Integrated Content Literacy Unit Plan

8th Grade The Adirondacks: Where you live, affects how you live.

Kyle McCartan, Kathryn Weiss, and Alana Rose EDR 524 J. Mockry May 2011

Established Goals: Social Studies: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York. Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions from New York State and United States history illustrate the connections and interactions of people and events across time and from a variety of perspectives. Locate and gather geographic information from a variety of primary and secondary sources. English Language Arts: Locate and use school, public, academic, and special library resources for information and research. Share the process of writing with peers and adults. Foreign Language: Students will be able to use a language other than English for communication. Students will develop cross-cultural skills and understandings. Understandings: Students will understand that... The history of a geographic location impacts contemporary life. Physical geography affects the way we live our everyday lives. Different geographic locations, and different time periods, provide unique cultural opportunities, prospectives, advantages, and disadvantages. Essential Questions: What opportunities, prospectives, advantages, and disadvantages are unique to the Adirondacks? How does the history and geographic location of the Adirondacks affect your everyday life? How has life in the Adirondacks changed since the time of Samuel de Champlain? How does life in the Adirondacks affect you personally? As a community? Students Will Know... The unique geographic, cultural, and historical, characteristics of the Adirondack region, and how it affects their lives. Students Will Be Able To... Determine how the unique geographic, natural, cultural, and historical, characteristics of the Adirondack region and how they affect their lives. Articulate the differences between contemporary life in the Adirondacks, and the lives of the first settlers to arrive here. Performance Tasks:

K-W-L/R-A-N worksheets to document prior knowledge, new learnings, and misconceptions throughout the course of the unit. Socratic dialogue in which students discuss new learnings about the Adirondacks. Write original poetry and narratives relating to the Adirondacks affect on daily life. Create an interactive word wall and brochure to learn key vocabulary in Spanish.

Lesson One, Day One

Introduction to Adirondacks

Objectives

Students will be able to identify and explore the significance of the history of the Adirondacks. 1) Teacher will show students a video on the Adirondacks to hook them into the topic 2) Students will do a KWL on the Adirondacks. Students will only be completing the K part of the KWL (what they think they know) Students will put what they think they know on post-its. Then they will put their post-it on the board. 1) Teacher will go over video. 2) Teacher will read the post-its that students put on the board. 3) Teacher will do a short PowerPoint lesson on interesting facts about the Adirondacks. 4) Socratic Dialogue- How does Geography affect the way we live? Students then have to have a openended question to respond to their partner. There is no talking. Students dont stop writing for 3 minutes straight. 1) Teacher will lead a group discussion on what students wrote in the Socratic Dialogue. 2) Exit Slip- Students will write a wondering that they have about the Adirondacks. Students will then put their wonderings on the board. Formative: Socratic Dialogue/Group Discussion. Video PowerPoint Pictures 1 Class

Bell Ringer

Procedure

Conclusion

Assessment

Materials/Duration

Lesson Two, Day Two

Adirondacks Poem

Lesson Objectives

Bell Ringer

1) Identify adjectives describing photos of the Adirondacks 2) Students will be able to write an original eight line poem Teacher will display multiple pictures of the Adirondacks. 1) Teacher display pictures 2) Students come up with adjectives based on the pictures. 3) Teacher will be putting the adjectives students come up with on the board so every student can see the adjectives. 4) Teacher divides students into groups of 2. 5) Students work together to choose a photo to make an original poem that will then be present to the class. Teacher puts up pictures on the board Students come up to front of class and read their poem. The audience then has to guess which poem the students wrote about Projector- Photos 1 Class Spanish Adjectives Students will be able to create an interactive word wall. Students will learn vocabulary words related to the Adirondacks Students will discuss what they have already learned about on the Adirondacks.

Procedure

Closure

Materials/Duration

Lesson Three, Day Three Lesson Objectives

Bell Ringer

Procedure

1) Bell Ringer 2) Teacher introduces what a word wall is. 3) Teacher assigns students in groups of three. 4) Students translate English adjectives into Spanish on index cards. 5) When students are finished translating they will go up to the Wall and post there adjectives. 6) Teacher will go over each word and its correct pronunciations. 7) Teacher than does a quick explanation of the placement of adjectives in sentences. 8) Teacher hands new index cards with nouns, verbs, and pronouns. 9) Students pick one adjective from the wall. 10) Teacher reads and writes out a sentence on the board. 11) Students who have the words from the sentence have to align themselves correctly. Formative- Through observation of adjective placement activity. Exit Slip: Students must write in Spanish three sentences that they liked about the Adirondacks. Index Cards, and Word Wall. 1 Class

Check for Understanding

Closure

Materials/Duration

Lesson Four, Day Four Team Teaching Lesson

History and English

Lesson Objectives

1) Students will use different skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York. 2) Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions from New York State and United States history. Are the Adirondacks important to the history of the United States? 1) Teacher will introduce bell ringer. 2) You are a team of 2 or 3 reporters for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and have been asked to research the history of the Adirondacks as part of a special feature the newspaper is going to print celebrating Theodore Roosevelt becoming President. Specifically the newspaper editor is interested in an article showing the important connection between the history of the Adirondacks and events going on in the United States at various times. 3) Teacher (Kyle) will be going over with students the conventions of journalistic writing.

Bell Ringer Procedure

Closure

Materials/Duration

Wrap up Discussion: Students will discuss what they have written or what they think they are going to write. None needed Two 45-minute class periods.

Lesson Four Continued, Day Five

History and English

Lesson Objectives

1) Students will be learning facts about the Adirondacks history 2) Students will be able to write journalistic manner. Teacher assigns students a partner for peer review on their news articles

Bell Ringer

Procedure

1) Students get into a group and begin peer review. 2) After students read each others comments they will then revise their papers. 3) Teacher (Kyle) will be making sure that students are editing correctly 4) Students have the rest of the period to finish there news articles to hand in the next day. Formative (Teacher will be collecting and grading news articles based on writing skills and historical facts that students incorporated into the article) Teacher will announce and write on board the homework assignment, which is to finish news article. Articles will be available for students to look at, about the Adirondacks. Articles can be a guide to help students figure out how they want to write their news articles.

Assessment

Closure

Materials/Duration

Lesson Five, Day Six

History

Lesson Objectives

1) Students will be able to read from Champlains journal and his view on the Adirondacks. 2) Students will be learn how Champlain played an important figure in the Adirondacks region. Students will come up to the board and write down what comes to their mind when they hear the word Champlain. 1) Teacher goes over Bell Ringer. 2) Teacher will give a short PowerPoint on certain facts about Samuel De Champlain. 3) After teacher goes over PowerPoint students will then make a so what double entry journal. 4) Teacher hands out reading on Champlain. 5) Students will then make a so what double entry journal. Formative: Double Entry Journal

Bell Ringer

Procedure

Check For Understanding

Closure

Exit Slip: What fact did they find most interesting in the reading and why?

Materials

PowerPoint Champlains Journal Article 45 Minutes- One class period

Duration

Lesson Six, Day Seven and Eight Lesson Objectives

Adirondacks Spanish Brochure 1.Students will create a brochure for a friend from a Latin America country who is interested in living in the Adirondacks. 2. Students will be using some vocabulary form word wall. Teacher will hand out brochures done professionally and from previous classes. Students will give one reason why brochure was useful and one reason it was not useful. 1) Go over Bell Ringer 2) As a group discussion class will brainstorm ideas for the Brochure. 3) Teacher will be using a graphic organizer on the board while students give ideas for the brochure. 4) By deciding what needs to be incorporated into the brochure students will have created the rubric for this assignment. 5) Then class will be going to the computer lab to begin projects. 6) Students will have two class periods to complete brochure.

Bell Ringer

Procedure

Check For Understanding

Summative: Teacher will be collecting, evaluating, and grading brochures

Closure

Students sit in circle and everyone passes around brochures and has a small discussion on each brochure.

Materials/ Duration

Computer Two 45-minute class periods.

Lesson Eight, Day Nine Bell Ringer Lesson Objectives

Hike Get ready for Hike 1) Students will be able to see first hand the Adirondacks through a hike. 2) Students will have a journal to write down interesting things they saw along their hike 3) Each will also have their own camera to take pictures of their favorite scenery. 1) Each student will get ready for the hike 2) Each student will be assigned to a different Chaperone in groups of four. 3) Hike will last the day. 4) Each student has had a permission slip signed by guardian allowing them to go on the Hike 5) While going on the Hike students will journal about connections they see from they have learned 6) Students will also be taking photographs of scenery that they enjoyed. Formative- Checking journals and photographs that will be shared in the classroom. After hike have students say what there favorite thing was about learning about the Adirondacks and what they learned on there hike. Mountain, backpack, sneakers, water, snacks, camera, and journal. Full School Day

Procedure

Check for Understanding

Closure

Materials

Duration