Education Commons^™

Take A Chance On Probabiliy - 7th Grade, Melanie R. Webb

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

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Sleuthing The Buffalo Wars, Mark A. Mccullough

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This is an entertaining Flipped Instruction unit on the Buffalo Wars that was designed for a 5-6 grade independent school classroom; however, this unit can be adapted for a 7th grade Texas History classroom. The main focus and eventual performance task for students is to answer the question “Whose Buffalo?” While employing this unit, please take into consideration the narration and Flipped Instruction as not a means to an end but as a start – I encourage anyone who uses this unit to perhaps re-narrate the flipped instruction portion of this unit to tailor the information to your specific student, …

Páginas De Caras: Willa Cather’S Characters In The Twenty-First Century, Amy Taffet

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To prepare our eighth grade students for their interdisciplinary eighth grade trip to Taos, New Mexico, students read Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop, which narrates the adventures of two priests, Father Latour and Father Valliant, who attempt to evangelize the peoples of New Mexico. To enrich this cross-curricular experience, our initial goal is that the students develop an appreciation for Cather’s novel. Not only will they have the opportunity to visit the church, homes, and missions of Cather’s characters in Taos while learning about this period in history, science, and religion classes, but also students will be able …

Humanities Approach To An Analyze Of Short Stories In The Romantic Period [8th Grade], Mary Mac Elliot, Melissa Exley

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The submitted unit is the second in a series covering the Ante-bellum period. This unit focuses on the accumulation of knowledge of the economic and political issues of the time with a narrowed focus/extension of the social aspect (Romanticism). Students will be exposed to art, poetry, and short stories and how they embody the Romantic ideas. This unit also focuses on plot development and analyzing literature with the use of plot diagrams and the SOAPSTONE model.

The end result of this unit is to have students write a short story that occurs in one of the three regions of Ante-bellum …

Physical Properties [3rd Grade], Leslie Davenport, Heather Mcomber

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This is a unit focused on a TEK from the Curriculum Framework for the STAAR Alternate. Students will understand that everything is made up of matter and that matter can change from one state to another. Throughout the unit, students will learn about physical properties, the different states of matter, and about completing and writing experiment procedures. At the end of the unit students will complete an experiment where they have to change crayons into different states in order to create a multicolored crayon.

Subject And Direct Object [8th-9th Grade], Amy Barnett

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This unit is designed to be one of the first grammar units for Latin I students. Students will be introduced to one of the most foundational differences between English grammar and Latin grammar, and they will build off these understandings in future grammar units. Students will examine subjects and direct objects in English as well as in Latin, and eventually create a short story in Latin with sentences that include subjects and direct objects. Additionally, they will come up with an analogy for the relationship between subjects and direct objects and apply it to the sentences they have written.

Inside And Outside: Wonder And Let’S Relate To Genetics: Dna, Stephany Weaver

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This unit is designed for the second semester of sixth grade as introduction to informational text. The unit focuses on determining importance in informational text and making inferences in fictional and informational text. Students will analyze text features in informational texts and author’s purpose. Students will be asked to think about the way DNA affects our lives and the possibility of DNA alterations. Students will understand that authors organize a text to highlight the main idea and important information.

Shaping Community - Teamwork And Critical Thinking, Alexander Serna-Wallender

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By the end of this unit students should be able to effectively work with any number of people as members of a team. Students will be able to recognize the consequences of their own actions and how those affect a larger group. Additionally, students will be able to develop the skills need to navigate conflict that arises in group settings. Along with that, students will develop their critical thinking skills to effective engage in problem solving. All of this is leading up to students being able to, as a group, identify an issue in their community and work towards addressing …

The Grammar Comic Book Pbl [9th Grade], Kristina Ford

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In the wake of the new state test (EOC/STAAR), students are being commanded not only to write three coherent essays in four hours, but also to employ effective syntax, diction, grammar, and punctuation in their writing. It’s a brilliant ideal that, in reality, more than half of ninth grade students across the state are struggling to meet. The question that surfaces, then, is why are so many students unable to write effectively? And, how can teachers help these struggling students gain the confidence and skills to write well? Most teachers know that in order for students to become good writers, …

Where Everyone’S Place Is Valued: A Numeration Unit, Karen Morrison

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This is our first unit in 3rd grade math. It focuses specifically on Base Ten/Numeration, with a main emphasis on place value and money. Aligned with state standards, the students will be able to read, write in the three different forms (standard, expanded and written) and compare numbers up to the hundred-thousand place; additionally, students will be able to count collections of bills & coins and to solve real-world situations in which money is exchanged. The performance assessment is entitled: Ritzy Roadrunner Resort. Students will be invited to participate in an imaginative ritzy summer vacation, much like present day Atlantis …

Matter, Density, And Buoyancy [6th-8th Grade], Reid Agan

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This unit provides students with basic understanding of what matter is and how different states of matter interact with one another. Students use concepts of mass, volume, and density to understand natural cycles of states of matter as well as buoyancy. UNDERSTANDINGS: 1. Matter is neither created nor destroyed, but can change states. 2. State of matter is dependent on energy and density of particles. 3. Changes in states of matter causes natural continuous cycles on Earth. (water cycle, rock cycle, convection weather patterns)

Longitudinal Study Of An Aquatic Ecosystem [11th-12th Grade], Maxwell Fazio

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This unit is designed to be taught in AP environmental science (APES). It is a year-long unit that allows students to conduct an authentic longitudinal study of an aquatic ecosystem. Students are instructed to gather data on a weekly basis and then analyze it for patterns or trends. This will be done in the klong (canal) just outside of the American School of Bangkok. Note that the instructor can adapt this unit to accommodate their local environment. The entire class will compile data on a variety of variables using a shared online document. Students will learn to analyze the health …

En El Vecindario, Leah A. Morton-Gittens

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This unit addresses one enduring understanding: success in any situation depends on a person’s ability to communicate information effectively. Students will demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills through the creation of job advertisements and resumes, as well as participation in a job fair as employers and potential employees. This unit addresses all five categories of National Standards in Foreign Language Education (Communication, Culture, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities), and features a variety of cooperative and communicative learning strategies.

The Power Of Persuasion, Lauren Hickey

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This unit focuses on persuasive elements and writing. Students are tasked with reading higher level material and identifying the rhetorical elements that make up an argument. The unit asks students to consider multiple ethical issues and analyze the rhetorical devices used to portray the author’s argument. This unit is highly focused on writing and application of skill-sets. There are multiple activities that encourage students to apply their knowledge of Logos, Ethos, Pathos into creating and designing sales pitches, public service announcements, editorials, etc. The final assessment is a cooperative learning opportunity, in which students create and design a Google website …

Ap Language Summer Reading Unit For Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, Amy R. Thomson

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This is an approximately four week unit intended for junior AP Language students with daily forty five minute class periods. It is based on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which is paired with non-fiction pieces “Shooting an Elephant,” “On Morality,” “Live Free and Starve,” and “The Ways We Lie,” as well as student chosen current events articles in keeping with the goals of The College Board’s AP English Language and Composition course. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was part of a summer reading assignment, so the students should have read it previously during the summer and completed assignments …

Picking The College For You [7th-8th Grade], Salena Gonzales

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The goal of this unit is to combine several of the AVID curriculum essentials and provide more experiences for students to practice the AVID strategies for success. The curriculum blends College and Career planning with the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Students” in a research project. In order to conduct the research, students use AVID strategies for success such as planning and organization skills, reading and annotating strategies, Costa’s questions, note taking and essay writing. Essentially, students should discover that the ideal way to attain success is by setting a goal, creating a plan, and working hard to accomplish that …

Mythology Is A Reflection Of Culture [7th Grade], Tina Harper

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Helping students understand the connection between culture and mythology is the central focus of this unit. Humanities is a course where the ideas, skills, and content of both history and English weave together to form the curriculum. In this unit the content focuses on Greek mythology and the Native Tribes of Texas.

The skills students will develop and transfer include: note taking skills, finding the main ideas in both history and literature to define aspects of culture, the writing process, the format of an effective story/myth using plot structure, the behaviors needed to function as an effective group. Also included …

Art Critiques And Online Portfolios, Hannah Cone

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This unit is designed to set up an ongoing online portfolio and critique community within the high school art classes, including Introduction to Art and AP Studio Art. Students begin by starting online blogs/portfolios and critiquing the work of famous artists, then continuing by posting images of their own work, reflecting on it through self-critique, and visiting the portfolios of their classmates and providing directed feedback on the work in their portfolios. In class, they learn how to conduct verbal critiques of artwork, beginning with the work of others and transitioning to critique each other’s work. This unit includes several …

Energy Transformations In The Real World, Stephanie Sanders, Dayna Fogle

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This energy unit is intended as part three of a three part series where students use launchers to explore how scientists combine theory and measured data to build and use predictive models. The launchers will be used during projectiles, forces, and work/energy and students will measure and use data adjusted theoretical models to endeavor to complete two hands-on performance tasks. Historically, our students have struggled to understand why “physics breaks” in the lab, and we intend to use these launchers throughout our Newtonian mechanics units to open an ongoing dialogue about how modeling is used to bridge the gap between …

Everyday Forces, Michelle Hockley

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The basis of all scientific research is the Scientific Method. Students need a strong foundation in the steps of this method. One of the goals of this unit is to provide an understanding of the scientific method. The other goals are to encourage an understanding of everyday forces and determination of work/no work in a situation. These are basic physics concepts that are a part of the 7th grade Science TEKS. Students will incorporate their knowledge of the scientific method and create an experimental investigation focused on an everyday force.

Pourquoi Stories, Dan Mallette

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is based on Pourquoi Stories, which are stories of origin or stories that tell how or why something came to be. These stories are a form of the literary narrative. This unit is meant for students to explore the structure of stories and also what stories show the reader about different cultures. Specifically, this unit addresses the introductory hook, plot diagramming, the four basic conflicts in narrative and character development. This unit highlights these literary ideas by embracing the following multiple intelligences: spatial, linguistic, logical/mathematical, kinesthetic and naturalistic.

Romeo And Juliet Is About You: Finding The Self In Drama, Elizabeth Muire

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“Romeo and Juliet is About You” is a unit written for the opening work of the spring semester of freshman English, shortly before the STAAR exam. The unit focuses on teaching students to relate to difficult texts and thereby make them more accessible, as well as exploring relationships and their effect on values, choices, and lives. The students will write expository and literary essays, as well as hold Socratic seminars and make use of a number of discussion protocols, to get comfortable with the big ideas of Romeo and Juliet, and the conventions of drama. The culminating project of the …

Why Is It There: Placing Companies In The United States And Canada [9th Grade], Luaren Heath

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This unit is designed to discuss the regions of the United States and Canada from a more economic, rather than historical, point of view. The students must understand that the physical and human geography of a region affects the people and the economic activities. In order to achieve this, students will first look at the physical and human characteristics of the United States and Canada. This will include an investigation of the climate, landforms, other demographic information, migration patterns, and where people live. Then, using this information along with available maps the students will determine the best location for a …

How Do We Measure?, Kyla Mcglynn

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Students directly explore and compare the attributes of length, area, weight, and capacity using a variety of informal measurement instruments correctly and meaningfully. Students describe comparisons of each attribute using proper vocabulary.

Can You Persuade Me? Learning Persuasive Writing Through Research [3rd Grade], Christy Custer

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This unit integrates research and persuasive letter writing skills. Students also apply knowledge of the 7 Habits learned using the Leader in Me curriculum. This unit can also be adapted to use if students are not familiar with the 7 Habits curriculum. The leadership concepts are universal. Through teacher modeling of research about Clara Barton, students learn the research process. Next, students examine real-life examples of persuasive letters and discuss strategies authors use to persuade someone to believe one way or the other. From the information gathered, the class writes a letter trying to persuade a committee to choose Clara …

Scientia Potentia Est: The Power Of Informational Text [8th Grade], Anna Clark

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Informational text impacts our lives every day. In order to take advantage of the knowledge these texts offer, we must know how to read and analyze the information they contain. During this unit, the students will learn the elements of informational text, apply their knowledge by reading and analyzing a variety of writings, and demonstrate what they have learned through the composition of informational texts of their own. They will learn just how important informational text is and has been to their lives and how they can use it to communicate knowledge.

Economic Policies In 20th Century Latin America: A Case Study On Brazil And The 2014 World Cup [10th Grade], Carly Dodd

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While studying Latin America in the 20^th century, post WWII, students will be looking at the economic policies many countries in Latin America implement in order to industrialize and modernize; and that unlike earlier western countries, the governments often take a much stronger and intrusive role. Students will then be comparing these effects of the first wave of modernization with the effects of current change happening in Brazil, due to their hosting of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Students will obtain the foundation for the information through reading and interactive notes (interactive means that there is continuous …

Understanding Geometry As An Axiomatic System, Danielle Kendrick

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After completing the Algebra I review and introducing several computational aspects of geometry including distance formula, midpoint formula, etc., we will introduce the idea of geometry as an axiomatic system. In this unit, we will decide what role rules play in governing behavior. Students will define and identify the four components of an axiomatic system; defined terms, undefined terms, axioms/postulates, and theorems. They will explore various axiomatic systems and decide how these systems dictate how appropriate behavior looks. We will explore Euclidean Geometry abstractly considering it at its most basic form, a set of rules that determine how geometric objects …

Modeling The World, Jeremy Martin

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Pre-Requisites for the Unit: Students should have studied exponential and polynomial functions and linear regression before starting this unit.

Context: This unit is envisioned as an end of course unit for Pre-Calculus. The unit is designed specifically to incorporate elements of Calculus and Statistics for students interested in taking either AP course.

Unit Goals: Students should come out of this unit with the ability to perform polynomial and exponential regression and interpret the residuals and coefficient of determination in context of the model’s goodness of fit. Students will gain proficiency in using computers and calculators to display data and create …

Who Am I? Using Personal Narrative To Reflect On Identity [6th Grade], Mollie Cason

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This unit is intended to be taught at the beginning of the year as both an introduction to the writing process and as an opportunity to create a safe and welcoming classroom environment. In their performance task, students will examine the larger concept of identity and attempt to define their own identity by reflecting on past experiences in the form of a personal narrative. The unit walks them through the process of writing by creating a bank of brainstorming ideas, reading model texts as examples, and allowing time for editing and revision with peers. Students will establish a common writing …