Unit 8: "I am a citizen of the world." -Sylvia Beach
Length: 2 weeks
May 18th-may 29th
Rationale:
Unit 8, the final unit of the year, will be used as summative assessment and wrap-up of the entire year. Using my two overarching concepts, I will ask students to reflect deeply on what they have discussed, read, and created throughout the year. Students will have the opportunity to think critically about what they have learned over the course of the year, they will pull works from their process portfolio’s to assess their learning, and finally they will generate a list in which they believe their grade for the course should be assessed. On top of all this, students will write a personal narrative about their journey of the 9th grade experience. Once this is written, I will share the personal narrative that they wrote at the beginning of the year. This will allow students to see how much they have grown as students, individuals, and citizens of the world.
Students will determine their own assessment by “generating tasks and questions through which their engagement with the course can be evaluated” (Smagorinsky, 62). Since my entire year addresses student choice, individuality, and community, students will be familiar and prepared for how to go about creating this assessment. By giving them the opportunity to grade themselves, “they can synthesize their understanding and create new knowledge” (Smagorinsky, 63). I will take these grades and student opinion into consideration when determining their final grades for the course.
Unit Goals:
-To complete the final definition of journey and how it shapes self-identity and world view
-To reflect on the texts, assignments, and units and write a personal narrative that defines the journey of the year.
-To assess and finalize student learning and involvement as a class.
Texts:
-Article: “Life is A Journey” by Shannon Spaunburg
-Video: “Jim Carrey’s Secret of Life”
Activities:
-Assessment Discussion and List: Students will discuss what we've learned throughout the semester and develop a list of what they feel are the main components that their overall grade should be based on.
-Trivia: The last day of class will be a trivia day that wraps up everything we've discussed throughout the year.
Assignments:
-Response to Portfolio: Students will view the work that they have in their portfolio and write a response to themselves about what they have improved on, what they still need to improve on, and what assignments helped them improve.
-The Grade I Deserve: Students will write a rationale for the grade that they think that they deserve for the overall course. They will use their portfolio, culminating texts, and any other information to support their argument.
Culminating Texts:
-My 9th Grade Journey: Students will write a personal narrative about their experiences of this year. They will cover how they've grown, what they've learned, and how this year has added to their world view and personal identity.
Assessment Tools:
-Rubric: A rubric will be used to assess students culminating texts on "My 9th Grade Journey." Students will be graded on reflection of experiences (content), organization, creativity, and effort.
-Final Grade: Using the student's "The Grade I Deserve," I will determine their overall grade and explain this to them during the conference.
-Conferences: Students will meet with me to discuss their portfolio, major culminating texts, and what they've learned throughout the semester.
Unit Calendar:
Unit 8, the final unit of the year, will be used as summative assessment and wrap-up of the entire year. Using my two overarching concepts, I will ask students to reflect deeply on what they have discussed, read, and created throughout the year. Students will have the opportunity to think critically about what they have learned over the course of the year, they will pull works from their process portfolio’s to assess their learning, and finally they will generate a list in which they believe their grade for the course should be assessed. On top of all this, students will write a personal narrative about their journey of the 9th grade experience. Once this is written, I will share the personal narrative that they wrote at the beginning of the year. This will allow students to see how much they have grown as students, individuals, and citizens of the world.
Students will determine their own assessment by “generating tasks and questions through which their engagement with the course can be evaluated” (Smagorinsky, 62). Since my entire year addresses student choice, individuality, and community, students will be familiar and prepared for how to go about creating this assessment. By giving them the opportunity to grade themselves, “they can synthesize their understanding and create new knowledge” (Smagorinsky, 63). I will take these grades and student opinion into consideration when determining their final grades for the course.
Unit Goals:
-To complete the final definition of journey and how it shapes self-identity and world view
-To reflect on the texts, assignments, and units and write a personal narrative that defines the journey of the year.
-To assess and finalize student learning and involvement as a class.
Texts:
-Article: “Life is A Journey” by Shannon Spaunburg
-Video: “Jim Carrey’s Secret of Life”
Activities:
-Assessment Discussion and List: Students will discuss what we've learned throughout the semester and develop a list of what they feel are the main components that their overall grade should be based on.
-Trivia: The last day of class will be a trivia day that wraps up everything we've discussed throughout the year.
Assignments:
-Response to Portfolio: Students will view the work that they have in their portfolio and write a response to themselves about what they have improved on, what they still need to improve on, and what assignments helped them improve.
-The Grade I Deserve: Students will write a rationale for the grade that they think that they deserve for the overall course. They will use their portfolio, culminating texts, and any other information to support their argument.
Culminating Texts:
-My 9th Grade Journey: Students will write a personal narrative about their experiences of this year. They will cover how they've grown, what they've learned, and how this year has added to their world view and personal identity.
Assessment Tools:
-Rubric: A rubric will be used to assess students culminating texts on "My 9th Grade Journey." Students will be graded on reflection of experiences (content), organization, creativity, and effort.
-Final Grade: Using the student's "The Grade I Deserve," I will determine their overall grade and explain this to them during the conference.
-Conferences: Students will meet with me to discuss their portfolio, major culminating texts, and what they've learned throughout the semester.
Unit Calendar:
Standards: