Learner Description - Special Education and Regular Ed. students, including 6 Instructional students.

Overview - Brief description of the unit - an abstract.

What will be taught? How will it be taught? What will students do and learn?

Include the problem, issue, or question that will frame the unit. Probably easiest to write after the unit has been created.

Students will be assigned a country as a class. One class will have 10 special education students. The class will be broken up into groups and will be responsible for reporting about their part in the project. The students will research on the internet and other materials. They will also have the opportunities to use scanners, digital cameras, and video cameras. At the end of the project the 6th grade will have a Fair to let others experience first hand what they've learned.

Rationale - Purpose for the unit as a whole. The WHY questions.

Why would you teach this unit?

Why would this this qualify as an Engaged Learning unit?

Why is technology an important component of this unit?

Why is this project authentic/meaningful , and challenging for students?

 Students will produce an overview of all ancient cultures that surround the Mediterranean. Sea. The students will have the chance to show what they've learned, by choosing a country and creating an engaged learning project. Students will create rubrics along with the teacher, and have direct imput on what the requirements will be. The unit is a requirement of the state, and is a fun way to showcase their learning. Students are given the responsibility, and choice of how to represent Mediterranean countries. Students will use the arts, media, and technology. Technology will be very important for research, and showcasing their products. Some students may even choose to create a hyper studio, Appleworks Presentations, Travel Brochure or Newspaper when presenting their project. Using current and up to date information, they will have the opportunity to learn how to use technology and to work together on a large project with many parts.

Goals - Content, Cognitive and Social - The WHAT questions

What new attributes (knowledge, skills, attitudes) do you expect students to gain?

What school, district, state and national standards/benchmarks are addressed?

 Content, Cognitive and Social

Knowledge: subject, Mediterranean Culture

Skill: feeling comfortable using different forms of technology. Ex: Hyper studio, Appleworks Presentations, Travel Brochure, Newspaper, Finding Information on Internet, Scanner, Digital Camera.

Attitudes: We will hope with their involvement in choices the students will be excited about engaged learning.

District, state and national standards/benchmarks:

1. The use of technology skill that enhance presentations.

2. Writing listening and communication skills

 Knowledge of the Mediterranean Culture

National, State benchmarks/Standards addressed:

English/Language Arts Learning Standards

1.B.3a Preview reading materials, make predictions and relate reading to information from other sources.

1.B.3c Continuously check and clarify for understanding (e.g., in addition to previous skills, draw comparisons to other readings).

1.C.3a Use information to form, explain and support questions and predictions.

1.C.3d Summarize and make generalizations from content and relate them to

the purpose of the material.

1.C.3f Interpret tables that display textual information and data in visual formats.

3.A.3 Write compositions that contain complete sentences and effective paragraphs using English conventions.

3.A.4 Use standard English to edit documents for clarity, subject/verb agreement, adverb and adjective agreement and verb tense; proofread for spelling, capitalization and punctuation; and ensure that documents are formatted in final form for submission and/or publication.

3.A.5 Produce grammatically correct documents using standard manuscript specifications for a variety of purposes and audiences.

3.B.3a Produce documents that convey a clear understanding and interpretation of ideas and information and display focus, organization,

elaboration and coherence.

3.B.3b Edit and revise for word choice, organization, consistent point of view and transitions among paragraphs using contemporary technology and formats suitable for submission and/or publication.

3.B.4a Produce documents that exhibit a range of writing techniques appropriate to purpose and audience, with clarity of focus, logic of organization, appropriate elaboration and support and overall coherence.

3.B.4b Produce, edit, revise and format work for submission and/or publication (e.g., manuscript form, appropriate citation of sources) using contemporary technology.

3.B.4c Evaluate written work for its effectiveness and make recommendations for its improvement.

3.B.5 Using contemporary technology, produce documents of publication quality for specific purposes and audiences; exhibit clarity of focus, logic of organization, appropriate elaboration and support and overall coherence.

5.A.3a Identify appropriate resources to solve problems or answer questions through research.

5.A.4a Demonstrate a knowledge of strategies needed to prepare a credible research report (e.g., notes, planning sheets).

.C.3c Take notes, conduct interviews, organize and report information in oral, visual and electronic formats.

Social Studies Learning Standards

16.A.3b Make inferences about historical events and eras using historical maps and other historical sources.

16.A.3c Identify the differences between historical fact and interpretation.

16.A.4a Analyze and report historical events to determine cause-and-effect relationships.

17.A.1a Identify physical characteristics of places, both local and global (e.g., locations, roads, regions, bodies of water).

17.A.1b Identify the characteristics and purposes of geographic representations including maps, globes, graphs, photographs, software, digital images and be able to locate specific places using each.

17.A.2b Use maps and other geographic representations and instruments to gather information about people, places and environments.

17.C.1a Identify ways people depend on and interact with the physical environment (e.g., farming, fishing, hydroelectric power).

17.C.1b Identify opportunities and constraints of the physical environment.

Learning Activities - The activities required to achieve the goals.

 Students will be given background information on the Mediterranean Countries throughout the year. Background activities include the following: creating a map of the Mediterranean Countries, review the history of Mediterranean Countries through the use of videos, worksheets, textbooks and in-class activities. Class meetings will be held to come up with topics of study for research projects. Students will chose an area of study based on personal interests and form expert groups based on these interests. Each expert group will research their topic using books, encyclopedias, CD Roms, and the internet. After completing their research each expert group will identify five questions they want answered in relation to their topic, a plan. Other learning activities that the students will experience are:

 • Writing and editing skills

• Technology skills involving Hyper studio, keyboarding, scanning

• Presentation on using the Digital cameras, scanner and Hyper studio

• Research skills

• Listening skills

• Communication skills

• Cooperation • Decision making skills

Student Assessment- Enables student and teacher to measure student's attainment of goals.

What are my scoring characteristics? (What do I want to measure? What is an important outcome of this unit?)

What will indicate that students are novices, practitioners, or experts? (Rubric)

How will I measure and communicate student progress on the goals?

How can students be involved in establishing goals and criteria for the assessment?

How will the assessments be implemented to ensure that they are generative? Seamless and ongoing? Equitable for all students? An authentic task?

How will students demonstrate their knowledge and skills? (Observations, portfolios, projects, performances, oral reports, paper-&-pencil activities, journals, checklists, student self-assessment, student peer assessment, etc.)

See below for specifics.

Student Assessment-

What types of assessment will be ongoing?

• Anecdotal records

• Regular group meeting for reflection and planning

How will the students be engaged in their own assessment?

• Student generated rubrics(for projects and presentations)

How can technology be used to aid in assessment?

• To generate student made assessments and projects.

How will students demonstrate their knowledge and skills? (Observations, portfolios, projects, performances, oral reports, paper-&-pencil activities, journals, checklists, student self-assessment, student peer assessment, etc.)

• Oral Presentation of research project

• Content of research project

• Performance at the Mediterranean Day Fair.

What are my scoring characteristics?

The students participation and engagement is very important to this unit. It's important the students use several kinds of information sources, some may use Hyper studio unit or Appleworks Presentation, create arts projects, plays, maps, timelines, etc....and become a master of their Mediterranean country.

What will indicate that students are novices, practitioners, or experts?

Through class meetings, students will help decide what will make them experts about their country. Then rubrics will be created together as a class.

How will I measure and communicate student progress on the goals?

 Students will fill out checklists daily of what their group accomplished that day, and will be saved throughout the project. At the end of the project their will be a separate rubric used to show this accountability.

How can students be involved in establishing goals and criteria for the assessment?

Students will keep anecdotal records and journals of what they've been learning in their groups. They will also document the jobs and participation of group members.

How will the assessments be implemented to ensure that they are generative? Seamless and ongoing? Equitable for all students? An authentic task?

How will students demonstrate their knowledge and skills?

(Observations, portfolios, projects, performances, oral reports, paper-&-pencil activities, journals, checklists, student self-assessment, student peer assessment, etc.) By using a variety of assessments, this will insure all assessments are generative. Students will be keep anecdotal records, doing daily checklists, creating presentations, and teacher observations will make sure this will be an authentic task for all students.

Resources - What resources will you need to do this unit?

Consider all forms - human, technological, community-based, school-based and traditional.

 The students will need CD Roms, internet resources, encyclopedias, maps, district adopted social studies textbook, book bags from public libraries, computers, digital-cameras, Hyper studio and Appleworks Presentation students will also have teachers, librarians, technology facilitators, the technology coordinator, and the technology director available as resources.

Management

How will you manage student work individually and in groups?

How will the room(s) be arranged.

Where will equipment and materials be located to promote maximum use?

Where will students need to work and how can they be accommodated?

How will students with special needs be helped?

The teacher will manage the students by circulating around the room and assisting children as needed. This will help to keep children on task. The children will also be given check points in which they should complete various requirements (i.e., story board, rough draft of report, etc.) Students with special needs will be provided for through assistance and modifications made by the special education teacher. This project will be completed in an computer lab and in the media center. Use of the computer lab will also be given. Technology resource personnel will be available for support as well. Children that are not using the computers will be using books (textbook, encyclopedias, library books,) or working on other aspects of their projects. Students with special needs may be more guided in their research, and given design plates to aid them in being successful.

Unit Evaluation

What will I need to do, be aware of, and/or gather while teaching the unit in order to answer these questions:

We will need to keep a close eye on students, keep track of notecards and reflections being completed, assist in keeping students on task.

What was effective?

We were effective with keeping students on task. Because of the trivia sheet given out during the Mediterranean Day Fair, students were very focus and on task look and at all of different projects. It was also effective giving extra credit to students who brought in a food from their country. Having food to taste test at the Fair made it even more fun for everyone.

What wasn't effective?

I don't feel there was anything ineffective. We feel everything we did had a purpose.

What will I do differently next time?

We would make the trivia sheet a little shorter next time. Students didn't have enough time to complete all 40 questions. We would shorten it to 20 questions. Also, we might choose a larger space to have the Fair in. Our Little Theater was a little cramped, maybe the cafeteria would be a better choice.