Unit Map

Topic: Ordinary People Changing The World

Learning Objectives:

- Students will know who ordinary people are.

- Students will know what an ordinary person can do to make a difference in the world.

- Students will summarize the stories read in class.

Week 1:

Monday: Who is an ordinary person? What can an ordinary person do to make a

difference in the world?

Tuesday: Read I Am Temple Grandin by Brad Meltzer.

Wednesday: Who is Temple Grandin? What did Temple do to make a difference in the

world?

Thursday: Read I Am Muhammad Ali by Brad Meltzer.

Friday: Who is Muhammad Ali? What did Muhammad do to make a difference in the

world? Formative Assessment: Students will summarize the story of Temple

Grandin and Muhammad Ali.

Week 2:

Monday: Read I Am Malala Yousafzai by Brad Meltzer.

Tuesday: Who is Malala Yousafzai? What did Malala do to make a difference in the

world?

Wednesday: Read I Am Anne Frank by Brad Meltzer.

Thursday: Who is Anne Frank? What did Anne do to make a difference in the world?
 Friday: Formative Assessment: Students will add to their previous summary and include

Malala Yousafzai and Anne Frank.

Week 3:

Monday: Read I Am Sacagawea by Brad Meltzer.

Tuesday: Who is Sacagawea? What did Sacagawea do to make a difference in the world?

Wednesday: Read I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. by Brad Meltzer.

Thursday: Who is Martin Luther King, Jr.? What did Martin do to make a difference in the

world?

Friday: Formative Assessment: Students will complete their summaries by adding

Sacagawea and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Week 4:

Monday: Introduction to I Am Reading Project + Read “You Can Change The World” by

Brad Meltzer + Workshop

Tuesday: Workshop – I Am Reading

Wednesday: Workshop – I Am Reading

Thursday: Workshop – I Am Reading

Friday: Summative Assessment: I Am Reading Event

4-Week Unit

Grade Level: 2

Unit Title: Ordinary People Changing The World

Essential Question: What can an ordinary person do to make a difference in the world?
Summative Assessment: Students will be graded using the 1-4 proficiency scale, in which 3 will

be considered proficient. In order to earn a proficient score, Student must create their own I Am

story about something they would like to do to make a difference in the world. Students will

hold a reading night in which parents and community members can come to listen to the

students stories.

Standards:

CCSS.MLR.ELA/LS – S.1 – Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English

grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

CCSS.MLR.ELA/LS – S.2 – Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and

formats, including point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric

CCSS.MLR.ELA/LS – S.3 – Present information and supporting evidence appropriate to task,

purpose, and audience so listeners can follow the line of reasoning and incorporate multimedia

when appropriate.

CCSS.MLR.ELA/LS – S.5 – Provide an accurate summary of various texts; determine the central

idea(s) or theme(s) and analyze its development throughout each text.

 Book List

All Kinds Of Families By Suzanne Lang and Max Lang

This book discusses many different family structures that

children have in their home. Children are able to see their family

structure represented in the book. With this book in my future

classroom children will feel represented and feel more

comfortable in their surroundings in the classroom.

All People Are Beautiful By Vincent Kelly and Cha Consul

This book discusses multicultural differences and how they

make us unique. The book also teaches children acceptance,

belonging, and how to feel comfortable in their skin. Children

will feel more accepted and as if they belong with this book in

my future classroom.

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story By Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal

This book is written in verse and discusses a Native

American Family Story. A story about food, time spent together,

and celebration. The book makes Native Americans feel included

and teaches those who are not about the Native American

Culture.
Hair Love By Matthew A. Cherry and Vashti Harrison

This story is about celebrating father daughter

relationships along with loving one’s self how they are. The story

teaches children to be empowered by their differences and to

celebrate the people in their life. The story also teaches children

to love themselves no matter their difference.

I Am Enough By Grace Byers and Keturah A. Bobo

This story shares the importance of a purpose, the idea of

being more than enough, and believing in it. The story is an ode

to loving who you are, being kind to one another, and respecting

other. The story is excellent for inspiring and empowering young

children.

Jalapeno Bagels By Natasha Wing and Robert Casilla

This story is about the combining of Mexican and Jewish

culture and representing them for a school project. The

character combines both of this parent’s background cultures

for International Day at school. This story will encourage

children to celebrate their culture and represent themselves.

King For A Day by Rukhsana Khan and Christiane Kromer

This story is about mastering hobbies in you own way

through facing and overcoming life’s challenges. The story

introduces children to concepts from centuries ago through a

contemporary story. The story encourages children to face and

overcome challenges head on.

Love Makes A Family By Sophie Beer

This story depicts families of multiple types and how

families can show love to each other. Love may be baking a

special cake, helping out, reading one more book. The book

helps children to learn what is important to families and the love

that families share.

Say Something By Peter H. Reynolds

This book is about how a single voice can make a

difference. The book encourages children to use their actions,

words, and voices to make the change they want to see. The

book is to empower children to use their importance and how

important it is to use their voices.

The Big Umbrella By Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates

This story is about the importance of inclusivity.

The umbrella has room for everyone regardless of

differences. The story teaches children about inclusivity

and tolerance.

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López

This book serves as a reminder to everyone that we all feel

like outsiders at time. The importance of being brave to go

forth. The story teaches children that we should tell our stories

because people may meet us halfway and share their stories as

well.

The Proudest Blue By Ibtihaj Muhammad, S. K. Ali, and Hatem Aly

This book is about two sisters on their first day of school

one of whom is wearing a hijab for the first time. The sister finds

ways to be strong through hurtful and confusing words. This

book will teach children how to persevere in uncomfortable

situations inside and outside of the classroom.

 Parent Rationale

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Our next social studies unit will be about various countries. Students will read about

multiple different cultures and eventually chose one that they will learn more in depth about

and create their own story based off of the culture they chose. Throughout the unit Culturally

Sustaining Pedagogy or teaching practices will be utilized. These methods are utilized “to

perpetuate and foster—to sustain—linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of schooling

for positive social transformation” (Alim & Paris). The decision to utilize Culturally Sustaining

Pedagogy is to not only benefit the content knowledge of the students but also from a

behavioral, expression, educational outcome, and self confidence standpoint. “Socially

marginalized students (e.g. economically disadvantaged students, students of color, immigrants

and first-generation students) are likely to encounter more obstacles to school achievement

than those who think, behave, and express themselves in ways that approximate school and

mainstream cultural norms. By contrast, curriculum content that is culturally relevant,

intelligible, and meaningful for financially insecure students of color improves their educational

outcomes, sense of self efficacy and self determination, and future life chances” (Borck). If you

are familiar with the concept of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

“offers a broader perspective on education that embraces cultural diversity and nurtures

students’ cultural identities” (Subagyo). We are excited for your student to begin this Unit on

countries and dive deeper into the culture of a country.

Sincerely,

Ms. Rimkunas
 Emergent Bilinguals Plan

My plan for this unit and adapting it to include emergent bilinguals is to first of all

annunciate my words when reading the books to the children in my class. Additionally, I will

utilize strategies such as sentence builders and writing frames/writing structures for emergent

bilinguals. Depending upon the child’s fluency in English and where they are in their bilingual

journey will determine which strategies is used for each child. Students who are still struggling

with English fluency will use sentence builders to complete their summaries of the I Am Stories

along with their own I Am Story. Students who are more fluent in English will use writing

frames/writing structure to complete their summaries of the I Am Stories and their own I Am

Story. Another aspect that I will keep in mind when grading all of the student’s assignments but

especially the emergent bilinguals is correctness. I will not pick apart their grammar and spelling

when I can understand what they are meaning and the basic ideas they are trying to get across

in their summaries and stories.

 Norms for Classroom & Self-Modeling Expectations

Classroom Norms:

Students will be respectful, honest, courageous, compassionate, and responsible.

Students will have quiet mouths when others are speaking to them and use walking feet

while indoors.

Self-Modeling:

I will be respectful, honest, courageous, compassionate, and responsible. I will be quiet

when students are speaking to me or when another adult is talking to me. I will use walking feet

in the building. Additionally to model appropriate and respectful communication practices, I will

use full/complete sentences when speaking to children and coworkers. I will ask students and

coworkers questions when I have a question. I will ask for clarification when I don’t understand

what is being said.

I will model being respectful by respecting boundaries and their wishes (as long as they

do not cause risk of safety to themselves or another child or person). I will model being honest

by telling the kids the truth and aim to not sugarcoat things for them. I will model being

courageous by trying new thing in front of my students. I will model being compassionate by

asking my students how they are doing on a regular basis and generally caring about how they

feel. I will model being responsible by being a leader and by being a figure of authority for my

students.
 Works Cited

Alim, H. Samy, and Django Paris. “Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies.” Google Books, Google,

2017, https://books.google.com/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=3QvGDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=importance+of+culturally+sustaini

ng+pedagogy&ots=aKYROCcnya&sig=Z5oriRQumdC_kp6WZzxxAsiFzlk#v=onepage&q=im

portance%20of%20culturally%20sustaining%20pedagogy&f=false

Borck, C. Ray. “I Belong Here.”: Culturally Sustaining Pedagogical Praxes for An . . ., June 2020,

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/C-Borck/publication/

335370145_I_Belong_Here_Culturally_Sustaining_Pedagogical_Praxes_from_an_Alterna

tive_High_School_in_Brooklyn/links/609dc60192851cfdf32f4e06/I-Belong-Here-

Culturally-Sustaining-Pedagogical-Praxes-from-an-Alternative-High-School-in-

Brooklyn.pdf

Subagyo, Mujtahid. Evolving Perspectives in Education: From Culturally Relevant Pedagogy . . .,

June 2023, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mujtahid-Subagyo-2/publication/

371371378_Evolving_Perspectives_in_Education_From_Culturally_Relevant_Pedagogy_t

o_Culturally_Sustaining_Pedagogy/links/6480f598d702370600da5972/Evolving-

Perspectives-in-Education-From-Culturally-Relevant-Pedagogy-to-Culturally-Sustaining-

Pedagogy.pdf