Curriculum Map Version 1

Jessica McLean A35384370 9/10/08 Curriculum Map v. 1

Unit

Texts

Assessments

Goal

# of weeks

#1 : The Art of Storytelling and the Oral Tradition

PBS.org: Circle of Stories (Native American culture)

A collection of storytelling across cultures and nations using:

Native American/American literature

6

Excerpts from The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (Chinese culture) “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American) NPR Story (Russian Nomadic Tribe)

Novel 1. literature 2. oral stories 3. video stories

Cultural perspectives Writing/Speaking Skills

4. poetry Poetry 5. historical references

Video Story about name (newer age example of storytelling – assignment)

#2: Every Action has a Reaction; The DecisionMaking Process

6 Collection of Quotes about decisions in life, revenge, actionreaction Hamlet, Shakespeare We All Fall Down, Robert Cormier Truth and Fact, old newspaper headlines

A discussion and look at several different models/ideas of decision-making through:

Critical Thinking

1. Classic literature

Poetry

2. Famous Quotations (historical references)

Applicable life lessons

Comparison of Classical and Contemporary Literature

Jessica McLean A35384370 9/10/08 Curriculum Map v. 1

Resources: UNIT 1 Circle of Stories website: http://www.pbs.org/circleofstories/storytellers/index.html NPR Russian nomadic tribe story: http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html? action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=5551708&m=5551709 Paul Revere’s Ride: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere's_Ride_(poem) , http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/longf01.html#1 Digital Video example from Michigan.gov: http://edweb3.educ.msu.edu/outreach/k12out/pdf/language06/Jennifer.mov UNIT 2 – Quotes: http://quotations.about.com/cs/inspirationquotes/a/DecisionMaki1.htm Lyrics: http://www.beatleslyricsarchive.com/viewSong.php?songID=109 News article: http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/3659620.MERTON__Teen_s_murde r_inspires_anti_knife_youth_project/ UNIT 3 – Washington Times Article: http://www.lexisnexis.com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu:2047/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docvi ew.do? docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T4524674420&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startD ocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T4524674424&cisb=22_T4524674423&treeMax=true&tree Width=0&csi=8176&docNo=1 Advertising techniques: http://www.foothilltech.org/rgeib/english/media_literacy/advertising_techniques.htm http://adage.com/century/campaigns.html http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ccmphtml/cccap.html Google Earth - http://earth.google.com/ UNIT 4 – Guidelines to writing a basic essay: http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/ Morrie Video: http://video.google.com/videosearch?rlz=1C1CHMG_enUSUS291&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=Morrie%20on %20Nightline&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv# Book Review from CNN:

Jessica McLean A35384370 9/10/08 Curriculum Map v. 1

http://www.cnn.com/books/reviews/9805/06/index.html How to Conduct an Interview: owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/interviewing.ppt A Lion in the House: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lioninthehouse/index.htm (PBS Documentary of Kid’s with cancer) Times article about A Lion in the House: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/arts/television/18jens.html Creation of a Monument: http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/arch/ancient3.html Unit 5 – I Hear America Singing: http://www.potw.org/archive/potw345.html I, Too: Langston Hughes: http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=1552 “Follow the Drinking Gourd”: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/strangefruit/slavery.html Unit 6 – “Fishbowl”: http://distribution.asianamericanmedia.org/browse/film/?i=74 SKIN DEEP (film): http://www.irisfilms.org/SD/con1.html Cry Freedom lyrics: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/d/davematthewsbandlyrics/cryfreedomlyrics.html Dosomething.org: http://www.dosomething.org/whatsyourthing/Discrimination

Jessica McLean A35384370 9/10/08 Curriculum Map v. 1

EXPLANATION: Allow probably not fully complete, coherent or necessarily realistic, this first draft of my Curriculum Map is a true reflection of a lot of my ideas and hopes as an English teacher. I hope to be able to use a combination of all different kinds of mediums when I teach: classics and newer-age materials, songs, poems, websites, articles, videos, historical pieces, opinion, non-fiction, fiction, biographies, and the list goes on. By using a mixture of all different kinds of materials and ideas I hope to be able to touch all different sorts of learners and students, reaching out to even those stubborn or uninterested learners. One of the biggest problems I had in creating this Map was deciding where to start, what to use, what to leave out, what’s appropriate, and how to organize all of those things into units. After looking over several education websites, requirements and previous taught lesson plans I decided that I needed to take all of these things into consideration but also to make it my own. When selecting materials I wanted to use books that are universally taught but also one’s that I could see my self being passionate about and that could apply to 11th graders’ lives. I chose books that I’ve read and really enjoyed or at least thought useful but also books, films and poems that come highly recommended and fit into the themes of my units. As I said before I had such a hard time trying to figure out how to break things into units but even more so what those units should be. When looking at Michigan.gov it said that the goal for 11th graders was the idea of

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transformational thinking. Using that as a guideline, I wanted to have units that allowed for different genres and mediums. I also wanted to be able to have units that were completely applicable to student’s at this age lives. So I broke the units down into: storytelling, decision-making, technology, life lessons, freedom and differences. Although these all could be really broad and somewhat not fluid, I hope that I used materials that all fit into these criteria, can be used for educational purposes and also really do flow together. When choosing the materials and texts in my map I do realize that some of them may be controversial and may face some opposition from authorities or parents. While recognizing this, I feel that I am the sort of person (and teacher) that wants to give student’s something they can relate to, that will make them think, and that they may not see in other classes or by other teachers. While I picked units that I think are applicable to student’s lives, they can also be touchy subjects. Because I am aware of this I think I will be sensitive and willing to work with anyone that has concerns, and also extremely open-minded and considerate when teaching this to young adults. In an ideal world I think teachers need to stop being so guarded and more willing to teach innovative, thought-provoking material. Through looking for this kind of material and putting together this map, I feel as though I’ve learned a lot. First and foremost I realized how difficult and time consuming it can be just to put a whole year’s worth of material together! I learned about all the different options and materials available to teachers (which

Jessica McLean A35384370 9/10/08 Curriculum Map v. 1

was both encouraging but also overwhelming). It did provoke a lot of questions in my mind, such as: What are things to consider when formulating a unit? What are the most essential things for these kids to learn? Is there a right or wrong? Is there some texts/materials that MUST be taught? And so on. Going into this methods class and doing this Map, I realized that I still have so much to learn. I think that I am most likely still very naïve in all the things I will and will not be able to do. I also don’t have barely any concept of how long things will take to teach, learn and formulate. I also want to get a better grip on what’s best for students and also what student’s want to learn. These are all things I think I need to strengthen and am looking forward to doing so.