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T&L 322
Thematic Unit
Teaching Empathy
Spring 2018
3
Thematic Unit Plan
Rationale and Purpose
Content Standards
Learning Targets/Objectives
Accommodations Throughout the Unit
Reading and Writing Materials Used
Book Citations
Websites Used
Letter Home to Parents
Pre-Assessment Assignment
Week 1: Empathy (Understanding Personal Feelings) p.30
Week One, Day One
Week One, Day Two
(Edtpa Aligned Lesson Plan)
Week One, Day Three
Week One, Day Four
Week One, Day Five
Week 2: Empathy (Imagining Others Perspectives) p.63
Week Two, Day One
(Edtpa Aligned Lesson Plan)
Week Two, Day Two
Week Two, Day Three
Week Two, Day Four
Week Two, Day Five
Week 3: Empathy (Applying Empathy to Everyday Life) p.100
Week Three, Day One
Week Three, Day Two
Week Three, Day Three
Week Three, Day Four
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(Edtpa Aligned Lesson Plan)
Week Three, Day Five
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Unit Plan: Teaching Empathy Grade Level: Fourth
Rationale and Purpose/Goals:
parent’s domain of guidance? Are humans born naturally empathetic beings, or must we train a
child to care for his hurting neighbor? While these are all great questions to ponder, not all
parents parent the same way, therefore not all children are growing into empathetic adults.
Teachers are responsible for the lofty task of cultivating empathetic and open-minded attitudes
in the minds of their students in the hopes that these children are able to form meaningful
relationships with their peers which will in turn set them up for success in the world. Students
must learn to have empathy for others in order to make meaningful connections with others. It is
important to consider that students learn best when surrounded by meaningful, positive
relationships within their classroom atmosphere. In order to promote this positive learning
environment and set students up for a successful future, teachers must begin with the task of
enriching students in activities that develop empathy in the hearts of our youth. Even though we
try our best to mentor students into being empathetic; we live in a very harsh society where that
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Purpose/Goals: Our goal for this unit is to instill an understanding of one’s self as well as
others through empathy. By the end of this unit our students will be able to understand their
personal feelings, for example how different emotions make them feel. They will be able to
contrast their personal feelings with their peer’s feelings and understand how people’s feelings
and experiences may be different due to experiences. Finally, our students will be able to step
into another person’s shoes and understand how it would feel to go through what another
person goes through by connecting everything they have learned about empathy. Our final goal
is for students to recognize that although they have walked in many different student’s shoes
who may be far different than them, they all experience the same emotions no matter what walk
of life they come from. The students will be connecting to these different experiences, which will
help them to understand their peer’s backgrounds and beliefs and have more empathy for them
in the classroom. The students will be able to notice this as our activities have purposefully come
full circle.
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Content Standards
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.C
Reading Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.7
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly
and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.7
Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral
presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions
and directions in the text.
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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Language Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.6
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize
the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
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Writing Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should
demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grade 4 here.)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing
types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the
text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific
details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2.A
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Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections;
include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.E
Math Standards:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.OA.A.2
Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical
problems. For example, find the width of a rectangular room given the area of the
flooring and the length, by viewing the area formula as a multiplication equation with
an unknown factor.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.G.A.1
Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), and
perpendicular and parallel lines. Identify these in two-dimensional figures.
Science Standards:
4-ESS3-2. Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural
Earth processes on humans.
PS4.A Understand waves, which are regular patterns of motion, can be made in water by
disturbing the surface.
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Social Studies Standards:
Civics 1.1.1 Understands they key ideal of rights set forth.
Civics 1.4.1 Understands that civic participation involves being informed about public
issues and voting in elections.
Health Standards:
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Learning Targets/Objectives
Writing:
SWBAT write about a mistake they previously made, how they turned their mistake into a
learning opportunity, and what they learned.
SWBAT organize emotions and examples into a venn diagram, comparing themselves to
their partner.
SWBAT develop and write a script text that conveys ideas and information from their
chosen book clearly and accurately.
SWBAT choose a story that best fits their interests that they would feel confident
converting the story behind it into a script format.
SWBAT identify a clear topic or idea that corresponds with their dream or goal in life.
SWBAT clearly describe how they plan to achieve their goals or dreams with a
multiple step plan of action.
SWBAT write a conclusion that does a sufficient job at wrapping up their narrative
writing piece.
SWBAT write a short story from the perspective of a person in a photo from the gallery
walk using descriptive details that pertain to the setting and characteristics of the person
in the photo
SWBAT Students will be able to write ways they can spread kindness at home and at
school
Reading:
SWBAT make inferences when reading a text based on details in the text.
SWBAT make personal, world, and text-to-text connections to the text.
SWBAT summarize a text by using key details and themes.
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SWBAT use specific details to further understand a character or event in the text.
SWBAT describe/ act out the main concepts of the readers theater by accurately
conveying the detail of the text they are using.
SWBAT read aloud with accurate fluency.
Language:
SWBAT determine the main ideas and themes of the book of their choosing and create a
script that will be able to accurately represent the book as well as choose the parts of the
book that will create a cohesive overall project.
SWBAT design their own readers theater by creating a spin off of the original book of
their choosing, while still conveying the main points of the text.
SWBAT accurately use punctuation, capitalization, and spelling when creating their plan
of action
SWBAT use conventions correctly to describe their plan of action with grammar that
correlates to the ideas.
SWBAT engage in a classroom discussion by sharing thoughts about how the photos
around the gallery walk made them feel and are different from them.
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SWBAT share the similarities and differences between themselves and their partner aloud
to the class.
SWBAT explain how reading the newspaper or watching the news can inform students
about public issues.
SWBAT collaborate with the teacher in order to brainstorm and discuss
SWBAT listen to different questions being asked and respond to these with actions.
Math:
SWBAT multiply and divide to solve single step and two step word problems.
SWBAT use drawings and equations with symbols to represent the multiplication and
division problems.
SWBAT measure rectangles in real life situations in order to find the area and perimeter.
SWBAT draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles, perpendicular, and parallel lines
and recognize them in two dimensional figures.
SWBAT accurately complete a math worksheet that best fits their learning capabilities.
Science:
SWBAT understand how natural disasters can affect human population
SWBAT understand the the basic motion of waves and ripples in order to understand
how kindness can have the same effect as water ripples spreading
SWBAT research natural disasters and investigate how it can affect a whole society of
people.
Social Studies:
SWBAT understand what rights are and why they are important.
SWBAT explain what rights are broken in the book Henry’s Freedom Box.
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SWBAT share their learnings with the class and educate each other on the rights stated in
the Washington State Constitution.
SWBAT explain what rights are broken in the book Henry’s Freedom Box.
SWBAT explain how reading the newspaper or watching the news can inform students
about public issues.
SWBAT understand the basics of the voting process and why voting is important
SWBAT research a current public issue they have empathy for and determine whether a
right is being broken or not.
SWBAT research the rights stated in the Washington State Constitution.
Physical Education:
SWBAT use their knowledge and skills to achieve a active lifestyle.
SWBAT create their own personalized health goals and track their progress each week.
SWBAT determine how to promote safety in their everyday life in order to help prevent
injuries.
SWBAT identify different ways to prevent injuries in different recreational situations.
SWBAT explain how different situations that may involve violent actions can be avoided
as well as how to be avoided.
Health:
SWBAT explain how to manage while using techniques can positively impact health.
Music/Fine Arts:
SWBAT summarize the cultural aspects of a piece of music.
SWBAT respond to a piece of music and state the feelings it brings and how those
feelings were brought on.
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SWBAT create a self portrait that they are proud of that represent how the book Wonder
affect their learning.
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Accommodations/Remediations Throughout the Unit
Throughout the empathy unit our students are accommodated for in a variety of ways as
we constantly keep in mind in every decision that is made that all students learn
differently.
Alternate Responses
For ELLS and special education students we will always accept alternate responses. This
might be in the form of verbal responses in retellings rather than written responses in
explanations. Accommodating ELLS and special education students in this way allows our
students to be reached at their level and ultimately help them to perform to the best of
their abilities throughout the unit. Highly capable students will be challenged with
developing in depth reflections about how they are cultivating empathy through their
writing and reading process. They will be asked to relate their ideas to real world
Visuals
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We also will apply our knowledge of the principles of UDL into our lessons, specifically
concerning using many visuals for our students who need accommodations. Visuals are
crucial as many students learn visually and need visuals during every lesson throughout
the day.
Incorporating Culture
Students’ culture will be incorporated into various lessons, whether it’s geography,
reading, and science. Incorporating students’ culture allows for students to take
ownership of their learning. Students will feel a sense of home and wonder as they
Because of the added challenge that the assignments may bring to ELL and Special Ed
students, we will provide and allow extra time for these students. However, in time
will be able to focus more on content and quality rather than quantity of a response.
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Pictures are also a great way for ELL and Special Ed students to get their thoughts across
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