Professional Documents
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Content Unit
Content Unit
Content Unit
Every teacher has access to a curriculum and a planning guide for implementing the
standards for the different subjects. One thing the guides lack is a way to make a connection
from content to students’ lives, a way to make the learning real for them (Wellen, 2018). As
teachers we cannot assume that students have the ability to effectively read and analyze an
informational text simply because they can read words; students need to learn tools of inquiry
(Weaver, 2002). I use project-based approaches to promote questioning skills, and integrate
diverse content areas into my unit plans in order to create a deeper level of engagement and
understanding. I created the unit on the novel The Clay Marble to be a project-based approach to
Project-based approaches have been shown to improve student attitude, motivation, and
promote a deeper connection with the material. Learning benefits have been noted even in
students with learning disabilities (Halvorsen, Duke, Brugar, Block, Strachan, & Berka,
2012). Students need to actively connect to the subject, to create something. Learning is most
effective when students get to address a real-world problem, and when they investigate possible
solutions (Halvorsen, et al., 2012). For example, in the Clay Marble Unit the students were asked
to help make a Public Service Announcement raising awareness about Cambodia and think of
Students grow better at inquiry by searching for connections to the real world and their
experiences, asking themselves and one another questions before, during and after the readings
(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007). When teaching the Clay Marble unit, I asked my students to write a
letter from the point of view of a refugee as well as an alternate ending. I saw my students using
their questioning skills in asking one another’s feedback about their ideas and stories,
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researching details to use in their descriptive writing, examining illustrations for meaning, and
reflecting on the different possible endings and how they related to the rest of the story and
characters. These writing and journaling activities forced the students to question what it would
be like to personally experience what they are reading and to provide feedback to one another.
This ability to ask questions is important in making connections to the material; curiosity and
questioning are associated with higher-order thinking skills and teaching for understanding
integrate different subject areas into unit plans, while students simultaneously build their literacy
(Halvorsen, et al., 2012). My unit on the Clay Marble included social studies in the exploration
of the history of human rights, using math and geography to calculate distances between borders
and refugee camps, technology to gather information online, and several art projects that allowed
students to illustrate their understanding, as well as promote a solution for the problem.
There needs to be a purpose to our teaching, something that fosters a sense of citizenship,
responsibility to the community, an awareness of the rest of the world (Perrone, 1991). I believe
my unit on the Clay Marble did just that, awakening the students to a whole new world outside
and allowing them to personally connect with it, taking ownership of their actions amongst their
peers. Working with real problems and questions in a compelling way promotes the students’
References
Halvorsen, A.L., Duke, N. K., Brugar, K., Block, M., Strachan, S., Berka, M., Educational
Achievement Gap in Second-Grade Social Studies and Content Area Literacy: The
ANISIMOVA MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 3
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Harvey, S., Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for
Koechlin, C., Zwaan, S. (2014). Q Tasks: How to empower Students to Ask Questions and Care
Miller,D. (2009). The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. San
Perrone, V. (1991). A Letter to Teachers. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons
Weaver, C. (2009). Reading process: Brief edition of reading process and practice (3rd ed.).
Wellen, L., (2018). A Classroom for All Students: Project-Based Learning. Lutheran Education,
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