Understanding By Design Unit Template
(Revised & adapted)
Title of Unit
Mystery
Grade Level
Fifth Grade
Subject
Reading
Time Frame
April 27, 2015 – June 26,, 2015
Developed By
Fifth Grade Teachers & Tony Stead
Stage 1 - Identify Desired Results
Narrative about this Unit of Study: (including the Big Idea)
Mysteries have the ability to get reluctant readers enthusiastic about reading and thinking. Mysteries often contain intriguing characters and are often
able to hold a student’s interest with their suspenseful and dynamic plots. Mysteries are a wonderful vehicle for teaching critical thinking and deductive
reasoning skills in an exciting and enjoyable way. This unit is a study of the mystery genre in which students will act as reading detectives. They will
discover the elements of a mystery including the typical characters, common plot structure, and the vocabulary they will likely encounter within a mystery.
In addition, students will also practice the skills of making inferences, drawing conclusions, and making predictions about characters’ motivations.
Learning Outcomes – Identified Primary Standards
What relevant goals will this unit address?
5.RL.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and
similes.
5.RL.5: Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.
5.RL.9: Compare and contrast stories in the same genre (e.g., mysteries and adventure stories) on their approaches to similar themes and topics.
5.RL.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the
grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Understandings
What understandings about the big ideas implied in the PLOs are desired?
Students will understand that...
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Detectives must possess certain qualities to aid them in solving a
case.
Mysteries contain features that are unique to the fiction genre.
Mysteries are not always solved.
Essential Questions
What provocative questions will foster inquiry into the content?
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What does it take to be a good detective?
How are the ingredients (features) for a mystery used to lure in
the reader?
Why is it that some mysteries are never solved?
Knowledge:
What knowledge will student acquire as a result of this unit?
Skills
What skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
Students will know...
Students will be able to…
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The features of a mystery.
The vocabulary associated with a mystery.
The techniques used by author’s within the mystery genre.
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Make inferences about characters’ motivations
Compare and contrast features of a mystery
Summarize the main ideas of a mystery
Make predictions
Determine the meaning of unknown vocabulary
Formulate a possible solution to a mystery
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Task
Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate the desired understandings, knowledge, and skills?
Brief Written Description of the Performance Task
Rubric for Assessment:
Other Evidence
Through what other evidence – student work samples, observations, quizzes, tests, self-assessment or other means – will students demonstrate
achievement of the desired results?
Objective(s)
Listed Aim or Learning Intention
of Each Lesson.
Assessment
Features of a Mystery
To identify the features of a mystery.
Teacher will ask students what
they already know about
mysteries and chart their
responses. Teacher will refer to
the Features Web in the text
Buried Treasure.
Buried Treasure
Unknown Vocabulary
To determine the meaning of
unknown vocabulary by using
Students will define the meaning
of unknown vocabulary based
Buried Treasure
Holiday Hazard
Related to knowledge, skills or both?
Resources
context clues.
on the context clues and their
experiences throughout the
story.
The Mystery of Campion Cave
The Rescue
The Missing Necklace
Comparing and Contrasting Features
of a Mystery
To compare and contrast the
features of a mystery.
Students will identify the
features of a mystery in the text
Holiday Hazard. They will
compare and contrast the
features from both Holiday
Hazard and Buried Treasure.
Buried Treasure
Holiday Hazard
The Mystery of Campion Cave
The Rescue
The Missing Necklace
Making Inferences
To make inferences about characters’
motivations
Teacher will ask students to
make inferences in reference to
the characters’ motivations. The
students will be asked to draw
conclusions based on the text
that was read.
Buried Treasure
Holiday Hazard
The Mystery of Campion Cave
The Rescue
The Missing Necklace
Forming Summaries
To formulate a summary of the
mystery text using 2-3 sentences.
Teacher will model summarizing
the text that was used during
shared reading. Students will
then have to summarize using
2-3 sentences their independent
reading book.
Buried Treasure
Holiday Hazard
The Mystery of Campion Cave
The Rescue
The Missing Necklace
Making Predictions
To make predictions based on the
text.
Teacher will revisit Buried
Treasure and stop at certain
points to get the students to
make predictions as to what
they think is going to happen
next.
Buried Treasure
Holiday Hazard
The Mystery of Campion Cave
The Rescue
The Missing Necklace
Identifying Character Traits
To identify the different character
traits that leads to their roles within
the mystery stories.
Students will be discussing and
identifying the character traits
and what motivated the
character to the actions taken.
Buried Treasure
Holiday Hazard
The Mystery of Campion Cave
The Rescue
The Missing Necklace
Review the Mystery Genre
To review what we have learned of
the Mystery Genre.
Students will discuss what they
have learned based on the
mystery genre. (Features,
Author’s Craft, Compare and
Contrast)
Buried Treasure
Holiday Hazard
The Mystery of Campion Cave
The Rescue
The Missing Necklace
Universal Design for Learning
REPRESENTATION
The ‘what’ of teaching & learning..
ACTION & EXPRESSION
The ‘how’ of teaching & learning…
ENGAGEMENT
The ‘why’ of teaching and learning…
From: Wiggins, Grant and J. McTighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (pbk)