Unit Plan Overview: Understandings Essential Questions

Unit Plan Overview
Unit: 4-5 week unit on the play version of The Diary of Anne Frank and research papers
Stage 1- Desired Results
Connections to Context:
Transfer
Eight of the students have already
Students will be able to independently use their learning to
read The Diary of a Young Girl. The
Find value in perspectives that are different from their own.
students use technology well and
Compare validity found in a primary and secondary source.
with ease. Students come from a
Summarize a given text and tie them together to form meaning.
variety of backgrounds. A few
Cite pieces of textual evidence to support main arguments found in a text.
students are English Language
Determine what types of sources can be used for research to learn about a text, event,
Learners who are struggling with
concept, etc.
basic concepts like forming sentences
while other students are scoring so
high on standardized tests that the
schools district has no
recommendations for the students
improvement. The school values
academic success among other
things, which include helping their
students to become caring and openminded global citizens. I created this
unit plan with these things in mind. I
incorporated technology to help
students to connect their lives to the
lives of those who lived many years
ago in a meaningful way, and I made
sure to include a wide variety of
activities that promoted selfexpression and the opportunity to see
the story from the protagonists
perspective.
(How does this fit with students experiences,
the school goals, and the larger societal
issues?)
Established Goals
Reading Standards for Literature
1. Cite several pieces of textual evidence
to support analysis of what the text says
(What kinds of long-term independent accomplishments are desired?)
Meaning
UNDERSTANDINGS
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will understand that
Students will keep considering
Perspectives vary greatly and gave a large
How methods of expression modify
influence on stories and on the history of
meaning.
the world around us.
How works from other time period effect our
Historical events still impact us today.
world today.
Its possible to relate our modern-day lives
How various storytelling techniques
to the lives of those who lived long before
influence a story.
us.
How texts have been modified to support a
Providing a source name is crucial when
new message over time.
conducting research on any given topic.
Whether or not secondary sources have the
Its important to consider the validity of a
same truth value as primary sources.
source when trying to search for truth.
(What specifically do you want students to

understand?
What inferences should they make?)
(What thought-provoking questions will foster

inquiry, meaning- making and transfer?)
Acquisition of Knowledge, Skill and Values/Commitments/Dispositions

Students will know
Students will be skilled at
Students will exhibit
Anne Franks story and
Comparing primary and
The ability to compare
understand her
secondary sources.
texts.
perspective.
Understanding how
The ability to find truth
The main events
background/historical
within a variety of texts.
Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to
Curriculum
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from

the text.
3. Analyze how particular elements of a
story or drama interact (e.g., how setting
shapes the characters or plot).
5. Analyze how a dramas or poems form
or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet)
contributes to its meaning
7. Compare and contrast a written story,
drama, or poem to its audio, filmed,
staged, or multimedia version, analyzing
the effects of techniques unique to each
medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or
camera focus and angles in a film).
9. Compare and contrast a fictional
portrayal of a time, place, or character and
a historical account of the same period as
a means of understanding how authors of
fiction use or alter history.
Reading Standards for Informational Text
1. Cite several pieces of textual evidence
to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text.
3. Analyze the interactions between
individuals, events, and ideas in a text
(e.g., how ideas influence individuals or
events, or how individuals influence ideas
or events).
5. Analyze the structure an author uses to
organize a text, including how the major
sections contribute to the whole and to the
development of the ideas.
9. Analyze how two or more authors
writing about the same topic shape their
presentations of key information by
emphasizing different evidence or
advancing different interpretations of
facts.
surrounding WWII.
That texts contain various
amounts of truth.
A variety of vocabulary
words associated with plays
and also with storytelling in
general.
(What facts and basic concepts

should students know and be
able to recall?)
events impact a story.

Retelling what happened in
a story in a detailed
manner.
(What discrete skills and

processes should students be able
to use?)
The ability to explain the

important events and
relationships that are
presented within the given
texts.
The ability to express the
protagonists point of view
and compare it with their
own.
The ability to define a
wide variety of vocabulary
words associated with
plays and storytelling in
general.
(What values and commitments

and attitudes should students
acquire or wrestle with?)
Students should wrestle with the
values of the characters inside of
the hiding space and the
values/morals of those who are
forcing them to be in that hiding
space.
Source:
Curriculum
Michigan Academic Standards (2016). In

Michigan Department of Education.
Retrieved April 13, 2016, from
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7140-28753_64839_65510---,00.html
(What content standards and program- or
mission-related goal(s) will the unit address?
What habits of mind and cross-disciplinary
goal(s)- for example 21st century skills, core
competencies- will this unit address?
Include source and identifying number)
Evaluative Criteria
See rubric on the tab of this website
labeled Assessments
(What criteria will be used in each assessment
to evaluate attainment of the desired results?)
Stage 2- Evidence
Students will show their learning by
PERFORMANCE TASK(S):
Lesson 1: Responding to a variety of broad, opinion based questions, defining and presenting
various vocabulary terms related to plays
Lesson 2: Reading Act 1 scene 2, completing a virtual tour
Lesson 3: Comparing a diary entry with the play thus far, reading quiz on Act 1 scene 2
Lesson 4: Summarizing key events and relationships presented in Act 1 scene 3, writing a
letter from Annes perspective, making an Instagram post from Annes perspective
Lesson 5: Comparing a diary entry with the play thus far (with an activity guide with questions
that differ from Lesson 3 above)
(How will students demonstrate their understanding- meaning-making and transfer- through complex
performance?)
(Regardless of the format of the assessment,

what qualities are most important?)
See rubric and written explanation of
assessments on the tab of this website labeled
Assessments
OTHER EVIDENCE:
-Responses to warm-up questions and exit ticket questions as well as

contributions to large group discussions.
-Participation in discussions with a partner, small group, or the full class.

(see rubrics under the Assessments tab on this webpage).
(What other evidence will you collect to determine whether Stage 1 goals were achieved?
Curriculum
Stage 3- Learning Plan

Pre-assessment- due ________
(What pre-assessments will you use to check students prior knowledge, skill levels, and potential misconceptions?)
(Toward which goal does
Learning Events
each learning event build?)
Acquisition
Meaning
Transfer
Student success at transfer, meaning, and acquisition depends upon their

participation in these learning events
Lesson 1:
Writing down the ways in which books and movies are similar and
different.
A full class discussion/activity in which students move from one side
of the room to another depending on their answers and defend their
answers.
An activity in which students are assigned a word associated with
plays and storytelling and are asked to define the word and give an
example of a time where they saw it being employed.
As a written exit ticket response, students will write down whether or
not they think that a story could exist without their assigned
vocabulary word/technique being used.
Lesson 2:
Writing what they think Anne means when she uses the words real
friend when she describes the kind of person that she would share
her diary with.
Reading aloud Act 1 scene 1.
Completing a virtual tour of the Secret Annex and responding to
questions based on what the students discover during the tour.
Writing a response to the following question: How would you feel if
you were trapped in this hiding space for two years like Anne and her
family were?
Lesson 3:
Taking a quiz on Act 1 scene 2
Completing an activity comparing the play thus far with one of Annes
diary entries
Responding the following exit ticket prompt: Do you think that books
always present more truth than plays? Why or why not? What allows
for more truth to come to the surface in either books or plays?
Lesson 4:
Completing an activity in which the students summarize the
Progress Monitoring
(How will you monitor students

progress toward acquisition,
meaning, and transfer during
lesson events?)
I will monitor students progress

through reading quizzes and
listening to their responses to a
variety of questions, many of
them requiring the students to
connect what theyve learned
previously to a new text,
concept, or idea.
(How will students monitor

their own progress toward
acquisition, meaning, and
transfer?)
Students will monitor their own
progress much in the same way that I
will: through reading quizzes, their
ability to respond to a variety of
questions, many of them requiring
students to connect what theyve
learned previously to a new text,
concept or idea, etc.
(What are potential rough spots

and student misunderstandings?)
The unit requires a bit of reading

outside of class. Some students
may struggle to read on their
own, and some students may
forget to do the assigned
reading outside of class.
(How will students get the
Curriculum
important events, facts, and relationships presented in Act 1 scene 3.

Writing a letter from Anne to a friend.
Designing an Instagram post from Annes perspective.
Writing a response to the following exit ticket prompt: If Anne had
modern day technology, what method of communication and/or selfexpression would she choose to use? Why?
feedback they need?)
Students will be given oral and

written feedback. Feedback will
often be informal, but assignments
that are turned in will receive a
grade, either for completion or for
correctness.
Lesson 5:
Writing a response to the warm-up prompt: At this point in Annes
story, which character do you feel the most connected to? Why? What
aspects of the story have made that particular character easiest for
you to relate to?
Reading Act 1 scene 4 aloud
Completing an activity that compares one of Annes diary entries to
the play thus far.
Contributing to a class discussion centered around the following
question: Weve seen that the play version of Annes story and Annes
diary contain many similarities, but also many differences. Is it fair to
say that Annes diary entries contain more truth than the play?
Star the multiple means of representation; underline the multiple means of

action and expression; circle the multiple means of engagement
(Are all three types of goals (acquisition, meaning, and transfer) addressed in
Curriculum
the learning plan?)

(Does the learning plan reflect principles of learning and best practices?)
(Is there tight alignment with Stages 1 and 2?)
Curriculum

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Unit Plan Overview

(What kinds of long-term independent accomplishments are desired?)

(What specifically do you want students to

(What thought-provoking questions will foster

Acquisition of Knowledge, Skill and Values/Commitments/Dispositions

explicitly as well as inferences drawn from

(What facts and basic concepts

events impact a story.

(What discrete skills and

The ability to explain the

(What values and commitments

Michigan Academic Standards (2016). In

(Regardless of the format of the assessment,

-Responses to warm-up questions and exit ticket questions as well as

-Participation in discussions with a partner, small group, or the full class.

Stage 3- Learning Plan

Student success at transfer, meaning, and acquisition depends upon their

(How will you monitor students

I will monitor students progress

(How will students monitor

(What are potential rough spots

The unit requires a bit of reading

(How will students get the

important events, facts, and relationships presented in Act 1 scene 3.

feedback they need?)

Students will be given oral and

Star the multiple means of representation; underline the multiple means of

the learning plan?)

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