on their
portfolio progress and periodically collect journals. I have noted
throughout my lessons when the students should write in their
journals or place a piece in their portfolio. If I were a media specialist
doing these lessons I would most likely not be responsible for giving a
grade. But if I were a classroom teacher I would be looking for things
like completion, effort, and overall improvement. None of my lessons
focus on information that can be tested in a traditional way. There are
not really right or wrong answers. If the unit was expanded to include
more objective information a test could be created. Because there is
so much writing, I could grade things like improved spelling, grammar,
vocabulary, and style. I would also like to implement one of William
Ayers’ methods of observing students. For this unit a staff review
might work well, especially if there are numerous teachers
contributing.
I would be very interested to hear students’ opinions about each
lesson, so I could determine whether or not it was useful for them. I
could accomplish this by conferencing, open discussion, journal
prompts (such as what was your favorite part of this activity, what was
your least favorite part, etc), or written evaluations.
I thought about
using student checklists for self-evaluation, to make sure students
have accomplished everything the lesson requires. However, when I
went through my lessons I did not feel like a checklist fit in well with
any of the activities. I think they should be used for a fairly complex
assignment or when work is completed outside of class. All of my
lessons take place during school and are pretty straightforward. I did
decide to use a checklist for the overall unit (sheet is located after
cumulating activity). This sheet combines a list of everything the
student should have in their portfolio with some self-assessment
questions.
Lessons from our readings
All of the books we have read this semester have affected my creation
of this unit, whether consciously or unconsciously. Below I have
compiled some ideas that were especially helpful.
* Because I do not have teaching experience, Nicholls and Hazzard’s
Education as Adventure was my guidebook to the nature of a second
grade classroom. When I was developing my lessons I thought about
the students in Sue’s class and if my activities would be
developmentally appropriate for them. I also remembered how Sue
relied on discussion, collaboration, writing, and student choice. I was
particularly inspired by this statement on the importance of discussion,
“I [have the children] do more discussing than I do writing…That’s
because I really want a picture of what’s inside that child’s mind…If I
can give them an opportunity to express themselves, then I can tell
how much they’ve actually applied to themselves and gained as new
knowledge” (p. 85).
* When trying to match standards to my activities I kept William Ayers
voice in mind, “…whenever you get a mandate or guideline, set it aside
until you have sketched out your large purposes and goals, and filled
those in with specific plans and concrete action steps. At this point
your can refer to the guidelines without cringing before them” (p. 99).
I also tried to hold my lessons to the principle of Ayers’ questions for
the curriculum, such as “Are there opportunities for discovery and
surprise? Are students actively engaged with primary sources and
hands-on materials? Is productive work going on?” (p. 91).
* The overriding theme of our class has been constructivism, so The
Case for Constructivist Classrooms assisted me in keeping that attitude
alive in my unit. The concepts I see myself using the most are
encouraging teacher to student and student to student dialogue,
nonjudgmental feedback, and employing big ideas.
* I tried to utilize John Dewey’s four instincts of a child in my unit,
“There is the social instinct of the children as shown in conversation,
personal intercourse, and communication…The language instinct is the
simplest form of the social expression of the child…Then there is the
instinct of making—the constructive impulse…And so the expressive
impulse of the children, the art instinct, grows also out of the
communicating and constructive instincts” (pgs. 43-44). Dewey’s
description of a productive classroom motivated me to try and include
as many active lessons as possible.
Resources
Lessons from our readings
Ayers, William (2001). To teach, the journey of a teacher. New York:
Teachers College Press.
Brooks, Jacqueline Grennon & Brooks, Martin G. (1993). In search of
understanding the case for the constructivist classroom. Alexandria,
VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Dewey, John (1990). The school and society. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press. (Original work published in 1900)
Nicholls, John G. & Hazzard, Susan P. (1993). Education as
adventure: lessons from the second grade. New York: Teachers
College Press.
Standards
All of the standards I used in this unit were taken from Indiana’s
Academic Standards for Grade Two
(http://ideanet.doe.state.in.us/standards/grade02.html).
Websites consulted
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/miller/Seasons.html
http://faldo.atmos.uiuc.edu/w_unit/LESSONS/seasons.html
http://www.weather.com/education/wxclass/winterweather/winterwea
therleassonplan.html
http://www.snowflakebentley.com
http://emu.arsusda.gov/snowsite/selected/select1.html
Supplemental children’s literature
There is a vast amount of fabulous children’s literature available that
would fit into a seasonal theme. I have selected a sampling of fiction
and non-fiction titles. I have also added in a few ideas about lesson
tie-ins.
Fiction:
Autumnblings by Douglas Florian
Hot City by Barbara Joosse (lesson tie-in: favorite summer spot)
Frederick by Leo Lionni
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen (lesson tie-in: family traditions)
A Snowflake Fell: Poems about Winter by Laura Whipple
Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi (lesson tie-in: how are animals
affected by the seasons?)
The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg
Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey
Nonfiction:
Changing Seasons by Henry Pluckrose
The Complete Book of the Seasons by Sally Tagholm
Four Seasons Make a Year by Anne Rockwell
The Four Seasons by Mary Rius
The Reasons for Seasons by Gail Gibbons
Seasons on the Farm by Ann Larkin Hansen
Sunshine Makes the Seasons by Franklyn M. Branley
Materials used for entire unit
Globe, flashlight, paper people, various c.d.’s (including Vivaldi), c.d.
player, paper, pencils, markers, paint, computers, poster board, glue,
magazines, scissors, an easel, digital camera, microscope, microscope
slides, hairspray, snow, magnifying glasses, binoculars, noisemakers,
various worksheets (included throughout unit), fiction and non-fiction
books (see above).
Portfolio Checklist
1.
Vivaldi picture or story ____
This project shows that I learned…
___________________________________
My favorite part of this project…
___________________________________
If I could change this project I would…
_______________________________________________
2. Frederick poem or story (with brainstorming
sheet) ___
This project shows that I learned…
___________________________________
My favorite part of this project…
___________________________________
If I could change this project I would…
_______________________________________________
3. The Stranger webbing worksheet ___
This project shows that I learned…
___________________________________
My favorite part of this project…
___________________________________
If I could change this project I would…
_______________________________________________
4. Snowflake art ___
This project shows that I learned…
___________________________________
My favorite part of this project…
___________________________________
If I could change this project I would…
_______________________________________________
5. Clue worksheet ___
This project shows that I learned…
___________________________________
My favorite part of this project…
___________________________________
If I could change this project I would…
_______________________________________________
6. Journal ___
This project shows that I learned…
___________________________________
My favorite part of this project…
___________________________________
If I could change this project I would…
_______________________________________________