Artifact # 5
Context:
I created a Novel Study Unit as part of my graduate coursework based on the novel, Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. The Unit was especially designed for a fifth grade class based on North Carolina's Social Studies Curriculum for this particular grade level. This novel focused on the theme of the Dust Bowl and The Great Depression in the United States during the 1930's. This Unit includes many activities for students in the classroom including writing, reflection, drama, internet research, themes, multi-media, and art. It focuses on concepts such as character identity, geography, literary devices, and poetry. I have also included a teacher packet in my Novel Study that has unit books that would go along with the theme of The Dust Bowl and The Great Depression as well as other multimedia resources that would be very beneficial to any teacher teaching this particular theme. The Study is finalized with a mock letter to parents introducing the novel and explaining how I am planning to implement the subject area with the novel to the students and a grading rubric.
Impact:
By completing this Novel Study, I learned how to implement other subject areas into teaching a novel to a classroom. There are many different ways to reach students when teaching any type of subject matter. I learned how to create many activities for students that would engage them in a novel while teaching them the most important themes and concepts. I also have learned to design a unit that not only includes student activities, but to organize it for other teachers and parents. I created a Unit that benefits all that use it learning organizational skills, planning, and creativity skills.
Alignment:
Principle A: Instructional Expertise
When creating my Novel Study, I was able to plan, implement, and evaluate the instruction that I would have used for lessons in the classroom. The activities were designed to be coherent and consistent with the research for the Unit. I effectively used my findings from educational literature to implement in the classroom to improve student learning. I was able to use technology to create learning environments that support the student learning as well. Finally, I demonstrated my ability to integrate literacy across the curriculum by using Social Studies with my literature unit.
Principle B: Knowledge of Learners
I incorporated knowledge of the nature of the learner, learning processes, variations in learning abilities and learning styles, and strategies for evaluating learning when designing my Novel Study Unit. I strived to increase the understanding of differences in learning styles for students making sure that all students will be able to complete the activities on an equal basis.
I used research to examine and improve instructional effectiveness and student achievement in my Novel Study Unit. I was able to critically read and apply historical and contemporary educational literature in order to better teach and apply the Unit to my classroom.
Principle D: Content Knowledge
When designing the Novel Study Unit, I demonstrated advanced depth of knowledge and skills in the academic discipline and in education by creating relationships between theory and research findings and use these as current practices and across disciplines. I was able to show theoretical and applied content knowledge when creating a student and teacher resource packet to benefit all that use the Unit in the Classroom. I modeled my Unit to show my current knowledge and trends in education in order for students to make a beneficial connection to the content.