Teaching-Learning Critical Pathway (TLCP)
This
integrated unit was planned with a TLCP in mind. The TLCP is a model “used to organize actions for teaching and student
learning” with the idea that “classroom practice can be organized in a
practical, precise and highly personalized manner with the outcome being
increased student achievement.”[1]
Under
normal circumstances, the TLCP plan would have many contributors and would be
the result of many Professional Learning Community (PLC) planning
sessions. Planning would be focused
around learning goals set out by members of the PLC which are created based on
the results of diagnostic assessments of students. Once the learning goals are determined, members of the PLC
work together to create an authentic, engaging framework that addresses the
learning goals. I have created
such a framework in a mind map format (please see attached).
Learning Goals
As a
starting point for my integrated unit, I came up with 3 main learning goals,
based on simulated diagnostic assessments that showed the following student
needs.
- Oral Communication – clear & coherent presentation of ideas, opinions and information in a readily understandable form
- Reading a variety of text in different formats and extracting/summarizing the main ideas – nonfiction text focus.
- Writing from a specific perspective/in a specific voice.
Keeping
these learning goals in mind, I thought that one of the most interesting topics
in the Grade 5 curriculum is that of Ancient Civilizations (social studies) and
felt that students would be engaged and motivated when dealing with this
topic. In true backwards design
form, I first came up with a “big idea” – “Life in Ancient Times – what are the
similarities and differences compared to life today?” - and a related culminating task.
Culminating Task
In order to
address this big idea, I decided that students should work on a culminating
task that presents “A Day in the Life of…” i.e. presents daily life of a
certain person in a specific ancient civilization. I purposely left this topic vague so that student may choose
the era, country and character on which their presentation would be based on. This element of choice serves to garner
student interest and engage them in their learning. By having the ability to choose the topic of their
culminating task, students have ownership of this project and personalize their
learning according to their interests.
When introducing the culminating task, suggestions and examples will be
given in order to guide the students eg. samurai in ancient Japan, gladiator in
ancient Rome, medicine man in the ancient First Nations community etc. Students will be introduced to the idea
of the culminating task, but will not be asked to choose a topic until the
class has had an opportunity to explore and learn about different ancient
civilizations.
Throughout
the integrated unit, students will learn about different ancient civilizations
as a class and also have opportunities to work in small groups to research
specific civilizations (as per their interests). They will have opportunities to present their findings to
the class, while noting down relevant/interesting information that would help
them choose a topic for their culminating task. Learning about ancient civilizations will occur over a
variety of different subjects including language arts, math, science and arts.
The
expectation for the culminating task is a presentation, in groups of 2 or 3, of
“A Day in the Life of…” a specific person in a specific country during a
specific era. This task addresses
learning goals #1 & 3 (oral communication and writing from a specific
perspective). The students will be
allowed to choose the format of their presentation (eg. dramatic
demonstrations, media presentation, visual poster etc.) This element of choice caters to
different learning styles and different intelligences and allows students to
express themselves in a format in which they feel most comfortable. A rubric of presentation expectations
would be co-constructed with the students and displayed in class to allow them
to understand the project expectations.
Included in these presentation expectations are elements of language,
science, math and arts of their particular civilization, which must be
incorporated in the presentation.
As well, an
authentic assessment of the presentation will be done, the criteria of which
would be student-created. As a
consolidation to the entire unit, it is suggested that the students write a
reflective journal that details specifics of what they learned in the unit and
answers the big idea question that compares life today to life in ancient
times.
Language Focus
Upon the
start of this integrated unit, the first step would be to explore and learn
about different ancient civilizations.
This can be done through a variety of media including non-fiction texts,
which would address learning goal #2.
This also addresses the reading curriculum expectations. As well, information should be
presented using video and online formats and allow for online research – this
would address the media literacy portion of the language curriculum. After investigating different
civilizations, various writing tasks would be given to the students in order to
address the writing portion of the curriculum and learn to write from different
perspectives as per learning goal #3.
Other Subjects – Science, Math, Arts
While
investigating and learning about the different civilizations, the class would
also focus on other learning expectations from different subjects and view them
through this ancient civilization lens.
These subjects include science, math and art and specifics are outlined
in the attached planning framework.
I believe that by viewing the curriculum expectations of these subjects
through the ancient civilizations lens, the students would be especially
engaged and motivated to learn these topics due to the exciting nature of this
topic and the possibility of the learned information to be included in their
culminating task. As well, since
the students will be especially focusing on and researching ideas for their
culminating task topic throughout the unit, they will be especially interested
in learning about the science, math and arts of the civilization of their
choice.
Communication with
Students and Parents
The students will be introduced to the integrated unit in class and
parents will be informed of it via the class blog/website & an email update. Parents will be encouraged to engage
their children in discussions at home regarding the topics learned in class and
will be assured that the all of information that must be included in the
culminating task will be covered in class and class time will be allocated in
order for the students to work on and complete their final presentation.
Conclusion
Overall, I believe that this integrated unit would be extremely
exciting and engaging for Grade 5 students and it would definitely address the
learning goals that have been created based on student needs. By having the big idea of this unit
focus on comparing life in ancient times to life now, students make a personal
connection to the topics of study and will be motivated to learn more. As well, the element of choice with
respect to the topic of the culminating task presentation will allow students
to take ownership in their work and be motivated to research and learn about
their topic of choice. By allowing
students to also choose the format of their final presentation, we are catering
to student interest and learning styles and further engaging them in their
learning. The overall result of
this would be higher student interest and higher student achievement. I am very
excited about this integrated unit and would love to have to opportunity to
implement it in my own classroom.
