Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Education
Plate Tectonic: Plates And Their Consequences [8th Grade], Alexander Serna-Wallender
Plate Tectonic: Plates And Their Consequences [8th Grade], Alexander Serna-Wallender
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
By the end of this unit students will able to identify the various layers of the earth and their characteristics. Students will be able to describe the relationship between the lithosphere and the mantle. Using their knowledge of this relationship, students will then be engaged in exploring how tectonic plates work and their interactions along plate boundaries. Students will also be able to predict the resulting geologic activity given a specific plate boundary type. Lastly, students will be able describe the formation and consequences of three common geologic events: earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building.
La Guerra Civil [8th Grade], Merida Elizondo
La Guerra Civil [8th Grade], Merida Elizondo
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
In this unit, students will explore the events and repercussions of the Spanish Civil War. Students will focus on how art illustrates world events and how an artist can be influenced by the world they occupy. Students will also take a look at how propaganda is used during war time and its effect on the population. This unit builds upon students’ knowledge of basic Spanish grammar and Spanish history. With the performance task, students will create a propaganda poster in the target language. The subject of the poster can be any issue students feel strongly about: the environment, politics, school …
This Graph Is Speaking To Me; How Do I Listen? [8th Grade], Matthew Patty
This Graph Is Speaking To Me; How Do I Listen? [8th Grade], Matthew Patty
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
This unit is written to address the 8th Grade Mathematics TEKS focused around statistics. Students will begin with an exploratory lesson in which they develop the requirements of a valid survey. They will then research and design three separate surveys that could be used to make claims about a population in their area. Next, students will pair up and carry out a survey at a local location. After the surveys, the students will bring their data back to the classroom and create presentations using at least four different types of graphical representations. Accompanying each graphical representation must be at least …
Rules, What Rules ? (Linear Equations, Y=,X/Y Tables, Graphing) [8th Grade], Catherine Risinger
Rules, What Rules ? (Linear Equations, Y=,X/Y Tables, Graphing) [8th Grade], Catherine Risinger
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
The students will be introduced to linear equations. The main understandings that I want my students to develop is that even though there are multiple ways to solve problems, each way and representation can convey the same information. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of linear equations by solving them using a situation, algebraically, graphically, and using a table. Students will be able to generate a different representation of data given another representation of the same data. Students will explore real world examples of linear equations and discuss when different representations of linear equations are better models to use even though …
Conjugation [8th Grade], Leigh Sheppard
Conjugation [8th Grade], Leigh Sheppard
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
In this unit students will learn how to conjugate AR, ER, and IR verbs successfully in the present tense. They will be asked to define what conjugation is and why it is important to communication in the target language. Students will reflect on their own language to help them grasp the new concept in Spanish. At the end of this unit, students will be asked to use their new skill to create a children’s book for the district’s bilingual program. The books will be donated to the program for use in their kindergarten classrooms. Students will use the correct conjugations …
I Didn’T Know That Was Poetry [8th Grade], Kara Dougherty
I Didn’T Know That Was Poetry [8th Grade], Kara Dougherty
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
In this unit students will study poetry and its relationship to prose. Students will gain an appreciation of poetry as an art form because they will understand that poetry surrounds us in our everyday life. It is not an outdated form of communication, but, rather, a form of communication which is present everywhere in our lives such as in song, nursery rhymes, advertisements, and brand names. The students will explore different types of poems and the specific rules for each type. In exploring poetry, students will learn to extract meaning not just from the words of the poem but also …
Heredity And The Environment [8th Grade], Dustin Demoin
Heredity And The Environment [8th Grade], Dustin Demoin
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
This unit attempts to provide the connections for a four week unit that covers Ecosystems, Genetics, and Stresses (both internal and external). The unit first recaps the information that should have already been covered in 6th and 7th grade with respect to ecosystems. This includes the performance assessment which centers on using their knowledge to reconnect the concepts they already know with the ones they are still struggling to learn. Next, the unit draws connections to genetics, specifically traits and DNA. These are impacted by the ecosystem and human and environmental factors. These factors are focused on last, but are …
Intro To Spanish I [8th Grade], Leigh Sheppard
Intro To Spanish I [8th Grade], Leigh Sheppard
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
In this unit, students will learn what basic conversation skills are and how they begin the process of language acquisition. They will define what a basic conversation is and what makes up how they appear to others. We will begin in the native language and end in the target. Students will create personal “web pages” about themselves in Spanish to be posted on “MiEspacio”, our created Spanish MySpace. Students will be able to describe themselves and carryon a polite conversation about themselves and their school in Spanish.
Holocaust [8th Grade], Allison Grant
Holocaust [8th Grade], Allison Grant
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
In this unit students will read Night by Elie Wiesel as a means for discovering the atrocities of the Holocaust. Our study will provide them with the opportunity to uncover the following understandings: prejudice generates powerful feelings which can lead to violent consequences and human suffering, suffering produces significant change in humans, and effective communication of the change in an individual can promote the growth of human society. As students read the nonfiction book and conduct research on the historical events surrounding the Holocaust they will answer the questions why does different matter? and can hope and despair coexist? Through …
U. S. Constitution [8th Grade], Ben Altman
U. S. Constitution [8th Grade], Ben Altman
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
In this unit, students will explore the U.S. Constitution. They will begin by analyzing the issues and debates of the colonial era that brought about the need for a more structured centralized government. They will then study the processes of creation and ratification, and examine how these processes have contributed to the documents longevity and success. They will further that examination by evaluating the actual words of the document. The culminating performance assessment will require students to create their own constitutional plan for the governance of their history classroom. They will present their plans to the class and examine the …
What Is Measurement? [8th Grade], Catherine Risinger
What Is Measurement? [8th Grade], Catherine Risinger
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
In this 8th grade unit, students will bridge their understanding of measurement from 7th grade Math to a new level which is required for the further development of Mathematical Skills. Students will gain a better understanding on the needed skills when solving for both direct and indirect measurement. Through the performance assessment students will design in small groups a 4,000 square foot home. Not only will students complete a scale drawing of their design they will also be building their design as well. This allows students to appreciate the amount of details that are required in the buildings that we …
Conflicts In Literature [8th Grade], Erin Phillips
Conflicts In Literature [8th Grade], Erin Phillips
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
In this unit, students will gain a greater understanding of conflict and its implications on life. The reading of short stories, biographies, and newspaper articles will guide the students in exploring the understandings that conflict brings about change, conflict is a catalyst of fiction, and that conflicts in literature can be applicable to our own lives. Performance task #1 invites students to delve into a newspaper article identifying the essential component of every story, (Does every story have a conflict?) conflict. The purpose is to locate the conflict and arrive at the conclusion that conflict is the determining factor of …
What Are Rational Numbers? [8th Grade], Catherine Risinger
What Are Rational Numbers? [8th Grade], Catherine Risinger
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
In this pre-algebra unit of rational numbers, students will further their understanding of rational numbers and its application to everyday experiences. Pre-algebra is the stepping stone to high school mathematics. Therefore, it is imperative for students to recognize and demonstrate that there are appropriate situations in which rational numbers should be used and their usefulness to us. In the culminating performance task, students are asked to develop and present a plan for the BBQ that they will be hosting for a specified number of people. The BBQ scenario allows students to apply their knowledge of rational numbers in order to …
The Giver [8th Grade], Melissa Garza
The Giver [8th Grade], Melissa Garza
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
Students will explore the implications of a society where personal freedom is eliminated for the benefit of all. Through the use of provocative questions, studies in contemporary issues in their school and nation, and reading of The Giver students will come to terms with their own understanding of this essential question: How much should a government be able to control your individual rights for the benefit of the society? Other essential questions include: Could something intended for the good of society really be bad? What makes an ideal society?
We Can Make A Difference [8th Grade], Lisa Sutherland
We Can Make A Difference [8th Grade], Lisa Sutherland
Understanding by Design: Complete Collection
In this unit students will be reading about a variety of injustices that exist both locally and around the world. Students will be uncovering the understanding that justice is not always a black and white issue and often has more than one perspective it can be seen from. Students will also see examples of individuals who have fought against injustice. Students will practice using their reading skills on both fiction and non-fiction pieces on this topic. Students will also participate in shared inquiry discussion and a debate wrestling with the ideas of justice. In the culminating performance task, students choose …