Curriculum Implementation

PlanJennifer Pablico-Stelmack

Module 7

EDU 707

UNIT: Characters/ Realistic Fiction

For FOURTH GRADE students

The two projected fourth grade classes of the 2014-

2015 school year will be implementing the new

unit.

This implementation plan is for the 2014-2015

School Year.

Prior to Teaching the Unit(Before September 29th, 2014)

1. Choose read aloud chapter book to use as an anchor text for the unit. (Expert = Librarian)

2. Choose picture books to support the individual mini-lessons throughout the unit. (Expert = Librarian)

3. Complete the Benchmark Assessment System to identify students’ reading levels (due by Sept 23). (Experts = Reading/Literacy Specialists; They will help complete the reading assessment as well as interpret the results to help create guided reading groups.)

4. In second newsletter of the year (due September 24), introduce the unit to parents. Identify the Big Ideas, expectations for work at home, and how they can help their child. (Expert = Classroom Teachers)

5. With grade level team, develop the graphic organizers, the “Wanted” Poster, and grading rubrics during common planning times on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as Friday’s early release collaboration times. (Expert = Classroom Teachers)

Resources and Needs

0Guiding Readers and Writers by Fountas and

Pinnell (2000)

0Benchmark Assessment System 2, Fountas and

Pinnell (2010)

0Curriculum Implementation Plan

0Common Grade-Level Planning Time

Characters/Realistic Fiction Unit Calendar

WEEK 1

M 9/29 What is Fiction? (Create Guided Reading Groups)

T 9/30 Elements of a Fictional Story

W 10/1 (continue investigating elements of a fictional story)

TH 10/2 Story Mountain (Begin and maintain a story mountain for read alouds)

F 10/3 (Create story mountains for independent reading book)

WEEK 2

M 10/6 Strategy Lesson: Inferring

T 10/7 Characters

W 10/8 Character Analysis (“We learn about characters by what they say”)

TH 10/9 (“We learn about characters by what they do”)

F 10/10 (“We learn about characters by what they think””)

WEEK 3

M 10/13 NO SCHOOL

T 10/14 Theme (Begin “Wanted” Poster Assignment to be completed outside of reading time.)

W 10/15 -In guided reading groups, begin discussion about theme

TH 10/16 -Mini-lesson – finding evidence in the text to support the theme

F 10/17 -In guided reading groups, find evidence to support chosen theme.

Due Dates

0 Story Mountain for independent reading book due October 10.

0 Guided Reading Books should be completed by October 13.

0 Theme organizer for guided reading book due by October 17.

0 “Wanted” Poster for independent reading book due

October 20.

0 Characters/Realistic Fiction Unit Celebration on October 21.

(students will share their “Wanted” posters)

Challenges0Schedules

0 Students may be pulled during this reading time to meet their IEP needs and accommodations. The challenge is finding a way to effectively catch them up so they are able to complete the assignments successfully.

0 Plan – At the end of the 2013-2014 school year, develop schedules for content classes. Work with specialists to identify times where they cannot pull students.

0Behavior – Transitioning into the fourth grade can be difficult because of the new expectations and responsibilities. 0 Plan – Teach explicit lessons on expectations for each aspect of the

day. For reading, that includes coming to and leaving the rug, silent reading time, guided reading groups, group work, and completing assignments.

Challenges, Cont. 0 Lack of a Reading Curriculum – Students come to fourth grade

from multiple classrooms and their experiences and knowledge bases are not consistent. This presents a challenge for the next year’s teachers. 0 Plan – With current fourth grade team, modify the current school year’s

curriculum overview pacing chart to align with next year’s schedule. Revise units according to the Common Core Standards and Massachusetts Frameworks.

0 Materials/Resources – The Book Room was created last year and is fairly small, considering it needs to serve a K-8 school. It may be a challenge finding level-appropriate books for guided reading groups that pertain to the learning goals of this unit. 0 Plan – After creating guided reading groups, visit the Book Room to see

the resources available. Use local public libraries and beginning of the year classroom funds to meet the needs if there are any.

References

0Fountas, I., Pinnell, G. (2010) Benchmark Assessment System 2 (2nd ed). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

0Fountas, I., Pinnell, G. (2000) Guiding Readers and Writers (Grades 3-6): Teaching, comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

0Wiles, J., Bondi, J., (2011) Curriculum development. A guide to practice (8th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.