The History of This Unit
This unit is the culminating project for a course I am taking at East Carolina University labeled “EDUC 6001 – Introduction to Differences in Human Learning in Schools” taught by Professor Shea.
Photo by lori05871
My initial idea for this project that I submitted to my professor was:
I would like to create a multicultural unit of study for writing that is steeped in social issues for my fifth grade students. I will use multicultural themed picture books to introduce skills, concepts, and issues to my students. Mini-lessons will be planned with the picture books for the unit. I am thinking of using this for a persuasive writing unit that will consist of about 4-6 weeks worth of lessons.
I largely stayed true to my original idea; however, I have changed the writing outcome from persuasive writing to personal essay. I decided that when dealing with cultural and social issues, I do not want my students to convince other to think the same way as them, but to effectively share what they believe.
Feedback Please!
Please note that I continue this unit to be a draft for two reasons. One, I have not taught this unit to students. Only after using a lesson with a group of students can you truly begin to refine a unit and make it better. Two, I am still finding new ideas for this unit everyday! If you have suggestions or comments, SHARE!
When to Teach this Unit
This writing unit will follow halfway after a reading unit involving social issues begins. The instructional focus of the reading unit is social justice, understanding others’ differences, empathizing, inferring, interpreting, and themes (possibly involving homelessness, loneliness, poverty, injustice, and freedom). The background and exposure gained in the reading unit is a requisite for students to fully immerse themselves in personal essay writing seeped in social issues.
Goals of this Unit
The ultimate goal of this writing unit is to have students craft a well written personal essay (as described in the rubric) by “drawing on personal, literary, and cultural understandings”. The following objectives are the focus of my unit. Other (many other) objectives that are relevant to this unit are at the bottom of this document.
Fifth Grade Reading Focus Objectives
(Writers must learn from other writers by READING their writing.)
2.02Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, and viewing by:
- drawing on personal, literary, and cultural understandings.
- seeking additional information.
- making connections with previous experiences, information, and ideas.
2.10 Identify strategies used by a speaker or writer to inform, entertain, or influence an audience.
3.02 Make connections within and between texts by recognizing similarities and differences based on a common lesson, theme, or message.
Fifth Grade Writing Focus Objectives
(Writers must learn from other writers by READING their writing.)
4.09 Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., essay).
5.03 Elaborate information and ideas in speaking and writing by using:
- transitions.
Evaluation of Student Work
The student’s essay, as well as their work during the writing unit (they need to be held accountable!), will be evaluated using a Personal Essay Rubric created by Stacey of “Two Writing Teachers” at http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2007/11/30/personal-essay-rubric/.
Resources Used to Create this Unit
Many resources were used in the creation of this unit.
- Following the writer’s workshop format, Lucky Calkins Unit of Study entitled “Breathing Life into Essays”, was an invaluable resource. It can be found at http://www.unitsofstudy.com/iuos/tocBreathing.asp.
- The work from the wonderful Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) at http://rwproject.tc.columbia.edu/ has several examples of social issue reading units that I used when reflecting on what to put into my social issue writing unit.
- I also found inspiration at the blog “Two Writing Teachers” at http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/.
Mentor Texts to be Used in this Unit
(This texts will be read either during or before this unit.)
One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
The Bat Boy and His Violin by Gavin Curtis
*I also use these texts with a Fiction Writing Unit I teach.
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull
*I also use this text with a Biography Reading Unit I teach.
Beautiful Warrior: The Legend of the Nun’s Kung Fu by Emily Arnold McCully (I think a great introduction with this novel would be to mention the movie “Last Airbender” to get students excited.)
Ride Like the Wind: A Tale of the Pony Express by Bernie Fuchs
*I also use this text with a Fiction Reading Unit.
Examples of personal essays of fifth grade students in DEAL WITH IT! by “The Extended Day Girls” at http://www.amazon.com/DEAL-Extended-Day-Girls/dp/1425754368/ref=sr_1_1/104-7200843-0295116?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183021767&sr=1-1.
The Unit
(Click the image to see it full size.)
Each of these numbers does not necessarily reflect the length of one class or day – they simply represent one concept or idea.
1-Writers write about who they are. *Over the course of the generating lessons, create and add to the anchor chart: “Ways to Generate Essay Ideas”
“Who Am I” Writing Lesson
In an art class in college, I was introduced to the works of Frida Kahlo. In my search of resources for this unit, I stumbled across of self portrait by Frida, which sparked an idea. Students will examine pictures of artist self portraits and infer how that artist would answer the question – “Who am I?”. After discussing the artists, students will then turn the lens on themselves and write in their journals, “Who am I?”.
Self Portraits
- Self Portraits by Frida Kahlo at http://www.tate.org.uk/tateetc/issue4/fridakahlo1.htm or http://mati.eas.asu.edu:8421/ChicanArte/html_pages/kahlo5.lrgest.html (This one is great for discussing multiple cultural identities).
- Self Portraits by Andy Warhol at http://www.artquotes.net/masters/warhol-portraits.htm
Alternative lessons (great for the beginning the year) about students defining themselves can be found at:
2- Writers focus on big ideas rather than small moments in essays. Have student revisit themes of mentor texts. Have student use list of themes to generate their own ideas.
3-Writers write about issues that matter in their lives. Students create “I believe…” statements after listening to student mentor text.
“This I Believe” Writing Lesson
Have students listen to “Thirty Things I Believe” by Kindergartener Tarak McLain of Austin, Texas by http://thisibelieve.org/essay/57159/. Then have students create their own lists of “Things I Believe”.
4-Writers use mentor texts to spark ideas. Students create t-chart of “What I Notice” and “What it Makes Me Think” using other student essay examples.
Mentor Essays
Have students read (or listen) to the following mentor essays. In lesson 5, they use these essays for idea generation. In lesson 5, they use these essays to compare to narrative text. Other potential uses of the essays are indicated so they can possibly be used in other lessons in the unit if needed.
- America’s Beauty Is In Its Diversity by Alaa El-Saad of Austin, Texas at http://thisibelieve.org/essay/42798/- Great Essay to Compare with One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
- A Duty To Family, Heritage And Country by Ying Ying Yu of Princeton Junction, New Jersey at http://thisibelieve.org/essay/8560/ – Great Essay to Exemplify a “What ______(Duty, Love, Freedom, etc.) Means to Me” Structure
- Accomplishing Big Things in Small Pieces by William Wissemann of Hastings of Hudson, New York at http://thisibelieve.org/essay/39318/. – Great Essay to Show Example of Starting and Ending with a Similar/Same Idea (Full-circle)
5-Writers compare different types of writing. Have students compare narrative and non-narrative writing. Create anchor chart: Characteristics of Non-narrative writing
6- Writers use conversational prompts to spur elaboration.
7- Writers reread to find seed ideas (thesis statements) and test out how they think that idea may go.
8 – Writers use sentence frames to plan their ideas.
10 – Writers angle mini-stories to support their main ideas.
11- Writers can use lists of examples, rather than stories, to support their main ideas. Use Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream” Speech as a mentor text.
12- Writers can rely on other people’s stories to support their ideas. Revisit mentor texts!
13 – Writers gather a variety of information to support their thesis (like quotes, statistics, and questions).
14 – Writers organize their information to prepare for writing a draft.
15 - Writers use transition words to logically sequence their essay.
16 - Writers use several phrases to help introduce and conclude essays.
17 - Writers experiment with different ways to begin and end their essay.
18 - Writers revise writing by reading to a partner and asking, “Does this make sense?”
19 – Additional Revision (Depends on class needs!)
20 – Editing (Depends on class needs!)
21 – Before creating final draft, have student self-assess using personal essay rubric.
22 – Creating Final Draft
23 – Celebration
24 – Possible Unit Assessment – Creating a New Essay
Other Ideas
If a student feels very passionately about an issue, you may want to have them create a rant poem. I found the idea of a rant poem at http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/rant/. The “how to” for creating a rant poem is at http://www.ehow.com/how_5145194_write-rant-poem.html.
Other ideas can be found at This I Believe – A Public Dialogue about Belief – One Essay at a Time at http://thisibelieve.org/. I searched the “Under 18” essays so my students would view the examples of possible for themselves to create. I found four examples to share with my class. I had already begun writing my unit and I rewrote part of it after finding the following example which lent itself well for a topic generating strategy. You may find other essays that relate better to your students at this site.
When embarking on creating this unit, I received much advice from other teachers in my district. Many of them cited the following book as must to read:
- For a Better World: Reading and Writing for Social Action by Katherine Bomer and Randy Bomer. It can be found at http://www.amazon.com/Better-World-Reading-Writing-Social/dp/0325002630/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1. I admit that I have not yet read this book, but it is on my must read list.
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/patch/patchtg.html (This is actually an entire unit about culture!)
Fifth Grade Objectives
The following fifth grade NCSCOS objectives are related to this unit.
Fifth Grade Language Arts Objectives
2.02 Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, and viewing by:
- drawing on personal, literary, and cultural understandings.
- seeking additional information.
- making connections with previous experiences, information, and ideas.
2.05 Evaluate inferences, conclusions, and generalizations and provide evidence by referencing the text(s).
2.07 Evaluate the usefulness and quality of information and ideas based on purpose, experiences, text(s), and graphics.
2.09 Listen actively and critically by:
- asking questions.
- delving deeper into the topic.
- elaborating on the information and ideas presented.
- evaluating information and ideas.
- making inferences and drawing conclusions.
- making judgments.
2.10 Identify strategies used by a speaker or writer to inform, entertain, or influence an audience.
3.01 Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by:
- analyzing word choice and content.
- examining reasons for a character’s actions, taking into account the situation and basic motivation of the character.
- creating and presenting a product that effectively demonstrates a personal response to a selection or experience.
- examining alternative perspectives.
- evaluating the differences among genres.
- examining relationships among characters.
- making and evaluating inferences and conclusions about characters, events, and themes.
3.02 Make connections within and between texts by recognizing similarities and differences based on a common lesson, theme, or message.
4.02 Use oral and written language to:
- formulate hypotheses.
- evaluate information and ideas.
- present and support arguments.
- influence the thinking of others.
4.03 Make oral and written presentations to inform or persuade selecting vocabulary for impact.
4.04 Select a self-evaluated composition for publication and justify rationale for selection.
4.05 Use a variety of preliminary strategies to plan and organize the writing and speaking task considering purpose, audience, and timeline.
4.06 Compose a draft that elaborates on major ideas and adheres to the topic by using an appropriate organizational pattern that accomplishes the purpose of the writing task and effectively communicates its content.
4.07 Compose a variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using selfselected topic and format (e.g., poetry, research reports, news articles, letters to the editor, business letters).
4.08 Focus revision on target elements by:
- improving word choice.
- rearranging text for clarity.
- creating simple and/or complex sentences for clarity or impact.
- developing a lead, characters, or mood.
4.09 Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., essay, feature story, business letter).
4.10 Use technology as a tool to enhance and/or publish a product. Competency
5.01 Consistently use correct capitalization (e.g., names of magazines, newspapers, organizations) and punctuation (e.g., colon to introduce a list, commas in apposition, commas used in compound sentences).
5.02 Demonstrate understanding in speaking and writing by using:
- troublesome verbs.
- nominative, objective, and possessive pronouns.
5.03 Elaborate information and ideas in speaking and writing by using:
- prepositional phrases.
- transitions.
- coordinating and/or subordinating conjunctions.
5.04 Determine the impact of word choice on written and spoken language.
5.05 Spell most commonly used words accurately using a multi-strategy approach to the learning of new spellings.
5.06 Proofread for accuracy of spelling using appropriate strategies to confirm spelling and to correct errors.
5.07 Edit final product for grammar, language conventions, and format.
5.08 Create readable documents through legible handwriting (cursive) and word processing.
Fifth Grade Social Studies Objectives
3.01 Locate and describe people of diverse ethnic and religious cultures, past and present, in the United States.
3.03 Identify examples of cultural interaction within and among the regions of the United States.
3.07 Describe art, music, and craft forms in the United States and compare them to various art forms in Canada, Mexico, and selected countries of Central America.
Fifth Grade Visual Arts Objectives
4.01 Compare and contrast the work of various artists’ styles and cultures.
5.01 Begin to recognize that art is the visual record of the history of mankind.
5.04 Compare art of one culture to that of another culture or time.
5.05 Recognize selected individual style characteristics of an artist.
5.06 Compare and contrast selected major artists and artwork.
5.08 Recognize there are many universal themes in art throughout history
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