2012-2013 School year: Literary Reflections

• While all four language arts strands of literature, writing, language study, and oral communication are integrated into this unit, the core of the unit involves students interacting with literature while enhancing reading comprehension and textual analysis skills. The literature selections include novels and short stories centered on the theme of change. We will begin the year by reading Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis.

• The guiding theme of this unit is the recognition that change affects people and their relationships, as well as the world around them. The literature selections of the unit illustrate this theme for students. Unit activities engage students in discussion and writing about what they have read and in independent and group learning opportunities that promote skill development in vocabulary, grammar, persuasive writing, literary analysis, oral communication, and thinking. Students also engage in research on current issues and report findings in written and oral form.

• Students will use the following strategies while reading:

  • Make connections to their own lives, other literature, and the world around them

  • Question before, during, and after reading

  • Infer from the text in order to create meaning and grasp the deeper essence of the text

  • Determine importance and purpose

  • Synthesize information by sifting and sorting through text

 2013-2014 School year: Patterns of Change: A Language Arts Unit for High Ability Learners

• The goals of the Language Arts units are to develop students' skills in literary analysis and interpretation, persuasive writing, linguistic competency, and oral communication, as well as to strengthen students' reasoning skills and understanding of the concept of change. The units engage students in exploring carefully selected, challenging works of literature from various times, cultures, and genres, and they encourage students to reflect on their readings through writing and discussion. The units also provide numerous opportunities for students to explore interdisciplinary connections to the language arts and to conduct research around issues relevant to their own lives.

• The concept of cyclic patterns of change was chosen as the unifying theme for this unit. Selected literary works deal with cycles in nature, knowledge, history, and human life. Students are introduced to some of the important approaches and ideas of literary criticism. Students are encouraged to use journals, literature webs, essays, and visual projects to organize and express their ideas about various literary selections. Works studied in the unit include Conrad’s My Daniel, "The Helpful Badger" by Lawrence Yep, and poetry by Dickinson, Sandburg, Angelou, and Shakespeare.

 2012-2013 School year:  A House Divided?: The Civil War, Its Causes and Effects

• The concept of cause and effect serves as a central organizing theme of this unit, which explores the events and perspectives leading to the American Civil War and the chronology and context of the war itself. Using primary source documents as a major resource, students investigate the social, political, and economic influences that were significant in this period of history. In addition, the unit focuses on particular individuals and groups and their contributions and responses to the events of the time.

• Unit Goals:

  • Develop understanding of the concept of cause and effect and its relationship to events and eras in history

  • Develop reasoning skills with application to social studies

  • Develop interpersonal and social group process skills

  • Develop skills in historical analysis and source interpretation

  • Develop understanding of the causes of the Civil War, the major events and influential individuals of the period, and the complex reasons for the outcome

 

 2013-2014 School year: The 1930s in America: Facing Depression

• The social studies unit emphasizes primary source analysis, critical thinking, and concept development to help students develop understanding of high-level social studies content in key areas. Thus, the unit reflects the focus of national and state-level standards on historical thinking and research and on the integration of major concepts across disciplines.

• This unit explores Depression-era America from the perspective of many different groups of people, utilizing a variety of primary sources to illustrate events and the  social-political context. The concept of cause and effect is employed to support student understanding of the complexity of history. The unit emphasizes the interplay of changes in geography, government, and the economy, as well as the influence of particular individuals and groups, to deepen student understanding of the period.

2012-2013 School year: Acid, Acid Everywhere