top of page

YEARLONG PLAN

Exploring Humanity

Hand Reaching Out

1

2

Transformation

Sustainability

Storytelling

UNIT 1

Personal Narrative

3 Weeks

Objectives

Students will discuss the importance of storytelling for humans all over the world and throughout time. They will also read, write, and talk about their own stories.

​

Standards

8.3.1  |  Stylistic devices and descriptive details in literary and narrative texts are organized for a variety of audiences and purposes and evaluated for quality.

​

Texts

YA Choice Book

Short Story  |  "The Home That Made Me Doesn't Exist Anymore" by Jasmine Sanders

Poem  |  "In Praise of Small Kindnesses" by Siri Liv Myhrom

Poem  |  "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon

Art  |  Lea Wells

TED Talk  |  "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

​

Routines

5 Minute Check-In  |  Daily

10 Minute Independent Reading  |  Mondays and Wednesdays

5 Minute Vocabulary  |   Mondays and Wednesdays

10 Minute Journaling  |  Tuesdays and Thursdays

5 Minute Grammar  |  Tuesdays and Thursdays

​

Activities

Chalk Talk  |  Students will bounce ideas off of one another, using a text as the foundation and using their stories as the construction. 

Mood Board  |  Students will use Trello, Pinterest, Padlet, or a platform of their choice to create an idea generator for their narrative essay. They can do the same with their YA book. 

Skype Talk  |  I will invite a guest speaker to share their story about storytelling. I would try to find a global writer who can offer unique perspectives connect with the students. 

​

Evaluation

2 Page Personal Narrative  |  Students will capture part of their story in written format. 

Conferences  |  Students and I will discuss their narratives and reading journey. 

Student Goals  |  They will write out their goals at the beginning of the unit and refer back to them to reflect.

Student-built Rubric  |  Students and I will determine what elements are pertinent to a successful narrative piece based on mentor texts. We will also discuss participation expectations. 

Peer Feedback  |  Consistent writing partners will be an essential part of my classroom so they can build a safe space to grow in their writing and stories.

Exit Tickets  |  Formative feedback about reading and writing strategies is important to understand what they are learning or not learning. 

Revision Checks  |  There is no final essay. They are encouraged to revise their writing based on feedback. 

Inequity

UNIT 2

Persuasive Letter

4 Weeks

Objectives

Students will read and analyze a plethora of sources surrounding an issue they are passionate about. They will use evidence and language to communicate their proposal to change something in the working system of the school or government for the better. 

​​

Standards

8.2.3  |  Context, grammar, and word choice influence the understanding of literary, persuasive, and informational texts

8.3.3  |  Ideas and supporting details in informational and persuasive texts are organized for a variety of audiences and purposes and evaluated for quality

​

Texts

YA Book Clubs  |  EverydayPiecing Me Together, Wonder, Stargirl

Book Talk  |  American Born Chinese

Clip  |  Hidden Figures, 13

News Article

Scholarly Article

​

Activities 

Debate  |  To practice persuasion, research, and speaking, students will prepare arguments about an area of inequity they see in their lives. This will help them prepare their persuasive letter. 

Opinion Spectrum Activity  |  Students will line up based on discussion questions that challenge their perspectives about identity. 

Guest Speaker  |  I will invite a local community member who is an expert in inequity and can provide us with expanded knowledge. The reason I have bring in lots of voices into my room is because I want students to understand the power of education from all sectors of life.

​

Evaluation

1 Page Persuasive Letter  |  Students will propose a change to an authority figure that will make a more equitable world. 

Conferences  |  We will meet to talk about their letter and small group reading. I'm there to listen for their needs or encourage their strengths.  

Student Goals  |  Students will determine new goals for the unit and keep referring back to them. 

Student-built Rubric  |  This will be about the letter's expectations and book club's expectations. 

Peer Feedback  |  New writing partners will help students be exposed to more perspectives. 

Exit Tickets  |  Formative feedback about reading and writing strategies is vital. 

Revision Checks  |  Students can revise their work and turn it back in. They also have to show their improvement explicitly. 

Violence

UNIT 3

Literary Analysis

4 Weeks

Objectives

Students will collect textual analysis throughout their readings to make a claim about the author’s theme. They will reflect on culture impacts violence as a whole.

​

Standards

8.2.1  |  Quality comprehension and interpretation of literary texts demand self-monitoring and self-assessment

8.2.3  |  Context, grammar, and word choice influence the understanding of literary, persuasive, and informational texts

​

Texts

Classic Text  |  The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton​

Short Story  |  "The House Behind" by David Lydia

Poem  |  "Hate" by Kate Pruneau

Song  |  "Love Wins" by Carrie Underwood

Song  |  "Where is the Love?" by Black-Eyed Peas

​

Activities 

Student Panel  |  I would like to bring in college students who can share their experiences about using writing outside of secondary school. How can literary analysis make our lives better?

4 Corners  |  This is another form of small group discussion to debrief how violence is showing up in society and in our texts. 

Emotion Log  |  Students will track their emotions from day to day in a private chart, journal, or medium of their choice in order to observe how we can be affected by positive and negative emotions differently. 

Brain Lab  |  We will have science stations about different parts of the brain that engages students about behavior and emotion. We will journal and discuss it after like always. 

​

Evaluation

2-3 Page Literary Analysis Paper  |  They will defend a thesis about the theme of The Outsiders.

Conferences  |  We will meet to talk about their paper and reading. 

Student Goals  |  New goals emerge for this unit.

Student-built Rubric  |  It is created for the paper and large group expectations. 

Peer Feedback  |  New writing partners for this paper. 

Exit Tickets  |  Students turn in practice about reading and writing strategies, but discussing meaningful topics is for journaling. 

Revision Checks  |  Students can still prove they are implementing changes. 

Activism

UNIT 4

Research Paper

5 Weeks

Objectives

Students will research a topic of their choice from different angles and determine what productive change means to them based off their credible findings. 

​​

Standards

8.4.1  |  Individual research projects begin with information obtained from a variety of sources, and is organized, documented, and presented using logical procedures

8.4.2  |  Common fallacies and errors occur in reasoning

8.4.3  |  Quality reasoning relies on supporting evidence in media

 

Texts

Independent Research

Video  |  "The Age of Activism: A Generation Awakening"

Video  |  "Stepping Up: The Social Justice Activist"

​

Activities 

Concept Map​  |  Students will pick a topic they are passionate about and will make a concept map that helps them consider lots of different angles and specifications it can go. 

Mock Community Hall Meeting  |  Students will role play what civic engagement can look like. 

Tweet the Text  |  They will come prepared with tweets about the independent research they are conducting. 

​

Evaluation

2-3 Page Research Paper  |  Students will research a topic they are an advocate for to practice educating themselves on issues they are passionate about. 

Round Table Presentations  |  We will bring in community members and parents for students to share their research.

Conferences  |  We will talk about their research, paper, and presentation to see what support I need to give, but most importantly, for students to take ownership over their learning. 

Student Goals  |  Students make new goals for this unit and keep track on whether they are meeting them. For example, Student A wants to make less punctuation errors. Or Student B wants to participate more in discussions. 

Student-built Rubric  |  We make them for the research, paper, and presentations. 

Peer Feedback  |  New writing partners can help them stay accountable. 

Exit Tickets  |  More reading and writing strategies should be turned in so they can tackle the world of communication. 

Revision Checks  |  Students are encouraged to revisit their writing. 

​

Peace

UNIT 5

Blog Posts

4 Weeks

Objectives

Students will make independent decisions about their writing based on audience, objective, topic, etc. They will read, write, and talk about peace and sustainability in a world adjacent to violence and change. 

​

Standards

8.1.2  |  A variety of response strategies clarifies meaning or messages

8.3.1  |  Stylistic devices and descriptive details in literary and narrative texts are organized for a variety of audiences and purposes and evaluated for quality

​

Texts

Biography Choice Book

Case Stories  |  Northern Ireland conflict, South Africa apartheid, Aboriginal Australian communities

​

Activities 

Line Dance Talks  |  1st rotation: talk about last blog, 2nd rotation: talk about current blog, 3rd rotation: talk about next blog

Think, Puzzle, Explore  |  Students will define what they know about peace, ask questions, and make a game plan about finding "answers." This can serve as a scaffold for blogs. 

Thinking Turns  |  There will be groups of 3 with 1 person having 45 seconds to talk each round. This is intended to be an equal voice activity that offers them time to share their learning discoveries. 

​

Evaluation

3 Blog Posts  |  These posts should be about their thoughts about peace in this world. 

Wax Museum  |  Students will represent their biography person and inform others with an elevator speech. 

Conferences  |  We will talk about their blogs and biographies, hearing what interests them, what they are learning, what they are doing well and not so well. 

Student Goals  |  A new round of goals is needed. 

Student-built Rubric  |  We will make ones about their independent reading and their blog posts. 

Peer Feedback  |  This time, we will do reading partners because they will be reading each other's blogs. 

Exit Tickets  |  Formative feedback about reading and writing is important to their personal and academic learning. 

Revision Checks  |  Students can continually edit their blogs. 

​

Health

UNIT 6

Interview & Art

5 Weeks

Objectives

Students will revisit the idea of stories to explore the relationship that health holds with humans. They will interview someone to gather new perspectives and create a piece of art - in whatever that means to them - to communicate an idea of their inspiration.

​

Standards

8.1.1  |  Communication skills and interviewing techniques are required to gather information and to develop and deliver oral presentations

8.1.2  |  A variety of response strategies clarifies meaning or messages

​

Texts

Choice Magazine

Infographics  |  Exemplars and students find one to bring to class

Scholarly Article

Story Corps  |  "He Was One of the First Children in the State of Illinois to be Diagnosed as HIV Positive"

Story Corps  |  "Find Your Words: Preserving Conversations About Depression with Kaiser Permanente"

​

Activities

Principal Talk  |  Students will prepare questions about health in order to practice interviewing skills.

Infographic Jigsaw  |  They will teach keypoints to their small groups and state why they chose this one. 

Magazine Jigsaw  |  They will teach keypoints to their small groups and state why they chose this one. 

​

Evaluation

Annotated Bibliography  |  Students will have done research prior to their interviews.

5 Minute Interview Recording  |  They will interview a person of their choice about health in some way.

1 Page Interview Statement  |  They will reflect on the experience - including what they learned, what they still have questions about, whether there was an overall theme, etc. 

Art Piece  |  Students can either build upon their interview topic or choose another topic that they can express through an art medium. 

1 Page Art Statement  |  They will explain what their piece signifies and any background knowledge needed.

Gallery Walk  |  Students and administrators will be invited to celebrate their work.

Conferences  |  We will talk about their interview and art in order to brainstorm and expand thinking. 

Student Goals  |  A new round of goals for this unit. 

Student-built Rubric  |  Making expectations for this unit is tricky, but it's important to talk about what an end goal looks like. 

Peer Feedback  |  Students can decide to talk about their writing, interviews, or art pieces with their partners. 

Exit Tickets  |  Students should turn in answers about reading and writing strategies. 

Revision Checks  |  They are welcome to revise their statements. 

Earth

UNIT 7

Poetry Anthology

4 Weeks

Objectives

Students will identify symbols, allusions, and repetition in various forms of writing, specifically poetry. They will discuss how nature is related to humanity and culture.

​

Standards

8.1.1  |  Communication skills and interviewing techniques are required to gather information and to develop and deliver oral presentations

​

Texts

American Literature  |  Native American texts, Henry David Thoreau, Teddy Roosevelt

Poetry Anthology  |  The Colors of Nature by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Lauret E. Savoy

Poetry Anthology  |  Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry by Camille Dungy

​

Activities 

Magnetic Poetry  |  Students will arrange words to form their own poetry.

Blackout Poetry  |  Students will cross out words on a page to form their own poetry.

Nature Walk  |  We will use a nice day to journal about the environment. 

​

Evaluation

Slam Poetry Event  |  We will have snacks, flowers, guests, and a stage to celebrate their work. 

4 Page Poetry Anthology  |  Students will write poems of their style and collect others. They can choose one to share for the event. 

Conferences  |  We will talk about their poetry and work together to make the process and writing better. 

Student Goals  |  They will make a new goal for the unit. 

Student-built Rubric  |  We will talk about expectations for large group reading. 

Peer Feedback  |  They will have new writing partners to keep growing the writing community. 

Exit Tickets  |  I can ask about poetry concepts and other reading and writing strategies. 

Revision Checks  |  They may edit their poems during and after. 

​

You

UNIT 8

Student Choice

5 Weeks

Objectives

Students will name an area of strength and curiousness to create their own learning unit that connects them to humanity.

​

Standards

8.4.1  |  Individual research projects begin with information obtained from a variety of sources, and is organized, documented, and presented using logical procedures

​

Texts

Student Choice 

Video  |  Kid President

Exemplars

​

Activities 

Digital Portfolio  |  Students will track their project on a website that outlines their learning, research, goals, outcomes, reflections, and more. 

Postcard  |  Students will write a blurb and pick a picture (or take one) about their project and invite at least one person to the celebration. 

​

Evaluation

Celebration Event  |  Students will showcase their project through their website or what suits it best. 

Conferences  |  We will talk about their project, especially because it's so independent. 

Student Goals  |  I will ask for more than one goal because learning is on their shoulders. 

Student-built Rubric  |  We will make a general rubric for their project and reading. 

Peer Feedback  |  They will have project partners to consult one another for ideas and progress. 

Revision Checks  |  Projects like these often take lots of learning laps. 

​

​

CLASS ROUTINES

Word Collage
Vocabulary

Relevancy

  • Fly swatter game

  • Video clips

  • Flash cards

  • Alliteration

  • Scavenger Hunt

  • Flocabulary

  • Around the World

Checking Text on a Document
Grammar

Integration

  • Guided Practice

  • Mad Libs

  • Jamboree

  • Grammarly Activity

  • White Board

  • Parts of Speech Poem

Engineering Robot Car
Journaling

Bigger Picture

  • What was your favorite mistake?

  • What would your Ted Talk be about?

  • Recall places you have loved and why.

  • ​"I used to think…, But now I think…"

REFLECTION

I analyze student learning, development, and growth while applying what I learn to improve my practice.

​

The reason why it is super important to me to include conferencing in the evaluation section is because then the students and I will be able to work together to analyze their learning and collaboratively come up with goals. My job is to give students the tools and opportunities for them to succeed in the class. The students and l will work together to make sure that their potential is being stretched and reached. I do have high expectations for each one of my students, but we all learn differently so even though I try to cater to many different needs.

​

I link professional growth to my professional goals.

​

Being an educator has been a passionate goal throughout my young adult life. My identity is centered around serving youth and cultivating an equitable status quo in our society. In this particular yearlong plan, introducing anti-bias teaching was a priority of mine. I believe in building safe, brave spaces for students to talk about their experiences and challenge their perspectives. This relates to my professional goals because creating an education system that acknowledges identity is my long-term purpose. I will continue to seek out resources and lesson plans that link to this professional goal, like We Got This or Teaching Tolerance. Even my current job as the Public Achievement Coordinator is rooted in hearing the voices of our communities and youth. 

​

I'm able to respond to a complex, dynamic environment.

​

Even though planning for success is highly needed, I also recognize the vital component of being flexible. I especially think of the circumstance when students are deep in rich discussion and even though I had plans for more "content," the content is happening there and now. Their interest in the conversation outweighs the to-do list. I'm excited about my yearlong plan and ideas were coming at me left and right, but I was intentional in allowing gaps for review, fruitful conversations, or even for us to breeze past if they've got in the bag. Formative assessments will help this process for effective instruction. 

bottom of page