Anna Gallacher Professor Rogan

Social Studies: Unit of Study 1. Unit Overview Topic: Families Now and Long Ago Rationale: The first grade focuses primarily on families and communities. The New York State Standards Scope and Sequence begins with a unit on the importance of families. However, this unit, Unit 2 in the scope and sequence, focuses on families now and long ago. This is extremely important because the students will have to look at how families have changed over a long period of time. They will have to determine adaptations that families have made and how that has impacted them today. They will also have to encounter their own personal family history and how it has been preserved over time. This unit is one that is very relatable to the students and will also get parents involved in the curriculum. This unit is crucial because it really focuses on how families have influenced us and how they determined where we are today. Length of Unit: 4 weeks Target Population: 1st Grade inclusion classroom These students are in a first grade inclusion classroom in a New York City school. The school is located in the Bronx of New York. The school is primarily made up of lower class families. It is a fairly large school and there are about 250 students in the 1st grade. Many of the students are below reading levels. They struggle with reading due to English being a second language to several of these students. There is a very high absence rate of students in this school because a lot of families in the community do not think of school as a priority. The majority of the students need extra help in one subject area or another. The teachers are all highly qualified and value education. There are signs outside each teachers door stating where he or she attended college to spark an interest in the students lives to further their education. Each classroom is equipped with a Smartboard and two computers for the students use. Each classroom also has a math center, class library, and word study center. Each class has approximately 26 students on the roster. It is a multicultural classroom made up of mostly Hispanics, Muslims, and African Americans. There are two English Language Learners in this classroom.

2. Essential Question: How does the growth and change of families over time impact us today? 3. Student Outcomes:

Students will be able to: compare and contrast families from long ago with families from today. recall and explain the major changes that have impacted families over time. identify how families document how they grow and change over time. identify the importance of passing down family history to future generations.

4. Schedule of Topics: Monday

Family History -all families have history (family members, family trees, photographs)

Tuesday
Family History - history is told through stories that are passed down from generation to generation

November Wednesday
Family Growth -family growth can be documented through family trees, family timelines, photo albums, and valuable items passed down.

Thursday

Friday

Family Growth Sharing Family History -sequencing and - Families share a cultural chronology heritage (songs, dance, -families grow and change food, costumes, stories) over time -Folktales, oral histories, biographies, legends

Sharing Family History - Family values, traditions, beliefs are passed down from generation to generation -celebrate special holidays

Families Change Over Families Long Ago Time -families have existed for -Looking at change a long time overview - change in clothes, - homes entertainment, food, and -clothing leisure time. -food -work - role of women and children -leisure time/ entertainment -communication Families Long Ago Families Long Ago Families Today Families Today - Roles of women and - how oral history was - Looking at change - Transportation now vs. children long ago shared overview long ago - Homes and buildings - Transportation - Education - Technology Families Today Families Now and Long Families Now and Long Families Now and Long Ago Ago -technology now vs. long Ago ago -comparing and - Celebration/ - Celebration/ constrasting the Assessment Assessment similiaries and differences of families from today and families from long ago

Families Change Over Time -compare and contrast families today and long ago -similarities and differences

Families Long Ago -Families lived in other places and at different times - types of homes, building, and architecture

Families Today - Education now vs. long ago

5. Standards: Reading for Informational Text 1. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. 2. Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. 3. Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text. 4. Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.

6. Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text. 7. Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.

Writing 5. With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed. 8. With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. 11. Create and present a poem, dramatization, art work, or personal response to a particular author or theme studied in class, with support as needed. Language 4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. a. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase Speaking and Listening 1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. 1.a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion. 1.b. Build on others talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges. 1.c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion. 1.d. Seek to understand and communicate with individuals from different cultural backgrounds. 2. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. 3. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood. 4. Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly. 5. Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. 6. Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation. Social Studies

1.8 Families have a past and change over time. There are different types of documents that relate family histories. 1.8a Personal and family history is a source of information for individuals about the people and places around them. 1.8b Families have existed for a long time and have lived in other places. 1.8c Families change over time, and family growth and change can be documented and recorded. 1.8d Families of long ago have similarities and differences with families today. 1.8e Sequence and chronology can be identified in terms of days, weeks, months, years, and seasons when describing family events and histories.

6. Lesson which is CCSS aligned: Lesson #1: Families Change Over Time Purpose (Essential Questions): How do families document how they grow and change over time? What is the importance of documenting our familys history? Vocabulary: Recorded: to put something into writing. Babushka: a grandmother in Russian or a scarf tied under the chin. Documented: to record something in writing, with a photograph, or in other forms. Quilt: a blanket made of different pieces or layers all stitched together. Generation: a period of time during which children grow up and have children of their own. Evolved: to develop or change slowly. Skills: Listening Applying Identifying Comparing Working Collaboratively Objectives: Students will be able to: Identify how families document how they grow and change over time. Identify the importance of documenting how families grow and change over time. Standards Common Core Learning Standards Social Studies

1.8a Personal and family history is a source of information for individuals about the people and places around them. 1.8c- Families change over time, and family growth and change can be documented and recorded. 1.8d Families of long ago have similarities and differences with families today. English Language Arts Writing 8. With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. 11. Create and present a poem, dramatization, art work, or personal response to a particular author or theme studied in class, with support as needed. Speaking and Listening 1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion). b. Build on others talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges. c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion. d. Seek to understand and communicate with individuals from different cultural backgrounds. 2. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. 3. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood. 4. Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

5. Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. 6. Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation. Language 4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. a. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase Reading for Informational Text 1. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. 2. Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. 3. Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text. 4. Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text. 6. Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text. 7. Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.

Pre-assessment: Students have previously been assessed on comparing families from now and long ago. They have also been asked to find something that they can share with the class that has been passed down from generation to generation in their family. Parents were asked to get involved in this task by explaining the significance of a valuable family item with their child and/or taking a picture of that precious object. Students had a week to collect this information and were asked to bring in that information before beginning this lesson. Students were asked not to bring in the actual family item in order to avoid ruining that precious object. Learning Presentation Set-induction: Teacher will have the students quietly come to the rug by table. We have been talking about families now and long ago. Today we will be talking about how families document how they have changed and grown over time. Does anyone know what the word document means?

How do you think families can document how they change and grow over time?

Procedure: The teacher will begin by introducing the book The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco. The students will be engaged with a picture walk to start off the thinking process. Can anyone make any predictions about what this story might be about? The teacher will give a short summary. This is a story about a the authors great grandmother and how she sewed a quilt with her mother that was made in order to help her remember the family that she left behind when she moved to America. This quilt was passed down from generation to generation as a way to remember how her family has grown and changed over time.

The teacher will then read the book as a read aloud to the students. After reading the first page, the teacher will engage the students with a couple of questions. What do we notice about the illustrations on the first page? They are pencil drawings and are in black and white except for the main characters scarf (babuska) and dress. Why do you think Patricia Polacco wanted us to focus on Anas babushka and her dress? From using context clues, what do we think a babushka is? A scarf, it also means grandma in Russian. The teacher will continue the reading about Ana wearing the dress and the babushka everyday. Why do you think Ana wears these two articles of clothing everyday? She wants to remember her family in Russia since she no longer has the ability to see them because her family moved to America. The teacher will then continue to the part where Anas mother cuts up her dress and her relatives clothes. Why do you think Anas mother is cutting up these clothes that are so special to Ana?

What do you think she will do with them? Turn and talk to a partner about what you think Anas mother is going to do with these cut up clothes. The students will then have the opportunity to share their predictions with the class.

The teacher will read to find out if the students predictions are correct. How does making a quilt out of these articles of clothing help Ana remember her family members? What belongings of Anas were sewn into the quilt? Where were they sewn on the quilt? The teacher will continue reading about how the quilt was passed down through Anas family. In what ways was the quilt used to represent her family? What traditions evolved from passing down this quilt? We have already learned that families grow and change over time. After reading this book, you can see that families like to document their growth so future generations can see how their families have grown and changed. Families document growth and change in different ways. Passing down valuable items (like the keeping quilt) Timelines Family Trees Photo Albums Students will turn their attention the the smartboard where the teacher will explain the different ways to document how families change. Passing down valuable items: the teacher will refer back to the story to show how items, like a quilt, can record a family's history. Timelines: a timeline is a way to record dates and events that have happened over time. These dates go in order from what happened long ago to what happened recently. Teacher will show a primary document of a family timeline. Family Tree: a family tree is another way to record dates, and family members over time. A family tree is a way to show how your family started and evolved.

Teacher will show a primary document of a family tree. Photo Albums: photo albums are a collection of pictures of your family over time. If you go back and look at a photo album in your house you can see how your family started with just your parents and how it grew by adding you to the pictures. The teacher will bring in a family album that shows how her family started with her great grandparents to her grandparents all the way down to when she was born. This is a a great way to show how people and families grow and change over time.

Closure Students will engage in a grand conversation about the importance of documenting history. Why is it important to document family growth and change overtime? What would happen if we didnt document how our families have grown and changed over time? Materials Smartboard The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco Primary Documents of a family timeline Primary Documents of a family tree Teachers family photo album Pencils Information about valuable family item Construction Paper 8 by 8 inch squares with lines on the back Pictures of family item (if available) Yarn Hole punch Follow-up Activity We will make our own class version of the keeping quilt. We have just discussed the importance of documenting how our families have grown and changed over time. One way of documenting this change is by passing a valuable item, like a family quilt, down from generation to generation. The students will be given a square sheet of construction that has a place to draw a picture on one side and a lined place to write about that object on the back. They will be asked to take out the information that they collected from their family members about a personal object that has been passed down through time. They will be asked to glue the picture

they brought in or draw a picture of the object in the appropriate place. They will then be asked to write about what that object is, why it is important and also why it is important to document our family history. The teacher will collect each students assignment and connect all of the papers together, using yarn and a hole puncher, forming a class keeping quilt. Students will get to share their responses to their classmates.

Evaluation/Assessment: Students will be asked to create a family record of their own family using a family tree or a timeline. They will be asked to go home and record using dates and places where their family originated from and how it has grown over time. If possible, they can add pictures of family members, family valuables that have been passed down, or any other records that they believe are important to show how their families have grown and changed. If they have no records of family members past their parents generation they can make a family tree or timeline starting with their parents and making their way down to them. Including pictures, dates, and places will help reinforce the concept of how the growth and change of families over time can be recorded and documented. Differentiation: ESL: For ESL students will get to see the different types of documentations in several different forms. They will see a definition of each form on the smartboard, a picture of each, and then also a hard copy of each source. Students will also have the story to look back to if they have trouble. Advanced: Advanced students will have the opportunity to take part in an enrichment activity. They will be asked to refer back the story when the quilt became part of several family traditions like holding a newborn baby or standing under the quilt during marriage. These students will then be asked to write in their notebooks about a family tradition they have that has been passed down and is important to their family. They will then have to tie it all together and explain why recording our family history is important. Visual: For students who learn better visually, the teacher does an interactive read aloud that acts as a visual aid for the students. The students will also get to actually see primary documents of a family tree, a family timeline, and a photo album. Finally, these students will have the opportunity to refer back to the visual references on the smartboard for help.

Kinesthetic: These students will get to actually make a quilt piece for their class keeping quilt. They also will have the opportunity to actually hold and flip through the teachers photo album, the family tree and the family timeline. Interpersonal: The students will be able to communicate with each other during the turn and talk during the read aloud. They also will be able to engage in a grand conversation during the closure of the lesson. Intrapersonal: Students will have the opportunity to work alone during the quilt activity. They will have the chance to work on their piece of the quilt individually and will have the option later on to share their piece if they feel comfortable.

Resources: Polacco, Patricia. The Keeping Quilt. New York: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 1988. Print. Primary Document of a Family Tree Primary Document of a Family Timeline

Lesson #2: The Roles of Women Long Ago Purpose (Essential Questions): What were the roles of women long ago? What was the womens suffrage movement and why was it so important? What would it be like today if the womens suffrage movement never happened? Vocabulary: suffrage: the right to vote equal rights: rights that are the same for all people, women and men. Skills:

Listening Applying Identifying Comparing Working Collaboratively

Objectives: Students will be able to: Compare and contrast the roles of women from long ago to today. Identify the importance of the women suffrage movement. Determine, using reasoning, the significance of having equal rights to vote.

Standards Common Core Learning Standards Social Studies 1.8d Families of long ago have similarities and differences with families today English Language Arts Writing 5. With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed. Speaking and Listening 1.a Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion. 1.b Build on others talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges. 2. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. 3. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood. 4. Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly. 6. Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation. Language 4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies a. Use sentence level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. Reading for Informational Text 1. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. 2. Identify the main topic and retell key details in a text. 4. Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.

Pre-assessment: Students have previously been assessed on comparing and contrasting families from long ago to families today. They understand that families have changed over time and that their are several changes that have impacted us today. They were given a brief introduction to the very important changes that have influenced us today but they have not specifically focused on the roles of women or womens rights. Learning Presentation Set-induction: Teacher will have the students quietly come to the rug by table. We have been talking about families now and long ago. Today we will be talking about how the roles of women have changed drastically over time. Does anyone know what the word suffrage means? Students may struggle with this word. Definition: the right to vote The teacher will then have the students analyze and discuss this quote: "It [suffrage] means more than voting; it means power and equal rights to women in all things; property, guardianship and control of children and all the other rights and privileges that are due them."
- W. J. Thompson, Representative, Washington Territory

How do you think the women from long ago felt about not having these rights? Together as a class we will brainstorm some ideas and write them in a web.

Procedure: The teacher will begin by introducing the nonfiction narrative, Marching with Aunt Susan by Claire Rudolf Murphy. The students will be engaged with a picture walk to start off the thinking process. Can anyone make any predictions about what this story might be about? The teacher will give a short summary. This story is based on the experiences of a real girl living during 1896. She wants to do everything her brothers are doing but she soon realizes that girls are not allowed to do the same things as boys. Find out to see what life was like back then for women.

The teacher will then read the book as a read aloud to the students. Throughout the read aloud the students will be engaged with a series of engaging questions. Why do you think that Bessie was allowed to ride a bike, but not go hiking with her brothers? What makes Bessie begin to think about women deserving the right to vote? Why didnt her brothers think it was a big deal? Why were some people, men and women, so against the idea of women getting to vote? Turn and Talk: Which father would you like to have Bessies or Ritas? Why? Give examples from the story. What does Bessie mean when she says, I wondered if an eclipse were coming over me.? She wonders if she might go dark (sad) inside for a time. After the story the teacher will split a piece of chart paper in half and one side will be labeled boys and the other side will be labeled girls. The students will then have a chance to come up with what each group had the right to do in 1896. In school, sports, and at home. Using the smartboard and the chart paper about men and womens rights in 1896, the teacher will create a Venn Diagram. The students will be given their own copy of a Venn Diagram that will be glued into their notebooks. As a class they will compare and contrast the rights of women today to the rights of women during 1896 and in the story. They must not only include the differences but they must also comment on the similarities.

Closure Students will engage in a grand conversation about the importance of the womens suffrage movement. Why was the womens suffrage movement so important?

What would it be like today if the the womens suffrage movement never happened? Why?

Materials Smartboard Marching with Aunt Susan by Claire Rudolf Murphy Social Studies Notebooks Pencils Glue sticks Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be? song by L. May Wheeler Chart Paper Markers

Follow-up Activity The teacher will sing the students a womens suffrage song called, Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be? by L. May Wheeler. The teacher will then give them a copy of the song to glue into their social studies notebooks. The students will practice singing the song with the teacher so they know how to pronounce all of the words. At home, the students will have to write in their notebooks what they think the poem means and why it is important to the womens suffrage movement. They will also have to right about the roles of women that are displayed throughout the poem. The poem is shown below: Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be? By: L. May Wheeler Chorus: Oh dear, what can the matter be? Dear dear what can the matter be? Oh dear, what can the matter be? Women are wanting to vote. Verses: Women have husbands, they are protected. Women have sons by whom theyre directed. Women have fathers, theyre not neglected. Chorus: Oh dear, what can the matter be? Dear dear what can the matter be? Oh dear, what can the matter be? Women are wanting to vote.

Women have homes, there they should labor. Women have children whom they should favor. Women have time to learn of each neighbor. Why are they wanting to vote? Chorus: Oh dear, what can the matter be? Dear dear what can the matter be? Oh dear, what can the matter be? Women are wanting to vote. Women can dress, they love society. Women have cash with all its variety. Women can pray with sweetest piety. Why are they wanting to vote? Chorus: Oh dear, what can the matter be? Dear dear what can the matter be? Oh dear, what can the matter be? Women are wanting to vote. Women have reared all the sons of the brave. Women have shared in the burdens they gave. Women have labored this country to save And thats why were going to vote. Final Chorus: Oh dear, what can the matter be? Dear dear what can the matter be? Oh dear, what can the matter be? Why should men get every vote?

Evaluation/Assessment: Students be told that they are going to participate in a suffrage rally. There will be two sides, half of them will be told that they believe in womens suffrage and half of them will be told that they are against it. Individually they will have to create an argument for their side in their social studies notebooks. They will then have the chance to talk to their groups and together they will use their best arguments. Then as a class we will have a discussion using these arguments. The students will be assessed on their individual entry in their social studies notebooks, their

collaboration during group work, and their sides final argument during the discussion. Differentiation: ESL: ESL students will get the chance to use all of the charts to refer back to when they are engaging in the different activities. They will also get the chance to engage in the interactive read aloud where they will be able to look at the pictures as the teacher is reading. Advanced: Advances students will have the opportunity to be leaders in the class discussion about the women suffrage movement. They will also be asked to lengthen their follow-up activity by comparing and contrasting the song to the nonfiction narrative. Visual: Visual learners will really enjoy all of the visual charts that they get to look at, their own copy of the poem, the smartboard diagram and the interactive read aloud where they can look at the pictures. This lesson is really geared towards a visual learners learning style. Interpersonal: Students will have plenty of opportunities to work by themselves in their social studies journals where they can collect and write down their ideas on womens suffrage. Intrapersonal: There are several times throughout this lesson where interpersonal students can work with a partner or with a group. They will even be evaluated in the assessment on how well they collaborate with their group members.

Resources: Murphy, Claire Rudolf., and Stacey Schuett. Marching with Aunt Susan : Susan B. Anthony and the Fight for Women's Suffrage. Atlanta: Peachtree, 2011. Print. Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be? by L. May Wheeler "Marching with Aunt Susan Books: Peachtree Publishers." Marching with

Aunt Susan Books Peachtree Publishers. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2012. <http://peachtree-online.com/index.php/book/marching-with-auntsusan.html>.

7. Annotated Bibliography: McGovern, Ann, and Anna DiVito. If You Lived 100 Years Ago. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print. Teachers can read excerpts of this book throughout the unit. This book can be used as a reference and will help the teacher locate specific information about

this topic. This book can also act as a way for the teacher to model how to use a reference book to the students. The New York State Education Department. Early Literacy Profile: An Assessment Instrument. [Albany, NY]: University of the State of New York, State Education Dept., 1999. Print. This book provided by the New York State Education Department offers teachers in grades 1 through 3 the skills needed to assess student progress in various aspects of literacy development. Although this does not concentrate specifically on social studies, it allows teachers to integrate different subject areas and incorporate assessments that are aligned with ELA standards.

8. Annotated Webliography: "Families Now and Long Ago." : Pacing Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2012. <http://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/nyc/books/bka/pacing/>. This website offers teachers a pacing chart for the unit, families now and long ago. It will help teachers plan and schedule topics each day and it also offers a list of new york state social studies standards that aligns with each topic. This website can definitely be used as a reference when teaching this unit. "Parkway Schools." Social Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2012. <http://www.pkwy.k12.mo.us/inside/curriculum/ss/Lev3.cfm?Lev3ID=493>. This website offers teachers a wide variety of resources and activities to use when completing this unit. It gives teaching several different activities that accommodate for many different learning styles. Also, it offers documents from scholastic and national geographic for kids that will help push the students thinking.

9. Assessment/Culminating Activity: The culminating activity will be a combination of evaluating the students learning throughout the unit but it will also act as a celebration of families and where we are, as families, today. Assessment: The students will be broken up into pairs. They will be get the opportunity to choose a popsicle stick out of the families change jar and the popsicle stick will have a topic written on it. The topics are homes, clothing, food, work, leisure time/entertainment, the role of women and children, education, technology, communication, transportation, or technology. Each pair will get one topic (some pairs will get the same topic but how they present the information will be based on their own learning). The students will be asked to break their pairs into long ago and today. One student in the pair will write a journal entry and draw a picture about what that topic was like long ago and the other student in the pair will write a journal entry and draw a picture about what that topic is like today. Then as a pair they will determine how that change has impacted us today and write a paragraph about it. The students will then take their projects and

each pair will present their information with the class. At the end, the students will be evaluated with a rubric on their journal entries and their oral presentation. Students who have trouble writing will work with someone who can scribe for them. They will attempt to write their ideas and then they will read to myself or the paraprofessional in the room their journal entry. However, they will still be responsible for their the oral presentation of their ideas. Celebration: Before the presentations begin, we will start with a culture day. Parents and family will be invited to watch the presentations. They will be asked to bring one dish that represents their family history. During the presentations the students will be able to enjoy the different types of foods and customs. This will help broaden the students perspectives on different cultures.

10. Anna Professional Paragraph I learned a lot about myself as a teacher during this unit. After evaluating different units before writing my own, I found myself really trying to tie everything back to the essential question and the student objectives. I wanted to make sure that we created a culminating activity that would really evaluate the students learning of the concepts learned throughout the entire unit. I also found myself evaluating the standards to make sure that we were pushing the students to their highest potential while meeting the standards for this particular grade level. I learned professionally how different the common core was from the regular new york state standards. The complexity and rigor is so beyond everything that we have ever been exposed to. I was thankful to have the opportunity to really push myself to increase the rigor and expectations for this unit. Personal Paragraph I found that Liz and I worked very well together. As a team, we were really trying to take everything that we learned about the common core and put it into this unit. We really wanted to set the bar high for this first grade unit. We wanted to introduce non-fiction books and primary documents. We were on the same page when it came to our expectations for this first grade unit. Liz introduced me to google docs where we were able to add and improve our unit together or separately. I really liked this way of doing things because we were able to add parts together but then if we thought of something we could add it and our partner could review and edit the document. This was such a great way to communicate and complete a group project. 11. Elizabeth Professional Paragraph Throughout this class we have been shown different examples of lessons and units. After writing this unit I understand the process teachers today are going through. The Common Core Learning Standards have challenged a lot of what I previously have learned. Which in turn has made designing a unit that is common core aligned more challenging. It is no longer about what activity is cute or fun,

but it has become what will get our students on the path to being college and career ready. Throughout planning this unit there was always a question of Is this activity rigorous enough? I found the new Social Studies framework helpful to get started on the unit. When writing this unit I kept trying to ensure that everything came back to the essential question and aligned with the standards. I spent an extensive amount of time choosing the standards, ensuring they were challenging enough, and that they in fact were met through the activities. I found writing this unit a great experience and now I can say I have designed a common core aligned unit. Personal Paragraph I have always found it beneficial to work with peers when constructing units. Working with Anna was a really great experience. When we talked about the unit I felt like we were able to bounce ideas off of each other with ease. We were unfamiliar with first grade social studies, but both were up for a challenge. Anna is very organized. I have realized after working with her that I need to be more organized. In the past I have worked with people with a similar procrastinating tendencies so working with Anna really opened my eyes. I think it will be helpful for me to become more organized and break my habit of leaving assignments to the last possible minute, especially since I will be student teaching next semester