EDU 570: INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

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Name: Jennifer N. Dolezal

Unit name: Reading – Creature Features

Unit Length: 4 weeks

STAGE ONE - GOALS, UNDERSTANDINGS, AND KNOWLEDGE:

ESTABLISHED LEARNING GOALS (LOCAL, STATE, OR NATIONAL STANDARDS):

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.7
Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.10
With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults
in small and larger groups.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1.A
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about
the topics and texts under discussion).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1.B
Build on others' talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.4
Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

SOURCE OF THE LEARNING GOALS: http://www.corestandards.org/

UNIT GRADE LEVEL: 1

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UNDERSTANDINGS:
SPECIFIC UNDERSTANDINGS:

 Illustrations often contain key details that are important to the story.
 Informational text is nonfiction in which the author’s purpose is to inform the reader.
 Participating in a conversation requires listening, turn-taking, and responding to what
other contributors have stated.
 Facts are statements that can be proven to be true.
 Opinions are personal feelings, emotions, and/or beliefs that cannot be proven.

PREDICTABLE MISUNDERSTANDINGS:

 Students may struggle with differentiating between expressing facts and opinions
throughout the unit.
 Students may not know how to look at the illustrations for clues and other key details that
add to the story.
 Students at this age are still learning social norms, i.e., how to collaborate and take turns.

KNOWLEDGE:
STUDENTS WILL KNOW…

 Key vocabulary within the text.

 How to read the text fluently and decipher important details.
 How to decode words.

STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO…

 Use the text and illustrations to draw conclusions and identify the main idea of a story.
 Identify which events within the story are important and retell them in the correct
sequence.
 Participate in small- and large-group conversations while following social rules for turn-
taking and sharing ideas.
 Formulate questions that pertain to the reading and respond to others appropriately using
information and details acquired.
 Express their thoughts and opinions about characters in the stories.

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STAGE ONE - ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
ESSENTIAL QUESTION #1

QUESTION: How can I use the illustrations to find details within the story?

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS & RATIONALE:

This question is essential in nature because it leads to students to the further exploration of a
text, beyond the words on the pages. Using the illustrations to find more details lead to
conversations about why the author and/or illustrator chose to put those details there. This
question was developed because students in the first grade are still novice readers and are
still learning how to read and interpret books. Pictures and illustrations can help students
understand the text and guide them through the reading. One example of how we address this
essential question throughout our units is to do “picture walks” before we read a story. A
picture walk is when students do not look at the words in a book at all. Rather, they just flip
through the book looking at the pictures only. This forces students to see details that may or
may not be in the text but are important pieces to the development of the story.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION #2

QUESTION: How can I find facts and opinions in stories and what are the differences
between them?

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS & RATIONALE:

Throughout this unit, we will be reading informational texts that contain many facts about
animals and their bodily features. However, we will also be reading fiction books in which
the characters are animals that express their opinions. Students will need to know what facts
and opinions are and how they are different. We will be practicing how to identify facts and
opinions in the stories that we read and also creating our own opinions. I created this
essential question because students need to be aware of the authors’ purpose and choice of
words. They should also not run the risk of being mislead by confusing what facts and
opinions truly are.

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ESSENTIAL QUESTION #3

QUESTION: What can I do if I am stuck on a word or phrase and/or do not understand the
meaning?

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS & RATIONALE:

Throughout the school year, students have been learning different decoding and
comprehension reading strategies that we constantly refer back to if we come across a word
or phrase that we do not understand. This essential question requires students to draw from
their prior experiences and effectively use those strategies to make sense of the text. This
question was developed because students are still learning how to read and different sounds
that letters can make (long and short vowels, digraphs, diphthongs, hard and soft letter
sounds, etc.). Providing students with the opportunity to work through these obstacles will
help them grow and develop as independent and fluent readers.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION #4

QUESTION: What can I do to be a good listener and participant in a conversation?

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS & RATIONALE:

Students at this age level are still learning social ques and norms that are necessary to
collaborate and be an involved participant in a conversation. Many students still have an
egocentric outlook and struggle to take turns, actively listen, and provide feedback. This
essential question will remind students to follow the rules of being an active participant, to
listen to others thoughts and opinions, and to share their point of view with their peers. While
developing this essential question, I thought of the small and large group discussions that we
have in class. At the beginning of the school year, students really struggled with blurting out
answers and listening to opinions that differed from their own. As the year has went on, we
have spent a lot of time talking about being polite, listening while other people talk, and that
it is okay for others to think and feel differently than we do. This essential question was
developed with the idea that I am also teaching students to be good citizens – not just how to
read and write.

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ESSENTIAL QUESTION #5:

QUESTION: What questions can I ask throughout the readings to better understand the story?

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS & RATIONALE:

Beyond being able to simply read the text, it is important that students learn to ask questions
throughout the reading to further understand the story. As a teacher, of course it is important
that students know how to read, but it is more important that they know how to understand
what it is that they are reading. There are many strategies and skills that we practice when
reading. My students learn how to make inferences, make connections to other texts, to self,
and to the world, draw conclusions, visualize the text, and determine importance of what we
read. This essential question was created to show my students the importance of continuously
thinking about what we are reading, how we can fully understand the context of what we are
reading, and why the author created the text.

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STAGE TWO - ASSESSMENTS:
PERFORMANCE TASKS:
1) Create a play with a small group that retells a story that we read.

Students will work together with 3-4 of their peers and create a script to perform for the
class. The script must follow the story that we read including the characters, plot, setting,
and sequence of events.

2) Reflect on yourself as a reader. How could you become a better reader? What goals would you
like to set for yourself, and what steps will you take to get there?

Students will work independently on this and self-assess their readiness levels. These
students are novice readers, so goal setting and taking steps to gain achievement are ways
in which they can take responsibility and pride in their learning.

OTHER EVIDENCE
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS (Heacox, 2009, p. 39)

 Formal Strategies:
o Graphic organizers
o Work samples
o Exit Slips
o Daily Work

 Informal Strategies:
o Observations
o Discussion reflections
o “Thumbs” assessments
o Student self-evaluation with rubrics/checklists

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS (Heacox, 2009, p. 45)

 Presentations
Students will create a presentation for the class while working in a small group. They will
need to be able to use strategies learned to identify key details in the text, as well as the
plot, characters, and setting. Furthermore, they will have to sequence events from the text
in the correct order for the storyline to make sense.

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  Teacher-Facilitated Conferences/Question and Answer
The teacher will meet with each student individually to discuss the performace task:
Reflect on yourself as a reader. How could you become a better reader? What goals
would you like to set for yourself, and what steps will you take to get there? The teacher
and student will work together to identify a realistic and true representation of the
students’ readiness levels as readers. They will also collaborate on a reachable goal and
the steps necessary to obtain that goal.

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STAGE THREE - LEARNING PLAN:

Day of Unit Lessons/Activities WHERETO

Week 1 Day 1 Class Discussion: What is your favorite animal? Why? Hook
Activate prior knowledge: What baby animals have
you seen? How did they look different than their
parents?
Read the book “Farfallina and Marcel.” Discuss what
happens in the story, paying attention to the
illustrations and problem/solution.

Create a Google Slideshow and add the title of the

book, the cover, and a short summary. As we read
stories throughout this unit, they will be added to this
slideshow for students to refer back to.
Week 1 Day 2 Essential Question: How can I use the illustrations to Where/Why
find details within the story? Equip
Evaluate
Students will do a picture-walk of the nonfiction book
“Bear Cubs.” Discuss what the illustrations can tell us
about a story that the words may not. Partner read the
book. Discuss what details the illustrations included.

Exit Slip: How are the cubs like the mother bear?
Week 1 Day 3 Play the video Life Cycles in a Garden. Students will Rethink/Reflect/Revise
complete a think-pair-share with the ideas of how Organize
animals change as they grow. Read, “Ruby in Her Equip
Own Time.” Compare the video to the book. Create a
Venn Diagram.

Make inferences and predictions about the text using

the illustrations. Analyze the characters.

Refer back to the essential question: How can I use the

illustrations to find details within the story?
Week 1 Day 4 Students will partner read the nonfiction story “A Equip
Good Place.” Evaluate
Tailor
Compare this book to “Ruby in Her Own Time.” What
are some facts listed? What are opinions?

Introduce essential question: How can I find facts and

opinions in stories and what are the differences
between them?

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 Play game with flashcards that have silly facts and
opinions on them. Students will work together to sort
them.
Week 1 Day 5 Play “Twenty Questions” on iPads where students Evaluate
choose one item in a picture and do not tell their Where/Why
partner. They have to ask questions to find out what
item was chosen and differentiate between facts and
opinions.
Week 2 Day 1 Students will do a picture walk of the science article, Equip
“Turtles: From Eggs to Ocean.” Complete graphic Where/Why
organizer of how to determine importance. They will Organize
then work in groups to identify facts and create a
poster that could be used to teach someone else about
what they read.
Week 2 Day 2 Read whole-group, “Flamingos.” Equip
Where/Why
Introduce and discuss essential question: What can I Evaluate
do if I am stuck on a word or phrase and/or do not
understand the meaning?

Exit Slip: Can you stand on one leg like a flamingo?

Do you think flamingos have good balance? Why?
Week 2 Day 3 Do the interactive read-aloud “A Frog’s Life” on the Hook/Hold
Smartboard. Have students complete the tasks. Refer Rethink/Reflect/Revise
back to strategies learned on previous day to decode Evaluate
words/phrases.
Week 2 Day 4 Students will work in groups to read the story, “Two Rethink/Reflect/Revise
Little Ducks.” They will create a list of the strategies Evaluate
that they used to decode while reading and share their Organize
examples with another group.
Week 2 Day 5 Play “At the Pond” on iPads. Hook/Hold
Evaluate
Week 3 Day 1 Introduce essential question: What questions can I ask Where/Why
throughout the readings to better understand the story? Equip

Read the story, “Mules.” Most students do not realize

the difference between mules and donkeys. Students
will work together to create a list of questions that
they might ask to clarify their understandings.
Week 3 Day 2 Do interactive read-aloud “Over in the Meadow.” Evaluate
Students will be told to think of connections that they Hook/Hold
could make with the text (text-to-text, text-to-self,
text-to-world). Complete “Text-to-Tiger” diagram to
show student thoughts and ideas.
Week 3 Day 3 Do a picture-walk and read the story, “A Butterfly is Evaluate

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 Born.” Discuss the illustrations and life cycles. How is Tailor
a butterfly’s life cycle similar and different than a
frog? Complete the Wondering Walrus activity that
has students create questions (who, what, when,
where, why, how).
Week 3 Day 4 Using the stories we read this week, students are going Rethink/Reflect/Revise
to select one and create an alternative ending.
Week 3 Day 5 Play “In the Garden” on iPads. Hook/Hold
Tailor
Week 4 Day 1 Introduce final project: With a group, students will Equip
create a skit that retells a story that we read. Refer to Tailor
Google slideshow that has all of the stories that we Evaluate
have read, a picture of each cover, and a summary of
the stories.

Introduce and discuss essential question: What can I

do to be a good listener and participant in a
conversation?

Exit Slip: What kind of group member would you like

to work with? What characteristics would they have?
Week 4 Day 2 Students will be given time to work on their final Tailor
projects. Today, will have to create an outline that Reflect/Rethink/Revise
identifies the characters, setting, plot,
problem/solution, and emotions of the characters.
They will work together to assign roles.
Week 4 Day 3 Students will construct the dialogue in the skit, paying Evaluate
attention to details and sequencing to ensure they are
accurately portraying the storyline.
Week 4 Day 4 Students will practice their performances. They will Rethink/Reflect/Revise
also be meeting with the teacher one-on-one to create Evaluate
realistic goals about what they can do to become a Tailor
better reader and what steps are necessary to move in
that direction.
Week 4 Day 5 Play performance! Hook/Hold
Evaluate
Finish one-on-one evaluations and individual learning Tailor
goal settings.

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abc = activity

abc = assessment

abc = Introduction of essential questions

Unit Calendar
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
Week 1 Whole-group Introduce Video and story Read story Play game on
discussion essential iPads
question Compare/contrast Compare to
Read and (EQ) #1 story read
discuss story Make inferences yesterday
Picture Walk and predictions
Introduce EQ
Exit Slip Refer to EQ #1 #2

Play sort
game
Week 2 Picture walk Read story Interactive read Read story Play game on
aloud on iPads
Graphic Introduce EQ SmartBoard Create lists of
organizer #3 strategies –
Refer to EQ #3 share with
Create poster Exit Slip another group
Week 3 Introduce EQ Interactive Picture walk Create Play game on
#5 Read aloud alternative iPads
on Compare/contrast endings
Read story SmartBoard
Wondering
Create list of Make text-to- Walrus activity
questions text, text-to-
self, and text-
to-world
connections
Week 4 Introduce Create Construct Practice Performance!
final project outline for dialogue for final performance
final project project Finish 1-on-1
Introduce EQ Meet 1-on-1 meetings
#4 Assign roles with teacher
to create
Exit Slip individual
reading goals

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 The feedback that I received from the peer-review was very helpful and offered
suggestions that I had not previously thought of. The person who reviewed my learning plan
mentioned that there were a lot of strengths in my unit: varied modes of learning, spacing and
sequencing of essential questions, and the activities that I used to assess my students’ learning.
Her recommendation of keeping a written log of stories that we read was one that I decided
would benefit my unit and allow my students to reflect back on the stories and activites that we
completed throughout the unit. However, I did decide to alter this a little bit. Rather than having
my students write after each story, I decided that we would do a reflection piece together as a
class and I would keep that in a Google Slideshow for us to refer back to throughout the unit and
at the end as well. The reason why I chose to make this a while-group activity as opposed to an
individual task is because some of my students are not yet ready to write thorough summaries of
stories. The purpose of the reflection log would be to refer back to it in the future. If students are
forced to reflect, they will become disinterested in the content. Furthermore, my advanced
students would have great notes to look back on, and my struggling students would have minimal
notes to see when it comes time for the performance tasks. Tomlinson and Imbeau (2010)
explain, “In mixed-readiness groups, ensure that written content is accessible to everyone in the
group,” (p. 91). They go on to state, “recall that students cannot grow academically when work is
too difficult or too easy for them, and it is inappropriate and ineffective to base a task on material
a student cannot read,” (p. 91). I am glad that I was given the suggestion of including a reflection
tool. Reflection is a great way for our class to look back on all that we have achieved and
covered during the course of the unit. However, it is important that each teacher look at what
level of difficulty is appropriate for their grade level and student readiness levels.

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