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Your plan may exceed the space provided. Expand the table as needed to explain your plan for your unit.
Unit Name
Grade: 4
Organizing Ideas
1.5 identify and order main ideas and supporting details and group them into units
that could be used to develop a
summary, using a variety of graphic organizers (e.g., a Venn diagram, a paragraph
frame) and organizational patterns (e.g., generalization with supporting information,
cause and effect)
What final evidence of student learning will I accept? Create and include exemplar(s).
Students final task of the unit will be to gather/ research information on an animal of their choosing. Student will be asked to create
a 5 paragraph, 1 page report on the information they have gathered on this animal. Students must create subheadings (1
paragraph per subheading) on the following topics: habitat of their animal, food they eat( are they omnivores, herbivores,
carnivores?), appearance of their animal,what climate does their animal live in? Something interesting they found in their research.
Students will be showing that they can organize their thoughts under these subheadings and begin to show an understanding that
each new idea they have needs its own designated paragraph.
Assessment Tool
Include a tool for assessment of instruction to be used at the end of the unit. Describe what tool you are
using to assess and what aspects of learning it will assess. Submit this tool with your assignment.
Assessment For
- Students and the instructor will partake in the use of KWL chart of what they know about animals and their habitats. This will be a
diagnostic form of assessment that will be created on a piece of chart paper K: what their knowledge of the subject matter is W:
what they want to learn L: what they have learned( to be left at the end of the unit. Students will all have sticky notes and have a
chance to place their sticky note on the chart paper provided. This gives the teacher a chance of what to plan for the duration of
this unit and assess students knowledge.
Assessment As
- Students will be using graphic organizers as a form of assessment As leaning. Students will demonstrate that they can translate
what they have learned and categorize the information they have researched into summarized bullet points onto their graphic
organizer.
- Students will also hand in a picture of the animal they have chosen to research upon. As an exit slip they will be asked which
climate their animal lives in. Their animal will be placed upon the bulletin board after they have told their instructor which climate
their animal belongs to. This aids the teacher in assessing if their students did the research and are abel to explain their thinking.
Assessment Of
-As a class the students and the instructor will co-create the assessment tool being used for their reports. Instead of using the
traditional rubric, students will be helping to create a checklist of items their reports must entail. This will be a specific checklist so
that students know explicitly what is expected of them. By having students co-create their checklist it makes them an active
member in creating their assessment. This also puts the onus on the students to make sure they complete the checklist.
-Students will lastly be participating in the final step of our KWL chart. Students will again be handed out sticky notes and be asked
to write something that they have learned throughout the unit and place it under the L of the KWL chart. Students will be asked to
put their names on the sticky notes so that the instructor can use this to document students active participation in class.
Describe the skills, knowledge and resources required of students to provide evidence of their learning.
What was required when you created the final artifact/exemplar/product/evidence of learning?
Inquiry: Students must use their own creativity and curiosity to spur their research. Students must show that they are able to use a
variety of materials to research on their particular topic e.g videos, books, internet, iPads, etc.
Independence: Students must show that they can work independently and finish tasks without having to be reminded to be on task.
Students must also show that they can listen to instruction and be able to show how they can work independently by not talking to
their elbow partner and staying focus on the task.
Collaboration: Students will work together to give each other feedback on their first draft of their report. Students will show that they
can give constructive feedback to their peers in the form of 2 stars and a wish. Students must also show that they can work
harmoniously with their partner and give appropriate feedback. As well, students must show that they can collaborate as a class
when working through the KWL chart.
Participation: Students must show active participation through the week by participating in the KWL chart and writing on their
stickies. Students must also show their participation and be a part of the peer editing process.
Organization: Students will demonstrate their ability to organize their thoughts and ideas in their report and be able to show that
they are abel to organize their information in a concise manner. Students can show that they are learning by filling out their graphic
organizers with the appropriate information under their subheadings.
Knowledge: Students must show that they are knowledgeable in the subject that they have been learning about over the past
week. They must demonstrate that they have used their new found knowledge and applied it to their tasks over the week.
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
KWL:Assessment For
(30 min)
Research Template
(30 min)
Assessment As
(30 min)
Rough Draft
(45 minutes)
Students will be
demonstrating their
learning by producing
their final copy of
their draft. Students
will be finishing up
their final drafts and
hand them in by the
end of the period.
During this time they
may continue to have
their table mates
observe their reports,
or they may continue
to finish their final
draft. Students must
have their final drafts
handed in by the end
of the period to be
marked by the
teacher. This is a
work period for
students to work on
their reports, if they
so choose they may
conference with the
teacher before they
start their final draft.
All drafts must be
handed in at the end
of the period.
subheadings( topics)
they may want to
research on for their
animals. This will
eventually become an
anchor chart and a
checklist of what the
students need to include
for their report.
Further Considerations
1. How will I build student choice into this unit?
Student choice will be the main focus in this unit as students need to think of an animal, of their choosing of which they would like
to write their report on. Throughout the activities that we do, students must be keeping their end goal in mind. They must have
chosen which animal they would like to focus on for their culminating task. I think it is important to have student choice because
the results of the students reports will hopefully be more thorough. Since they are getting the choice as to what animal they would
like to research on, hopefully this will spur them to research deeper and gain as much information as they can about this animal.
by having the choice ti research this animal, this may aid them when discovering interesting facts about this particular animal they
have chosen.
2. List three questions to build into instruction to promote analytical thinking (refer to a Q-chart and the Big Ideas for help).
1. How can I gather information about a particular animal
2. How can I learn to create subheadings to help me in my writing?
3. How do I know when to create a new paragraph?
4. How do I distinguish an omnivore from a carnivore and herbivore and vice versa?
Guided practice will be built by having the instructor explain exemplars that they have made so that the students will get a visual
representation of the task they need to emulate. Students will also be working with the teacher to co-create a checklist in which
they must abide by to meet the requirements of the task. Students are also encouraged to conference with the teacher throughout
their drafts for any pressing questions or clarification that they might need. Students also have the opportunity to work
collaboratively with their classmates and have them review their rough draft to check to make sure if it meets all the requirements
and give their classmates some feedback, in the form of 2 stars and a wish.
Independant
After seeing the exemplar students will have their own time to research their topic (independently). Students will show that they
can demonstrate good listening skills, as well as their ability to work independently free from any aids. Students will be researching
on their own, as well as filling out their graphic organizer. Students will demonstrate their ability to work independently by being
able to classify their research into their designated subheadings. Students will show their organization skills by transferring their
bullet point information and making them into paragraphs for their reports.
4. How can I build in assessment as instruction (peer- and self-assessment)?
When students finish a rough draft of their work they will be engaging in a peer review lesson. This lesson will be to read over one
anothers work to decide on what grade to give them and useful feedback. Students will then re-read their work and grade
themselves. To aid students in their assessment process they will be following the outline (checklist) that ew have made as a class
to determine if they have finished or not. Reporters will evaluate themselves twice, once to deem if they have met all the
requirements and then after they have received their marked work from their peer. Students will again look over their work before
they produce their final drafts. When their peers review their classmates work, they will be giving assessment in the form of 2 stars
and a wish. This will give the writer the tools they need to improve for their final draft, which they will be submitting.
Resources
Include 2 related websites for students to explore:
1. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/
2. http://www.animalfactguide.com/links/
3. http://octopus.gma.org/surfing/antarctica/penguin.html
4.http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals.html
5. goodreads.com (This will be for students if they need help finding any other related books for their topic)
-students also have the option to use the iPad to find their own videos or resources online as well as the classroom
computers. Students might also choose to bring their own device.
-Students may also choose to Skype their reference (with permission of parents/principal/teacher) e.g. zoologist, someone
who works at the local zoo, people who may work with this certain type of animal.
-as listed above students may choose to use Goodreads to help them in their research to find books similar in topics
-school library database/ librarian
Wall Display
A bare bulletin board has been reserved for your unit. Describe how you would use the space.
What I would to with my bulletin board would be to have the students each choose what their animal is and what type of
climate it belongs to. I would divide the bulletin board up into 4 different quadrants: ocean, forest,desert and arctic. The
students have chosen what type of animal that they would like by the second day of the lesson. During their time at the library,
I would have students print out a picture of the animal they they are going to be researching upon and have them use this as
an exit slip for that days lesson by choosing the quadrant that their animal belongs to. They way all the students can see all
the different animas that their classmates have chosen and this gives the other students a chance to look to see the different
types of animals that belong to different habitats and climates.
Ocean
Desert
Forest
1.3 gather information to support ideas for writing using a variety of strategies and oral, print, and electronic sources (e.g., identify
key words to help narrow their searches; cluster ideas; develop a plan for locating information; scan texts for specific information,
including teacher readalouds, mentor texts, reference texts, shared-, guided-, and independent-reading texts, and media texts)
2.3 use scientific inquiry/research skills (see page 15) to investigate ways in which plants and animals in a community depend on
features of their habitat to meet important needs (e.g., beavers use water for shelter [they build
their lodges so the entrance is under water], food [cattails, water lilies, and other aquatic plants], and protection [they slap their
tails on the water to warn of danger])
Materials Needed
-Ipads
-Classroom computers
-Various books about omnivores, herbivores and carnivores (from library or bought)
-books about animals in their habitat (from library or bought)
-internet connection
-pens/pencils
-paper
-headphones
Estimated Cost
The cost of this centre would vary. Most schools that I have been to have iPads for each grade, usually 2. Therefore I would ask
my teaching partner to borrow the class set of iPads for the week, until our unit is over. I could also just borrow the iPads whenever
we had free time to use this centre for the week, if this would become a pressing issue. We would not need to purchase the iPads
and computers, since they are already in the classroom. As well, we would already have a collection of books about animals in our
classroom as part of our classroom library. If any other books needed to be used, I would first check with our school library, which
is usually rich with many resources about animals in their habitats. Therefore, I would expect this centre to cost almost nothing,
unless we need other books which I would need to purchase, which would be between $30-40.
The instructor would need to monitor the area to make sure that the students were on task. The instructor would need to place
importance on the use technology. The instructor will need to inform students that these pieces of equipment are not toys and are
not their for leisure and to fool around on, but to explore and expand their knowledge during this unit. It would be beneficial for the
instructor to monitor the students as they are working in this centre, to make sure they are on task and using their time wisely.
This centre could be used throughout the year and the only change it would need would be to the subject matter e.g. books,
different websites the students could use etc. That way it would be conducive to what they would be learning.