Unit Plan for Combined 11th Grade U.S. History and English Literature

4-Week Unit Plan for Combined 11th Grade U.S. History and English LiteratureDeveloped byDaniel McFarlane

Student Learning Outcomes/ObjectivesUnderstand and comprehend the social and economic themes of the Great Depression through literature and historical studyNew York State Standards: English Language ArtsCommencement Level/11th grade

New York State Standards: Social StudiesCommencement Level

3ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Students (NET-S)Communication and CollaborationStudents use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:

A. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and mediaB. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formatsC. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other culturesD. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problemsStudent Demographics/Population11th grade U.S. History classStudent population: 181 student with a visual impairmentMajority of students are at or just above reading grade level literacy. Small percentage have a learning disability-Reading comprehension and decoding.Two Different Learning Groups1 student with visual impairment. Student will be assigned the same reading list, but required text has been modified with larger print. The student will be accommodated by having their chosen reading assigned one-week earlier to provide additional time.A laptop will be used when running videos to accommodate students vision impairment and video magnifying software will be used as needed.Final assessment project will have an operating system with special-accessibility options (screen enlargement, adjustment of keyboard, etc..).Students with reading comprehension and decoding issuesA variety of graphic organizer software and reading strategies will be implemented to assist in reading the assigned text (K-W-L, SQ3R, etc.).Additional time will be provided for the students to read assigned text and 1:1 time with reading teacher to assist in comprehension and decoding. The reading teacher will use talking electronic software to pronounce challenging words for the students.Students may work with the reading teacher or myself for the learning log. This will help with comprehension and development.

Target Goals: Essential QuestionsHow does the economy change citizens perceptions about government?How does the government change society through domestic policy?How do social issues impact literature and authors views and perceptions of history?What is the difference between a piece of written literature and the presentation of authentic historical facts, data and events?Lesson StructureThe Hookhttp://www.bringinghistoryhome.org/assets/bringinghistoryhome/4th-grade/unit-2/4_dep_depression_game.pdfThis game is designed as a class simulation to provide a realistic and tangible feel for how people, politicians, banks and others interacted and dealt with the worst economic period in American history. This emulates the real life trauma that different people endured during The Great Depression.The BridgeReview previous lessons and issues that led to the Great Depression.Review previous English courses for contextualization related to this course and unit.Special MaterialsLarge Print booksLaptop ComputerOperating system special-accessibility options (screen enlargement)Letter and word magnification software

Steps of the Lesson4 Week Unit/11th GradeIntroduce the Great Depression and Wall Street Collapse of 1929.Discuss period literature and its importance to History.Choose one of three readings for class:Grapes of Wrath by John SteinbeckA Room of My Own: A Novel by Ann TatlockDear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters from Children of the Great Depression by Robert Cohen, EditorVideo presentationFranklin D. Roosevelt and 1933 announcement of government actions for recovery.http://www.besthistorysites.net/USHistory_GreatDepression.shtml

This video is being shown to show why John Steinbeck wrote about the Great Depression years and what Americans were enduring during that historical period.Steps of Lesson ContinuedCompare and contrast business interests and overall American economic collapse and unemployment (1929-1940).Discuss issues surrounding the presidential election between Hoover and Roosevelt (1932).Understand voting patterns of 1932 with other American elections and the economic climate.Discuss readings by students and social/economic issues of the era.Mini-assessment (students in pairs-use computers to compare/contrast election of 1932 to 2008 and document findings-followed by class discussion).John Steinbeck and the Grapes of Wrath video presentation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqaTv8cCWeg&feature=player_detailpage

Steps of lesson ContinuedDiscuss New Deal-policies and initiatives.

The outcome for the audio portion of FDRs discussion on the New Deal is to understand what was being said then and how the President presented his ideas and how he wanted to get America back to work.Economic issues in Europe-lead in to WWII.Americas entry into WWII and economic implications.Readings should be complete by end of unit (4 week period).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/economy-watch/fireside-chats/

Assessment/Rubric BasedGreat Depression/Economy/Elections and LiteratureStudents are provided the following as there assessment for this unit:Assessment rationale: This assessment is designed to provide an authentic way to collaborate and work together in demonstrating a grasp of all the critical events for The Great Depression and its associated literature. I believe as a group-based project, they will better learn and have the opportunity to use a form of technology to convey understanding of concepts and materials.

Technology-based Presentation/Learning LogStudents will utilize the website Webspiration to collaboratively develop a comprehensive time-line to demonstrate a clear and concise understanding of events, literature, politics, government programs and social and economic impacts of that era. Students will be broken up into six (6) groups of three (3) to do this component and presentation. Students will use graphics, colors, dates, fonts and overall creativity to produce their time lines.The students also will write a total of 4 paragraphs in their learning logs, which is on their individual Wikispaces, to provide them an opportunity to use their writing skills and reflect on what they learned over the past month. They will be graded independently on this portion of the assessment.

Assessment Criterion/StudentsGreat Depression/Economy/Elections and LiteratureDevelop and design a timeline that easily conveys an understanding of the events from the Great Depression (1929-1940).Include the use of readings assigned in class and show connections between readings and the Great Depression era.Show an understanding of dates, facts and time progression for this unit of study.The timeline should display a minimum of five events and images related to the Great Depression and will include components of history taught and assigned literature. (Examples contained herewith)Graphics should show a relationship to the Great Depression and be effective in conveying the theme of that time.All material presented on the timeline should be date accurate and consistent with the Great Depression.Using the timeline show a connection between the events of the Great Depression and one other time frame that we discussed in U.S. history. Show an understanding of economics, literature and history. Be creative and innovative in this endeavor.

Examples of Appropriate Images

Project Rubric4321Contents/FactsFacts were accurate for all events reported on the timeline.Facts were accurate for almost all events reported on the timeline.Facts were accurate for most of the events reported on the timeline.Facts were often inaccurate for events reported on the timeline.Learning of ContentThe student can accurately describe the events of The Great Depression on the timeline without referring to it and can quickly determine which of two events occurred first.The student can generally describe the events of The Great Depression on the timeline without referring to it and can quickly determine which of two events occurred first.The student can describe any event of The Great Depression on the timeline if allowed to refer to it and can determine which of two events occurred first.The student cannot use the timeline effectively to describe events of The Great Depression nor to compare events. DatesAccurate and complete dates were included for each event during The Great Depression.Accurate and complete dates were included for almost every event during The Great Depression. Accurate dates were included for almost every event during The Great Depression.Dates are inaccurate and/or missing for several events during The Great Depression.GraphicsAll graphics are effective and balanced with text use.All graphics are effective, but there appear to be too few or too many.Some graphics are effective and their use is balanced with text use. Graphics are not effective.Creativity/Fonts and ColorsThe use of font styles and colors is consistent and adds to the creativity of the poster. It helps organize the material.The use of font styles and colors is consistent and somewhat adds to the creativity of the poster. It helps organize the material somewhat.The use of font styles and colors is consistent, but is not creative or used effectively to organize.The use of font styles and colors is not consistent and is not creative OR detracts from the organization.Project RubricTime UseClassroom time was used to work on the project. Conversations were not disruptive and focused on the work.Classroom time was used to work on the project the majority of the time. Conversations were not disruptive and focused on the work.Classroom time was used to work on the project the majority of the time, but conversations often were disruptive or did not focus on the work.Student did not use classroom time to work on the project and/or was highly disruptive.ResourcesThe timeline contained at least 8-10 events related to The Great Depression.The timeline contained at least 6-7 events related to The Great Depression.The timeline contained at least 5 events related to The Great Depression.The timeline contained fewer than 5 events related to The Great Depression.Project RubricGraphicsThere was extensive use of graphics, video, and other forms of technology that were used effectively. There was an effective use of graphics, video, and other forms of technology but there seemed to be too many or too few. Some graphics, video, and other forms of technology were effective. Several graphics are not effective. Software Learning The student knows how to use the software and can accurately and clearly answer almost any question related to how to perform certain functions.The student knows how to use the software and can accurately and clearly answer many questions related to how to perform certain functions.The student knows how to use some parts of the software and can accurately and clearly answer a few questions related to how to perform certain functions.The student does not appear to know how to use the software without assistance.Technology-based PresentationDifferentiation Pairs for computer project Individual reading assignment of booksOralVideo (two presented)Period LiteratureWriting on WhiteboardQ and A sessionsGroup work on computers, class discussionDevelop poster project/technology-based presentation

Changes for Next Time

Evaluate length of unit and time spent presenting.More options/different options of books.Rigor of final assessment.Add a guest speaker to talk about Great Depression.

Teacher ReflectionsDid my teaching meet the goals and objectives of my unit on The Great Depression?Did I meet the New York State Standards and ISTE standards for students?

Did I meet the needs of all my students and provide the tools necessary to help them succeed in this unit?Were the choices in literature appropriate and impactful to enhance the study of The Great Depression?Were the essential questions that were associated with this unit answered in a comprehensive manner for my students?

Did the Bringing History Home-The Great Depression Game provide a good learning opportunity and meet the goals of game-based learning?

Did I use a variety of multimedia to add instructional and experiential value to this unit?

Was the technology I used accessible to all of my students?

Did this lesson use best practices effectively?

Was my assessment authentic and provided a good way to reflect and bring all of the components of this lesson together?Would I make any changes next time to improve this unit for my students?

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