The West Transformed Unit
Created by Robin Oelrich
Part I.
Introduction:
The classrooms in which this unit will be taught are 8th grade American/North Carolina
Social Studies. These classrooms have a variety of students on several academic levels. This
unit will be focusing on Post-Civil War America spreading westward to the Pacific Ocean. The
students in the four classes that the unit will be taught in range from advanced to English
Language Learners. There are four students that require guided notes to help them understand the
lessons. The classes are evenly mix male and female. This unit will have some collaborative
planning and effort with the 8th grade PLC and the Collaborative Teacher.
Organizational Principle:
The theme of this unit is about moving to an unknown region. Students will know use
connection about moving to new places and the feelings that they might feel by doing so. This
will help students to connect to the settlers moving west and see what difficulties these
individuals faced in their interactions with new peoples.
Primary Subject Matter Focus:
The content this unit will be focusing on Post-Civil War American moving westward.
Student will see how American settlers moving westward caused conflict with Native American
who were already there. Students will also study how industrialization and new technologies
helped to move settlers westward. Students will see the troubles faced by both the settlers and
Native Americans during this time. It is important for students to see the importance of
America’s movement westward to see how we as a nation developed. It is also important for
students to see the problems that occur when two different cultures clash and the importance of
not repeating the injustices committed on the Native Americans.
Organizing Questions:




Who and how were the policies of the U.S. Government enacted on the Native American
population?
What incentives did settlers have to move westward?
What were some of the issues/problems the Native Americans have with Americans settle
migrating westward?
What technologies and industries helped to move Americans westward?
Goals:


Students will understand why the Western United States grew.
Gain an appreciation for Native Americans struggle to maintain their way of life.


Students will feel empowered that they can affect history.
Gain appreciation of the hardships settlers endured to survive in the west.
General Unit Objectives:
Cognitive
1. Analyze events that transformed the Western United States (1860-1896).
1.1. Identify changes in the Western United States
1.2. Distinguish the problems the Native Americans had with settlers moving westward
1.3. Evaluate the hardships of the settlers moving west.
2. Relating the struggles of the Native Americans to the Settlers
3. Identifying the peoples effect by the railroad expansion westward
Affective
4. Connect personal experience with text and media.
4.1. Relate specific passages/scenes to self.
4.2. Elaborates on similarities and/or differences of situations.
5. Valuing writing of the time frame.
Performance
6. Work in groups to gain understanding and knowledge of the material.
7. Compose various forms of writing for the time period.
8. Perform material orally.
Common Core Standards for MG SS
9. CCSS-RST-(8)-2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary
source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct form prior knowledge or
opinions.
10. CCSS-RST-(8)-8: Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research
findings, and speculation in a text.
11. CCSS-RH-(8)-2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary
source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or
opinions.
12. CCSS-RH-(8)-6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or
purpose.
13. CCSS-RH-(8)-7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs,
videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
14. CCSS-RH-(8)-9: Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on
the same topic.
15. CCSS-WHST-(8)-10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of
discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Possible Unit Materials & Supplementary Texts:
National Archives Doc Teach Activity (Primary Documents)
Textbook
History.com Videos
Poetry
Smartboard
Laptops
Markers
Paper
Pens/pencils
Quotes
Possible Activities/Instructional Strategies:
Current Events
Docs Teach Activities
Document Analysis
Discussion
Free writes
Exit Passes
Group work
Mine Creation
Person Moving West description and story
Small group work
Poetry Creation
Unit Map/Narrative Overview:
Day 1
Students will start the day with current events then students will free write about a quote given to
them. Students will then discuss the quote as a class. Students will need to respond the meaning
and who possibly wrote the quote. In small groups, students will analyze primary source
documents that will need to be put in chronological order. After 15-20 minutes of working in
these small groups everyone will present out to what order and why the students put these
documents into a particular order. As a class, we will figure out the order of the documents.
This is will allow students to get an overview of the unit. Students will see how the Civil War
and Reconstruction helped to move America westward. At the end of the class student will have
an exit pass stating any questions they may still have that need to be answered during the unit or
students can write about what they learned that day.
Day 2
Students will start the day with current events then students will free write about a quote put on
the board. Students will discuss the writing as a class. A student will come up to the Smartboard
to record answers to the question: why would you move west? This will be done as a class. Next
the teacher will present the question what would a miner during this time need to get into
prospecting. How could they afford the materials needed? After students have answered
questions the teacher will present some information about the “Rushes” and the creation of
Boomtowns. After information has been presented to the students, students in small groups will
start to create their own mines. Students will draw how the location looked like. This will be
turned in at the end of class as an exit pass.
Day 3
Students will start the day with current events then students will free write about a quote put on
the board. Students will discuss the writing as a class. The exit passes from the previous day
will be handed back so students can work further with them today. The teacher will discuss
briefly about vigilante/frontier justice used in the West during this time period and show a short
video on about it from History.com. Students will go back into their groups and work further
with their mines and students will take it one step further. Students will have to think about how
they would protect their mine. What defenses would the student use to warn them that someone
was coming or that someone was about to take the mine? Students will turn in what they have
done at the end of class as an exit pass.
Day 4
Students will start the day with current events then students will free write about a quote put on
the board. Students will discuss the writing as a class. The teacher will present information
about the growth of the railroad and how the railroad moved west with prospectors. The teacher
will also present information about the transcontinental railroad and how railroads transformed
the West. Students will watch a short video from History.com about the transcontinental
railroad. Students will see what individuals worked on the creation of the railroads and how the
conditions they worked in. As students leave class they will writing an exit pass that will have a
question that they have on the material given.
Day 5
Students will start the day with current events then students will free write about a quote put on
the board. Students will discuss the writing as a class. The teacher will present information
about the Homestead Act of 1862. Students will be given a print out of a transcript of the
Homestead Act so students can analyze and find interesting facts that are in the documents.
Students will also look at how the words are used to convey information to the public. Students
will write information down on a separate piece of paper so it can be turned in at the end of class.
Students will work on this for 25 minutes and then will be discussed as a class.
Day 6
Students will start the day with current events then students will free write about a quote put on
the board. Students will discuss the writing as a class. Students will recap on the Homestead
Act. Then students will go further to understand the difficulties of farming in the west. Students
will learn about farming methods used and groups of people who moved west to farm the land.
Students will look at what was crops were grown in the on these farms and the hardships faced
by the Homesteaders. Students look at pictures from Docsteach.org to help students understand
what people went through.
Day 7
Students will start the day with current events. A student will come up to the board to record that
answer to what do you think when you hear “Cowboys?” Students will share out as a class. The
teacher will present information about Cowboys and the Cattle industry. Students will then look
at two poems, “The Cowboy’s Life” and “The Dreary, Dreary Life.” Students will discuss these
two poems as a class. What was the message of these two poems? What are the good and bad of
being a cowboy on a cattle drive? The answers will be written on the board by a student.
Day 8
Students will start the day with current events. The teacher will present a section of the poem
“Pioneers! O Pioneers!” by Walt Whitman. As a class, students will study the poem to analyzing
meaning and get context for creating their own poem. Students will then be given a prompt
create their own poem. Students will free write on the prompt given for 10 to 15 minutes. Then
students will start to draft the lines of their poem. This drafting process will take another 10 to
15 minutes. The teacher will gage if students need more time to work on drafting stage. We will
wrap this up with students seeing the teacher’s poem. Students will then the poem home to make
a final draft to turn in the beginning of next class.
Day 9
As students walk into the classroom they will need to turn in their poems that they worked on for
home work. Students will start the day with current events. The teacher will ask a student to
come up the board to record answers for the question “How do you think buffalo was used in
Native American culture?” After students have answered the question the teacher will present
material about how buffalo was used for Native American living on the plains. Teacher will then
further discuss some of the problems Native Americans had with settlers moving westward.
Students will then receive lab tops and look up information on the problems the westward
migration caused on these individuals. Students will write down the information on a sheet a
paper that will be turned in at the end of class.
Day 10
Students will start with current events. Students free write about a quote on the board for 5
minutes. After the five minutes students will present out what they interpret about the quote.
Students will be presented with information about the Battle of Little Bighorn. Students will
learn the causes, the battle and outcome. Students will watch clips throughout the information to
help with understanding. Students will then use laptops to gather further information on Custer,
Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Students will find information on the tactics used and how Custer
lost. Students will turn in information gathered on a sheet of paper at the end of class. When
there is about 10 to 15 minutes lefts the teacher will ask a student come up to the board to record
information that students found about these individuals.
Day 11
Students will start the day with current events. The teacher will present information about the
Fort Laramie Treaty and the Sand Creek Massacre. Students will also learn about the Dawes act
and how it failed. Students and teacher will then discuss what could have been done to prevent
this event. What could have the government down to keep its promise to the Native Americans?
What could have the Native Americans done?
Day 12
Students will start the day with current events. Students will receive rubric on Westward
Transformation project. Students will create an individual that is moving west. Students will
have to create a background story as to why this individual is moving and what is the purpose of
move. Is the person going to be a cattle rancher, a homesteader, or work on the railroad? How
would they get to their location? What would the individual pack with them? What would they
need to buy once they got there?
Day 13
Students will start the day with current events. Students will use the rest of the of the class
period as a workday.
Day 14
Student will start the day with current events. Students will use the rest of the day to get the final
information needed for project and gather and write down information. This will be the final
workday.
Day 15
Students will start with current events. The rest of the period will be students 2-3 minute
presentations about the individual they created.
Part II.
Daily Lesson Plans:
Title: The West Transforms Overview
Context: Students just ended a unit on the Civil War and Reconstruction. Students are now
moving on to the transformation and expansion of the west. This lesson is the transition from
Reconstruction to expansion of Western United States. Students will get an overview of the unit
by discussing/analyzing as a class primary source documents. Students will put these documents
in chronological order.
Plan Number: 1 of 15
Objectives:
1. CCSS-RH-(8)-2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary
source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or
opinions.
2. CCSS-RH-(8)-7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or
maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
3. CCSS-RH-(8)-9: Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the
same topic.
4. CCSS-RST-(8)-8: Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings,
and speculation in a text.
5. CCSS-WHST-(8)-10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of disciplinespecific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Materials:
1. Smartboard
2. National Archives website http://docsteach.org/activities/104
3. Paper print out of documents for students to look at.
4. Paper
5. Pens/pencils
6. Laptops
Time: 70 minutes
Instructional Steps:
1. 5-10 minutes. Group 1 will present their current event. Students will share fact about the
event like who, what, where, when and their opinion about what happened. Students
need to print out and highlight the facts for the current event.
2. 10 minutes. The teacher will present the quote “Onward up many a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. Oh! The places you'll go!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
3.
4.
5.
6.
a. Students will do a free write about the quote. Students will write about what they
think the quote means.
b. Students will share what they wrote with the class.
5 minutes. The teacher will break up the class into groups and handout printouts of the
Docs Teach activities. The teacher will pull up the website and introduce the activity.
The teacher will demonstrate how to analyze documents.
35 minutes. Students will analyze documents and put them into chronological order.
Students can ask questions throughout the process of analyzing the documents. Students
will write down the order of these documents on the same sheet they used for the quote
free write
10 minutes. As a class, we will discuss what order we should put these documents in on
the Smartboard.
As students leave class they will turn in free writes and order of documents.
Evaluation:
This will be an informal assessment. I will be walking around and listening to students as
they work. Students will also be assessed by the exit pass that students turn in. The grade will
be a participation grade.
Accommodations: None needed due to group work.
In Retrospect:
Appendix of Materials: see next page
Title: Boomtowns and Mining
Context: Students the day before did an overview activity about Westward Expansion and
Transformation. Today students will go into depth about how the West was transformed by
mining and the growth of Boomtowns. The movement of people west due to mining caused
Americans to the western frontier.
Plan Number: 2 of 15
Objectives:
 1.1 Identify changes in the Western United States
 1.3 Evaluate the hardships of the settlers moving west.
 4.0 Connect personal experience with text and media
 8.0 Perform material orally
 CCSS-WHST-(8)-10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of
discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
 CCSS-RST-(8)-8: Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research
findings, and speculation in a text.
Materials:
1. Smartboard
2. Pens/Pencils
3. Paper
4. Blank printer paper
Time: 70 minutes
Instructional Steps:
1. 5-10 minutes. Group 2 will present their current event. Students will share fact about the
event like who, what, where, when and their opinion about what happened. Students
need to print out and highlight the facts for the current event.
2. 10 minutes. The teacher will present and excerpt from Miss Kilmansegg: Her Moral by
Thomas Hood. Attached under Appendix of Materials.
a. Students will do a free write about the quote. Students will write about what they
think the quote means.
b. Students will share what they wrote with the class.
3. 20 minutes. Teacher will present information/history of Comstock Lodge, the growth of
mining in Western America, the rise of boomtowns, and life in these towns.
4. 35 minutes. Students will create their own mine. Students will draw a layout of how the
land around the mine looks including, buildings, streams, location of mine. Students will
also write about what ore is being mined, what materials are needed to mine, what
provisions are needed while these individuals are mining and how close is the mine to a
town.
5. 5 minutes. Students will wrap up with discussing what sort of mine was they created and
hand in what was down as an exit pass.
Evaluation:
This will be an informal assessment. I will be walking around and listening to students as
they work. Students will also be assessed by the exit pass that students turn in. The grade will
be a participation grade.
Accommodations: Students will receive guided notes of the information presented to help
understand the material.
In Retrospect:
Appendix of Materials:
Miss Kilmansegg: Her Moral by Thomas Hood.
“Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!
Bright and yellow, hard and cold,
Molten, graven, hammered and rolled,
Heavy to get and light to hold,
Hoarded, bartered, bought, and sold,
Stolen, borrowed, squandered, doled,
Spurned by the young, but hugged by old,
To the verge of the of the church yard mold;
Price of many a crime untold.
Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!
Good or bad a thousand fold!
How widely its agencies vary
To Save—to ruin—to curse—to bless—“
Title: Poetry Day
Context: Students on the previous day learned about the history of cowboys and the cattle
industry. Students also looked at two poems about cowboys. Today students will go one step
further.
Plan Number: 8 of 15
Objectives:
 5 - Valuing writing of the time frame.
 7 - Compose various forms of writing for the time period.
 CCSS-RH-(8)-6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or
purpose.
 CCSS-WHST-(8)-10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of
discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
 CCSS-RH-(8)-4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
Materials:
1. Smartboard
2. Pens/pencils
3. Paper
4. Pioneers! O Pioneers! By Walt Whitman
Time: 70 minutes
Instructional Steps:
1. 5-10 minutes. Group 3 will present their current event. Students will share fact about the
event like who, what, where, when and their opinion about what happened. Students
need to print out and highlight the facts for the current event.
2. 15 minutes. Present, read and discuss excerpt from Pioneers! O Pioneers! By Walt
Whitman. Teacher should lead discussion on the meaning/interpretation of the excerpt.
Help students find meaning in the poem and help them to tie in what has been taught thus
far about the westward expansion and transformation. See Appendix of Materials.
3. 10 minutes. Students will be given the prompt on the Smartboard. “We have learned
about the Homestead Act, mining, Boomtowns, Cowboys and the cattle industry. You
are a person how is moving west to find their fortune.”
a. Students will start pre-writing with these questions in mind.
i.
Think about what emotions you are going through to go to this new area
that you have never seen before. List these emotions.
ii.
Think about how you are traveling to get to your new home, land, or
profession. Write down how you are traveling.
iii.
Next list what items you are traveling with you. What items did you
take with you on this trip?
iv.
List the hopes and dreams for you and your family. Who are traveling
with you
4. 20 minutes. Students will start drafting their poems by using the following prompts.
a. Start your poem with: “I am on this ____, traveling to_______.”
b. In the next 3 lines, describe your feelings as you are traveling.
c. In the next 2 to 4 lines, describe what you took with you on this trip. These lines
will be their own stanzas. Please be specific.
d. In the next 2 to 3 lines, describe the dreams of your hopes of your family. These
lines will be their own stanza. Please be specific.
5. 10 minutes. After students have drafted their poems students will share in small groups
to get ideas for revision.
6. Students will take home to write final draft for home work.
Evaluation: The evaluation will be informal. The teacher will gage understanding by asking
questions about the poem and by walking around to seeing what students are doing. Then
students turn the poem the next day teacher will give grade as a completion grade.
Accommodations: should not need any.
In Retrospect:
Appendix of Materials:
Excerpt for Pioneers! O Pioneers! From Walt Whitman
All the past we leave behind;
We debouch upon a newer, mightier world, varied world,
Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march, Pioneers! O pioneers!
We detachments steady throwing,
Down the edges, through the passes, up the mountains steep,
Conquering, holding, daring, venturing, as we go, the unknown ways, Pioneers! O pioneers!
We primeval forests felling,
We the rivers stemming, vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within;
We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving, Pioneers! O pioneers!
Colorado men are we,
From the peaks gigantic, from the great sierras and the high plateaus,
From the mine and from the gully, from the hunting trail we come, Pioneers! O pioneers!
From Nebraska, from Arkansas,
Central inland race are we, from Missouri, with the continental blood intervein'd;
All the hands of comrades clasping, all the Southern, all the Northern, Pioneers! O pioneers!
Part III.
Brief Evaluation Philosophy Statement:
I have a few thoughts about evaluating students. I believe that tests do not accurately
show what material students have learned. Students need to be creative. Students need to be
able to express themselves in several forms. Students can be checked throughout a lesson to see
if they understand the material or if there needs to be clarification. There are all sorts of way to
check students informally and not give a test. Students can analyze documents, create
individuals from the time period, and create songs and poems. All of these forms allow students
to show comprehension of material and allows them to make something new with the material
learned. Students should also be able to discuss the material presented. Discussion helps
students to make sense of the material. Students probe the topic by asking questions and getting
feedback from not just the teacher but also their fellow students.
The final project would be an evaluative assessment to show what students learned.
Tests are very summative way of assessing students. The student both knows the material and
passes the test or the student does not and fails. While the project is an evaluative way of
showing what the student has learned. The student can show what they have learned and create
something new with it. I also believe students should have multiple chances to get a passing
grade on an assignment.
I believe that my job as a teacher is not just to teach content but to teach skills that
students will need later in school and in life. The skills I can teach will help students be better in
skill and in their professional careers.
List of Evaluation Strategies:
Informal
 Discussions
o Done as whole class and in small groups
o Not graded
 Observations of Group and Individual Work
o Not graded
 Exit Slips
o Students write down questions they have about the material presented.
o Not graded
 Q&A’s
o Students can ask questions to the teacher or students to clarify content presented
o Not graded
Formal
 Current Events [CT]
o Allows students to stay current on events going on around them
o Graded for completion
 Quote Freewrites


o Done at the beginning of class to make a connection with the material going to be
presented. Helps students to start thinking critically.
o Way to gauge student understanding
o Grade based on completion and effort
Boomtown/Mining
o Gauge understanding
o Grade based completion, effort and understanding
Westward Transformation Project
o Graded with rubric
o Evaluative way to check understanding and comprehension
Part IV.
Works Cited List:
Davidson, James W., and Michael B. Stoff. "The West Transformed." America: History of Our
Nation. Boston, Massachusetts: Prestice Hall, 2007. 574-599. Print.
The National Archives Experience: Doc Teach
http://docsteach.org/activities/104/detail?mode=browse&menu=closed&era[]=thedevelopment-of-the-industrial-united-states&page=1
Transcript of Homestead Act (1862)
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/print_friendly.php?page=transcript&doc=31&title=Transc
ript+of+Homestead+Act+%281862%29
The Virtual Museum of The City Of San Francisco, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/poem.html>.
Whitman, Walt. "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.
<http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/wwhitman/bl-ww-pioneer.htm>.
Reflective Addendum:
Dear Reader,
When I started creating my unit I asked my CT for some ideas and she stated to me that I
needed to do a unit on Westward Transformation. She did give me free rein on who I could
present the material and I could create my own activities. I originally came up with the theme of
student empowerment but as I created this unit I realize that I was focusing on people moving
west and the difficulties they had. So I changed my theme to moving and the hardships of being
in a new place. I have moved to places all over the world and it has made me the person that I
am today. Several of the students I have seen this semester have moved to new places as well
and I thought that if they could make this connection with their own experiences that it would
help them connect to the time period. After, I had my theme and the content I would be
teaching. I did some research to clarify the time period and the content so I could be more
knowledgeable about the material. I also did some research on videos, documents, and poetries
that would help students connect to the material.
I worked very hard on this unit and I believe that this unit has lots of strengths. This unit
uses technologies like a Smartboard and laptops. This unit also allows students to lots of
opportunities to be creative. Students are encouraged to write poetry, create their own mine and
create a person from the time frame. This unit also allows frequent opportunities for students to
write in multiple forms. Students free write about quotes given before a lesson to help them
think about the topic that is going to be presented and allows them to analyze the text.
My biggest concern about this unit is the objectives. I have always seemed to have
trouble writing objectives. The wording that goes into writing objectives seems to be difficult to
me. I wish I had more time to further develop my objectives.
The limitation that I encountered when creating this unit was that I was given too much
free rein. I wish I knew more about the students that I would be teaching before I started
creating this unit. These students are very bright and need to be kept engaged with the material
but I do not know about any accommodations these students might have. I wish I could tailor
my lesson to help out these students while still challenging everyone.
When implementing my unit, I will pay close attention to time and content. As a social
studies educator I am required to teach certain content that will be tested at the end of the year.
While I want to make sure that my students understand the content I want to make the content
fun and engaging. I want my students to interact with the material and immerse themselves in it.
I to do other things to check for understanding than simply quizzing or testing them. The time
focus means in regards to the length of the class. I am always afraid that I do not have enough
activities for the students do or that the activities that I have created will not take as long as I
think they will. I would rather have too much to do and have to cut an activity short than to have
students be idle.
I would rate my unit as a 4. I put a lot of time and effort into creating this unit and I
believe that it is reflected in my work. I tried to create engaging lesson with activities that help
would appeal to students. I spent a lot of time trying to come up with “out of the box” activities
and lessons. I am very proud of the material that I will cover in the course of this unit and I look
forward to teaching it this Spring.
If I had to describe this project to future student teachers, I would tell them to be ready to
put all that you learned into creating your unit. This project takes up a lot of time but it allows
you to show what you learned and who you are as a teacher. You get to create the activities and
decide what you think is important. With that said, be ready to work. This project is very time
consuming. Use every moment you have to create your unit. This unit is what you are going to
be teaching in the Spring and it is worth so many points. You can get all the help you need from
you CT, fellow students and professors.
The only suggestion I have for revising this project is to allow students to start working
on this sooner. The semester goes so quick with all the work that has to be done that this should
be discussed sooner and give as much time to create as possible. This would allow students to
ask more questions and to receive guidance from peers, CTs and professors much sooner than
currently. The other revision would be the lesson plan format. This is the first time that we have
seen this format used in any of our education classes. If this was presented early in our
education then I believe that it would be as difficult to write these lessons.
Part V.
Process:
Based on the guidelines on the Prep Sheet and the Integrated Thematic Unit Guidelines, I
posted my process on the wiki. This can be found at http://msl-methods-1213.wikispaces.com/Robin+O%27s+Thematic+Unit+Work
All of my drafts can be seen at the link above. I received feedback verbal feedback from my
peers, middle school age son (about activities) and fiancé. From this feedback I revised my unit.
I have also supplied the draft for the poetry lesson that I created at this link: http://msl-methods12-13.wikispaces.com/Traveling+to+the+Homestead.
I had to modify the poetry lesson to fit within the unit and to meet the objectives for that day’s
lesson.