Units

Why this site is only a starting point for a course:

• There are too many hours worth of lessons
• Many lessons cover the same objectives as others
• There is no overall plan of assessment and evaluation
• While lessons generally build on one another, they do not have the scope and sequence of a course
• The lessons are generic, they are not adapted to the needs of specific students

What these lessons are good for:

• Individual lessons, tasks, or groups of lessons are designed for instruction
• The lessons are designed to meet specific learning objectives of the curriculum
• The lessons model diverse instructional methods
• The lessons include assessment tools
• The handouts are ready for classroom use
• There is additional information and many good links

Suggested process of adaptation from resource to course:

Model One – Starting from Goals and Understanding

Step 1: What my students need to learn (Enduring Understandings, Standards, Goals)
Start by looking at the Foundational Objectives of Journalism Studies 20:

• recognize and appreciate the role of journalism in contemporary society and in their personal lives
• recognize and explore the ways in which print and broadcast media create and present a message
• recognize and create the various forms, conventions, and styles of journalistic writing
• recognize the attributes of quality journalism and the legal, ethical, and moral issues which confront the free press
• develop the speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing, and representing skills needed to create various print publications and broadcast productions

Remember that foundational objectives are accomplished gradually throughout an entire course, through a series of activities and tasks that meet individual learning objectives. The learning objectives are the things that you attach to each lesson.
Next, add things that you know your students, in particular, will need to understand or goals that you, as a teacher, have for your students:

• My students will treat each other respectfully

Step 2: How I will know if my students have learned what they need to know (Assessment)

List concrete things that a student who completes Journalism Studies 20 can do, then brainstorm informal ways that you like to assess student understandings.

Step 3: What my students will do (Instruction)

Now that you know what you want students to be able to understand and do, you decide how that will happen in the classroom – what the instruction will look like. This is the place where tasks, lessons, or groups of lessons from this web site can be inserted and adapted.

Model Two – Starting from Content Requirements:
(view sample unit plan in .doc or .rtf form)

1. List the required topics (units) you must cover in the course
2. Decide how much time you have for each topic
3. Break the topics into individual lessons
4. Sequence the lessons so concepts are built
5. Plan each lesson:
   • List the objectives for that lesson
   • Determine time available
   • Decide on an Instructional Strategy or Strategies
   • Plan the instruction and student task(s)
   • List materials
   • Determine how you will know if students have learned (assessment)
6. In instead of step 5, adapt or use existing tasks, lessons or groups of lessons from this web site.

Unit Planning Links

http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/ela/planning02.html (Elementary English)