Understanding By Design Unit Template

Title of Unit The Book of Negros Grade Level 12

Subject English Language Arts Time Frame 13 days
Developed By Nicole Clampitt

Stage 1 - Identify Desired Results

Broad Areas of Learning
How are the BAL incorporated into this unit?
Lifelong Learners- This unit will create lifelong learners by helping the students learn how to express themselves using English. Their
assessment piece will help with this by having them create and deliver a presentation which will have them using language to express themselves.
This will help build confidence in their use of language.

Sense of Self and Community- This unit will create a sense of self and community by getting students to think about the reality of world issues
and how these issues affect themselves and the community of people around them. Their assessment piece will have them using language to
interact with these issues and respond to others ideas about world issues. This will build community between the students.

Engaged Citizens- This unit will help to build engaged citizens by having them use language to give them a sense of agency and ownership over
solutions to world issues. This will build a sense of ability with the students that are able to make a difference in their communities.
Cross curricular Competencies
How will this unit promote the CCC?
Developing Thinking- This unit will develop thinking by having them construct an understanding of world issues and having them explore an
inquiry-based project about how to solve it. This will help them to make sense of some world issues and to think through them critically.

Developing Identity and Interdependence- This unit will help to develop identity and interdependence by having them dig into trying to
understand a world issue which will create a respect for human rights and responsibilities and create an understanding and value for social and
environmental issues.

Developing Literacies- This unit will help to develop literacies by having them develop the skills needed to interpret a video text. They will have
to express their interpretation of the text by using written language in their journals. Both of these will build flexibility in their literacies skills.

Developing Social Responsibility- This unit will develop social responsibility primarily through their assessment piece. The assessment piece
focuses on having students explore their social responsibility by asking them to work out a way to improve the lives of the people around the
world. They will have to use moral reasoning processes by thinking about the community that they could help and having them come up with a
way to take action.
Learning Outcomes
What relevant goals will this unit address?
(must come from curriculum; include the designations e.g. IN2.1)
CR B30.1- View, listen to, read, comprehend, and respond to a variety of grade-appropriate international, including indigenous, texts that
address: identity (e.g., Sense of Self), social responsibility (e.g., Social Criticism), and social action (agency) (e.g., Addressing the Issues).

CR B30.2- View, comprehend, and evaluate critically a variety of visual and multimedia texts by international, including indigenous, artists and
authors from various cultural communities, and identify how the texts address beliefs, values, and power.

CC B30.1- Create a range of visual, multimedia, oral and written texts that explore: identity (e.g., Sense of Self), social responsibility (e.g., Social
Criticism), and social action (agency) (e.g., Addressing the Issues).

CC B30.2- Create a visual or multimedia presentation that suits the topic, purpose, and audience; teaches others up about a global social issue;
and persuades them to act on the issue in a responsible manner.

AR B30.2- Reflect on and assess understanding of self as a self-directed, self-appraising, and strategic learner.
Enduring Understandings Essential Questions
What understandings about the big ideas are desired? (what you want What provocative questions will foster inquiry into the content?
students to understand & be able to use several years from now) (open-ended questions that stimulate thought and inquiry linked to
What misunderstandings are predictable? the content of the enduring understanding)
Students will understand that... Content specific….
 World issues, like racism, are not just problems that exist in a  What are ways you can become a more open, responsible
faraway place by they happen in Canada and Saskatchewan as and accepting citizen in your society and world?
well.
 They can make a difference in the world now. They don’t have to
wait until their older.
 They are full citizens of the world and therefore need to help make
it a better place
FNMI, multicultural, cross-curricular…
Related misconceptions…  This will touch on racism against FNMI people as well as
 Canada doesn’t have a racist past or problems with racism.
people from other cultures.
 High school students are too young to impact the world.
Knowledge: Skills
What knowledge will student acquire as a result of this unit? This content What skills will students acquire as a result of this unit? List the
knowledge may come from the indicators, or might also address skills and/or behaviours that students will be able to exhibit as a
prerequisite knowledge that students will need for this unit. result of their work in this unit. These will come from the
indicators.
 Students will know... Students will be able to…
 That Canada is not a perfect place and has its problems that need  Identify problems when they see them and come up with a
to be fixed way to solve these problems
 That racism is a major problem (among others) around the world  Take charge of their society and create a better one for the
 That they can help to make the world a better place now future
 That part of being a citizen is to help make the place you’re in a  Evaluate their work and the work of their peers fairly
better place to be for everyone  Interpret visual text as easily as they can interpret written
texts

Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence

Performance Task
Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate the desired understandings, knowledge, and skills? (describes the learning
activity in “story” form. Typically, the P.T. describes a scenario or situation that requires students to apply knowledge and skills to demonstrate
their understanding in a real life situation. Describe your performance task scenario below)
By what criteria will performances of understanding be judged?
GRASPS Elements of the Performance Task
G – Goal G- they will have accomplished all of the above outcomes by doing an
What should students accomplish by completing this task? inquiry project on how to make the world a better place and presenting
R – Role it the class. Following both of these tasks the students will submit
What role (perspective) will your students be taking? journal style self-assessment about what they learned and how they
A – Audience would have improved.
Who is the relevant audience? R- The role the students will be taking is a person who is able to
S – Situation change the world in any way they want with no problems like finances
The context or challenge provided to the student. or access but they do have to convince other people to follow them
into the change they what to start.
A- Their audience is primarily their peers
S- Their challenge is to convince others that the problem needs to be
P – Product, Performance fixed and that their solution is the best way to do that. The other
What product/performance will the student challenge will be the selection of their world issue and the research into
create? what it looks like.
P- The students will produce a presentation of their choice (video,
PowerPoint, poster, etc.)

S – Standards & Criteria for Success S- Rubric will be designed in class with the students
Create the rubric for the Performance Task
Other Evidence Student Self-Assessment
Through what other evidence (work samples, observations, quizzes, How will students reflect upon or self-assess their learning?
tests, journals or other means) will students demonstrate achievement
of the desired results? Formative and summative assessments used
throughout the unit to arrive at the outcomes.
Other forms of assessment that I will be using are their journals that First step for their self-assessing is that they will help me to build the
they will do every day. This will be both formative so I can see that they rubric with my guidance. Then after their presentations, they will
are paying attention to and understanding the story. Using this I can reflect on their own learning by writing in their journals about what
adjust to summarizing what they’ve watched if they need it. The they felt they learnt, what they found interesting, how they felt they
journals will also be summative because I will be marking them on their did in their presentation, etc. They will also be asked to decide for
ability to complete the outcome AR B30.2. However, I will not be three of their peers that they would support in their plan for reform as
marking them until the end of the unit. a way of helping to decide which presentations were the most
convincing

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

What teaching and learning experiences will you use to:
 achieve the desired results identified in Stage 1?
 equip students to complete the assessment tasks identified in Stage 2?
Where are your students headed? Where have they been? How will you make sure the students know where they are going?
What experiences do the learners bring to the unit? How have the interests of the learners been ascertained? Have the learners
been part of the pre-planning in any way? What individual needs do you anticipate will need to be addressed?
Learning environment: Where can this learning best occur? How can the physical environment be arranged to enhance
learning?
This will be the first unit the learners work through in their English 30B class. I will assume that they have managed to complete the outcomes
from 10A&B and 20. However, if I discover from formative assessments that some of these outcomes have not been met yet then I will make this
unit longer and go back to ensure they understand their previous learning before getting too far into the semester. The learners will be heading
into a class based on the ideas of social experience and a search for self. I will make sure the students know where they are going by giving them
an outline of the unit and by listing the activities we will accomplish everyday on the board for them to see when they come in. Some of the
experiences students bring in may include having dealt with racism in their lives or perhaps realizing that they may have acted racist towards
someone. However, I expect that they all are aware of racism as a problem and that they understand why it is wrong. I can ascertain the
students interests from previous experience with the students (if I’ve had them in younger grades) or from teachers who have had them before.
The learners will not be part of the pre-planning for the lessons but they will be part of pre-planning for their assessment piece by helping me to
create the rubric. I anticipate that this topic may be a bit sensitive for some students who have maybe experienced racism before and may cause
some problems for them. I will help them with this by talking to them and reading their journals to ensure they are dealing with everything in a
healthy way and if not then I will take further steps to get them additional support.
The best learning environment will be a classroom for most of the lessons and a library for the research lessons. Most of the lesson focuses on
individual work or large group conversations so the best setup for the classroom is rows of desk facing the front.
How will you engage students at the beginning of the unit? (motivational set)
The engagement piece for this unit is the first lesson. It focuses on defining what racism looks like and that it does exist in Canada though it often
gets overlooked. It asks them to wonder why racism is not often mentioned or thought about in Canada. This lesson will also include a very brief
introduction to the Book of Negroes and some of the themes that it will focus on.
What events will help students experience and explore the enduring understandings and essential questions in the unit? How
will you equip them with needed skills and knowledge?
# Lesson Title Lesson Activities CCCs Resources

1 Introduction to Start by asking the students is racism exists in Canada and if so what events, both DT White board/ Chalk board,
Book of Negros current and historic, have happened to prove this. You may need to prompt to make markers/chalk, computer
sure they think about both contexts. Write the answers up on the board as the and projector, extra paper
students give them. (10 mins). and pens (for students
who don’t bring any)
Have the students watch the YouTube video titled “Our Canada: Are We Racist?”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ET8KyiY_Nc) it has a run time of nearly 20
mins. Before they start watching tell them they will need to take notes about what
they agree with, disagree with, question, or find interesting during the video. When
the video is finished, start a conversation about some of the things the students took
notes about during the video and steer the conversation in the direction of what can
be to create a change and fix this problem. (15 mins) If the students aren’t willing to
talk take 5 mins out of the conversation time to introduce the Book of Negros that the
students will be starting the next day.

After this ask them to think about why Canada has a reputation for being a nice
country when that’s not true. Not looking for an answer just to get them to think
about it. Have them journal their thoughts about what we talked about today focusing
on that question if they want. (15 mins).

Adaptations/Differentiation:
Make sure that all students get a chance to speak during the lesson and be aware of
who has or has not said anything.
2 Book of Negros Introduce the story of Book of Negroes. Be sure to caution them and tell them that DT Computer and projector,
there will be some scenes during the episodes that may be difficult to watch because DL journals, extra pens
of sensitive materials. (5 mins)

Play episode 1 of Book of Negroes. Access it through YouTube it will be in the

“Purchases” tab on my account. Find the login information in the day planner (44
mins). Episode summary: In Africa, eleven-year-old Aminata Diallo learns from her
 mother to catch babies (being a midwife) and her father teaches her Islam. When she
is captured by slavers, a young negro named Chekura shows her kindness while
escorting the captives to the sea. On the ship, Chekura is brought too as a slave and
Aminata bonds with him. The captives are forced to endure a treacherous journey to
America, where they are sold as slaves to different owners and thus separated.

Have them write in their journals about the theme of racism. Try not to give them too
many prompts because I want to see what they pick up on their own. This will give
me a better idea about exactly what they understand and where I need to build up
their understanding. (11 mins)

Adaptations/Differentiation:
Allow students who may need more time the chance to complete their journal entry
later.
Encourage students who need more of challenge to dig deeper into the themes and
be more expressive about their interpretation while writing in their journal entries.
3 Book of Negros Start by recapping what happened in the last episode and addressing any DT Computer and projector,
misunderstanding about the video and its themes. I will also answer any questions DL journals, extra pens
that students may have. (5 mins)

Play episode 2 of Book of Negroes. Access it through YouTube it will be in the

“Purchases” tab on my account. Find the login information in the day planner (44
mins). Episode summary: Aminata, now grown, is the flower of Robinson Appleby’s
Indigo plantation. After several seasons of deflecting Appleby’s advances, Appleby
rapes Aminata. She marries Chekura and has his child; Appleby, infuriated, sells her
and her child to separate owners. Her new owners, a Jewish Indigo Trader and his
wife, Solomon and Rosa Lindo, are more trusting: they treat her as a servant rather
than a slave. But after the death of Rosa and her baby from smallpox, and the
revelation that Solomon brokered the sale of her child, Aminata’s trust is broken.
Lindo, desperate for a distraction to ease his grief, sets sail to New York with Aminata,
who plots her escape to freedom.

Have them write in their journals about the theme of struggle. Try not to give them
too many prompts because I want to see what they pick up on their own. This will
give me a better idea about exactly what they understand and where I need to build
up their understanding. (11 mins)

Adaptations/Differentiation:
 Allow students who may need more time the chance to complete their journal entry
later.
Encourage students who need more of challenge to dig deeper into the themes and
be more expressive about their interpretation while writing in their journal entries
4 Book of Negros Lesson will look much the same as the previous two. Start by recapping what the DT Computer and projector,
students have already seen and be sure to make any corrections that you’ve found in DL journals, extra pens
the journals and make sure the students don’t have any questions about events or
themes from the previous episodes. Then have the students watch episode 3 of Book
of Negros on YouTube. After the episode have them journal about a main idea, event,
or theme from the episode without giving much prompting in order to ensure that I
can monitor what they are picking up from the visual text.
5 Book of Negros Lesson will look much the same as the previous ones. Start by recapping what the DT Computer and projector,
students have already seen and be sure to make any corrections that you’ve found in DL journals, extra pens
the journals and make sure the students don’t have any questions about events or
themes from the previous episodes. Then have the students watch episode 4 of Book
of Negros on YouTube. After the episode have them journal about a main idea, event,
or theme from the episode without giving much prompting in order to ensure that I
can monitor what they are picking up from the visual text.
6 Book of Negros Lesson will look much the same as the previous ones. Start by recapping what the DT Computer and projector,
students have already seen and be sure to make any corrections that you’ve found in DL journals, extra pens
the journals and make sure the students don’t have any questions about events or
themes from the previous episodes. Then have the students watch episode 5 of Book
of Negros on YouTube. After the episode have them journal about a main idea, event,
or theme from the episode without giving much prompting in order to ensure that I
can monitor what they are picking up from the visual text.
7 Book of Negros Lesson will look much the same as the previous ones. Start by recapping what the DT Computer and projector,
students have already seen and be sure to make any corrections that you’ve found in DL journals, extra pens
the journals and make sure the students don’t have any questions about events or
themes from the previous episodes. Then have the students watch episode 6 of Book
of Negros on YouTube. After the episode have them journal about a main idea, event,
or theme from the episode without giving much prompting in order to ensure that I
can monitor what they are picking up from the visual text. After the episode has
finished take the last few mins of class to introduce the assessment project I have
designed for them.
8 My Plan to This lesson will take four days. DII Access to computers and
Change the Day 1 DSR research materials
World Introduce the assessment piece and be sure to example it fully while answering any
questions that the students may have about it. I expect this portion to take about 30
 mins as there a lot of details that need to be discussed and figured out. Part of this
will be to let them know they will be helping to build the rubric and what kinds of
things they need to think about wanting in it based on requirements that I will lay
down. The rest of the class will be dedicated to the students beginning their
assignments.
Day 2
The class will start with the students and I creating the rubric based on what was
discussed last class. I again expect this to take half the class. The rest of the time the
students will receive time to work on their projects. I will type up and print off the
rubrics the next day for the students to refer to while they continue to work.
Day 3&4
The students will receive both full class periods to work. I will be checking in with the
students while they work and at the end of the fourth day I will ask the students to
help decide a due date for the assignment. This will determine whether or not I give
them a few days to continue working on it on their own time (during which time I
would begin the next unit) or whether I will jump straight to the presentations.
9 Presentations This lesson will take three days DII Computer and projector
Day 1-3 DSR (for students who need),
The students will present their assignments to their classmates. This will take the rubrics to mark
entire class period all three days. If needed I will add more days in order to make sure
all the students are able to present. I will ask the students to limit their presentations
to no more than 10 mins apiece. I expect that I will likely need to add more days to
this depending on the number of students in me class. The order in which the
students present will either be alphabetical or they will sign up for a slot. I will decide
this based on what I think is best for my students at the time and will likely differ year
to year as the students change. After all of the presentations are done the students
will be asked to write 2 journal entries. One will be able what they felt they learnt
personally from their research and how it impacts their lives. The second will be about
which presentation they would fund if they were able to and why.

Assess and Reflect (Stage 4)

Considerations Comments
Required Areas of Study: Yes, the alignment with the curriculum overlaps within the few different activities
Is there alignment between outcomes, performance the students are given. Outcomes CR B30.1 and CR B30.2 are both accomplished
assessment and learning experiences? when they watch the episode and critique/comment on what they saw. The
episodes will deal with issues of identity, social responsibility, and social action. It
 will also address issues of beliefs, values, and power. They will be required to
comprehend and evaluate the visual text when they are writing in their journals.
They will be fulfilling outcomes CC B30.1 and CC B30.2 when they complete their
assessment piece. The assessment piece will have them creating a multimedia
and oral presentation that explores the issues of identity, social responsibility,
and social action. Their presentation also has to suit the topic, purpose, and
audience and teach others about a global social issue and persuades them to act
on the issue in a responsible manner. That is one of the main points of the
assessment piece. The final outcome, AR B30.2, will be completed primarily
through their journals that they complete every day after the episode. There will
also be a few journals entries after the presentations that will serve to have them
assessing the reflecting on their work and the work of their peers.
Adaptive Dimension: For struggling students:
Have I made purposeful adjustments to the My plan to help students who are struggling is simply to be sure to give them the
curriculum content (not outcomes), instructional extra support they will need. I will make time to talk them through what they
practices, and/or the learning environment to meet should be getting from the visual texts and in what ways. I will be conscience of
the learning needs and diversities of all my students? what they taking from the text and closely monitoring their assessments pieces in
order to make sure that they are the right track and that they will be able to
meet the outcomes.
For students who need a challenge:
My plan for students who need a challenge is to encourage them to think deeper
when doing their journal entries about the themes: why they are important to
think about and what impacts they have on our world and on their lives. I will
also ask them to dig deeper in their research during their assessment pieces and
to think through their presentations more carefully.
Instructional Approaches: During this lesson I do not explore many different teaching approaches.
Do I use a variety of teacher directed and student However, because it is a very short unit and because I have to make room to
centered instructional approaches? show the videos during the class time I did not feel I had the opportunity to use
a wide variety of instructional approaches. If I had chosen to have the students
read the book instead of watching the TV production I would have added a wider
variety of approaches because to read the text would have taken much longer.
Resource Based Learning: They won’t have access to a wide variety of resources during most of the unit
Do the students have access to various resources on because the primary form of learning is student based and surrounds their
an ongoing basis? opinions and thoughts about the issues. However, this changes slightly once they
start the assessment piece because it will require them to use as many resources
as they can in order to find the information they will need to complete the
assignment.
FNMI Content and Perspectives/Gender This unit deals primarily with the idea of racism and sexism so I was not able to
Equity/Multicultural Education: touch on FNMI content but I will be looking at multicultural material and gender
Have I nurtured and promoted diversity while equality. Again because of how short this unit is they will just be touched on here
honoring each child’s identity? but dug into more deeply in later units. I think this unit doe honour each child’s
identity in the way that I have setup the private journal reflections. This time will
give them space to talk about what they think about what they’ve seen and to
talk about how the themes expressed affect them and the people around them.

From: Wiggins, Grant and J. McTighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (pbk)