Curriculum Planning Chart Subject: Literacy

Concept* ("The student will understand") (The big idea, the "enduring understanding" [Wiggins, 1998]; a broad way of making sense of the world, or a life lesson) Individuals often undergo meaningful changes when faced with adversity. Characters in literature often reflect many of the same feelings and characteristics that individuals do as round, dynamic characters. CC.1.2.1.C Describe the connection between two individual, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text. CC.1.3.1.C Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. CC.1.3.1.G Use illustrations and details in a story to describe characters, setting, or events. CC.1.3.1.H Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories. CC.1.4.1.B Identify and write about one specific topic. CC.1.4.1.M Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events. Standard Assessment (How will you have evidence that they know it?) Construct an evolving reference list of character traits or feeling words. Compare and Contrast how characters changed from beginning to end of text using a variety of graphic organizers and scaffolds. Compare and constrast character's in two read aloud texts Students will make predictions about stories using a picture walk. Predictions will be posted on tables with post it notes. Writers Workshop: Students will I was, I am, I will be poems identifying changes they've gone through and making connections to the life cycle of a plant. Facts ("The students will know") that while the conflict someone faces might be similar to anothers, their method for coping or overcoming it might differ. ...illustrations are often helpful in discerning meaning in text. how to appropriately select character traits and feeling words. that writers must work on their writing over a period of time, as their writing might also go through change. Skills ("The students will be able to") discuss characters and conflicts across two picture books with related themes. ...evaluate characters in literature and appropriate select character traits. relate their own personal experiences of change to those of characters in selected picture books. use a Venn diagram effectively to organize similarities and differences between characters. discuss their own writing and the writing of their peers. Problems to pose ("Guiding questions" or "unit questions") Have you ever waited a long time for something? Have you ever had to do something you didn't want to do? Have you ever felt angry? What did you do to feel better? How would you feel if your family moved from home to home? Why did the author write this story? How did this/these character(s) change from beginning to end of the story? Does your imagination ever help you feel better? Have you ever felt this way? ...and then it's spring By Fogliano Reading When Sophie Gets Angry Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang Reading Its Mine by Leo Lionni Reading Your Pal Mo Willems Presents Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems Reading Migrant by Maxine Trottier Reading Amelias Road by Linda Jacobs Altman Two word description game (main idea) Filling out graphic organizers Bring in baby pictures to qualitatively measure change.

Gaja Stirbys
Activities:

Central problem / issue / or essential question What changes have taken place in your life that were meaningful? Height, size, family, learning about likes and dislikes?

Curriculum Planning Chart Subject: Science

Concept* ("The student will understand") (The big idea, the "enduring understanding" [Wiggins, 1998]; a broad way of making sense of the world, or a life lesson) Living organisms require basic needs for survival and undergo cyclical changes. Standard Assessment (How will you have evidence that they know it?) Students evaluate and record changes in plants that occur in their journal. Students use labels accurately for their illustrations. Over the course of the unit they will incorporate more and more technical language into their descriptions. Students will be engaged in a series of responsibilities to take care of their plant. They will recorded in plant journal. Students will create pamphlets in groups describing how different plants are used. Students will apply their knowledge of seasonal change to make assertions about when different activities are performed. Facts ("The students will know") certain tools like a magnifying glass and ruler help observe plants in specific ways. plants need water and sunlight (in different amounts) in order to grow. ...plants need pollinators. plants grow from seeds. that there are many green spaces in Philadelphia organized by community members. Skills ("The students will be able to") measure a plant using a ruler. use tools to enhance their learning and observations. link plant to food to table. identify the structure and function of different plant parts. compare change over time to other growing plants in the classroom. Problems to pose ("Guiding questions" or "unit questions") What do you know about plants? What do plants need to grow? Should we measure our plant growth by centimeters? Inches? Feet? What should our unit of measure be? What is a seed? Where do seeds come from? Do all plants have seeds? How do seeds travel? Where does your food come from? How are plants grown? How have you changed since you were a baby? Learning what tools assist which investigations best. Regular measurement of plant growth. Observe changes in plant growth and record in daily journal. Grow fava beans (in jars) Grow Brassica Rapa seeds (in pods) Root plants from stem cuttings Experiment: Grow two plants, one with and one without water Experiment: Grow two plants, one in the light and one in the dark. Food Dye and Celery Experiment: What are stems and leaves for? Read From Seed to Plant by Gibbons

Gaja Stirbys
Activities:

S4.A.2.1.3 Plant seeds

to observe the life cycle of plants and predict what will happen

S4.B.1.1.3 Explore the

needs of living things. Record the growth and changes of seeds in drawings and in words. S.4.B.1.1.2 Draw and describe seeds.

Central problem / issue / or essential question What cyclical changes occur in the world that we could observe from our classroom? The Plant Life Cycle

Curriculum Planning Chart Subject: Math

Concept* ("The student will understand") (The big idea, the "enduring understanding" [Wiggins, 1998]; a broad way of making sense of the world, or a life lesson) Elements of transformation are present in our everyday lives in shapes and the natural world around us. . 2.4.1.A.1 Order lengths and measure them both indirectly and by repeating length units. 2.3.1.A.1 Compose and distinguish between two- and threedimensional shapes based on their attributes. 2.2.1.A.1 Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction within 20. Standard Assessment (How will you have evidence that they know it?) Daily journal will be kept to monitor growth over time. Students build secondary and tertiary shapes out of basic shapes like triangles, squares. Students will create new objects using two dimensional shapes. Students author their own story problems. Facts ("The students will know") how to use a ruler to measure plant growth over time. that shapes share similar attributes. ...that many every day objects are made from basic shapes. basic shapes can be used to build new shapes. (i.e. 2 triangles can make a square) ...that there is more than one way to solve a word problem. Skills ("The students will be able to") utilize an investigate tool appropriately. identify and name basic shapes. ...compose and decompose shapes ...manipulate shapes to create new objects. ...use various adding strategies and tools. Problems to pose ("Guiding questions" or "unit questions") How big/tall do you think this plant will be when its fully grown? Where do we see these basic shapes in our everyday life? How can Student A's solution help us in our own understanding? Choosing an appropriate unit of measurement measuring items small and large in our classroom. Read This is Not a Box by Antoinette Portis Read The Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dodds Story Problems using known materials related to plants and their neighborhood

Gaja Stirbys
Activities:

Central problem / issue / or essential question What tools can we use in our classroom to transform shapes and better understand objects of study?

Curriculum Planning Chart Subject: Social Studies

Concept* ("The student will understand") (The big idea, the "enduring understanding" [Wiggins, 1998]; a broad way of making sense of the world, or a life lesson) We belong to family, neighborhood and cultural communities that express change over time. Central problem / issue / or essential question What does change look and feel like? Standard Assessment (How will you have evidence that they know it?) Harcourt Standards and Objectives: Recognize Change Over Time Students will correctly associate activities to the season in which they take place. That there are four seasons with distinct characteristics. Associate seasonal activities with physical responses. What would happen if birds didn't know when to migrate? Seasonal Change Charades Facts ("The students will know") Skills ("The students will be able to") Problems to pose ("Guiding questions" or "unit questions")

Gaja Stirbys
Activities:

Discuss How Changes in a Community Affect the People That Live There

Students will discuss what changes the want to see in their neighborhoods

Community activism can be expressed in different ways.

Explore how urban gardening can bring people together in a neighborhood.

What makes your neighborhood beautiful to you?

Read City Green by DiSalvoGreen