MYP unit planner
Unit title
Cross-Cultural Motifs (Historical and Cultural aspects of
literature)
Teacher(s)
Heredia, Patterson, Rhymes, Steele, Welch, Wood
Subject and grade level
8th grade language arts
Time frame and duration
3 weeks
Stage 1: Integrate significant concept, area of interaction and unit
question
Area of interaction focus
Significant concept(s)
Which area of interaction will be our focus?
Why have we chosen this?
What are the big ideas? What do we want our
students to retain for years into the future?
Health and Social
Cultural Diversity
This area of interaction allows students to
explore how language and literature helps
their understanding of themselves and
others.
(Commonalities and Differences)
Students will learn tolerance, acceptance,
and compassion.
MYP unit question
Approaches to Learning: How does language influence our
understanding of culture/cultural diversity?
Health and Social: How do language and literature facilitate
our understanding of others and ourselves?
Assessment
What task(s) will allow students the opportunity to respond to the unit question?
What will constitute acceptable evidence of understanding? How will students show what they have understood?
Summative Assessment: Compare and contrast cross-cultural texts (poetry, myth, folklore) for common
motifs (reoccurring theme, idea etc..), and differences in culture, using multiple formats for assessment, ie.
Venn diagram, multiple choice, and written response.
Formative Assessment: Venn diagram for comparing/contrasting a variety of short stories, poems, and nonfiction text.
Which specific MYP objectives will be addressed during this unit?
Content A: Compare and contrast works, and connect themes across and within genres.
Which MYP assessment criteria will be used?
Teacher created rubric modelled after Criterion A: Content and district standards (S2, C2, PO1-2).
Stage 2: Backward planning: from the assessment to the learning
activities through inquiry
Content
What knowledge and/or skills (from the course overview) are going to be used to enable the student to respond to the unit
question?
What (if any) state, provincial, district, or local standards/skills are to be addressed? How can they be unpacked to develop the
significant concept(s) for stage 1?
Strand 2, Concept 2, PO1-2: (Historical and Cultural aspects of Literature) CUSD District Standards
Content A: Compare and contrast works, and connect themes across and within genres
 Compare and Contrast
 Describe/Evaluate cross-cultural texts for motif
 Respond to Literature (reflect and connect)
 Connect to Literature and other cultures to learn more about ourselves and others
 Identify common stylistic elements and structure in poetry, myth and folklore from a variety of
cultures
Approaches to learning
How will this unit contribute to the overall development of subject-specific and general approaches to learning skills?
Out of the 7 groups of skills, students will be asked to reflect, think and transfer in order to be successful
during this unit.
Learning experiences
How will students know what is expected of them? Will
they see examples, rubrics, templates?
How will students acquire the knowledge and practise
the skills required? How will they practise applying
these?
Do the students have enough prior knowledge? How will
we know?
Teaching strategies
How will we use formative assessment to give students feedback
during the unit?
What different teaching methodologies will we employ?
How are we differentiating teaching and learning for all? How have
we made provision for those learning in a language other than their
mother tongue? How have we considered those with special
educational needs?
 Pre-assessment
 Discussion Questions and Cooperative structures
 Praise, Question, Polish (PQP)
 Journal entries
 Teacher-created rubric modelled after
MYP Criterion rubrics and prescribed
standards from CUSD
 Venn Diagram (graphic organizers)
 Unit 7 in Literature textbook
 Activate prior knowledge (KWL, Discussion
Question)
 Model compare and contrast (Venn
diagram)
 Provide examples
 Closure activities (ticket out of class)
 Provide a variety of poems, myths, and folktales
from different cultures (personal connection)
 Respond to the literature (short-answer response)
 Accommodations will be made for EL Learners and
special needs students, including providing
directions in a variety of ways, choice in
formative assessments, accommodations on
the summative assessment based on their
needs, extra time and one-on-one help.
Resources
What resources are available to us?
How will our classroom environment, local environment and/or the community be used to facilitate students’ experiences during
the unit?
Literature text book: Wise Old Woman/Old Grandfather and Little Grandson (Unit 4); Snapping Turtle;
Pandora’s Box; Brer Possum/Lion/Rabbit stories; Charles; Out of Bounds; Coyote Steals the Sun and
Moon; etc…
Poetry: Spam-Ku; Three Witches from MacBeth; Shakespearean Sonnets; We Real Cool; Dream; A Bee;
Introduction to Poetry; Musings on Music; The Weary Blues; The Stocking; How Do I Love Thee, Let Me
Count the Ways; I’m Nobody; Cats; Because I Could Not Stop for Death; Dream Song 14;etc…
Storyteller: A guest storyteller will come and tell stories (folktale/myth/poetry) to the students.
Ongoing reflections and evaluation
In keeping an ongoing record, consider the following questions. There are further
stimulus questions at the end of the “Planning for teaching and learning” section of
MYP: From principles into practice.
Students and teachers
What did we find compelling? Were our disciplinary knowledge/skills challenged in any way?
What inquiries arose during the learning? What, if any, extension activities arose?
How did we reflect—both on the unit and on our own learning?
Which attributes of the learner profile were encouraged through this unit? What opportunities were there for student-initiated
action?
Possible connections
How successful was the collaboration with other teachers within my subject group and from other subject groups?
What interdisciplinary understandings were or could be forged through collaboration with other subjects?
Assessment
Were students able to demonstrate their learning?
How did the assessment tasks allow students to demonstrate the learning objectives identified for this unit? How did I make
sure students were invited to achieve at all levels of the criteria descriptors?
Are we prepared for the next stage?
Data collection
How did we decide on the data to collect? Was it useful?
Were students able to demonstrate their learning?
Yes, most students demonstrated a clear understanding of motif, as well as how literature and language helps us to understand
ourselves better; however, the assessment addressed more than just motif. So, the assessment needs to be balanced to
reflect more of the motif and cross-cultural standards, rather than comprehension of the stories.
What did we find compelling? Were our disciplinary knowledge/skills challenged in any way?
Cross-cultural works/motifs are high interest for students. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and lack of resources, our
disciplinary knowledge was challenged.
How did we decide on the data to collect? Was it useful?
The summative assessment was used and compared collaboratively, as well as a district benchmark. When comparing the
summative assessment and benchmark scores, teachers were within 2%-3% of each other.
How successful was the collaboration with other teachers within my subject group and from other subject groups?
Within our subject group, collaboration was very successful. We spend 70-minutes a week as a department collaborating and
creating common assessments.
Interdisciplinary planning and collaboration is desired, yet challenging, due to time constraints.
Figure 12
MYP unit planner