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UPAGES - Unit Plan Genre Study: Purpose
UPAGES - Unit Plan Genre Study: Purpose
Rationale
Theres
more
than
one
way
to
skin
a
cat.
Formulas
often
oversimplify
because
they
dont
allow
for
the
specificity
of
particular
students
and
contexts.
Looking
at
several
(different)
examples
can
give
you
a
more
flexible
sense
of
how
something
works
in
various
situations.
Its
like
criss-crossing
a
landscape
in
order
to
get
a
sense
of
the
terrain,
rather
than
always
taking
the
same
path.
By
looking
in
depth
at
several
different
unit
plans,
you
will
have
a
better
sense
of
possibilities
for
this
genre,
or
type
of
composition.
Assignment
1. Look
at
five
sample
unit
plans
on
the
website
below:
Peter
Smagorinskys
Virtual
Library
of
Instructional
Units:
http://www.coe.uga.edu/~smago/VirtualLibrary/index.html
Choose
three
plans
that
seem
both
high-quality
and
significantly
different
to
you.
2. Why
did
you
choose
these
three?
3. Of
the
three
unit
plans,
which
do
you
like
the
best?
Why?
4. Pick
one
of
the
unit
plans
and
tell
what
you
would
change
or
add
and
why.
5. What
structural
characteristics
do
all
three
have
in
common?
How
are
they
different?
6. What
accounts
for
these
similarities?
Differences?
7. Develop
a
list
of
criteria
you
would
use
to
evaluate
the
structure
of
unit
plans;
for
example,
in
a
category
called
Organization,
you
might
list
Coherence
to
suggest
that
the
lessons
should
work
together
towards
common
goal(s).
8. Looking
at
the
three
plans
you
chose,
what
attitudes
does
each
imply
about:
o o o
What constitutes the curriculum of English Language Arts? What makes good instructional practices in English Language Arts? What English Language Arts students are/should be capable of?
9. What do you notice as you compare the attitudes represented in these three plans? 10. With which (if any) of the implied attitudes in these plans do you agree/disagree and why?