Unit 6: Managing Challenging Student Behavior
Activity 1: Goals and Objectives
Unit Plan Template
Teacher Candidate Name: James Sharp
Unit Name: Unit 2 - Rainforest
Subject Area: English
Grade Level(s): 5
Introduction: What will students learn in this unit and why is it important? Describe the theme and student outcomes, including guiding questions and real-world connections.
Unit Introduction
Students will learn about rainforests and why it is important to protect them. Students will learn about the different animals and plants which live in the rainforest. Students will learn about the various rainforests around the world. Students will explore ways in which people can protect the rainforest. This is an important and real-world topic for students to learn as they are going to inherit the world we leave for them and they need to be informed of things such as this that will impact the future of the planet.
Students will also learn how to discuss topics with a partner, read for specific information and write factual descriptions. Students will focus on modal verbs for the grammar part of the unit. This grammar links to protecting the rainforest.
Guiding Question(s) and/or Real-World Connections
Consider how you would make the unit relevant to students. What real-world connections or guiding questions would you use to hook your students?
Standards: What are the standards or curricular outcomes of this unit as provided by your school, district, or government? Add all applicable content-area standards,including cross-curricular standards. (Add rows as needed.)
Content Area
Standard(s) Addressed
English
5Uf6 Use modal forms including mustn’t (prohibition), need (necessity), should (for advice) on a growing range
of general and curricular topics
5Rd2 Understand, with little or no support, specific information and detail in short, simple texts on a range of general and curricular topics
5Wc2 Write, with some support, factual and imaginative descriptions at text level which describe people,
places and objects
5S6 Communicate meaning clearly at sentence and discourse level during pair, group and whole class exchanges
Overarching Goals: What are the big-picture goals for student achievement and mastery in this unit? Orient these goals around overall student skills, growth, and development. Your unit objectives should be derived from these goals.
Objectives: What are the lesson objectives for this unit that will lead students to complete specific tasks and meet the overarching goals. Objectives should use language that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART).
Content-Area Objectives
Literacy Goals: How does this unit support students’ language and literacy development? Include literacy skills, key vocabulary, and 21st-century skills (i.e., critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, information/technology literacy).
Literacy Skills
This unit will help students improve their literacy skills through devoting a lot of time to reading and researching rainforests. Students will have to read several texts about various rainforests around the world. Furthermore, students will select one rainforest to research in depth which will allow them to read various articles in depth. This will improve students' ability to read for specific information.
Vocabulary
creeper, beak, toucan, sloth, branch, anaconda, pool, jaguar, anteater, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brail, Ecuador, Bolivia, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, the Amazon,
21st-Century Skills
The 21st Century skills of communication, collaboration and tech skills will be focused on in this unit. These skills are all important parts of being a citizen ready for the challenges of tomorrow. Students will communicate with each other in pair, group and class exchanges. In order to facilitate peer to peer communication, students will work in groups and pairs to complete tasks such as the project. This project will also give students a lot of time to collaborate with each other. Students will use the Internet to research about a rainforest. Students will need to collaborate to break the large task up into manageable pieces. Furthermore, students will use the Internet to do the research, giving them valuable exposure to more technology skills.
Prerequisite Skills: What skills and prior knowledge do students need before this unit?
Assessments: What form of evaluation tools will you use to measure student learning and achievement both at the end of the unit and throughout? Clarify any modifications you would make based on student readiness, ability level, primary language, or interest.
Summative Assessment
(Include projects, performances, tasks, or traditional tests you will implement for students to demonstrate that they have met the overarching goals and objectives.)
Description(s)
Modifications
Project & Presentation
Test
Formative Assessments
(Include checks for understanding, quizzes, activities, and other progress monitoring as students move toward mastery of the overarching goals and objectives.)
Description(s)
Modifications
Entry tickets
Exit tickets
Traffic lights
KWL charts
Thumbs up/down
Peer assessment using rubrics
Direct questioning
Concept Check Questions (CCQs)
Randomizers (popsicle sticks with students’ names on them in a cup)
Peer-assessment
Lessons: How will you sequence the lessons, formative assessments, and summative assessment in this unit? Briefly describe each lesson including techniques to differentiate the product, content, and/or process for the diverse needs of your students.
Activity 1: Students complete a quiz about modal verbs and protecting the rainforest in order for the teacher to check for understanding and prior knowledge.
Activity 2: Students each think of 2 ideas that we could do to protect the rainforest (must use a modal verb). Students then swap ideas with their peers until they have a list of 10 ideas. Share ideas as a class.
Review: Students complete an exit ticket listing 5 ways to protect the rainforest.
Formative assessment: KWL charts, quiz, exit ticket.
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1: Read about the Amazon rainforest as a class. Identify the location, size, animals and plants that live there, issues it is facing, and proposed solutions as a class.
Activity 2 - Jigsaw: Students work in homogenous groups to read and identify key information about a different rainforest. Students then join in heterogeneous groups and share their findings with their peers.
Review: Quiz of different facts about the rainforests to check for understanding.
Formative assessment: CCQs, randomizers, quiz.
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1: Students work in pairs to research a rainforest on the Internet. Students take notes about the rainforest.
Activity 2: Students work individually to write a three paragraph factual description about the rainforest that they chose.Students use ‘traffic light’ cups to signal when they need help.
Review - Think-pair-share: Discuss which parts of writing the factual description where the easiest, which were the most challenging, and what you would change in the future.
Formative assessment: CCQ, observation, traffic lights, thinking routine, collect students’ writing
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1: Students work in pairs to create a 1 minute presentation explaining how we can protect a rainforest of their choice. Students must provide 2 real-world examples. Students use ‘traffic light’ cups to signal when they need help.
Activity 2 - Presentation: Students present their speeches to peers who film their presentation on iPads. Students give each other ‘2 stars and a wish’ at the end of the presentation (this is also recorded).
Review: Discussion about what went well and what could be improved. As a class, take note of students strengths and areas to improve.
Formative assessment: Thumbs up/down, traffic lights, peer-review, video recordings
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1: With the information they have gained thus far, students choose a rainforest from the list they made in the previous lesson and choose to investigate it further. Students form groups based on their rainforests and make a list of issues facing the rainforest. Students share their findings as a class. A list of problems are written on the board.
Activity 2: Students then think-pair-share on ways to solve these problems. Students join back into their groups and compare and contrast different solutions to the issues facing the rainforest.
Review: Students work in groups to present their findings to the class.
Formative assessment: KWL chart, CCQ, direct questioning
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1- Individual: Students will write a paragraph putting forward the best solution to the issue and justifying their choice. Students must think of the issue and solution from various points of view.
Activity 2: Students will be grouped with people who chose a different rainforest to them. Students will work together to compare and contrast the issues and solutions they noted. Students then work together to prepare a presentation.
Review: Class discussion on what makes a good and bad presentation. Students raise their hands to indicate how prepared they feel to present in the next class.
Formative assessment: CCQ, observation, monitor students hands at the end to check for readiness.
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1: Students watch an example presentation and use the rubric in order to give a score. Check to see if students are using the rubric correctly.
Activity 2 - Presentation: Students present their work. Students in the audience use the rubric to give them a score. We know that peer-assessment is usually strongly correlated with the score the teacher assigned and is a positive way for students to receive feedback (reference 1).
Review: Students provide positive feedback to each other.
Formative assessment: Peer-review via rubric
Summative assessment: Presentation
Summative assessment: Unit test
Remediation & Next Steps: How will you remediate, review, and extend prior to moving to the next unit? Include considerations for students who lack prior knowledge.
Remediation Activities
Students will be assigned a personal remediation plan and given chances to complete all summative assessments again.
Students will be placed in homogeneous groups with other students of a similar level to re-do some sections of the unit they struggled with, in a slightly different way.
Students will be given more time to complete activities.
Peer-review will take place in heterogeneous groups where higher level students help explain to those who need assistance.
Review Activities
Students will update their KWL charts and discuss what they have learned and what they still want to learn.
Students will choose the correct modal verb to fill in the gap on a worksheet.
Students will watch videos of peers’ presentations and provide feedback.
Kahoot! quiz.
Extension Activities
Students will extend their learning by presenting multiple solutions to issues facing rainforests. Students will look at the issues from the perspective of different groups and analyse how they might be beneficial for one group, but detrimental to another.
Students will debate opinions on the best solution and try to persuade others of their point of view.
Learners will work on writing longer and more complex paragraphs
References: Add resources you used to create this unit plan and links to important texts and tools referenced within.
Teacher Candidate Name: James Sharp
Unit Name: Unit 2 - Rainforest
Subject Area: English
Grade Level(s): 5
Introduction: What will students learn in this unit and why is it important? Describe the theme and student outcomes, including guiding questions and real-world connections.
Unit Introduction
Students will learn about rainforests and why it is important to protect them. Students will learn about the different animals and plants which live in the rainforest. Students will learn about the various rainforests around the world. Students will explore ways in which people can protect the rainforest. This is an important and real-world topic for students to learn as they are going to inherit the world we leave for them and they need to be informed of things such as this that will impact the future of the planet.
Students will also learn how to discuss topics with a partner, read for specific information and write factual descriptions. Students will focus on modal verbs for the grammar part of the unit. This grammar links to protecting the rainforest.
Guiding Question(s) and/or Real-World Connections
Consider how you would make the unit relevant to students. What real-world connections or guiding questions would you use to hook your students?
- Why do we need to protect the rainforest?
- How can people protect the rainforest?
- What realistic things can grade 5 students do to protect the rainforest?
- What will happen to the rainforest if we don’t protect it?
Standards: What are the standards or curricular outcomes of this unit as provided by your school, district, or government? Add all applicable content-area standards,including cross-curricular standards. (Add rows as needed.)
Content Area
Standard(s) Addressed
English
5Uf6 Use modal forms including mustn’t (prohibition), need (necessity), should (for advice) on a growing range
of general and curricular topics
5Rd2 Understand, with little or no support, specific information and detail in short, simple texts on a range of general and curricular topics
5Wc2 Write, with some support, factual and imaginative descriptions at text level which describe people,
places and objects
5S6 Communicate meaning clearly at sentence and discourse level during pair, group and whole class exchanges
Overarching Goals: What are the big-picture goals for student achievement and mastery in this unit? Orient these goals around overall student skills, growth, and development. Your unit objectives should be derived from these goals.
- By the end of this unit students will be able to describe detailed solutions to problems facing the rainforest.
- By the end of this unit, students will be able to read for detail to find information about different rainforests.
- By the end of this unit students will be able to write a factual description about a rainforest.
Objectives: What are the lesson objectives for this unit that will lead students to complete specific tasks and meet the overarching goals. Objectives should use language that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART).
Content-Area Objectives
- Students will be able to give a 2 minute presentation to explain how we can protect the rainforest, including at least 2 real-world examples to justify their opinion.
- Students will be able to list 3 major problems facing a rainforest of their choice.
- Students will be able to compare and contrast proposed solutions to said issues.
- Students will be able to recommend a solution to the issue and justify their choice.
- Students will be able to read a text about a rainforest and identify the location, size, animals and plants that live there, an issue it is facing, and a proposed solution and explain these key points to a partner.
- Students will be able to use the Internet to research a rainforest, take notes and write a three paragraph, factual description about it.
- Students will be able to work in a group to give a presentation about various rainforests, issues they are facing and ways to protect them.
- Students will be able to speak and write using the modal verbs ‘must’, ‘mustn’t’, ‘need to’, ‘don’t need to’, ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ to list ways which people can protect the rainforest.
Literacy Goals: How does this unit support students’ language and literacy development? Include literacy skills, key vocabulary, and 21st-century skills (i.e., critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, information/technology literacy).
Literacy Skills
This unit will help students improve their literacy skills through devoting a lot of time to reading and researching rainforests. Students will have to read several texts about various rainforests around the world. Furthermore, students will select one rainforest to research in depth which will allow them to read various articles in depth. This will improve students' ability to read for specific information.
Vocabulary
creeper, beak, toucan, sloth, branch, anaconda, pool, jaguar, anteater, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brail, Ecuador, Bolivia, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, the Amazon,
21st-Century Skills
The 21st Century skills of communication, collaboration and tech skills will be focused on in this unit. These skills are all important parts of being a citizen ready for the challenges of tomorrow. Students will communicate with each other in pair, group and class exchanges. In order to facilitate peer to peer communication, students will work in groups and pairs to complete tasks such as the project. This project will also give students a lot of time to collaborate with each other. Students will use the Internet to research about a rainforest. Students will need to collaborate to break the large task up into manageable pieces. Furthermore, students will use the Internet to do the research, giving them valuable exposure to more technology skills.
Prerequisite Skills: What skills and prior knowledge do students need before this unit?
- Students should be able to use the modal verbs ‘must’, ‘mustn’t’, ‘need to’, ‘don’t need to’, ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’.
- Students should be able to take part in pair exchanges.
- Students should be able to write complete sentences and a basic paragraph.
- Students should be able to use the Internet to research a topic.
- Students should have basic presentation skills.
Assessments: What form of evaluation tools will you use to measure student learning and achievement both at the end of the unit and throughout? Clarify any modifications you would make based on student readiness, ability level, primary language, or interest.
Summative Assessment
(Include projects, performances, tasks, or traditional tests you will implement for students to demonstrate that they have met the overarching goals and objectives.)
Description(s)
Modifications
Project & Presentation
- Allow students to pre-record their presentation and present to class that way (for individual students or entire groups if needed).
Test
- ELL: Allow more time for those who need it.
- ELL: Use text-to-speech for online testing
- ELL: Use word banks for lower level ELL students
- Special Needs: Allow more time for those who need it.
- Special Needs: Allow someone to read the questions to the student if needed.
- Special Needs: Use Kahoot to make the test more engaging for some students who may need it.
Formative Assessments
(Include checks for understanding, quizzes, activities, and other progress monitoring as students move toward mastery of the overarching goals and objectives.)
Description(s)
Modifications
Entry tickets
- Provide a review on the smart-board while students complete the entry ticket to refresh students’ memories.
- ELL: Translations when needed and allow use of dictionaries.
- ELL: Draw images
- Special Needs: Say ideas and have a partner write down for them.
Exit tickets
- ELL: Give more time to some students.
- ELL: Allow students to work with a partner and complete the exit ticket together.
- Special Needs: Work with the student one on one to verbally complete the exit ticket.
Traffic lights
- Allow students to act as ‘little teachers’ and help those who turn their cups to red.
KWL charts
- Let students complete for homework if they need more time
- ELL: Allow drawings in place of some language.
- ELL: Allow use of dictionaries or translation software.
- Special Needs: Complete KWL as part of a group.
- Special Needs: Make an audio recording of the KWL chart.
- Special Needs: Assign a buddy to help dictate the KWL chart.
Thumbs up/down
- ELL/Special Needs: Assign a buddy to the student as it can be embarrassing to constantly be the only one to put thumbs down, which can end up with students lying about understanding.
Peer assessment using rubrics
- ELL: Assign students in homogenous groups so the student-language is understood by all.
- Provide example rubrics for students to base theirs off.
- Special Needs: Work together with the student to make a rubric which is inclusive to them. Perhaps it is different from the other students, but assesses the same objectives. (Equity over equality).
Direct questioning
- ELL: Allow use of translation software.
- Special Needs: Allow students to nominate a friend to help them if they don’t know the answer.
Concept Check Questions (CCQs)
- ELL/Special Needs: Assign them a buddy to help them out if they don’t know the answer and answer for them (then explain it to them).
Randomizers (popsicle sticks with students’ names on them in a cup)
- ELL/Speical Needs: Group students by color popsicle sticks correlating to level, so the randomness isn’t really random. This way you can check on a specific group of students more whenever you need to.
Peer-assessment
- Assign students to both homogeneous groups and heterogeneous groups so they can get a vast array of feedback.
- Make sure to take students’ personality type into account when assigning groupings.
- ELL: Assign ELL another ELL as students will be much more forgiving on grammar usage and usually ELLs understand each other better as both use more simplified language.
- Special Needs: Assign special needs students with students who know the topic well and are able to explain it to them and give them feedback.
Lessons: How will you sequence the lessons, formative assessments, and summative assessment in this unit? Briefly describe each lesson including techniques to differentiate the product, content, and/or process for the diverse needs of your students.
- Lesson 1
- Objectives
- Students will be able to speak and write using the modal verbs ‘must’, ‘mustn’t’, ‘need to’, ‘don’t need to’, ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ to list ways which people can protect the rainforest.
- Prerequisite Skills:
- Students will have a basic understanding of how to use modal verbs.
- Description:
Activity 1: Students complete a quiz about modal verbs and protecting the rainforest in order for the teacher to check for understanding and prior knowledge.
Activity 2: Students each think of 2 ideas that we could do to protect the rainforest (must use a modal verb). Students then swap ideas with their peers until they have a list of 10 ideas. Share ideas as a class.
Review: Students complete an exit ticket listing 5 ways to protect the rainforest.
Formative assessment: KWL charts, quiz, exit ticket.
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 2
- Objective:
- Students will be able to read a text about a rainforest and identify the location, size, animals and plants that live there, an issue it is facing, and a proposed solution and explain these key points to a partner.
- Prerequisite Skills:
- Students will be able to read and decipher paragraphs of text.
- Description:
Activity 1: Read about the Amazon rainforest as a class. Identify the location, size, animals and plants that live there, issues it is facing, and proposed solutions as a class.
Activity 2 - Jigsaw: Students work in homogenous groups to read and identify key information about a different rainforest. Students then join in heterogeneous groups and share their findings with their peers.
Review: Quiz of different facts about the rainforests to check for understanding.
Formative assessment: CCQs, randomizers, quiz.
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 3
- Objective:
- Students will be able to use the Internet to research a rainforest, take notes and write a three paragraph, factual description about it.
- Prerequisite Skills:
- Students will know how to use an iPad and use a search engine.
- Students will have note-taking skills.
- Description:
Activity 1: Students work in pairs to research a rainforest on the Internet. Students take notes about the rainforest.
Activity 2: Students work individually to write a three paragraph factual description about the rainforest that they chose.Students use ‘traffic light’ cups to signal when they need help.
Review - Think-pair-share: Discuss which parts of writing the factual description where the easiest, which were the most challenging, and what you would change in the future.
Formative assessment: CCQ, observation, traffic lights, thinking routine, collect students’ writing
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 4
- Objective:
- Students will be able to give a 2 minute presentation to explain how we can protect the rainforest, including at least 2 real-world examples to justify their opinion.
- Prerequisite Skills:
- Students will have completed the Jigsaw activity from the previous class and understand how to use modal verbs.
- Description:
Activity 1: Students work in pairs to create a 1 minute presentation explaining how we can protect a rainforest of their choice. Students must provide 2 real-world examples. Students use ‘traffic light’ cups to signal when they need help.
Activity 2 - Presentation: Students present their speeches to peers who film their presentation on iPads. Students give each other ‘2 stars and a wish’ at the end of the presentation (this is also recorded).
Review: Discussion about what went well and what could be improved. As a class, take note of students strengths and areas to improve.
Formative assessment: Thumbs up/down, traffic lights, peer-review, video recordings
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 5
- Objective:
- Students will be able to list 3 major problems facing a rainforest of their choice.
- Students will be able to compare and contrast proposed solutions to said issues.
- Prerequisite Skills: Students will have completed the KWL chart from earlier in the unit.
- Description:
Activity 1: With the information they have gained thus far, students choose a rainforest from the list they made in the previous lesson and choose to investigate it further. Students form groups based on their rainforests and make a list of issues facing the rainforest. Students share their findings as a class. A list of problems are written on the board.
Activity 2: Students then think-pair-share on ways to solve these problems. Students join back into their groups and compare and contrast different solutions to the issues facing the rainforest.
Review: Students work in groups to present their findings to the class.
Formative assessment: KWL chart, CCQ, direct questioning
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 6
- Objective:
- Students will be able to recommend a solution to the issue and justify their choice.
- Students will be able to work in a group to give a presentation about various rainforests, issues they are facing and ways to protect them.
- Prerequisite Skills: Students will have a base understanding of how to use a rubric.
- Description:
Activity 1- Individual: Students will write a paragraph putting forward the best solution to the issue and justifying their choice. Students must think of the issue and solution from various points of view.
Activity 2: Students will be grouped with people who chose a different rainforest to them. Students will work together to compare and contrast the issues and solutions they noted. Students then work together to prepare a presentation.
Review: Class discussion on what makes a good and bad presentation. Students raise their hands to indicate how prepared they feel to present in the next class.
Formative assessment: CCQ, observation, monitor students hands at the end to check for readiness.
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation: Assist students who are not yet read to present. If they need more time, give them more time in the next lesson and change the presentation to a later date.
- Lesson 7
- Objective:
- Students will be able to work in a group to give a presentation about various rainforests, issues they are facing and ways to protect them.
- Prerequisite Skills: Students need to have finished their presentation preparation.
- Description:
Activity 1: Students watch an example presentation and use the rubric in order to give a score. Check to see if students are using the rubric correctly.
Activity 2 - Presentation: Students present their work. Students in the audience use the rubric to give them a score. We know that peer-assessment is usually strongly correlated with the score the teacher assigned and is a positive way for students to receive feedback (reference 1).
Review: Students provide positive feedback to each other.
Formative assessment: Peer-review via rubric
Summative assessment: Presentation
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 8
- Objective:
- Students will be able to compare and contrast proposed solutions to issues facing the rainforest.
- Students will be able to recommend a solution to the issue and justify their choice.
- Students will be able to read a text about a rainforest and identify the location, size, animals and plants that live there, an issue it is facing, and a proposed solution and explain these key points to a partner.
- Students will be able to write using the modal verbs ‘must’, ‘mustn’t’, ‘need to’, ‘don’t need to’, ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ to list ways which people can protect the rainforest.
- Prerequisite Skills:
- Description: Unit Test
Summative assessment: Unit test
- Differentiation:
Remediation & Next Steps: How will you remediate, review, and extend prior to moving to the next unit? Include considerations for students who lack prior knowledge.
Remediation Activities
Students will be assigned a personal remediation plan and given chances to complete all summative assessments again.
Students will be placed in homogeneous groups with other students of a similar level to re-do some sections of the unit they struggled with, in a slightly different way.
Students will be given more time to complete activities.
Peer-review will take place in heterogeneous groups where higher level students help explain to those who need assistance.
Review Activities
Students will update their KWL charts and discuss what they have learned and what they still want to learn.
Students will choose the correct modal verb to fill in the gap on a worksheet.
Students will watch videos of peers’ presentations and provide feedback.
Kahoot! quiz.
Extension Activities
Students will extend their learning by presenting multiple solutions to issues facing rainforests. Students will look at the issues from the perspective of different groups and analyse how they might be beneficial for one group, but detrimental to another.
Students will debate opinions on the best solution and try to persuade others of their point of view.
Learners will work on writing longer and more complex paragraphs
References: Add resources you used to create this unit plan and links to important texts and tools referenced within.
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-019-09510-3
- https://kahoot.it/
- https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/k-w-l-charts
Activity 2: Write a Unit Plan
Unit Plan Template
Teacher Candidate Name: James Sharp
Unit Name: Unit 2 - Rainforest
Subject Area: English
Grade Level(s): 5
Introduction: What will students learn in this unit and why is it important? Describe the theme and student outcomes, including guiding questions and real-world connections.
Unit Introduction
Students will learn about rainforests and why it is important to protect them. Students will learn about the different animals and plants which live in the rainforest. Students will learn about the various rainforests around the world. Students will explore ways in which people can protect the rainforest. This is an important and real-world topic for students to learn as they are going to inherit the world we leave for them and they need to be informed of things such as this that will impact the future of the planet.
Students will also learn how to discuss topics with a partner, read for specific information and write factual descriptions. Students will focus on modal verbs for the grammar part of the unit. This grammar links to protecting the rainforest.
Guiding Question(s) and/or Real-World Connections
Consider how you would make the unit relevant to students. What real-world connections or guiding questions would you use to hook your students?
Standards: What are the standards or curricular outcomes of this unit as provided by your school, district, or government? Add all applicable content-area standards,including cross-curricular standards. (Add rows as needed.)
Content Area
Standard(s) Addressed
English
5Uf6 Use modal forms including mustn’t (prohibition), need (necessity), should (for advice) on a growing range
of general and curricular topics
5Rd2 Understand, with little or no support, specific information and detail in short, simple texts on a range of general and curricular topics
5Wc2 Write, with some support, factual and imaginative descriptions at text level which describe people,
places and objects
5S6 Communicate meaning clearly at sentence and discourse level during pair, group and whole class exchanges
Overarching Goals: What are the big-picture goals for student achievement and mastery in this unit? Orient these goals around overall student skills, growth, and development. Your unit objectives should be derived from these goals.
Objectives: What are the lesson objectives for this unit that will lead students to complete specific tasks and meet the overarching goals. Objectives should use language that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART).
Content-Area Objectives
Literacy Goals: How does this unit support students’ language and literacy development? Include literacy skills, key vocabulary, and 21st-century skills (i.e., critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, information/technology literacy).
Literacy Skills
This unit will help students improve their literacy skills through devoting a lot of time to reading and researching rainforests. Students will have to read several texts about various rainforests around the world. Furthermore, students will select one rainforest to research in depth which will allow them to read various articles in depth. This will improve students' ability to read for specific information.
Vocabulary
creeper, beak, toucan, sloth, branch, anaconda, pool, jaguar, anteater, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brail, Ecuador, Bolivia, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, the Amazon,
21st-Century Skills
The 21st Century skills of communication, collaboration and tech skills will be focused on in this unit. These skills are all important parts of being a citizen ready for the challenges of tomorrow. Students will communicate with each other in pair, group and class exchanges. In order to facilitate peer to peer communication, students will work in groups and pairs to complete tasks such as the project. This project will also give students a lot of time to collaborate with each other. Students will use the Internet to research about a rainforest. Students will need to collaborate to break the large task up into manageable pieces. Furthermore, students will use the Internet to do the research, giving them valuable exposure to more technology skills.
Prerequisite Skills: What skills and prior knowledge do students need before this unit?
Assessments: What form of evaluation tools will you use to measure student learning and achievement both at the end of the unit and throughout? Clarify any modifications you would make based on student readiness, ability level, primary language, or interest.
Summative Assessment
(Include projects, performances, tasks, or traditional tests you will implement for students to demonstrate that they have met the overarching goals and objectives.)
Description(s)
Modifications
Project & Presentation
Test
Formative Assessments
(Include checks for understanding, quizzes, activities, and other progress monitoring as students move toward mastery of the overarching goals and objectives.)
Description(s)
Modifications
Entry tickets
Exit tickets
Traffic lights
KWL charts
Thumbs up/down
Peer assessment using rubrics
Direct questioning
Concept Check Questions (CCQs)
Randomizers (popsicle sticks with students’ names on them in a cup)
Peer-assessment
Lessons: How will you sequence the lessons, formative assessments, and summative assessment in this unit? Briefly describe each lesson including techniques to differentiate the product, content, and/or process for the diverse needs of your students.
Activity 1: Students complete a quiz about modal verbs and protecting the rainforest in order for the teacher to check for understanding and prior knowledge.
Activity 2: Students each think of 2 ideas that we could do to protect the rainforest (must use a modal verb). Students then swap ideas with their peers until they have a list of 10 ideas. Share ideas as a class.
Review: Students complete an exit ticket listing 5 ways to protect the rainforest.
Formative assessment: KWL charts, quiz, exit ticket.
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1: Read about the Amazon rainforest as a class. Identify the location, size, animals and plants that live there, issues it is facing, and proposed solutions as a class.
Activity 2 - Jigsaw: Students work in homogenous groups to read and identify key information about a different rainforest. Students then join in heterogeneous groups and share their findings with their peers.
Review: Quiz of different facts about the rainforests to check for understanding.
Formative assessment: CCQs, randomizers, quiz.
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1: Students work in pairs to research a rainforest on the Internet. Students take notes about the rainforest.
Activity 2: Students work individually to write a three paragraph factual description about the rainforest that they chose.Students use ‘traffic light’ cups to signal when they need help.
Review - Think-pair-share: Discuss which parts of writing the factual description where the easiest, which were the most challenging, and what you would change in the future.
Formative assessment: CCQ, observation, traffic lights, thinking routine, collect students’ writing
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1: Students work in pairs to create a 1 minute presentation explaining how we can protect a rainforest of their choice. Students must provide 2 real-world examples. Students use ‘traffic light’ cups to signal when they need help.
Activity 2 - Presentation: Students present their speeches to peers who film their presentation on iPads. Students give each other ‘2 stars and a wish’ at the end of the presentation (this is also recorded).
Review: Discussion about what went well and what could be improved. As a class, take note of students strengths and areas to improve.
Formative assessment: Thumbs up/down, traffic lights, peer-review, video recordings
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1: With the information they have gained thus far, students choose a rainforest from the list they made in the previous lesson and choose to investigate it further. Students form groups based on their rainforests and make a list of issues facing the rainforest. Students share their findings as a class. A list of problems are written on the board.
Activity 2: Students then think-pair-share on ways to solve these problems. Students join back into their groups and compare and contrast different solutions to the issues facing the rainforest.
Review: Students work in groups to present their findings to the class.
Formative assessment: KWL chart, CCQ, direct questioning
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1- Individual: Students will write a paragraph putting forward the best solution to the issue and justifying their choice. Students must think of the issue and solution from various points of view.
Activity 2: Students will be grouped with people who chose a different rainforest to them. Students will work together to compare and contrast the issues and solutions they noted. Students then work together to prepare a presentation.
Review: Class discussion on what makes a good and bad presentation. Students raise their hands to indicate how prepared they feel to present in the next class.
Formative assessment: CCQ, observation, monitor students hands at the end to check for readiness.
Summative assessment: N/A
Activity 1: Students watch an example presentation and use the rubric in order to give a score. Check to see if students are using the rubric correctly.
Activity 2 - Presentation: Students present their work. Students in the audience use the rubric to give them a score. We know that peer-assessment is usually strongly correlated with the score the teacher assigned and is a positive way for students to receive feedback (reference 1).
Review: Students provide positive feedback to each other.
Formative assessment: Peer-review via rubric
Summative assessment: Presentation
Summative assessment: Unit test
Remediation & Next Steps: How will you remediate, review, and extend prior to moving to the next unit? Include considerations for students who lack prior knowledge.
Remediation Activities
Students will be assigned a personal remediation plan and given chances to complete all summative assessments again.
Students will be placed in homogeneous groups with other students of a similar level to re-do some sections of the unit they struggled with, in a slightly different way.
Students will be given more time to complete activities.
Peer-review will take place in heterogeneous groups where higher level students help explain to those who need assistance.
Review Activities
Students will update their KWL charts and discuss what they have learned and what they still want to learn.
Students will choose the correct modal verb to fill in the gap on a worksheet.
Students will watch videos of peers’ presentations and provide feedback.
Kahoot! quiz.
Extension Activities
Students will extend their learning by presenting multiple solutions to issues facing rainforests. Students will look at the issues from the perspective of different groups and analyse how they might be beneficial for one group, but detrimental to another.
Students will debate opinions on the best solution and try to persuade others of their point of view.
Learners will work on writing longer and more complex paragraphs
References: Add resources you used to create this unit plan and links to important texts and tools referenced within.
Teacher Candidate Name: James Sharp
Unit Name: Unit 2 - Rainforest
Subject Area: English
Grade Level(s): 5
Introduction: What will students learn in this unit and why is it important? Describe the theme and student outcomes, including guiding questions and real-world connections.
Unit Introduction
Students will learn about rainforests and why it is important to protect them. Students will learn about the different animals and plants which live in the rainforest. Students will learn about the various rainforests around the world. Students will explore ways in which people can protect the rainforest. This is an important and real-world topic for students to learn as they are going to inherit the world we leave for them and they need to be informed of things such as this that will impact the future of the planet.
Students will also learn how to discuss topics with a partner, read for specific information and write factual descriptions. Students will focus on modal verbs for the grammar part of the unit. This grammar links to protecting the rainforest.
Guiding Question(s) and/or Real-World Connections
Consider how you would make the unit relevant to students. What real-world connections or guiding questions would you use to hook your students?
- Why do we need to protect the rainforest?
- How can people protect the rainforest?
- What realistic things can grade 5 students do to protect the rainforest?
- What will happen to the rainforest if we don’t protect it?
Standards: What are the standards or curricular outcomes of this unit as provided by your school, district, or government? Add all applicable content-area standards,including cross-curricular standards. (Add rows as needed.)
Content Area
Standard(s) Addressed
English
5Uf6 Use modal forms including mustn’t (prohibition), need (necessity), should (for advice) on a growing range
of general and curricular topics
5Rd2 Understand, with little or no support, specific information and detail in short, simple texts on a range of general and curricular topics
5Wc2 Write, with some support, factual and imaginative descriptions at text level which describe people,
places and objects
5S6 Communicate meaning clearly at sentence and discourse level during pair, group and whole class exchanges
Overarching Goals: What are the big-picture goals for student achievement and mastery in this unit? Orient these goals around overall student skills, growth, and development. Your unit objectives should be derived from these goals.
- By the end of this unit students will be able to describe detailed solutions to problems facing the rainforest.
- By the end of this unit, students will be able to read for detail to find information about different rainforests.
- By the end of this unit students will be able to write a factual description about a rainforest.
Objectives: What are the lesson objectives for this unit that will lead students to complete specific tasks and meet the overarching goals. Objectives should use language that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART).
Content-Area Objectives
- Students will be able to give a 2 minute presentation to explain how we can protect the rainforest, including at least 2 real-world examples to justify their opinion.
- Students will be able to list 3 major problems facing a rainforest of their choice.
- Students will be able to compare and contrast proposed solutions to said issues.
- Students will be able to recommend a solution to the issue and justify their choice.
- Students will be able to read a text about a rainforest and identify the location, size, animals and plants that live there, an issue it is facing, and a proposed solution and explain these key points to a partner.
- Students will be able to use the Internet to research a rainforest, take notes and write a three paragraph, factual description about it.
- Students will be able to work in a group to give a presentation about various rainforests, issues they are facing and ways to protect them.
- Students will be able to speak and write using the modal verbs ‘must’, ‘mustn’t’, ‘need to’, ‘don’t need to’, ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ to list ways which people can protect the rainforest.
Literacy Goals: How does this unit support students’ language and literacy development? Include literacy skills, key vocabulary, and 21st-century skills (i.e., critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, information/technology literacy).
Literacy Skills
This unit will help students improve their literacy skills through devoting a lot of time to reading and researching rainforests. Students will have to read several texts about various rainforests around the world. Furthermore, students will select one rainforest to research in depth which will allow them to read various articles in depth. This will improve students' ability to read for specific information.
Vocabulary
creeper, beak, toucan, sloth, branch, anaconda, pool, jaguar, anteater, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brail, Ecuador, Bolivia, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, the Amazon,
21st-Century Skills
The 21st Century skills of communication, collaboration and tech skills will be focused on in this unit. These skills are all important parts of being a citizen ready for the challenges of tomorrow. Students will communicate with each other in pair, group and class exchanges. In order to facilitate peer to peer communication, students will work in groups and pairs to complete tasks such as the project. This project will also give students a lot of time to collaborate with each other. Students will use the Internet to research about a rainforest. Students will need to collaborate to break the large task up into manageable pieces. Furthermore, students will use the Internet to do the research, giving them valuable exposure to more technology skills.
Prerequisite Skills: What skills and prior knowledge do students need before this unit?
- Students should be able to use the modal verbs ‘must’, ‘mustn’t’, ‘need to’, ‘don’t need to’, ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’.
- Students should be able to take part in pair exchanges.
- Students should be able to write complete sentences and a basic paragraph.
- Students should be able to use the Internet to research a topic.
- Students should have basic presentation skills.
Assessments: What form of evaluation tools will you use to measure student learning and achievement both at the end of the unit and throughout? Clarify any modifications you would make based on student readiness, ability level, primary language, or interest.
Summative Assessment
(Include projects, performances, tasks, or traditional tests you will implement for students to demonstrate that they have met the overarching goals and objectives.)
Description(s)
Modifications
Project & Presentation
- Allow students to pre-record their presentation and present to class that way (for individual students or entire groups if needed).
Test
- ELL: Allow more time for those who need it.
- ELL: Use text-to-speech for online testing
- ELL: Use word banks for lower level ELL students
- Special Needs: Allow more time for those who need it.
- Special Needs: Allow someone to read the questions to the student if needed.
- Special Needs: Use Kahoot to make the test more engaging for some students who may need it.
Formative Assessments
(Include checks for understanding, quizzes, activities, and other progress monitoring as students move toward mastery of the overarching goals and objectives.)
Description(s)
Modifications
Entry tickets
- Provide a review on the smart-board while students complete the entry ticket to refresh students’ memories.
- ELL: Translations when needed and allow use of dictionaries.
- ELL: Draw images
- Special Needs: Say ideas and have a partner write down for them.
Exit tickets
- ELL: Give more time to some students.
- ELL: Allow students to work with a partner and complete the exit ticket together.
- Special Needs: Work with the student one on one to verbally complete the exit ticket.
Traffic lights
- Allow students to act as ‘little teachers’ and help those who turn their cups to red.
KWL charts
- Let students complete for homework if they need more time
- ELL: Allow drawings in place of some language.
- ELL: Allow use of dictionaries or translation software.
- Special Needs: Complete KWL as part of a group.
- Special Needs: Make an audio recording of the KWL chart.
- Special Needs: Assign a buddy to help dictate the KWL chart.
Thumbs up/down
- ELL/Special Needs: Assign a buddy to the student as it can be embarrassing to constantly be the only one to put thumbs down, which can end up with students lying about understanding.
Peer assessment using rubrics
- ELL: Assign students in homogenous groups so the student-language is understood by all.
- Provide example rubrics for students to base theirs off.
- Special Needs: Work together with the student to make a rubric which is inclusive to them. Perhaps it is different from the other students, but assesses the same objectives. (Equity over equality).
Direct questioning
- ELL: Allow use of translation software.
- Special Needs: Allow students to nominate a friend to help them if they don’t know the answer.
Concept Check Questions (CCQs)
- ELL/Special Needs: Assign them a buddy to help them out if they don’t know the answer and answer for them (then explain it to them).
Randomizers (popsicle sticks with students’ names on them in a cup)
- ELL/Speical Needs: Group students by color popsicle sticks correlating to level, so the randomness isn’t really random. This way you can check on a specific group of students more whenever you need to.
Peer-assessment
- Assign students to both homogeneous groups and heterogeneous groups so they can get a vast array of feedback.
- Make sure to take students’ personality type into account when assigning groupings.
- ELL: Assign ELL another ELL as students will be much more forgiving on grammar usage and usually ELLs understand each other better as both use more simplified language.
- Special Needs: Assign special needs students with students who know the topic well and are able to explain it to them and give them feedback.
Lessons: How will you sequence the lessons, formative assessments, and summative assessment in this unit? Briefly describe each lesson including techniques to differentiate the product, content, and/or process for the diverse needs of your students.
- Lesson 1
- Objectives
- Objectives
- Students will be able to speak and write using the modal verbs ‘must’, ‘mustn’t’, ‘need to’, ‘don’t need to’, ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ to list ways which people can protect the rainforest.
- Prerequisite Skills:
- Students will have a basic understanding of how to use modal verbs.
- Description:
Activity 1: Students complete a quiz about modal verbs and protecting the rainforest in order for the teacher to check for understanding and prior knowledge.
Activity 2: Students each think of 2 ideas that we could do to protect the rainforest (must use a modal verb). Students then swap ideas with their peers until they have a list of 10 ideas. Share ideas as a class.
Review: Students complete an exit ticket listing 5 ways to protect the rainforest.
Formative assessment: KWL charts, quiz, exit ticket.
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 2
- Objective:
- Objective:
- Students will be able to read a text about a rainforest and identify the location, size, animals and plants that live there, an issue it is facing, and a proposed solution and explain these key points to a partner.
- Prerequisite Skills:
- Students will be able to read and decipher paragraphs of text.
- Description:
Activity 1: Read about the Amazon rainforest as a class. Identify the location, size, animals and plants that live there, issues it is facing, and proposed solutions as a class.
Activity 2 - Jigsaw: Students work in homogenous groups to read and identify key information about a different rainforest. Students then join in heterogeneous groups and share their findings with their peers.
Review: Quiz of different facts about the rainforests to check for understanding.
Formative assessment: CCQs, randomizers, quiz.
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 3
- Objective:
- Objective:
- Students will be able to use the Internet to research a rainforest, take notes and write a three paragraph, factual description about it.
- Prerequisite Skills:
- Students will know how to use an iPad and use a search engine.
- Students will have note-taking skills.
- Description:
Activity 1: Students work in pairs to research a rainforest on the Internet. Students take notes about the rainforest.
Activity 2: Students work individually to write a three paragraph factual description about the rainforest that they chose.Students use ‘traffic light’ cups to signal when they need help.
Review - Think-pair-share: Discuss which parts of writing the factual description where the easiest, which were the most challenging, and what you would change in the future.
Formative assessment: CCQ, observation, traffic lights, thinking routine, collect students’ writing
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 4
- Objective:
- Objective:
- Students will be able to give a 2 minute presentation to explain how we can protect the rainforest, including at least 2 real-world examples to justify their opinion.
- Prerequisite Skills:
- Students will have completed the Jigsaw activity from the previous class and understand how to use modal verbs.
- Description:
Activity 1: Students work in pairs to create a 1 minute presentation explaining how we can protect a rainforest of their choice. Students must provide 2 real-world examples. Students use ‘traffic light’ cups to signal when they need help.
Activity 2 - Presentation: Students present their speeches to peers who film their presentation on iPads. Students give each other ‘2 stars and a wish’ at the end of the presentation (this is also recorded).
Review: Discussion about what went well and what could be improved. As a class, take note of students strengths and areas to improve.
Formative assessment: Thumbs up/down, traffic lights, peer-review, video recordings
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 5
- Objective:
- Objective:
- Students will be able to list 3 major problems facing a rainforest of their choice.
- Students will be able to compare and contrast proposed solutions to said issues.
- Prerequisite Skills: Students will have completed the KWL chart from earlier in the unit.
- Description:
Activity 1: With the information they have gained thus far, students choose a rainforest from the list they made in the previous lesson and choose to investigate it further. Students form groups based on their rainforests and make a list of issues facing the rainforest. Students share their findings as a class. A list of problems are written on the board.
Activity 2: Students then think-pair-share on ways to solve these problems. Students join back into their groups and compare and contrast different solutions to the issues facing the rainforest.
Review: Students work in groups to present their findings to the class.
Formative assessment: KWL chart, CCQ, direct questioning
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 6
- Objective:
- Objective:
- Students will be able to recommend a solution to the issue and justify their choice.
- Students will be able to work in a group to give a presentation about various rainforests, issues they are facing and ways to protect them.
- Prerequisite Skills: Students will have a base understanding of how to use a rubric.
- Description:
Activity 1- Individual: Students will write a paragraph putting forward the best solution to the issue and justifying their choice. Students must think of the issue and solution from various points of view.
Activity 2: Students will be grouped with people who chose a different rainforest to them. Students will work together to compare and contrast the issues and solutions they noted. Students then work together to prepare a presentation.
Review: Class discussion on what makes a good and bad presentation. Students raise their hands to indicate how prepared they feel to present in the next class.
Formative assessment: CCQ, observation, monitor students hands at the end to check for readiness.
Summative assessment: N/A
- Differentiation: Assist students who are not yet read to present. If they need more time, give them more time in the next lesson and change the presentation to a later date.
- Lesson 7
- Objective:
- Objective:
- Students will be able to work in a group to give a presentation about various rainforests, issues they are facing and ways to protect them.
- Prerequisite Skills: Students need to have finished their presentation preparation.
- Description:
Activity 1: Students watch an example presentation and use the rubric in order to give a score. Check to see if students are using the rubric correctly.
Activity 2 - Presentation: Students present their work. Students in the audience use the rubric to give them a score. We know that peer-assessment is usually strongly correlated with the score the teacher assigned and is a positive way for students to receive feedback (reference 1).
Review: Students provide positive feedback to each other.
Formative assessment: Peer-review via rubric
Summative assessment: Presentation
- Differentiation:
- Lesson 8
- Objective:
- Objective:
- Students will be able to compare and contrast proposed solutions to issues facing the rainforest.
- Students will be able to recommend a solution to the issue and justify their choice.
- Students will be able to read a text about a rainforest and identify the location, size, animals and plants that live there, an issue it is facing, and a proposed solution and explain these key points to a partner.
- Students will be able to write using the modal verbs ‘must’, ‘mustn’t’, ‘need to’, ‘don’t need to’, ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ to list ways which people can protect the rainforest.
- Prerequisite Skills:
- Description: Unit Test
Summative assessment: Unit test
- Differentiation:
Remediation & Next Steps: How will you remediate, review, and extend prior to moving to the next unit? Include considerations for students who lack prior knowledge.
Remediation Activities
Students will be assigned a personal remediation plan and given chances to complete all summative assessments again.
Students will be placed in homogeneous groups with other students of a similar level to re-do some sections of the unit they struggled with, in a slightly different way.
Students will be given more time to complete activities.
Peer-review will take place in heterogeneous groups where higher level students help explain to those who need assistance.
Review Activities
Students will update their KWL charts and discuss what they have learned and what they still want to learn.
Students will choose the correct modal verb to fill in the gap on a worksheet.
Students will watch videos of peers’ presentations and provide feedback.
Kahoot! quiz.
Extension Activities
Students will extend their learning by presenting multiple solutions to issues facing rainforests. Students will look at the issues from the perspective of different groups and analyse how they might be beneficial for one group, but detrimental to another.
Students will debate opinions on the best solution and try to persuade others of their point of view.
Learners will work on writing longer and more complex paragraphs
References: Add resources you used to create this unit plan and links to important texts and tools referenced within.
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-019-09510-3
- https://kahoot.it/
- https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/k-w-l-charts
Activity 3: Evaluating a TEACH-NOW Clinical Practice Lesson
For this part of the course I watch several videos and annotated them.