SharpeUPAGES

Jennifer Sharpe 6 September 2011 Unit Plan Genre Study

 The unit plans I have chosen to study are: “Wonders of Mythology and Folklore” by Kerri Singer, “What is a Myth? Introduction to Mythology” by Suzanne Butler, and “MythBusters: Exploring Mythology and Folklore from Around the World” by Stephanie Markham. All three plans focus on mythology and are meant for ninth grade students. These unit plans stood out to me because this topic interests me and I hope to teach it someday in my classroom. According to the rationale section of all three plans, mythology is a curricular requirement for ninth grade. While the topics of these plans are similar, their content varies. Singer’s plan would have students present a mock trial, Butler’s plan requires an interview project, and Markham’s plan allows for a group presentation.

PLAN OVERVIEWS

“Wonders of Mythology and Folklore” Kerri Singer “What is a Myth? Introduction to Mythology” Suzanne Butler “MythBusters: Exploring Mythology and Folklore from Around the World” Stephanie Markham
 * 30 days, 50 minute lessons
 * Activities: Compose a myth, God/Goddess portrait, Mock trial, Reading log
 * Unique elements: Clear goals, extensive appendix of activity sheets
 * 20 days, 50 minute lessons
 * Activities: Compose a myth, Research essay, Interview story
 * Unique elements: 10th, 11th, 12th grade options
 * 30 days, 55 minute lessons
 * Activities: Group presentation/Discussion, Dialogue journals, Compose a myth sequel
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Unique elements: Uses the game “Telephone” to demonstrate how stories change

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">EVALUATION OF PLANS

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> I like the plan “MythBusters: Exploring Mythology and Folklore from Around the World” the best because the activities seem to be the most engaging. This plan includes a group presentation. Each group would research a myth from a particular area of the world and share it with the rest of the class. This allows for an open discussion and encourages students participate more. The second assignment is a dialogue journal that each student keeps up with individually. I like that students would be reflecting on reading in a personal journal that they may choose to share or not. Students also have a creative writing assignment for which they must compose a sequel to a myth text that has already been studied. I liked this particular assignment better than the creative writing assignments in the other two unit plans because it allows students to work off of another text instead of composing a completely new story. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> I would alter the plan “What is a Myth? Introduction to Mythology” by Butler’s to focus on only one grade. It lists assignment options for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade options yet leaves the instruction the same for all grades. While the other options for higher grades are valuable, I think it is confusing to include them in a 9th grade unit plan. Perhaps if I were teaching a gifted classroom, they would come in handy to push higher achieving students but in a regular education classroom they are less necessary. I would separate the grades and write new unit plans for each. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Structurally, all three plans include activities, assignments, rubrics, and daily lesson plans. These are basic, necessary elements for a well-written and effective unit plan. The plans differ in the way they approach these elements. Singer is the only one that includes clearly stated goals at the beginning of the plan. Butler skips goals entirely but Markham states them at the introductions of each assignment. All three plans have similar assignments with the exceptions of presentations or journals. Teacher preference probably accounts for the differences in assignment type.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">CRITERIA FOR UNIT PLAN STRUCTURE


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Construction
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Is it reasonable organized?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Does it include all vital elements?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Is it easy to follow?
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Effectiveness
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Is it engaging for students?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Are there any novel/unique ideas?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Will the students learn best this way?
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Assessment
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Do assignments and tests accurately measure learning?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Are there clearly stated goals?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Do the goals align with required curriculum?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">ELA ATTITUDES

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> According to all three of these unit plans, typical curriculum requires mythology to be taught to night grade students. The state determines what is taught and the teachers decide how to teach it. These teachers imply that in order for students to learn best, they need some sort of individual activity, some sort of group activity, and a writing assignment. They imply that good instructional practices are not limited to direct instruction by the teacher. Students need to discover knowledge for themselves and not be lectured for an entire class period. Ninth grade ELA students are capable of group presentations and research projects. They are also mature enough to keep up with their own reading logs or dialogue journals. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> While comparing the attitudes of these unit plan writers, it is difficult not to notice that some teachers value reflection and remediation of lesson content every day and others prefer to get down to business after attendance—moving forwards without looking back. Also, teachers’ preferences vary when it comes to the sharing of ideas. Some believe that large group discussion should be central to learning and others use smaller groups for assignments. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Personally, I value large group discussion should guide learning because it allows the entire classroom to have access to the same ideas. Smaller groups are more restrictive, though easier to control. To successfully combine the two discussion tactics, I plan on utilizing jigsaw often—it allows for small groups to discuss then share with the whole group later. I also believe that students (ninth graders in particular) should be responsible for their own reading journals. ELA instruction should balance individual work and group activities to foster the best learning.