Setting: Unit Plan

Location: Loveland, Colorado

Just 46 miles north of Denver lies Loveland,
Colorado. It is the 14
th
largest city in Colorado with
a population estimate of 70,200 people. The city of
Loveland, which is in Larimer County, has a high
rate of multi-family residential areas consisting of
many suburbs outside of the city that border much
of the South Fort Collins area. The town is
considered a bedroom community according to
the City of Loveland website. It houses many
travelers who are making their way to Estes Park
and other attractions in Northern Colorado.
Loveland is one of the biggest art loving cities in the nation. According to Ci.Loveland.com, the
cities official website, A communitys greatest gift is the evolving history of its people, their stories,
their symbols, their enduring traditions. This communitys history is cast in bronze, in brilliant
pigments, in images on film, in subtle fibers. The people of Loveland have enthusiastically
embraced the arts and skillfully woven them into their daily lives, truly making Loveland, A Work of
Art. The city has many sculptures, art festivals, and a modern art museum that shows the cities
love for art. There are currently 29 areas in which public art can be found around the city.
Along with the art in Loveland, there is a high rate of
other passions and recreations to participate in. Loveland
has two large lakes that are within the city and many
more that are on the outskirts. More recently Lovelands
economy has boomed, becoming a large business center
for Colorado. Shops and malls such as the Promenade
Shops at Centerra is one of the few large shopping malls
that exist in Larimer County.
With a large business market a number of things are
expected from the city: demographically, a high-rate of
white-middle class families, high-rate of construction and
retail employment, and large businesses. According to
City-Data.com 84% of the population are white, 11% are
Hispanics, 1.0% are Asian, 3% are either African
American, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or have
two or more ethnicities. Refer to Races in Loveland,CO Chart found on City-Data.com.
School Context: Loveland High School
Loveland High is an IB World School located within the heart of Loveland. The schools vision and
mission statement found on thompsonschools.org, states: We promise to provide a physically,
psychologically and emotionally safe environment where we will hold all to high expectations by
taking all necessary steps to empower our school community to learn at high levels, expecting a
student- and learning-centered community, and encouraging risk-taking in order to thrive in an
ever-changing world. With IB posted on front entrance to the gym, Loveland High focuses on
implementing a learning environment that fosters both individuality and culture. Loveland
unfortunately has very little diversity which is a
reflection of the cultures we see at Loveland
High. Most of the school comprises of white-
middle class students and some who are
Hispanic.
Culture is not only about ethnicity. It begins with
individuality. I believe that is a target that the
staff at Loveland High focuses on. Students are
given many opportunities to join clubs and
teams that help to foster a sense of community.
This was demonstrated while attending an
assembly to recognize not only athletes but also
academic achievements and scholarships that
were awarded to students.
One of the many resources that are provided by the Loveland High staff is the PROBEL Lab.
PROPEL is an acronym for Providing Resources and Options to Prepare Every Learner. It mainly
focuses on providing support for students who struggle with academics and economic problems.
PROBEL also supports students with emotional problems. This is accomplished by having a large
support system made up of many councilors divided for specific grades and last names. As
educators we have to see the importance and logic of implementing programs like these to help the
1, 500 students who could at some point need it.
Along with PROBEL there are many other outlets and programs for students looking to focus their
attention. Like every school, sports are important to the culture of the school. Students have the
opportunity to try out for positions in football, volleyball, track & field, cross country, soccer, and
other sports. STUCO is also very prominent in creating events that help to speak to the school
community. Lexi Yeager is a colleague and also a friend of ours who co-op teaches for both a
speech class and the students who are in STUCO.
Their process in creating events depends mainly on common interests that are prominent within
the school. The events that are implemented are traditional in some sense (Prom, Sadie Hawkins,
Peachfuzz and Powderpuff) but also include some modern taste such as the MyTy Dance.
Loveland High in partnership with the actual city has a large focus on art within the school. Many of
programs and classrooms are considered state-of-the-art considering the resources that are
provided. When visiting the one of the art classes on our tour day, my colleagues and I observed
the room which consisted of a green screen, many iMacs, and recording equipment. This allows
more of an outlet for students to express themselves in a unique way and it pays tribute to
Lovelands overall passion and love for art.

Thomson Valley School district is focused on providing an empowering and leveled curriculum to
their students. There are three separate pieces to what Thompson Valley encourages in their
schools: Empower, Challenge, and Inspire. These three ideas allow students and teachers to
uphold a shared purpose in their experiences and overall educational careers within the district.
The biggest focus that we see is the consistency of core classes. Students are immersed in
English from K - 12 without question and within that become life-long learners. This consistency
leads their district to be above state standards during their TCAP testing.

Thomson Valley is the 16th largest district in Colorado with 20 elementary schools, five middle
schools, and five high schools. Thompson Valley also values community involvement. Students are
encouraged to immerse themselves in their communities by being a part of collaboration between
the school and the city.

Students: English 11
Our students consist of 11th graders who have
are of the ages 16 and 17. There placement
follows the core classes that the students must
take as 11th graders. They are neither
advanced placement or set in a remedial setting
but focused on continuing and honing their own
skills into a more focused look at both literature
and writing. From the experiences we have had
with Loveland High students, their is a focus on
building communities within the school. This will
be focal point in our classroom as to keep
students embedded in the idea of identity,
individuality, and overall respect for each others values. Students will mainly be caucasian due to
the overall city demographics and the district demographics. This will in no way shape how we will
teach this class. Identity and respect for individuality are the two most important aspects of our
classroom and creating environments where these ideas are valued and taught will also be a large
focus of our classroom. Like most classrooms we expect there to be issues with classroom
management but we will instill both an idea of taking ownership of your own learning and Love and
Logic noted by Linda Christensen. We believe that our students need to be held responsible as
future members of our world and as students of Loveland High. However, as educators we
understand the problems that occur day-to-day and will respect and comply with our own
judgement when dealing with issues that arise in this classroom.

Orientation of Unit: Unit One: Identity Through Narrative
Based on student interests,a focus on classroom community, and individual respect we wanted to
start off our students within a lens that provides both an inclusion of differentiation within novels
and also a look at their own bearings within their world. This led to the idea of allowing students to
be immersed in these themes and writing experiences immediately into their 11th grade year.
Allowing students to both write about themselves and dwell deep into novels that focus on some
aspects that they might be experiencing, helps to foster interests driven learning. It creates a
modern day look at how identity can shape who we become and what it is we decide to do within
the environment we are in. Narrative writing has always been an outlet into seeing into others lives
so we want uphold this ideal so students can create meaning from different stories.