ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

Data from the 2004 North Dakota State Assessment, NWEA-MAP Reading test and STAR Reading scores were the rationale for developing this unit. Looking at the 2004 North Dakota State Assessment, our school’s 4th graders were slightly below the state average in the following Language Arts areas; Standard 2: Engage in the Reading Process, Standard 3: Comprehend literature, Standard 4: Engage in the writing process, Standard 5: Write for a variety of purposes, and Standard 7: Understands/use principles, with scores lower in writing than reading. These results were not that alarming until I looked at two assessment tools used with my current classroom; NWEA-MAP Reading and STAR Reading. Looking at overall RIT scores on the NWEA-MAP test (taken in the fall of 2004), 68% of my class were below the average median for third grade. Of that 68 percent, 46% are in the At-risk category. Using the STAR reading results (taken from a September 2004 testing), 58% of my class scored below grade level. Of that 58%; 45% were one grade below, 45% were two grade levels below, and 10% scored three grade levels below. Because of the results from these three testing instruments, I have decided to focus my unit in the language arts area. We have no standardized tests that score social studies achievement but those standards were included that matched the activity.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: • I want my students to realize that reading historical fiction helps in our understanding of the past. • I would like my students to understand that connecting our lives with people we read about in books helps in our understanding of characters and adds to and builds upon the bank of knowledge within us. Goal(s): Student will gain information about the past. Students will build upon their background knowledge of potato farming, Wyoming, dog sled racing, and Shoshone Indians. Students will explore themes of pets, friendship, families, and transportation.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: Why should someone read historical fiction? • How does reading give us information that can be used again?; How does reading connect to a person’s life? • How do books and movies depict historical fiction in the same way and differently? Objectives: Given a topic, internet links, and questions, students (in groups, 4 groups total) will be able to collect data on the topic and answer at least three questions. Using answered questions from the internet, students (in groups) will utilize data gained by compiling it into a report using a rubric to guide them. Using data from research, students (in groups) will demonstrate understanding by creating/designing a poster using criteria from a rubric. Using reports and posters, students (in groups) will be able to share them with the class being scored by their peers with a checklist. When reading independently, the student will be able to move from each task at their own pace using Class Server until all activities are complete. Upon reading a chapter in the book, the student will respond in writing to all criteria asked for with 100% completion. Using a Microsoft Word template for “Jeopardy”, students (in groups) will demonstrate knowledge by answering questions correctly for points until the board has been completely uncovered. After watching the movie, Stone Fox, the student will compare and contrast the movie and book by filling out a Venn-diagram with at least three examples in each area.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding? Playing a “Jeopardy” game (questions put together by students and teacher) What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding? Ongoing daily discussion on readings, small group discussions, many writing prompts and writing assignments (T graphs, written dialoguing, poster design, Venn-diagram) What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding? Creating a report, a poster and sharing with class and a hallway display to share with the school, playing “Jeopardy” What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect? Using various rubrics, student generated checklists, paragraph writing, and comparing movie to the book

Instructional Strategies

Students will use a combination of inquiry-based and project-based learning as they work through reading a historical fiction piece. The whole unit will be based on an inquiry approach as students work to answer the essential questions of the unit: • Why should someone read historical fiction?• How does reading give information that can be used again? • How does reading connect to a person’s life? • How do books and movies depict historical fiction in the same way and differently? The inquiry and project approach will be used together as students research four topics (potato farming, sled dog racing, Wyoming, and Shoshone Indians) as an introduction to the story and present their findings to the class in the form of a “project” (report and poster). Later in the unit students will again be asked to research Samoyeds which would be using an inquiry approach. A smaller project within the unit will be to design a poster for the dog sled race.