Backward Design Top Ten Questions I Ask Myself When Planning a thematic Multigenre Unit Question How can I design an assessment before I teach a unit? http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/BackwardDesign/Overview.htm
Extractions: Backward design begins with the end in mind: What enduring understandings do I want my students to develop? How will my students demonstrate their understanding when the unit is completed? How will I ensure that students have the skills and understand the concepts required on the summative assessment? These are the kinds of questions that teachers pose at the earliest stages of the backward design planning process. By beginning with the end in mind, teachers are able to avoid the common pitfall of planning forward from activity to activity, only to find that some students are prepared for the final assessment while others are not. Using backward design, teaching for understanding, and requiring students to apply and demonstrate their learning are not new concepts. Many of the best teachers have been using this approach, even if they didn't have a name for it. The resources on these linked web pages attempt to explain the backward design planning process and show how it can be used to design thematic, multi-genre units that promote enduring understanding.
4X4 Thematic Unit Guidelines And Resources steps and procedures for designing and teaching an integrated thematic unit . For games, units and lots of teaching ideas, One World, One People ESL http://coe.sdsu.edu/people/jmora/Pages/4X4Guidelines.htm
Extractions: The 4X4 Thematic Unit Purpose of the Assignment The purpose of the 4X4 thematic planning assignment is for teacher candidates of Limited English Proficient students to learn the steps and procedures for designing and teaching an integrated thematic unit. You will use a content-area textbook currently in use in California schools, such as Oh, California English Language Development (ELD) or Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) for English language learners. Click here for a definition of terms and an overview of different programs of instruction for second-language learners . In addition, a thematically organized curriculum supports explicit teaching of
Extractions: Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading English and Communication Bloomington IN. Teaching Interdisciplinary Thematic Units in Language Arts. ERIC Digest D142. Teaching language arts through thematic units across the curriculum typically integrates broad areas of knowledge, such as social studies, mathematics, or ecology with the teaching of the four major language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. DEFINITION AND RATIONALE Lipson et al. (1993) trace the idea of curriculum integration to reforms of the 1930s specifically to John Dewey's 1933 discussion of meaningful learning. In the language arts the term "integration" usually refers not to content areas, but rather to recognizing the natural interrelationship of the four language skills. Accordingly, we may understand integration as two adjacent, linked teaching areas: first, the interrelated language arts themselves, then the further inclusion of other content areas within the already integrated language curriculum. The trend to combine these two approaches represents an interdisciplinary curriculum what Schubert (1993) calls "a true window on the world." Lipson et al. analyze the underlying rationale for thematic teaching as:
Extractions: Information Literacy Blog Thematic, Communicative Language Teaching in the K-8 Classroom. ERIC Digest. by Haas, Mari Foreign language instruction for children can be enriched when teachers use thematic units that focus on content-area information, engage students in activities in which they must think critically, and provide opportunities for students to use the target language in meaningful contexts and in new and complex ways. The national standards for foreign language teaching and learning support this approach to language instruction (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, 1996). PLANNING THEMATIC UNITS Themes for curriculum units can be derived from many sources. Planning thematic units allows the teacher to incorporate a variety of language concepts into a topic area that is interesting and worthy of study and that gives students a reason to use the language. Teachers should choose themes that lend themselves to teaching language that will be useful for their students. Themes and lessons should integrate language, content, and culture into activities that allow students to practice the foreign language and that prepare them to use it in a variety of contexts. A focus on communication, including the interactions present in all uses of the language (for speaking, listening, reading, and writing) is essential. Students need to be able to interpret the language, express themselves in the language, and negotiate meaning in the language (Savignon, 1997).
Weather Weather Lesson Plans/Weather thematic units/Weather Activities It takes anentertaining and humorous approach to teaching students about thunderstorms http://www.theteachersguide.com/Weather.html
TeacherSource . PreK-2 . Integrated Teaching Units | PBS thematic teaching units involve a group of correlated activities that are designedaround topics or themes and cross several areas of the curriculum. http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/prek2/issues/904issue.shtm
Extractions: For more Issues articles visit: The Issues Article Archive We know that integrated teaching units work for children and teachers, and we can look for ways to "integrate" new ideas with our already effective teaching units. These integrated units allow us the opportunity to make sure children are learning relevant information and applying that knowledge to real life scenarios. Thematic Teaching Units Thematic teaching units involve a group of correlated activities that are designed around topics or themes and cross several areas of the curriculum. They provide an environment that fosters and encourages process learning and active involvement of ALL students (Fisher, 1991). They build on students' interests and prior knowledge by focusing on topics relevant to their lives. They help children relate to real-life experiences and build on what they know. Thematic units provide one of the best vehicles for integrating content areas in a way that makes sense to children and helps them make connections to transfer knowledge they learn and apply it in a meaningful way. Thematic units also address the diverse learning styles of the students we serve. Other benefits of utilizing themes in the early childhood classroom include: Learning in-depth factual information Becoming physically involved with learning Learning process skills Learning "how to learn"
Extractions: Theory to Practice: Thematic Learning Environments Many teachers like to use themes in their instructional units. Themes focus on a single topic that is of interest to students. It provides a core for group activities by building on the natural interests of learners. Writing, speaking, listening, reading, calculating, and content-related concepts can all be taught within the context of a theme. Themes can provide relevance for students by drawing together concepts under a single umbrella. In addition, themes can attract and maintain student interest over a long period of time and can provide continuity for a series of activities. Motivation or Gimmick? A theme can be an effective way to motivate students during a unit, but make certain the theme is real rather than contrived. Consider the classic "PIGS" month theme I admit hosting in my elementary school many years ago. During reading month, PIGS stood for "Poke Into Good Stories". Pig books were displayed in the library and teachers created PIGS bulletin boards. Pigs were plastered on everything from worksheets to T-shirts. However, even second graders could see that the theme was only surface level. The pig on their "addition facts" worksheet had nothing to do with mathematics, and the pig song in music class was really just "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" with new words. Before long, the children became bored with pink pig pictures all over the building.
Alumni Connection ENewsletter - June 2003 Teaching Interdisciplinary thematic units in Language Arts What is a thematicteaching unit? A thematic teaching unit is a set of lessons that uses a http://nflrc.iastate.edu/news/200306/homepage.html
Extractions: June, 2003 Iowa State University, Ames, IA Past Issues Mar April May June July Aug Set Oct Nov Dec Jan ... May *Current Issue Search Newsletters Links in this Issue Integrating Foreign Language and Content Instruction in Grades K-8 Theme Pages for Elementary Students and Teachers eThemes Thematic, Communicative Language Teaching in the K-8 Classroom ... Corn Cam Printable View Thematic Teaching Welcome to the June electronic newsletter of the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center! What is thematic teaching? Helena Curtain and Mari Haas write, "In thematic teaching, the curriculum is organized around a thematic center that can originate in the classroom, the school, the environment, or the target culture. Activities that teach language concepts along with the content are interrelated and are planned to fit within the framework of a lesson or thematic unit. Such an integrated and holistic approach is based on the premise that when students are engaged in meaningful activities they acquire language, including writing, as natually as they learned to walk and talk." ( Integrating Foreign Language and Content Instruction in Grades K-8 What is a thematic teaching unit?
Extractions: Alumni E-newsletter Subscribe Send Feedback Thematic Units ... Contact us Standards-Based Thematic Units View Units We hope that these thematic units will provide inspiration for PreK-12 teachers who wish to explore the concept of thematic teaching for the first time. We also hope that they will provide rich content for those already committed to thematic teaching and wish to extend their understanding, skills, and thematic repertoire. Five years later, there are still few published thematic units available to teachers. Therefore, we now publish additional thematic units to further encourage teachers to refocus and revitalize their teaching by incorporating thematic units in their own PreK-12 classrooms. View Units Related Links Note: Lesson plans in the ERIC database are now available through The Educator's Reference Desk Web site. A List of the Units ACTFL Educator's Reference Desk Center for Applied Linguistics ... NNELL
Eric Carle : Teacher Resource Unit Carrier Bruner s thematic Unit The Very Hungry Caterpillar 1st grade; *** Beyond the ClockUsing the Computer to teach the Abstract Concept of Time http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/carle.htm
Developing Thematic Units thematic units Compiled by Rosalind Van Auker and Debbie Rogenmoser LB 1527W46; thematic units an Integrated Approach to Teaching Science and Social http://library.csus.edu/guides/rogenmoserd/educ/theme.htm
Extractions: LB 2806.15 E75 2002 Daily Planning for Today's Classroom: A Guide for Writing Lesson and Activity Plans . LB 1027.4 O73 1999 Developing Thematic Units: Process and Product . LB 1575 .A55 1995 Experiences with Literature: a Thematic Whole Language Model for the K-3 Bilingual Classroom . LC 3725 N48 1990 Green Dinosaur Day: a Guide for Developing Thematic Units in Literature-Bases Instruction, K-6
Extractions: Materials by Subject Alphabet / Phonics Reading / Literacy / Books Writing / Language Arts Basic Skills / Readiness Activities Math Science and Social Studies Themes Computers / Technology Classroom Displays / Bulletin Boards / Name Plates Classroom Helpers: learning centers, forms, plan books Learning Games / Flashcards / Bingo Best of the Mailbox series
Extractions: Materials by Subject Alphabet / Phonics Reading / Literacy / Books Writing / Language Arts Basic Skills / Readiness Activities Math Science and Social Studies Themes Computers / Technology Classroom Displays / Bulletin Boards / Name Plates Classroom Helpers: learning centers, forms, plan books Learning Games / Flashcards / Bingo Best of the Mailbox series
AATG Store: Thematic Units For Teaching German In Grades 3-6 thematic units for Teaching German in Grades 36. Quantity in Basket none Code64356 Price $65.00. Non-member. add $30. Quantity http://store.aatg.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AS&Product_C
Extractions: Challenging Thematic Unit, Our Legal System Challenging Thematic Unit, Our Legal System Each book offers two or more literature-based units and lesson plans plus cross-curricular activities and worksheets, a culminating activity, management ideas, and a bibliography! These books are ideal whole language teaching tools. Complete and comprehensive, these reproducible units are designed with student interest and teacher usability in mind. The planning is complete, you're ready to begin! 80 pages. Grade Level: 5-8 Challenging Thematic Unit, Oceanography Challenging Thematic Unit, Oceanography This book offers two or more literature-based units and lesson plans plus cross-curricular activities and worksheets, a culminating activity, management ideas, and a bibliography! 80 pages. Grade Level: 6-8 Item Number: TCM2621
Yup Ik Thematic Units and Analytical View of the 46 Yup ik thematic Unit by usingthe thematic units. It has made teaching fun, rewarding, and meaningful.A http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/delena/6Yup'ik thematic.htm
Extractions: Thematic Units provide activities for all areas of the curriculum. Many of them include a section on using technology. Each book offers two or more literature-based units and lesson plans plus cross-curricular activities and work sheets, a culminating activity, management ideas, and a bibliography. Complete and comprehensive, these reproducible units are designed with student interest and teacher usability in mind. The planning is complete - you're ready to begin!
