Education Commons^™

5th Grade Adaptation, Michael Carroll

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

A 10 day lesson plan for teaching students in the 5th grade about Biology; specifically on adaptation, inherited traits, and learned behaviors.

Our Roots, Our Branches: Listening And Writing To Tell A School's Story, Michael Shay

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

In this unit, students will explore the identity of their school community through story. Students will examine why we tell stories, how stories are told, whose stories are told, and how the storyteller's identity and perspective shapes the story.

Students will engage with stories in print, artifacts, school data, and visuals to examine the history of their school. They will then explore how various stakeholders in the school's past and present give different perspectives about the school and important moments in its life.

The unit culminates with a performance task in which students prepare for and conduct interviews of multiple …

Ap United States History: Period 4 (1800-1848), Kelsey Toms

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is designed for Advanced Placement United States History. It is based on the Fall 2019 update of the course description by College Board. This unit covers Period 4 (1800-1848) and focuses on opposing perspectives, political parties, and identity as core themes. The download includes the Understanding by Design outline as well as the lesson plans for each learning activity.

La Frontera Y La Comunicación: How Language Influences Our Identity, Josie Hammons, Claudia Fernanda Ramirez

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is designed for IB Spanish B Standard level year 1 and year 2 and it is aligned to the core topic Identidades although it can also be used in AP Spanish language or other higher level Spanish classes. Students must have completed at least 2 years of Spanish prior to taking the class. The purpose of this unit is to begin the year by demonstrating the relevance and importance of language as part of our identity as human beings. In this unit, we will incorporate history, theory of knowledge, linguistics, and composition in a variety of assessments. The …

Understanding Poetry: 5th Grade Introduction To Writing Poetry, Samantha Bos, Jackie Jaramillo

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit introduces 5th grade students to 5 primary poetic forms: haiku, limerick, cinquain, narrative poetry, and free verse. This unit includes a brief review of similes and metaphors and can likely be adapted for younger or older students. This poetry unit is projected to take 13-14 class days, but it can be extended or reduced depending on the needs of the class. The final performance task is writing a poem that will be performed in a poetry slam.

Culture And Identity In Novels Centered Around Women Of Color, Blake R. Keeling

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Designed to actually utilize the summer reading for rising sophomores, this unit focuses on culture and identity in the novels White Teeth by Zadie Smith, The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, and Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo. Students chose which of these books they wanted to read during the summer and the unit focuses on marrying the themes and characters of these books together. Students will be able to make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections through a persuasive one-pager and a creative final project where students will make connections from the novels to their world history class. Can …

Thinking Geographically Mapping Portfolio, Dalynn Robinson, Blake R. Keeling

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This unit is designed to introduce the students to the foundations of thinking geographically. Students will create a map portfolio that applies to the big ideas of AP Human Geography. Students will critically analyze and reflect on the “why of where” to understand geographic perspective by utilizing quantitative and qualitative data. Students will turn in a map portfolio that will address purpose, patterns, and spatial relationships among places.

Early Civilizations: Create Your Own, Waynne Warren

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This unit explores Early Man, the Neolithic Revolution, the development of the River Valley Civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley and China), as well as Ancient Greece, Persia, and Rome. The unit ends with a performance task where the students use what they have learned in this unit to create their own civilization.

The Untold Stories Project, Zachary Wilson, Sarah Hudson

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Students will learn the stories that have been left out of the dominant narrative of history. In 6th grade, students will study the experiences of Native Americans, African-Americans, and women to discover how these groups have been left out of the story of how America began. In 7th grade, students will discover how Native Americans and Tejanos were the first Texans, and explore the enduring legacy of segregation in San Antonio today.

Students will demonstrate meaning-making and transfer by creating an exhibit for a living history museum which would take place at an off-campus venue (such as a museum, a …

Sharing Stories: An Introduction To Literary Writing And Analysis (9th Grade), Talia Howard

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The purpose and intent of this unit is to provide 9th grade English students (in either Pre-AP or Grade-Level placements) with the foundational skills and understandings needed for English, particularly for literary analysis, at the high school level as well as to help students build an appreciation for literature and narrative forms. The framework and context in which the unit is designed is based on longer, ~9-week-long learning blocks based on skills-development in reading and writing, and the unit is intended to be implemented either at the beginning of the year or as the students’ introduction to literary analysis, to …

Greek Mythology: Understanding The Allusions, Heather M. Patillo

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This unit focuses on basic Greek myths beginning with the 12 Olympians. It includes myths about creation and stories about heroes. Students explore the elements of myths as well as the purpose of myths. This exploration leads students into the study of Greek mythical allusions, what they are and how they impact literature and everyday life. By the end of the unit, students should understand how Greek myths impact literature and everyday life.

Evaluating Functions And Their Domain And Range - 8th/9th Grade Algebra, Melanie R. Webb

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The goal of this algebra unit is to solidify student understanding of functions and ensure they can express domain and range for discrete and continuous functions. Students will also be expected to evaluate functions. The unit includes lesson plans for 10 class days along with many supplemental materials including activities, pre-test, data tracker, and quiz. The function unit culminates with a performance assessment (rubric included) where students create their own function machine and complete an accompanying document to show the depth of their understanding.

Community Helpers (Pre-Kindergarten), Michele Saenz, Leslie Davenport

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This unit addresses the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines “VII.B.3. Child discusses the roles and responsibilities of community workers. VII.C.2. Child explores geography tools and resources.” At the conclusion of this unit, students will understand that community helpers have a variety of roles and responsibilities including different uniforms, tools, vehicles, places and jobs. Students will understand how community helpers help our community thrive and the places in our community where we can find community helpers. Students will demonstrate understanding by role playing and engaging in play with a peer.

Fiction/ Nonfiction Writing, Grades 1-2, Lisa Schmidt, Samara Sance

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

No abstract provided.

Survey Says: Graphing And Data Analysis (3rd Grade), Shayna Rosenthal, Courtney Gold

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This unit focuses on how we can better understand and address real-world questions through data analysis and inquiry. Students will learn to identify and use graphical representations in order to help them create their own graphing project. This unit is intended to be used in a 3rd grade classroom. It will take approximately 7 days to complete.

The Story Of Periodicity: An Exploration Of Sam Kean’S The Disappearing Spoon For Chemistry And English, Elizabeth Muire, Kay Newsome

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This unit incorporates knowledge of chemistry and English. Students will read and analyze, write persuasively, and explore the possibilities of storytelling to convey scientific ideas. They explore how the form and function of the periodic table is organized by the form and function of the elements on it, and extrapolate how the table could be continued. Students will design the potential next row of the table, once they have a clear understanding of how the current rows were discovered.

First Week Intro: Growth And Vulnerability (10th Grade Ap World History And English Ii), Ileana Sherry

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

In the Growth and Vulnerability Unit, we hope to introduce to students concepts, skills, and assignments that will be recurring throughout the year. The interdisciplinary unit is meant for tenth graders taking a combined class of AP World History and English II, but it can be applied to any grade or content area with some adaptations. The unit concentrates on foundational writing skills: in the properly formatted paragraph (A.P.E.), citing scholarly sources (APA), using evidence to support a persuasive argument, and collaboration and presentation skills. Students will be able to independently recognize different perspectives, begin to develop a growth mindset …