The Lamppost» Featured Units

21st Century Skills – Unit Plan (Grade 12)

Brad W — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:53:53 +0000

This unit is designed to introduce Grade 12 students to critical analysis and media literacy. Relying heavily on material from the Centre for Media Literacy, students work with five key media literacy questions to analyze a range of texts, from advertisements through full movies. Students are expected to maintain their own reflective blogs as a component of their work.

Level: ENG4U
Timeframe: 12 periods, including a test period

Unit Outline

Lesson 1: Introduction to the course (1 period)
Lesson 2: Introduction to blogging and FCA novel selection (2 periods)
Lesson 3: Media Literacy (1 period)
Lesson 4: Stereotypes and Male Violence in Media (1 period)
Lesson 5: Analyzing the News (1 period)
Lesson 6: Online Safety and Research (1 period)
Lesson 7: Camera Angles and Comic Strips (1 period)
Lesson 8: Movie Analysis (3 periods)
Unit Test

The unit outline [PDF] includes a summary of curriculum expectations plus a sample calendar.

Lesson Plans

Unit lesson plans [PDF] provide detailed steps to covering each of the unit topics, relating them to the corresponding expectations and teaching strategies.

Assignments

Reflective Blogging (10 marks)

Students begin blogging, publishing at least one reflective post and two comments on classmates’ blogs. Students evaluate their learning using the blogging self-evaluation rubric.

Media Text Analysis (10 marks)

Students use the five key media literacy questions to analyze an advertisement. Learning is assessed using the media text analysis evaluation rubric.

News Analysis (10 marks)

Students use an expanded analysis framework to discuss, in writing, a 30- to 60-minute news broadcast. Learning is assessed using the news analysis evaluation rubric.

Evaluating Online Resources (10 marks)

Students must find five credible online sources for a given topic. (Global warming is the topic in the attached handout; I have also used an author as a topic option.) Students are not able to progress in course activities until they have demonstrated competence in this. An evaluation rubric is available for this assignment.

Comic Strip Analysis (10 marks)

Students select a comic strip of at least five frames and analyze it in terms of camera techniques and storytelling. Learning is assessed using the comic analysis evaluation rubric.

Movie Analysis

While watching a movie in class, students complete the movie analysis handout [PDF]. This is not marked directly; however, students may bring their completed handouts to the unit test.

The 21st Century Literacy assignment summary [PDF] includes detailed instructions for students to complete each assignment.

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Image by juanpol

A Midsummer Night's Dream – Unit Plan (Grade 9)

Brad W — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:05:54 +0000

With the Stratford Festival’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it was a great year to teach this unit. Interweaving the text of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the graphic novel Bone and the fantasty novel Ysabel, the lessons reinforce previously learned reading strategies. The main text, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is approached primarily as an oral and dramatic text, and students are regularly enacting parts of the script.

Level: ENG1D (Grade 9 Academic)
Timeframe: 21 classes, including a test period

Unit Outline

Lesson 1: Introduction to Fantasy (3 periods)
Lesson 2: Introduction to Shakespeare & A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2 periods)
Lesson 3: Acts 1-3 (6 periods)
Lesson 4: Memorization, Vocabulary, and Recital (3 periods)
Lesson 5: Acts 4-5 (1 period)
Lesson 6: Theatre Education Project (5 periods)
Lesson 7: Written Review (1 period)

The unit outline [PDF] includes a summary of curriculum expectations plus a sample calendar.

Lesson Plans

Unit lesson plans [PDF] provide detailed steps to covering each of the unit topics, relating them to the corresponding expectations and teaching strategies.

Assignments

Multi-Media Presentation (40 marks)

Students develop and deliver a presentation to educate younger students about A Midsummer Night’s Dream, including a visual aid, a brief discussion, and a dramatic scene using the original text OR an audio recording of a scene scripted into a different genre. Students are evaluated using the theatre education activity rubric.

ThinkBook Written Review (15 marks)

Students answer one of three options, commenting on their reading experience of Ysabel.

Bone Dialogue and Dramatic Script (10 marks)

Given images from Jeff Smith’s Bone, students imagine possible dialogue for the characters, then transform the dialogue into a proper dramatic script.

Passage Memorization (10 marks)

After repeated practice together as a class, students memorize and recite a passage from 2.1 (Fairy’s lines 30-40; or Puck’s lines 42-58; or Oberon’s lines 253-263).

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King Lear – Unit Plan (Grade 12)

Brad W — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:16:13 +0000

The Fall Break has ended and I’ve begun my Shakespeare unit. In this unit, students will learn the story and structure of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Throughout the unit, students will work with a partner to raise questions about the play and post their questions on the class blog portal. This electronic discussion will then be transformed into a collaborative essay. Finally, students will do an in-depth analysis of an assigned scene and will share the scene in an audio-visual format.

Level: ENG4C/4U (Grade 12 College / University)
Timeframe: 18 classes, including a test period

Unit Outline

Lesson 1: Introduction to Shakespeare and King Lear (3 periods)
Lesson 2: Acts 1-5 (9 periods)
Lesson 3: Multi-media scene presentations (4 periods)
Lesson 4: Review and Collaborative Essay (3 periods)
Unit Test

The unit outline [PDF] includes a summary of curriculum expectations plus a sample calendar.

Lesson Plans

Unit lesson plans [PDF] provide detailed steps to covering each of the unit topics, relating them to the corresponding expectations and teaching strategies.

Assignments

Reflective Blogging (10 marks)

Students publish at least two reflective posts and two comments on classmates’ blogs, per week. Students evaluate their learning using the blogging self-evaluation rubric.

Multi-media Scene Presentation (50 marks)

In groups, students edit, characterize, rehearse, and record an assigned scene from King Lear.

Collaborative Essay (50 marks)

Students transform their blog posts, comments, and responses into collaborative essays. Submitted papers must attempt to answer questions raised throughout the unit’s study of the play. Learning is assessed using the collaborative essay rubric.

Unit Test (30 marks)

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The Fountainhead – Unit Plan (Grade 12)

Brad W — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:37:43 +0000

In this unit, students direct their own study of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead through literature circles. In their discussion groups, they prepare a portfolio of their learning. Individually, students prepare a narrative essay of the reading experience.

Level: ENG4C/4U (Grade 12 College / University)
Timeframe: 18 classes, including a test period

Unit Outline

Lesson 1: Introduction to Literature Circles and The Fountainhead (1 period)
Lesson 2: Literature Circles pp.1-694 (15 periods)
Lesson 3:Portfolio Conferences (1 period)
Unit Test

The unit outline [PDF] includes a summary of curriculum expectations plus a sample calendar.

Lesson Plans

Unit lesson plans [PDF] provide detailed steps to covering each of the unit topics, relating them to the corresponding expectations and teaching strategies.

Assignments

Reflective Blogging (20 marks)

Students post reading notes on their blogs, publishing at least four reflective posts and six comments on classmates’ blogs. Students evaluate their learning using the blogging self-evaluation rubric.

Literature Circle Portfolio (50 marks)

Working in assigned groups, students are responsible for the completion of a daily literature circle role. The record of individual contributions is compiled into an electronic group portfolio. Learning is assessed using self and peer evaluation, as well as the literature circle portfolio rubric.

Reading Narrative Essay (50 marks)

Using their reading notes, students develop a 500-800 word narrative of their reading experience. Learning is assessed using the reading narrative rubric.

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