Unit Planning Overload!!!

This week Sam and I decided that we would create an outline for our rationale and create our final assessment and rubric. Needless to say, it’s a lot of work! This week we were feeling a bit ambitious and to be honest I’m really starting to feel the effects. On top of this week’s workload, I constantly find myself revisiting my unit calendar (that I turned in last week) and thinking of how to improve it.

There are some areas I think I need to improve. I think I need to be more specific in my layout instead of simply saying “respond to prompt” for my homework journal entries and “discuss” for my daily activities. I should use the student-centered activities from Smagorinsky instead of being vague. Also I think I need to devote more time to certain texts, mainly The Tempest. Last week Sam shared her unit calendar and I realized I made a similar mistake in rushing that text. Also, I hardly dedicate any time to discuss the film Lord of the Flies. Overall I feel my unit is a bit rushed; I think I need to allot more time for each text to really flesh out the ideas and concepts driving those texts. Another one of my concerns is the homework load which I feel may be too heavy for my students at Back of the Yards College Prep considering that many students do not complete their homework on a regular basis. I also realized I need to make time for practical things like grammar (not in isolation) and maybe include more in-class reading time. I find myself asking the question, will students have access to these texts outside of school? Or will I only have classroom copies of each text? If so then I definitely need to dedicate time for students to read in class.

I have also started to think about ways to fill the “gaps” in my calendar. I decided to use the poem, “The Farewell,” by Edward Field but I need to re-work my calendar because it would work better later on in my unit (power and obedience) instead of at the very beginning. I really want to substitute my YA book for another fiction text, To Kill a Mockingbird. I feel that it would fit perfectly with that segment of the unit (power and personal responsibility).

For this week’s rationale outline I find myself frantically searching through my materials from previous methods courses (particularly Sarah Donovan’s handouts from 489). With the help of these materials and the texts from this semester I am slowly building my theoretical framework. I feel that my argument is strong but I need to find better ways of articulating my motives and goals. Overall I feel that everything is coming together, slowly but surely.

For my final assessment I want the students to write an expository essay about what it means to balance power and personal responsibility. Some people are doing really awesome multi-genre projects/ portfolios, I contemplated doing something along those lines but decided to incorporate benchmark assessments and projects throughout the unit (Historical power struggle presentation, government presentation, speech on an inspirational leader, create a piece of propaganda).

Hope all is going well with your units!!!

~Estela