Friday, March 26, 2010

Public Service Announcements

Here is a great idea for a grade 7 Language Arts/Media Literacy lesson. Have your students create public service announcements. Here is a video of multiple student examples.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCtGJ3kNs1M

Grade 8 Science Lesson Plan

Topic: Cell Membrane: Permeability, Impermeably and Selective Permeability
Strand: Grade 8 – Understanding Life Systems: Cells
Time: 50 minutes

Expectations
Overall Expectations:
• Investigate functions and processes of plant and animal cells;
• Demonstrate an understanding of the basic structure and function of plant and animal cells and cell processes.

Specific Expectations
Developing Investigation and Communication Skills:
• Use scientific inquiry/experimentation skills to investigate the processes of diffusion and cells;
• Use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including: diffusion, cell membrane, impermeable, permeable and selectively permeable in oral and written communication;
• Use a variety of forms (oral, written and graphic) to communicate with audiences and for a variety of purposes (draw and label permeable, impermeable and selectively permeable membranes as seen in the experiment).

Understanding basic Concepts:
• Explain the processes of membrane diffusion and its roles within a cell.

Resources: Science notebook, pencil, pencil crayons, Nelson Science and Technology 8
Experiment: jar, piece of glass, piece of mesh, piece of cloth, water, sugar, sugar-water solution.

Introductory Activity(15 minutes): Teacher will complete a mini-lesson about the membranes (permeable, impermeable, selectively permeable) in order to create oral awareness of the topic at hand. This main concept will be defined (a separating layer) and examples will be provided.

Developmental Strategies(30 minutes):
1) Now that students have gathered an awareness of the membranes a visual representation through experiment will take place;
2) The teacher will complete the experiment:
a) Place glass over water-filled jar and drop 1. sugar 2. sugar-water solution 3. water;
b) Place mesh over water-filled jar and drop 1. sugar 2. sugar-water solution 3. water;
c) Place cloth over water-filled jar and drop 1. sugar 2. sugar-water solution 3. water;
3) During the experiment students will have been drawing, labelling and describing the observations they made during the experiment for future reference;
4) The class will discuss, with teacher guidance, the relevance of the experiment to different types of membranes (some are permeable, impermeable and selectively permeable) and decide which type of membrane a cell has and why (selectively permeable because it allows some things to enter and keeps some out).

Concluding Activity: At their own desks students will answer the questions written on the board:

1) Explain what is meant by permeable, impermeable and selectively permeable membranes using examples from the experiment;
2) What type of membrane do cells have? Explain why.

They will be expected to use graphic and written tactics to explain the process.

Methods of Evaluation: Students will be evaluated based on their participation during class discussion. Their observations and answers to the questions in the concluding activity will also be collected and marked accordingly. These materials will show where each student stands in their understanding of the subjects.

Follow-Up Ideas: Students will use the knowledge gathered to continue their learning for the next subject: Osmosis.

Grade 8 Science Lesson Plan

Topic: Diffusion
Strand: Grade 8 – Understanding Life Systems: Cells
Time: 50 minutes

Expectations
Overall Expectations:
• Investigate functions and processes of plant and animal cells;
• Demonstrate an understanding of the basic structure and function of plant and animal cells and cell processes.

Specific Expectations
Developing Investigation and Communication Skills:
• Use scientific inquiry/experimentation skills to investigate the processes of diffusion;
• Use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including: diffusion and molecules in oral and written communication;
• Use a variety of forms (oral, written and graphic) to communicate with audiences and for a variety of purposes (draw and label the process of diffusion as seen in the experiment).
Understanding basic Concepts:
• Explain the processes of diffusion and its roles within a cell.

Resources: Science notebook, pencil, pencil crayons, Nelson Science and Technology 8
Experiment: dye, beaker, water.

Introductory Activity(15 minutes): Teacher will complete a mini-lesson about diffusion in order to create oral awareness of the topic at hand. This main concept will be defined (the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration) and examples will be provided.

Developmental Strategies(20 minutes):
1) Now that students have gathered an awareness of diffusion a visual representation through experiment will take place;
2) The teacher will complete the experiment by dropping a small amount of dye into a beaker which is half-full of water to represent diffusion;
3) The class will discuss, with teacher guidance, the relevance of the experiment to diffusion (the ink spreads because the molecules from the dye and water bounce off of one another and causes the dye to spread);
4) The students will record their observations in three steps (1. water 2. water one second after dye is dropped 3. water once dye is set in) first by drawing and then describing them for future reference;

Concluding Activity: At their own desks students will answer the question written on the board:
1) Explain, in your own words, the process of diffusion.

Students will be expected to use graphic and written tactics to explain the process.

Methods of Evaluation: Students will be evaluated based on their participation during class discussion. Their observations and answers to question #1 in the concluding activity will also be collected and marked accordingly. These materials will show where each student stands in their understanding of the subjects.

Follow-Up Ideas: Students will use the knowledge gathered to continue their learning for the next subject: Permeability, impermeably and selective permeability.

Language Lesson Plan

Monster Needed!

After listening to Frank Rodgers’ Looking After Your First Monster you should have plenty of information about monsters! You will be creating your very own Domestic Monster.

a) Your audience:
Mary and Stanley Orange have 4 young children and very busy jobs. They had a Domestic Monster who helped with the children before but she was fired because she was soooo boring. How can they ever keep up without a helping hand!? Stanley suggested having a new Domestic Monster join their family. The most important thing is to entertain and take care of the children when the Orange’s cannot be around.

b) Your purpose:
Create an original monster who will appeal to the Orange’s in order to apply for the job posting:

Hello!
We are desperately looking for a Domestic Monster who has a personality that will fit our family perfectly! It is a full-time job so be prepared to live with us! We love surprises, having fun and trying new things and would be happy to hear about you! Here are some things that should be included in your resume for us to consider you:

1) A detailed photograph along with your name
2) What is your personality like? Name at least 2 characteristics you feel you have.
3) What do you like to eat? Name at least 2 meals.
4) Are you a fairly hygienic monster? We have no preference but would like forewarning.
5) Do you know any tricks?
6) What kinds of things do you like?
7) Have you ever had a job for another family? If so, why do you not work with them any longer? If you have not what have you been up to all of your life?
8) Your favourite outing.
9) Anything extra you feel we should know about you.

Hope to hear from you original monsters soon!
Mary and Stanley Orange

Your Assignment

You will create your own Domestic Monster and a resume as the monster in order to apply for the job posting above. You will also present monster and resume to the class as a sort of interview. One monster will be chosen for the Orange’s according to his/her originality!

Remember: Your monster can answer the questions in any way they choose. Not all monsters are ordinary! They may like to ride bikes upside-down or dance to rock and roll. There are no limits to who your monster is. Don’t limit the potential of your monster because you think they won’t get the job. The Orange’s would just get a nanny if they wanted someone ordinary.

BE CREATIVE! GOOD LUCK!

Physical Education Lesson Plan

Time: 50 mins
Topic: Leadership
Strand: Fundamental Movement Skills

Expectations:
Overall Expectations:
• perform the movement skills required to participate in games, gymnastics, dance, and outdoor pursuits alone and with others: locomotion/travelling (e.g., running in patterns in game activities), manipulation (e.g., catching, throwing), and stability (e.g., transferring their weight);
• demonstrate the principles of movement while refining their movement skills (e.g., matching the movements of a partner in a sequence).

Specific Expectations
Locomotion/Travelling Skills:
– perform a combination of locomotion/travelling movements, incorporating a variety of speeds, in relationship to objects or others (e.g., square dancing, dodging or faking to escape or deceive an opponent);
Manipulation Skills
– catch, while moving, objects of various sizes and shapes (e.g., balls, Frisbees) using
one or two hands;
Stability Skills
– perform a sequence of movements (e.g., rolling, balancing, jumping, landing);
– transfer body weight in a variety of ways, using changes in direction and speed;

Resources: Instructional movements written on paper, 1 basketball, one hula hoop, other materials that can be found in the gym. Anything the teacher sees as useful for improving movement.

Introductory Activity (10 mins): Students will stretch their muscles in order to warm up for the developmental activity. One student will have a chance to lead the group in the stretches the teacher has previously provided. This should happen in every class.

Developmental Strategies (30 mins): This game is just like the “mirror game” in which students mimic the movements of their partners. However, in this game the movement instructions will be designated by the teacher to only one student. For example, when Mathew gets a turn he goes to the front of the class, is given a piece of paper with instructions, and completes the 2-3 movements on the page as the rest of the students mimic him. The movements will become much more complicated as time goes on. The movements will be complicated by speed, materials (ex. balls) and type of movement. When the instruction involves a ball only the student leader will be using a ball while the others simply mimic the movement. Each student will likely receive two turns.

Task Example:
- throw the basketball in the air
- balance on your left foot and then your right
- turn in two circles while waving your hands

Concluding Activity(10 mins): Students will sit in a circle in the gym with a volleyball while they pass it around to different people who they compliment on their job in gym that day.

Method of Evaluation: Evaluate each student during their turn for their ability to complete the specific movements designated to them in relation to its difficulty. Each student should be able to demonstrate their ability to change movements, speed and direction, use different objects and balance. I would evaluate based on leadership as well: Did the student obviously exemplify the actions? Last, because this is an interdisciplinary task I would evaluate on ability to follow instruction: Could the student read and follow the instructions on their instructional movement page properly?

Science Lesson Plan

Topic: Conservation of Energy and Resources
Strand: Grade 5 – Understanding Earth and Space Systems
Time: 50 minutes

Expectations
Overall Expectations:
• Analyse the immediate and long-term effects of energy and resource use on society and the environment, and evaluate options for conserving energy and resources.

Specific Expectations
Relating Science and Technology to Society and the Environment:
• Analyse the long-term impacts on society and the environment of human uses of energy and natural resources, and suggest ways to reduce these impacts.
Developing Investigation and Communication Skills:
• Use appropriate science and technology vocabulary;
• Use a variety of forms to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes.

Resources: 2L of water, clear bowl or container, teaspoon, glass, eyedropper, poster paper, art supplies.

Introductory Activity(15 minutes):
Object Lesson - The teacher will place 2L of water into a clear bowl or container. This water represents all of the world’s water. The teacher will then place 1 teaspoon of water from the original 2L into a separate glass. This represents the 3% of drinkable water in the world. Next, take an eyedropper and remove one small drop of water. This water represents the true amount of water available for drinking since much 99.4% of the fresh water is in polar ice caps and other places unattainable to us. The class will then have a short discussion about the object lesson for the remainder of the 15 minutes. Ex. What does this visual representation mean to you?

Developmental Strategies(20 minutes):
Having gained an insight on the amount of fresh water available to humans and plants students will be told that, “A human only needs 2.4 litres of water per day to survive, but in Canada we use approximately 343 litres per person per day.” On the board, the teacher will create a T chart with the headings: need/human right & commodity (definitions should be provided depending). As a class students will brainstorm about the uses of water in Canada. This chart should give the students a relatable and visual idea of how water is being used everyday when it could be conserved. Next, students will brainstorm in small groups about how we could conserve water in our daily lives. Each group will be expected to produce at least one idea. Finally, students will choose one of the conservation ideas which applies to their school (i.e. stop buying water bottles). The teacher will then explain that students are expected to work together in their groups to create a poster for the cause.

Concluding Activity (15 minutes): The teacher will provide the materials needed and students will be given the remainder of the class to work on their posters.

Methods of Evaluation: Students will be evaluated for their participation during the class discussion and for the finished product of their poster.

Follow-Up Ideas: As a follow-up to this lesson the teacher could get permission from principal to put posters up in appropriate places in the school.
Hey All!
This is a spoken word Poetry that I wrote as advice for new teachers. It's a teacher-take on Baz Luhrmann's speech "Everybody's Free to wear Sunscreen"
Hope you enjoy it!

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of 2010....Become a teacher, if I could offer you only one tip for the future, teaching would be it.
The long term benefits of teaching have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.....

Enjoy the power and beauty of your students, Oh never mind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your students until they have left you. But trust me in 20 years you'll look back at class photos and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility laid before them and how fabulous they really were.
They are not as badly behaved as you imagine.

Don't worry about finding a job, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be the things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blind side you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Don't waste time in jealousy, sometimes your ahead, sometimes your behind, the race is long and in the end it's only with yourself.

Remember great assignments your receive; forget the bad ones. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what grade you want to teach yet, some of the most interesting people I know taught a different grade at 22 then they do now at 40.
Be kind to your Secretary, you'll miss her when she's gone.

Maybe you'll be a principal, maybe you won't,
Maybe you'll coach a team, maybe you won't,
Maybe you'll quit after 5 years ,
Maybe you'll celebrate your 40th teaching anniversary with your family.
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either, your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's .

Get to know your students, because at the end of the year they're gone for good
Be nice to their siblings, they are the best link to their past, and the people most likely to stick with them in the future.

Understand people from the Faculty of Education will come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on, work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get the most you need the people you knew at the Faculty of Education.

Teach in an urban school once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Teach in a county school once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Accept certain inalienable truths, educational costs will rise, students will cheat and you too will get old.
And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young educational costs were reasonable, students were noble, and children respected their elders.

Don't expect anyone else to mark for you.
Maybe you have a TA, maybe you have an eager student, but you never know when either one will run out.

Be careful whose advice you buy but be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than its worth

But trust me on the Teaching.....

Introductory Lesson for Grade 7 Data Management

Lesson Title: How to Collect and Organize Data
Subject: Grade 7 Math – Data Management
Materials: Textbook, Graph Paper, Smarties, Colored Pencils
Unit: Data Management: Collection and Display
Specific Expectations: Students will be able to collect and organize categorical discrete, or continuous primary data and secondary data and display the data in charts, tables, and graphs that have appropriate titles, labels and scales that suit the range and distribution of the data, using a variety of tools.
Introductory Activity: 20 Minutes
To begin the lesson the students will be engaged in a discussion with the teacher about where information comes from. Newspapers, the Internet, TV, friends, family. They will be asked to think of ways that data is collected as a way of introducing the topic of data management and collecting information. Once students have brainstormed their ideas about where they receive their information they will then engage in a discussion about how the information is presented. Presented in tally charts, bar graphs, circles graphs, and pictographs. Once the students have brainstormed their ways that they receive and read information they will be asked to write the following definitions down in their notebooks where they can easily add to it and find it at a later date. This piece of paper will go into their folders so that they are kept track of
Primary Data: Data that you collect yourself, such as from a survey
Secondary Data: Data that is taken from someone else, such as published in a newspaper
Frequency Table: a table that shows the count, or frequency, for each survey choice
Tally Chart: a tabled used to record experimental or survey data
Once the students have all written their definitions on their paper the teacher will go over them in detail to make sure the students understand exactly what is meant by each definition.
Students will be taught the difference between a frequency and a tally chart as well as the difference between primary and secondary data.
The lesson today will mainly cover the use of primary data to make bar graphs


Main Activity: 40 Minutes
The students will be involved in a class activity that involves them taking a survey of their own peers and making a mock graph before they break into groups to make their own. The class will be surveyed about what kind of music they want to hear at their Valentine’s Day dance later on in the week. The topics will consist of dance music, hip-hop music, alternative, country, or other. Once this has been done the results will be posted on the board for the students to copy down into their notebooks. They will then be shown how to plot this information on a bar graph. Students must remember that there are important things in bar graphs
Each Bar graph must include even intervals on the Vertical and Horizontal axis, frequency on the vertical, and types of music across the horizontal, and the title of the bar graph.
The mock bar graph that will be placed on the board will look like this but with different numbers depending on student answers





If the students have no further questions about how to make a bar graph they will then move onto their final activity.
Concluding Activity: 30 Minutes
In their groups that the students sit in they will open up their Ziploc bags and read the instructions about the activity.
Instructions:
1) DO NOT EAT THE SMARTIES
2) Separate the Smarties according to their colour
3) Make a Tally Chart to show how many Smarties are in each box
4) Each student is responsible for making a bar graph that shows the different colours of Smarties in their group box
5) Answer the following questions on the back side of your Smarties graph (Please show your work)
a. Which colour of Smarties is the most popular?
b. Which colour of Smarties is the least popular?
c. How many Red Smarties are there compared to Brown Smarties?
6) The completed bar graphs should be done by the end of the class and placed in your folders
If the students finish their Smarties Graphs earlier than expected then they may move on to create and Tic Tac graph for extra practice

Instructions for Tic Tac Bar Graph:
1) DO NOT EAT THE TIC TACS
2) Separate the Tic Tacs according to their colour and keep the three different boxes separate
3) Make a frequency chart of each of the boxes of Tic Tacs
4) Each student is responsible for making a double bar graph to show the different colored Tic Tacs in each box
5) Answer the following questions on the back side of the graph
a. Which box had the most red Tic Tacs?
b. Which box had the most yellow Tic Tacs?
c. How many Tic Tacs did you count in total?
d. What is the total of all the Tic Tacs written as a fraction of red as the numerator and yellow as the denominator?
6) The completed graphs can be put in yours folder when they are finished

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Grade 7 Math Lesson- Measurement


TIME: 50 Min GRADE: 7

STRAND: Measurement

TOPIC: Exploring Three-Dimensional Figures

CURRICULUM EXPECTATIONS:
1. Report on research into real-life applications of area measurements.

SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS:
- Sketch the different polygonal prisms that share the same volume

RESOURCES:
- Clay
- Toothpicks

INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY:
Ask class to name some major buildings that they know of world wide. What shape are they?? What about objects in the room?? What shapes are they??

DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES:

Go through text book Mathematics 7 page 234-35. Have students copy key definitions polygon and regular polygon into their math notebooks.
1. Distribute triangle dot paper to each student. Have them draw an equilateral triangle and regular hexagon. (What are these?? Polygons)
2. Go over on triangle dots drawn on board/overhead how to draw a Three Dimensional Cube then go over the vocabulary of Three Dimensional Object – faces (a flat or curved surface of an object), edges (where two faces meet) and vertices (point where two or more edges meet).
3. Go back to objects in room/famous buildings they are 3D. Have students write definition of polyhedron. Hand out sheet with common polyhedrons and have students glue it in math notebook.
4. Putting them in groups. Have them create models of the polyhedrons shown. Have groups create 3 each.

CONCLUDING ACTIVITY:
After groups have created 3 each to satisfaction of teacher have students complete questions 3-8 on pages 239-40
Grade 7 Math
Strand: Geometry and Spatial Sense
Chapter: 8.2: Sketch Front, Top and Side views
Time: 50 Minutes
Specific Expectations:
• Sort and classify triangles and quadrilaterals by geometric properties related to symmetry, angles and sides, through investigation using a variety of tools
• Construct related lines, using angles properties and variety of tools
• Investigate, using concrete materials, the angles between faces of a prism, and identify right prisms.

Introductory Activity:
1. Take up homework, compare results
2. Number Tricks:
a) Choose any 2 digit number. Multiply by 2. Now add 5 to the result. Now add 12. Subtract 3 from the answer. Divide by 2. Subtract the original number. The answer is 7
b) Write the number of your birth month. To that add 32. Now add the difference between 12 and your birth month number. Divide that answer by 2. To that result add 3. The answer is 25.

Developmental Strategies:
1. Key Ideas:
 The Drawings of the front view, top view, and side view of a three dimensional figure show how the figure appears from each of these view points
 Front views, top views and side views are two-dimensional drawings
2) Students are to look around the room and make a list of five small objects. Include a variety of shapes, such as rectangular prisms, cones and cylinders.
 They are to choose one of the objects to examine. Draw the front view of the object as a two dimensional drawing on grid paper.
 Draw the top view of the object. What are you doing differently here than in step 1?
The students are to draw the side view of the object. Is there more than one way to do this? Students are to compare their drawings with those of their peers. How many views do you need to be able to identify the object? Explain.
3) Upon drawing the image in their notebooks and observing it from the various points of view the students are to move onto the manipulatives and are to build the various objects as seen in the textbook. After building their object(s) they are to observe it from the various points of view and see how they differ.
Concluding Activity:
• Number Tricks:
A light-tight wooden box has three switches on the outside that control three light bulbs on the inside. When the box is closed you can turn the switches on or off but when you open the box how can you tell which switch controls each bulb without touching the switches? ANS: Turn one switch on for five minutes, then turn it off and turn on another switch before you open the box. One bulb will be lit, one will be warm, and the unswitched one cool!
Johnny's mother had four children. The first was April, the second was May, and the third was June. What was the name of her fourth child? ANS: Johnny



Grade 7 Math
Strand: Geometry and Spatial Sense
Chapter: 8.3: Draw and Construct Three-Dimensional Figures using nets
`Time: 50 minutes
Specific Expectations:
• Sort and classify triangles and quadrilaterals by geometric properties related to symmetry, angles and sides, through investigation using a variety of tools
• Construct related lines, using angles properties and variety of tools
• Investigate, using concrete materials, the angles between faces of a prism, and identify right prisms
Introduction:
1) Take up homework, answer and outstanding questions.
2) Number Tricks:
• There was an airplane crash, every single person died, but two people survived. How is this possible? ANS: They were married.
• At midnight on Sunday, December 31st, Professor Stone set two of his analogue clocks to the correct time. One of his clocks gains one minute every hour and the other loses two minutes every hour.
1. When will the clocks next show the same time as each other?
2. When will the clocks both show the correct time? ANS:
1. Midnight after 10 days, which is 240 hours later. They both show 4 o'clock, one clock has gained 240 minutes (4 hours) and the other has lost 480 minutes (8 hours).
2. Midnight after 30 days, which is 720 hours later. They both now show 12 o'clock.
Developmental Strategies:

1) Key Ideas—A Net us a two dimensional drawing that can be folded up to form a three dimensional figure. It is a single pattern piece that shows all the faces of the figure
2) Explain to the students that they will be using nets to better understand geometric shapes. Demonstrate to the class an example so they better comprehend the lesson at hand
3) Hand out the nets to each group. Assign the following questions to be done as seat work: p. 249, questions 3, 4,6,7,8,9,10,11.

Concluding Activity: Number Tricks:
• What is so unusual about these fractions ?
19/95 26/65 16/64. ANS: Each one can be reduced to its simplest form merely by cancelling the number which is common to both its numerator and its denominator.
• While walking along the river, you come upon a Countess. The Countess looks very sad, so you ask what is wrong. It seems that the Countess has lost some numbers and needs to find them. She says they are special numbers because:

1. They are all between 300 and 600.
2. The middle digit is odd and the other digits are even.
3. The sum of the digits is 13.

Can you find the lost numbers for the Countess? ANS: The lost numbers are 418, 436, 454, 472, and 490.

Try 3-digit numbers that begin with 4 and have an odd middle number and an even ones digit. Then add the digits to see if the sum is 13.

For homework: pg. 251 number 12,13,14,16.




Grade 7 Math Lesson Plan:
Strand: Geometry and Spatial Sense
Chapter: 8.4
Time: 50 Minutes
Specific Expectations:
• Sort and classify triangles and quadrilaterals by geometric properties related to symmetry, angles and sides, through investigation using a variety of tools
• Construct related lines, using angles properties and variety of tools
• Investigate, using concrete materials, the angles between faces of a prism, and identify right prisms

Introduction:
1) Take up the homework, ask to see if there are any questions
2) Number Tricks:
a) A man wanted to get into his work building, but he had forgotten his code. However, he did remember five clues. These are what those clues were:
• The fifth number plus the third number equals fourteen.
• The fourth number is one more than the second number.
• The first number is one less than twice the second number.
• The second number plus the third number equals ten.
• The sum of all five numbers is 30.
• What were the five numbers and in what order?
• ANS: 7, 4, 6,5,8
b) What do the following words have in common?
• Assess
• Banana
• Dresser
• Grammar
• Potato
• Revive
• Uneven
• Voodoo
• ANS: If you take the first letter and move it to the rear of the word, you get the same word when read backwards.
Developmental Strategies:
1) Key Terms:
• Surface Area: The number of square units needed to cover an object.
• S.A formula for a rectangular prism: 2(lxw)+2(lxh)+2(wxh)
• Surface Area is measured in square units
2) Do for the class an example of calculating surface area for a rectangular prism. Example from the book, page 254.
3) Handout the two worksheets and assign them as class work. Tell class the worksheets will be graded. For homework and possible seatwork assign the following questions: p.256 questions 8-14, 19.

Concluding Activity: Number Tricks
• The famous artist explained to a beautiful woman his system for playing roulette: "In each round, I always bet half of the money I have at the time on red. Yesterday, I counted and I had won as many rounds as I had lost." Over the course of the night, did the gambler win, lose or break even? ANS: He lost. Every time he wins, his money increases 1.5 times (with $100, he bets $50 and if he wins, he has $150). When he loses, his money is reduced by half. So a win-loss combination results in a loss of one quarter of his money. The more he plays, the more money he loses, even though he wins the same number of times as he loses.
• Bicycles, tricycles, pedal cars galore
Some have 2 wheels, some 3, some 4
One each they belong to some girls and boys
Eighteen is the number of these toys
If I change 1 tyre a week I fear
To change them all will take me a year
There are half as many cars as trikes
How many of each are owned by these tykes? ANS: Suppose there is 1 car. There are 2 tricycles and 15 bikes. This makes 40 wheels - not enough.
Suppose there are 2 cars. There are 4 tricycles and 12 bikes. This makes 44 wheels.
Each time I add 1 car I get 4 extra wheels. I need 52 wheels so I want 2 more cars.

Answer : 4 cars, 8 tricycles and 6 bikes.


Grade Seven Math
Strand: Geometry and Spatial Sense
Chapter: 8.5
Time: 50 minutes
Specific Expectations:
• Sort and classify triangles and quadrilaterals by geometric properties related to symmetry, angles and sides, through investigation using a variety of tools
• Construct related lines, using angles properties and variety of tools
• Investigate, using concrete materials, the angles between faces of a prism, and identify right prisms

Introduction:
1) Take up the handouts and deal with any problems or concerns. Quick review of formula’s.

2) Number Tricks:
a) ) What do the following words have in common?
• Assess
• Banana
• Dresser
• Grammar
• Potato
• Revive
• Uneven
• Voodoo
ANS: If you take the first letter and move it to the rear of the word, you get the same word when read backwards.

3) Surface Area Quiz.

Developmental Strategies:
1) Key Terms and Concepts:
• Volume: the amount of space occupied by an object and is measured in cubic units.
• The formula for Volume is: area of base X height.
2) Go over the lesson from last class, reviewing the formula. Do an example on the board of how to calculate volume.
3) Assign the handouts to the students as class work and circulate the room looking to see if there are any problems and making sure everyone is on task.
4) For homework assign questions from the book

Concluding Activity: Number Tricks
• Sarah, Daniel and Megan had a contest to see who could bike the most miles. Together Sarah and Daniel biked 21 miles. The combined total for Sarah and Megan was 19. Together Megan and Daniel rode 22 miles.

Who was the winner? ANS: Daniel is the winner.

Sarah = 9 miles
Megan = 10 miles
Daniel = 12 miles

Set up three equations:

S + D = 21
S + M = 19
M + D = 22

and solve for S, M, and D.
• The letters A through H below each represent a number from 1 to 9. Each letter represents the same number throughout and no number is used twice. If C=3 what is H?

A - C = D
G x E = F
B + G = H
D/C = E
• ANS: H = 5, A=9, B=1, C=3, D=6, E=2, F=8, G=4















Grade 6 Language Lesson Plan - Biography

GRADE 6 LANGUAGE
Biography
Expectations
Overall Expectations:
· Use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently;
· Reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading;
Specific Expectations:
Demonstrate Understanding:
· Demonstrate understanding of increasingly complex texts by summarizing and explaining important ideas and citing supporting details;
Making Inferences or Interpreting Texts:
· Develop interpretations about texts using stated and implied idea to support their interpretation
Teacher prompt: ``What is the story between the lines ... beyond the lines? What clues did the author give that led to your conclusion? Why do you think the author doesn`t stated these ideas directly?``
Resources: Text, biographies, chart paper/markers
Introductory Activity:
· Explain to class that effective readers read with a purpose (brief explanation)
· Have students read “Read with a purpose” (p. 9) using a “shared reading” approach
· Pose question: “How does reading about the lives of others help us to learn about our own values and beliefs?”
· Record ideas on a reference chart
Reading Strategies (p. 9)
· Predict what you will be reading about by scanning the title, headings, photos, captions, and text boxes to get a sense of the content
· Pause and check after reading each section to think about what you have read and to check your understanding
· Connect the text to personal experiences, to other texts, and to the world to develop a deeper understanding
Developmental Strategies:
· Read the text using a ``shared reading`` approach (I should read and emphasize important phrases as students follow along; discuss photographs)
· Model reading comprehension strategies using a ``think-aloud`` method (Rapping for Respect, p. 12)
Reading Comprehension Strategies Applied
1. Scan
· Predict what text will be about
· What does the above title tell us about the text?
2. Photos
3. ``Brief Bio``
· Would indicate that this is a biography
Invite students to share any predictions about text to be discussed
· The first paragraph states “for some people, it would be hard to put aside a promising career as a musician to talk to young people about fairness. For Errol Lee, the decision was easy”.
· Pose question: “Does this sentence give any indication as to what the story might be about?” (Pause and check method)
· Note sentence: “He was starting his music career, but he was also getting into trouble”
· Make connection: “Have you ever gotten into trouble, and then decided to change bad habits?”
· Explanation of “empathy”
· Pose question: “How does having empathy or the ability to empathize determine how you treat people?”
· Next heading is entitled ``Cool to Be Kind`` (predict)

· Ask students to work with a partner and discuss biographies as well as reading strategies
· Students are to discuss how reading strategies were applied to biography and record on chart paper
· Students present how reading strategies were used to gain an understanding of their biography


Concluding Activity:
Pose questions: ``Was the biography clear and easy to understand? What text features helped you understand and remember the information? What did the writer want you to learn about Errol Lee?
Method of Evaluation:
· Participation, effort, and engagement with the exercises will noted and given special consideration

Source: Literacy In Action 6 Teacher’s Guide

Grade 6 Science Space Lesson Plan

GRADE 6 SCIENCE – UNDERSTANDING EARTH AND SPACE SYSTEMS
Space – An Examination and Construction of its Systems
Expectations
Overall Expectations:
· Investigate characteristics of the systems of which the earth is a part and the relationship between the earth , the sun, and the moon;
· Demonstrate an understanding of components of the systems of which the earth is a part, and explain the phenomena that result from the movement of different bodies in space
Specific Expectations:
Relating Science and Technology to Society and Environment:
· Assess the contributions of Canadians
Developing Investigation and Communication Skills:
· Use a variety of forms to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes
Understanding Basic Concepts:
· Identify components of the solar system, including the sun, the earth, and other planets, natural satellites, comets, asteroids, and meteoroids, and describe their physical characteristics in qualitative terms
Resources: Chart paper, Markers, Large Styrofoam balls, and various other miscellaneous materials used in the construction of solar systems parts
Introductory Activity:
· Have students break out into groups of 4 around tables and brainstorm ideas that come to mind when space is mentioned. Ideas are to be recorded on chart paper either in a written or pictorial format
· Put alphabet on board vertically and have groups come to front of class and fill in ideas discussed in groups
· Hopefully students will have touched on some of the concepts to be covered in class
· Briefly touch on history of Canadian contributions in space



Developmental Strategies:

· Distribute a recording sheet with respective characteristics that are common to the solar system
· Number students 1 to 5 and have students break out into work stations where five parts of the solar system are represented
· At the stations will be handouts with a description of that respective part of the solar system (Ie. habitation, life forms etc.)
· Students are to rotate throughout the stations checking off the characteristics discovered on recording sheets
· Upon full rotation throughout stations, students are to return to their original station at which time they are to look in cupboards of stations and find materials to construct that respective part of solar system
· At this point, based on the descriptions encountered upon initial rotation, students should have a fairly good idea of the characteristics of the solar system part that they are constructing
· Students are encouraged to actively use the knowledge gained to assist them in the construction
· Teacher will ask students to reconvene in one big group and then proceed to go over the characteristics of parts of the solar system discovered through exercise
Concluding Activity:
· Students will be asked to write a summative paragraph for each part of the solar system discussed outlining salient characteristics
Method of Evaluation:
· Participation, effort, and engagement with the exercises will noted and given special consideration
· Recording sheet will be collected and marked for completion
· Paragraphs written for concluding activity will be collected for evaluative purposes
Follow Up Ideas:
· Look further into Humans` need to discover space assigning readings from the text/supplementary as needed for homework

Grade 7 Geometry Math Unit Plan

MATH UNIT PLAN
Grade 7
Strand: Geometry and Spatial Sense
Overall Expectations (for unit):

· Construct related lines, and classify triangles, quadrilaterals, and prisms
· Develop an understanding of similarity, and distinguish similarity and congruence
· Describe location in the four quadrants of a coordinate system, dilatate two-dimensional shapes, and apply transformations to create and analyse designs

Specific Expectations:
Geometric Properties:
· Sort and classify triangles and quadrilaterals by geometric properties related to symmetry, angles, and sides, through investigation using a variety of tools and strategies
· Investigate, using concrete materials, the angles between the faces of a prism, and identify right prisms

Geometric Relationships:
· Demonstrate an understanding that enlarging or reducing two-dimensional shapes creates similar shapes
· Distinguish between and compare similar shapes and congruent shapes, using a variety of tools and strategies

Location and Movement:

· Determine, through investigation using a variety of tools, polygons or combinations of polygons that tile a plane, and describe the transformation(s) involved

Lesson 1
Topic: Three-Dimensional Figures
Time: 50 Minutes
Resources: Textbook, building blocks, polygons in classroom, and smart board
Introductory Activity: 10 Minutes
· Have students look around the classroom noting practical examples of polygons in text

Key Question: Can someone point out 2 examples of a polygon in the room?
· Request a volunteer to make a class list of polygons in the room

Development Strategies: 40 Minutes
Work through activity 2 with students as noted in text:
· Explain and point out basic terms (edges, faces, vertices etc.) on smart board and have students record in math log books

Key Question: Can someone point out the edges, faces, and vertices of this rectangular prism?

· Have students look at a picture of an Egyptian pyramid
· Students are then to construct their own pyramid with materials provided
· Upon completion, list the number of edges and vertices

Lesson 2
Topic: Sketch Front, Top, and Side Views
Time: 50 Minutes
Resources: Textbook, grid paper, class list of polygons, polygons from classroom (Ie. tissue box), and smart board
Introductory Activity: 10 Minutes
· Have students refer to class list of polygons and bring one to the front of class (Ie. Tissue box)
· Have students look at the tissue box and identify edges, face, and vertices as a review and them distinguish between front, top, and side views
Key Question: Is anyone able to point out the front, top, and side view of this tissue box?
· Repeat exercise with a 2 other polygons on class list
Development Strategies: 30 Minutes
· Go over example 1 in text and have students come to the smart board to sketch front, top, and side view of object
· Have students repeat for example 2
· Complete 3 a) of “Check Your Understanding” together as class
Key Question: Can someone sketch the front, top, and side view of 3 a)
· Assign “Check Your Understanding” questions 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and have students work on in class
Concluding Activity: 10 Minutes
· Take up select questions
· Questions 4 a), 5 a), and 6 b) of “Check Your Understanding”
Homework: Assign questions not completed in class
Lesson 3
Topic: Sketch Front, Top, and Side Views (Nets)
Time: 50 Minutes
Resources: Textbook, construction paper, net outlines, grid paper, cereal boxes, scissors, class list, and smart board
Introductory Activity: 10 Minutes
· Ensure completion of homework
· Provide cereal boxes for each student in the class and ask them to cut open the boxes in order to demonstrate how a net is used to form a three-dimensional shape
Key Question: Does everyone see how the net of the box is used to form a three-dimensional shape? Are there any objects from the class list of polygons that this exercise could be done with?
Development Strategies: 30 Minutes
· Put class into partners and have them complete the “Communicate the Ideas” questions 1 and 2
· Briefly discuss as class
Key Question: How do the nets in question 1 differ?
· Complete question 3 (“Check Your Understanding”) as a class
· Have students complete 4, 5 6, 9, 10, and 11 of “Check Your Understanding” section
· Take up select questions
· Question 11 a) and 11 b)
Concluding Activity: 10 Minutes
· Have students begin to construct nets of their choice on construction paper
Homework: Assigned questions not completed in class and nets
Assessment: Nets will be collected and marked
Lesson 4
Topic: Surface Area of a Rectangular Prism
Time: 50 Minutes
Resources: Textbook, grid paper, cereal boxes, and smart board
Introductory Activity: 10 Minutes
· Have students hand in nets from previous day and ensure completion of questions
· Give students formula for surface area = 2 (length x width) + 2 (length x height) + 2 (width x height)
· Have students record formula in math log books
· Work through practice question as class
· Provide students with cereal boxes that had been cut open in previous class and have calculate the surface area
Key Question: Can anyone tell me the surface area of the cereal box?
Development Strategies: 30 Minutes
· Go over example 1 in text and have students come to the smart board and calculate the surface area of the object
· Have students repeat for example 2
· Complete question 3 of “Check Your Understanding” together as class
Key Question: Can someone calculate the surface area of 3?
· Assign “Check Your Understanding” questions 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and have students work on in class
Concluding Activity: 10 Minutes
· Take up select questions
· Questions 4 , 7 of “Check Your Understanding”
Homework: Assign questions not completed in class


Lesson 5
Topic: Volume of a Rectangular Prism
Time: 50 Minutes
Resources: Textbook, building blocks, and smart board
Introductory Activity: 10 Minutes
Ensure completion of homework
Brief explanation of formulas pointing out location relevant terms (Ie. base, length, width etc.) on smart board

Volume equals length x width (area of base) x height
· Have students record formulas/key ideas chart in math log books
Break students into partners and have them complete “Discover the Math” question 1 using blocks

Development Strategies: 30 Minutes
Break students into partners and have them complete “Discover the Math” question 1 using blocks
· Take up intro activity through calling on students

Key Question: What is the volume of the rectangular prism that you discovered using the blocks?

· Have class work on practice questions 3 and 6
· Take up as class

Concluding Activity: 10 Minutes
· Begin review for unit test
Homework: Review assigned unit questions and complete practice test at end of chapter

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Case Study

CASE STUDY

The Classroom Covenant

At the beginning of the school year Mrs. Thompson, the grade 7/8 teacher at Westmount Public School, provided each student in her class with a copy of “the classroom covenant”. This covenant outlines her beliefs that each individual in her classroom has a right to be treated with kindness and respect; never to be ignored, laughed at or interrupted.

During a routine math class, Mrs. Thompson noticed David (a grade 8 student) snatch a ruler right out of Dylan’s hand (a grade 7 student) while he was busy working on measurements in his textbook. Dylan immediately snapped at David and told him that he was using the ruler. David chose to ignore Dylan’s complaints because he is older and stronger than Dylan. Mrs. Thompson decided to address each student privately to avoid escalating the problem to the level of a power struggle between the students. She knows that David struggles with the subject of mathematics and that this issue may be at the root of his animosity.

In an effort to reinforce the core value of respect for others within her classroom covenant, Mrs. Thompson assigned a language arts assignment and had everyone pull out their writing journals to reflect on what “the classroom covenant” means to them.






CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Topic 1: Bullying
Although some teachers would disregard David’s behaviour as “just being a bully”, Mrs. Thompson is aware of Dreikurs theory of “Mistaken Goals” (192). Dreikurs believed that “discouraged children, as well as adults, may use inappropriate behaviours or ‘mistaken goals’ to help achieve fulfillment of their needs” (192). He proposed four mistaken goals which may explain bully type behaviour:
1. Attention Seeking: Students believe they are significant and accepted only when they are the centre of attention. This gives the student a sense of power and control over the class.
2. Power: This occurs when a teacher has attempted to restrain and discourage the behaviour. Power becomes a mechanism by which the student can defeat the teacher or others.
3. Revenge: Usually occurs as a result of the power struggle. If the student cannot belong, they are still able to hurt the others.
4. Self-Imposed Inadequacy: This student simply gives up. They believe they lack the ability and stamina to perform competently.

David’s decision to steal Dylan’s ruler could be a form of attention-seeking behaviour. He could be feeling inadequate about his abilities in math and thus becoming the obnoxious student (193) who has a low opinion about himself and does things to receive negative attention from peers. This relationship is also a cycle of bullying. David’s constant negativity towards Dylan has created feelings of inadequacy in Dylan and thus making him the socially inept student who turns his negative feelings inward and becomes isolated from his peers. Mrs. Thompson speaks with the students individually to delve into deeper issues these students may be experiencing. Mrs. Thompson shows respect for both students and a desire to help each one succeed.


Topic 2: Student Rights and Inclusion
From the aspect of student rights under the charter, it is evident that Dylan is entitled to the fundamental freedom right of “thought, belief, opinion and expression” (244). This fundamental freedom is highlighted in this scenario as David executes his freedom of violent expression as he decides to steal Dylan’s ruler. According to Dr. Rideout, teachers must be aware of instances such as this because “when students are free at work or at play, their actions may startle or shock their teachers” (249). In this instance, David chooses to express unacceptable behaviour towards Dylan. Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Dylan has the right to a safe learning environment and it is “part of a teacher’s duty to be aware of [their] role in transmitting values, something that occurs subtly but constantly” (249). Mrs. Thompson’s values of respect and acceptance are transmitted to the students through her brisk but fair reactions and preventative measures taken to avoid isolation and bullying in her classroom.



Topic 3: Classroom Management and Discipline
Through her training, Mrs. Thompson has been taught about the reasons for discipline in the classroom. To ensure that the students are aware of the limits for the classroom, students need to be aware of what is appropriate behaviour and what behaviours are unacceptable. Stealing a classmates property is unacceptable behavior, therefore, Mrs. Thompson addressed this issue immediately. Some form of punishment had to follow to show the students that they are responsible for their actions. David’s actions were unacceptable and they were justly followed by a logical and fair consequence. Mrs. Thompson was also promoting acceptance which follows survival and safety needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy (129). When acceptance and self-esteem is achieved for a student, learning (self-actualizing needs) can occur. To directly address the problem that was escalating, Mrs. Thompson used the least intrusive and humiliating interventions. Talking to each student privately avoids a power struggle between student and teacher when the student feels threatened. By addressing them privately you are “denying him or her an audience for further defiance or face-saving entrenchment of the negative behaviour” (148). She attempts to prevent further disciplinary problems by searching for underlying causes. Surface behaviours (stealing a student’s ruler) can occur as a result of a deeper rooted problem, but the student’s behaviour can “be redirected - primarily through encouragement, mutual respect, and understanding - to return to original goals” (140).

Enlgish Unit Plan - Grade 9

English Unit Plan - Grade 9


Unit Plan: “Who Am I?”


Unit Plan
Date: To Be Announced
Topic: Who Am I?
Time: 75 Minutes, three times a week, for 8 Classes

Curriculum Expectations:
Overall Expectations

Grade 9 students will:
Oral Communication: Use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
Reading: Read and demonstrate an understanding of the elements of a variety of literary and informational texts, from contemporary and historical periods
Writing: Use a variety of print and electronic sources to gather information and explore ideas for their written work; use a variety of organizational techniques to present ideas and supporting details logically and coherently in written work; revise their written work, independently and collaboratively, with a focus on support for ideas and opinions, accuracy, clarity, and unity.

Specific Expectations
Grade 9 students will:
Oral Communication: Demonstrate an understanding of the information and ideas in increasingly complex and difficult oral texts in a variety of ways.
Reading: Demonstrate understanding of increasingly complex and difficult text by summarizing important ideas and explaining how the details support the main idea.
Writing: Write a complex text of a variety of lengths using a wide range of forms.

Assessment Strategies:
Formative Assessment: On Day 2 an assessment on the “Role Play” will be conducted on whether the students understand the different concepts of idealist, humanist, and realist. On Days 3 and 6 a journal assessment will be done to check for completed work.
Summative: Students will be generating a final project involving choosing a prominent figure from the past or present who they feel embodies qualities that they feel the either already have or would like to achieve to acquire as a personal goal. The students will write a mini speech on their figure of choice and how they relate to him or her. The students will be able to create and present their project in any form they choose, whether media or written, as long as it represents the heart of the project.

Accommodations and Modifications:
For the more advanced students they can begin to complete their activity without teacher guided assistance. Students that need additional help with the more challenging activities such as the personal narrative we be guided by the teacher and other students to promote collaborative learning and student centered learning. This lesson addresses the following learners:
* Auditory (YouTube video’s)
* Visual (use of worksheets and examples)
* Kinesthetic (students are able to use hands on approach through he creation of their final project and group work)

Day 1

Resources: Journal book

Goals: By the end of today’s lesson, students will have an understanding of what the unit “Who Am I?” will be about and what topics will be included. They will learn that the question “Who Am I?” is a fundamental question that everyone asks themselves, especially people at their age. Students will gain background knowledge of Erik Erickson’s 8 developmental stages and will come to realize that their own development has led them to the category of “identity vs. role confusion”. By the end of today’s lesson students should leave having gained the basic fundamentals and building blocks that will help them progress throughout the rest of the unit.

Introductory Activity – 20 Minutes
In the beginning of the unit every student is given a complimentary journal book. It is mandatory students bring this to every class and to write a reflection in this journal book.

Journal Entry #1 – WHO AM I? (Describe who you are)
In grade 8, students might have been seen as being the “big man on campus” this is known as the “top dog” syndrome. However, this syndrome flips when grade 8 students enter high school. In high school, grade 9 students are place at the very bottom of the spectrum.
Statistics prove that high school plays an influential role on individuals; this is the time that individuals try to figure out who they are, where they fit in (in school and in the world), and who they want to become.
As early as grade 11, students must determine whether they will be university students or college students (Academic vs. Applied) and what they want their profession to be (taking math or sciences in grades 11 and 12 means you want to apply to university under that field)

Discuss answers from journal entry #1
After discussing the answers, see how many students put superficial characteristics. How many students put their hair color, eye color, height etc. as characteristics that define themselves?
Ask students to define themselves again. This time ask them to look at themselves at a deeper level, not just the surface. Define yourself by not just looking at your surface characteristics. What makes you, you? (DO NOT discuss their answers)




Developmental Strategies – 40 Minutes

1. Give an overview of the unit –“WHO AM I?”- Every new lesson will incorporate a different focus/theme: humanist, idealist, realist, feminism & gender, race, and social justice. These will be the lenses that help us better define who we are in relation to the text we read, the world, and our own personal experiences.

2. Give students a brief background of the importance of identity. Everyone goes through these stages. This is a lens that they could view themselves through while evaluating and figuring out who they are.

Note: Do not go into great detail of Erik Erickson’s 8 development stages. Just mention each title. “Identity vs. Role Confusion” is highlighted because it will be discussed in further detail later on in today’s lesson.

3. Erik Erickson (psychologist) – 8 developmental stages (briefly go over each)
Trust vs. Mistrust – birth to 18 months
Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt – 18 month to 3 years
Initiative vs. Guilt – 3 to 5 years
Industry vs. Inferiority – 6 to 12 years
Identity vs. Role Confusion – 12 to 18 years (high school years)
Intimacy vs. Isolation – 18 to 35 years
Generativity vs. Stagnation – 35 to 55/65 years
Integrity vs. Despair – 55/65 to death

4. What is Identity vs. Role Confusion?
Teenager. Questioning of self. Who am I, how do I fit in? Where am I going in life? Erickson believes that if the parents allow the child to explore, they will conclude their own identity. However, if the parents continually push him/her to conform to their views, the teen will face identity confusion.
According to Erickson, an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself.
Erickson described identity as "a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of personal sameness and continuity, paired with some belief in the sameness and continuity of some shared world image. As a quality of unself-conscious living, this can be gloriously obvious in a young person who has found himself as he has found his communality. In him we see emerge a unique unification of what is irreversibly given--that is, body type and temperament, giftedness and vulnerability, infantile models and acquired ideals--with the open choices provided in available roles, occupational possibilities, values offered, mentors met, friendships made, and first sexual encounters." (Erickson, 1970.)
In Erik Erickson's stages of psychosocial development, the emergence of an identity crisis occurs during the teenage years in which people struggle between feelings of identity versus role confusion.
5. Identity Statuses
a. Identity achievement occurs when an individual has gone through an exploration of different identities and made a commitment to one.
b. Moratorium is the status of a person who is actively involved in exploring different identities, but has not made a commitment.
c. Foreclosure status is when a person has made a commitment without attempting identity exploration.
d. Identity diffusion occurs when there is neither an identity crisis nor commitment.

Concluding Activity – 20 Minutes

Journal Entry #2: From the 4 Identity Status discussed, do you fall into one of the categories? If so, how?

Note: If time runs out, this will be assigned for homework.

Reflection on the Lesson:
How did I feel this lesson went over?



If I could change one thing about it to make it better what would it be?

If I could rate this lesson in comparison to others like it, how would it rate on scale of 1-10?



Day 2
Resources: Journal book

Goals: By the end of today’s lesson students should have a strong grasp about what a humanist, idealist and a realist is and the difference between all three. Students should be able to reflect, analyze, and assess themselves through these new lenses. Using last class’s foundation with today’s new lenses, students should challenge themselves by exploring the question “Who Am I?” at a deeper level.

Introductory Activity – 20 Minutes

Journal Entry #3: Do you view yourself as a humanist, idealist, and realist? Do you fit into more than one category? Explain.
Do not define the terms for students. Let them make their own assumptions of what the meaning could be

Developmental Strategies – 40 Minutes

1. What is a humanist? How many of you believe you are a humanist? Why?
Humanist - a person having a strong interest in or concern for human welfare, values, and dignity. Concerned with human interests and with the human race as opposed to the purely physical world. It is an approach which stresses distinctly human traits such as meaning, feeling, and emotion.
Humanism sets man at the center, giving humans primary importance. It is a perspective common to a wide range of ethical stances that attaches importance to human dignity, concerns, and capabilities, particularly rationality.
Ethical Stances - The science of moral obligation; a system of moral principles, quality, or practice. The moral obligation to render to the patient the best possible quality of dental service and to maintain an honest relationship with other members of the profession and mankind in general.

2. What is an idealist? How many of you believe you are an idealist? Why?
Idealist – A person inclined to be imaginative or idealistic but impractical: dreamer, utopian, visionary
Utopian/ Utopia - An ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects. Not compatible with reality. Being the best possible; characterized by ideal perfection

3. What is a realist? How many of you believe you are a realist? Why?
Realist - One who is inclined to literal truth and pragmatism? A person who sees things as they truly are. A practical person.
Realism - The representation in art or literature of objects, actions, or social conditions as they actually are, without idealization or presentation in abstract form. Realism rejects imaginative idealization in favour of close observation of outward appearances.

Concluding Activity – 20 Minutes

Role Play Activity –
Students are broken into groups of 3
Within each group, students are to decide which character they will play: 1 humanist, 1 idealist, and 1 realist.
Students are to create a scenario where all three (a humanist, an idealist, and a realist) are involved and engaging in conversation with one another.
Students are not to disclose which character they are playing to the rest of the class.
During the student’s role play, the rest of the class must try to determine who is which.

Note: If time is running short, have students break into groups of 6 instead of 3. This way there will be time for all students to perform. (2 humanists, 2 idealists, and 2 realists)

Reflection on the Lesson:
How did I feel this lesson went over?



If I could change one thing about it to make it better what would it be?

If I could rate this lesson in comparison to others like it, how would it rate on scale of 1-10?


Homework - Journal Entry #4 – Now that you know what the real definition is, use these lenses to reassess yourself. Do you fall into any of these categories? Do you fit into more than one? Can you see yourself as being one or more of them? Explain.


Day 3

Resources: The introduction from A Vindication of the Rights of Women found in the Norton Anthology of Literature by Women p. 258-261, or the handout provided for those without access to the book, pens, paper.
Goals: The students will have finished the class with an understanding of the struggles that women went through to become accomplished and respected authors today. They will use creative writing skills to formulate an idea of what it was like to be a woman in the 18th Century. And finally, they will choose their topic for their final project.


Introductory Activity – 10 Minutes
Take up homework from previous class.
Have the students imagine that they are in 18th Century where women have little to no rights. Now have them write to the editor of a local newspaper. They have just been told that their work will not be published because it is “Silly women’s nonsense” and it has “no place in the world of men.” They are to write a rebuttal to this.

Developmental Strategies – 25 Minutes

Briefly outline the feminist perspective as originating in the 1960s from the sociopolitical movement that arose to name and combat the gender divisions that affect the legal, economic, and social lives of women, taken from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008684:

Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, and Laura Jamieson (March 1916) were the leaders of the feminist cause in western Canada. The federal government in 1967 set up the Royal Commission on the STATUS OF WOMEN to examine the situation, and in its 1970 report the commission made 167 recommendations for greater equality of women. The women's movement has been working for social justice for women along many different fronts, including politics, culture, the mass media, law, education, health, the labour force, religion, the environment and the home. Combining the fight against sexism with a fight against racism has become increasingly important. The organizational structure includes groups of every size and from every region, including national and international ones. In the paid labour force, concern focused initially on equal pay for equal work. In the '80s, the demand for equal pay for work of equal value has prompted comparisons of dissimilar jobs in order to establish fair pay scales for jobs requiring similar skills, efforts and responsibilities. The Royal Commission on Equality in Employment (Abella Commission), which tabled its report in 1984, made a number of recommendations for sweeping changes. Employment equity and pay equity have become a concern for unions, employees and governments. Some programs try to overcome historical discrimination by facilitating the promotion of women into levels and types of occupation from which they have so far been excluded. There was also a concern to recognize the contribution of wives who work in partnership with their husbands in non-incorporated businesses, so that wages paid to the wife can be rated as such for tax and legal purposes.
Male control over women's bodies has also traditionally expressed itself through violence. New halfway houses for battered women have opened in several cities, and analyses and reports on this hitherto forbidden topic are published in newspapers and magazines. RAPE, the chief representation of aggression against women, has escaped from the silence which formerly surrounded it. Rape crisis centres have existed in major cities since 1973; a lobby has been organized to press for changes in the law; each fall urban women parade to demonstrate their right to use the streets safely at night; and every year thousands of Canadian women take courses in self-defense. Since the '90s, the greatest challenges to the women's movement - as to other socially committed groups - are the policy changes that are taking place in the context of deficit and debt reduction. This is occurring at the provincial as well as at the federal level. Provinces vary in the degree to which social programs are slashed and infrastructure is dismantled, but the general trend is towards tightening public spending in social programs. These programs are often geared to serve the poor and disadvantaged, which include a disproportionate number of women. Women are thus particularly negatively affected by the manner in which Canadian governments are attempting to balance their books

After reading this pose the following questions to the class:
How has the role of the woman changed from 1900 to now? (Possible answers could include: women now have the rights to vote; we can wear pants; we are no longer forced to stay in the house; we have jobs)
Do you feel that the change has been for the better? Why or why not?
Do you feel that men and women are considered equal in the eyes of the world? Give examples for your answers.


Concluding Activity – 35 Minutes
Students will write in their journals their reactions to the plight of the woman and whether they were aware of the trials that women went through in order to be considered equals in society. They will also write whether they think women will ever be seen equal in the eyes of man, and why or why not.

Once they have finished their journal they will be given 25 minutes to work on their final project for this lesson. Time will be allotted for computer use to research topics, teacher time to ask questions and get guidance on where to start, and time to discuss with classmates to get a variety of ideas of prominent figures that they embody or admire.


Reflection on the Lesson:
How did I feel this lesson went over?



If I could change one thing about it to make it better what would it be?



If I could rate this lesson in comparison to others like it, how would it rate on scale of 1-10?



Day 4

Resources: The introduction from A Vindication of the Rights of Women found in the Norton Anthology of Literature by Women p. 258-261, or the handout provided for those without access to the book, pens, paper
Goals: The students will have finished the class with an understanding of the struggles that women went through to become accomplished and respected authors today.

Introductory Activity – 10 Minutes
We will revisit the Feminist perspective and ask students their thoughts and feeling from the lesson prior to this one. Have the students share personal feelings and experiences from being a victim of prejudice or racism and how those made them feel. Relate these back to being a woman who was put down, considered no higher than a dog in society, and seen as having no intellectual perspective.

Developmental Strategies – 40 minutes
Have them think about the question “Did a woman ever find an identity for herself not defined by attachment to a man?” (Have it written on the board) while reading the introduction from A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft. (This should have been done for homework from the previous class).
Start a discussion of the story. Then, ask more basic questions about the story to get the facts straight and deeper-level discussion questions.
What does Wollstonecraft explicitly state in the introduction? (Some answers include: her assumptions and beliefs about what she will write about, the fact that she is a woman, etcetera.)
Do you think you would act differently or grow up as a different person if you had never read a novel or been to school? (Possible answers could include: I would not know the possibilities out there, getting a job would be difficult, I wouldn’t know how to use my imagination as well).
For students who cannot get to the deeper level thinking then the following questions would suffice for their instruction
1. Why does Mary Wollstonecraft choose this particular title for her essay? (Possible answers could include: what does vindication mean; she choose vindication because it could mean absolution of the fact that women’s rights have been removed)
2. If you could change anything about the introduction what would it be, and why (Possible answers could include: make it shorter; use today’s language)
3. If you could add anything to the introduction, keeping to the theme of the essay, what would it be, and why?
First the students will write down their answers and then they will orally discuss this in groups of 4. In their groups they will then write a letter to Mary as if she were living today about their thoughts on her essay. These will then be presented to the class by each group.
Make sure that as they are reading this work that they stop and look up all unknown words, for there are quite a few. This piece was written in an old dialect and many of the terms are not used today.
Concluding Activity – 25 minutes
Students will write in their journals a reflection on the following questions: After reading this short essay from Mary Wollstonecraft on “The Vindication of the Rights of Women,” how would you express yourself if you were restricted to censorship like women were then? And, how do you feel, if you do, that you relate to the feminist perspective? Did this reading help you relate to something that you couldn’t define before?

Students will then be given time to work on their final projects when they have finished their journal entry.


Reflection on the Lesson:
How did I feel this lesson went over?



If I could change one thing about it to make it better what would it be?



If I could rate this lesson in comparison to others like it, how would it rate on scale of 1-10?


Day 5
Resources: Sylvia Plath reading “Daddy” on YouTube: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hHjctqSBwM) and “Cinderella” by Sylvia Plath as a handout.
Goals: The students will be able to, by the end of the period, identify some of the devices of literature and how it makes the poem more powerful to the reader in the context of the female struggle.





Introductory Activity – 10-15 Minutes

Play the YouTube clip of Sylvia Plath reading “Daddy.” Have the students reflect on the words and the way that she phrases certain parts to highlight importance. For students on an IEP they will be required to listen to the poem and write about how it makes them feel when they listen to the words.
The poem “Cinderella” will then be given out as the assigned poem for the day’s analysis.


Developmental Strategies – 45-50 Minutes

Introduce an activity of “What kind of Poetry Reader are you?” from Bridging English p.210. The four types of readers are paraphrasers, thematisers, allegorizers, and problem solvers. Paraphrasers seldom push beyond the literal meaning of the poem. Thematisers seek to crack the code of the poem and conceptualize a general theme about life, nature, man, animals, landscapes, or loneliness. Allegorizers are intent on exercising ingenuity to work out the equivalences between the poem and life. Problem Solvers refuse to settle immediately on the meaning and are tentative in their formulations of meaning because, for them, a poem is never fully understood. Place these explanations on the board for reference purposes.
As a whole group read the poem together. Ask the students “Which of these four strategies best describes how you approach a poem? Do you typically favour one strategy over another when you read poems? In which category does your teacher typically belong? In bold letters, write down on the back of your explanation which category you typically favour. There are no wrong answers.

Divide the students into the four different types of readers and have them discuss in their groups how they see the poem “Cinderella.”
When they are finished then each group will take turns and present their findings.

The students will then write their own poem based on a topic that they find inspiring to them, whether it is about a personal issue or their favourite book or television show.
For students with specific special needs they will draw a picture of how the poem made them feel.
Make sure that as they are reading this work that they stop and look up all unknown words, for there are quite a few. This piece was written in an old dialect and many of the terms are not used today.


Concluding Activity – 10 Minutes

Students will write in their journals a reflection on the following questions: After listening to Sylvia Plath read her own poem how do you think this makes a difference in interpreting it? Do you feel more connected to the poem or the subject matter, or does it make it seem more distant? Do you have any similar experiences with or feeling about family members like Plath does?




Reflection on the Lesson:
How did I feel this lesson went over?



If I could change one thing about it to make it better what would it be?

If I could rate this lesson in comparison to others like it, how would it rate on scale of 1-10?



Day 6

Resources: SmartBoard
Goals: By the end of the lesson students will hopefully become more aware of whom they are as individuals from racial-ized backgrounds and the privileges that they possess in education among other endeavors due to the sacrifices and hardships of other who have come before them.

Introductory Activity – 15 Minutes

Begin class with phrase from “I Have a Dream” speech on board – “All Men are Created Equal”, and have students interpret the meaning of phrase
The above should hopefully generate discussion around the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) in order to gage the prior knowledge that students bring to this subject area
Give brief description of the CRM, Jim Crow, and the general conditions Black lived under during this era


Developmental Strategies – 45 Minutes

Pose Question: What is the significance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s (MLK) non-violence philosophy and why is it particularly important to blacks living in this era? (Possible answers could include: one day things will be better than they are now, i.e. no segregation; God is the arbiter of human kind)
Show the “I Have a Dream Speech” on the SmartBoard pausing on significant parts and giving brief explanation
Have students break out into groups of 4 and discuss what they liked about the speech as well as focus question
Bring class together as a whole and discuss issues as well as attributes associated with non-violence philosophy


Concluding Activity – 15 Minutes
Have students write in journal what they have learned from the lesson and how it has the contributed to the formation of their identity
Reflection on the Lesson:
How did I feel this lesson went over?



If I could change one thing about it to make it better what would it be?

If I could rate this lesson in comparison to others like it, how would it rate on scale of 1-10?


Day 7

Goals: By the end of the lesson students will hopefully become more aware of who they are as individuals from racial-ized backgrounds and the privileges that they possess in education among other endeavors due to the sacrifices and hardships of others who have come before them.

Introductory Activity – 15 Minutes

Begin class with phrase from “A More Perfect Union Speech” on board – “Today’s injustices can be traced back to yesterday’s inequalities” speech on board, and have students interpret the meaning of phrase (Possible answers could include: the disproportion achievement gap between Blacks and Whites in America can be traced back to a legacy of race and discrimination and segregation).
Have class discussion around the above phrase
Give context in which “A More Perfect Union” was delivered


Developmental Strategies – 45 Minutes

Pose Question: How does Obama speech, and Obama on a whole, see the realization of MLK’s goals? (A possible answer could include: the probability of Blacks resorting to violence due to the injustice they face in society)
Show “A More Perfect Union” on the SmartBoard pausing on significant parts and giving brief explanation
Have students break out into groups comparing and contrasting highlights of the two speeches
Bring class together as a whole and discuss the Obama speech in contrast to MLK’s speech as well as the progress that has been made on race relations in America


Concluding Activity – 15 Minutes

Have students write in journal what they have learned from the lesson and how it has the contributed to the formation of their identity
Method of Evaluation:
Participation, effort, and engagement with the exercises will be noted and given special consideration
Journal will be assessed at end of unit
Reflection on the Lesson:
How did I feel this lesson went over?



If I could change one thing about it to make it better what would it be?

If I could rate this lesson in comparison to others like it, how would it rate on scale of 1-10?




Day 8

The students will present their final projects. A rubric has been created for the marking of these.

Teacher Power Bases

There are four identified types of power that teachers as social agents may use to influence student behaviour.


Figure 1.3 – POINTS OF POWER - There are five bases of power which a teacher can exert over a student. These bases of power are: Referent power, Expert power, Legitimate power, Coercive power and Reward power.

Referent Power When a teacher has referent power students behave as the teacher wishes because they like the teacher as a person. There are two requirements for the effective use of referent power: teachers must perceive that the students like them and teachers must communicate that they care about and like the students.

Expert Power When a teacher has expert power students behave as the teacher wishes because they view that teacher as someone who is good and knowledgeable and who can help them to learn. The student must believe the teacher has both special knowledge and the teaching skills to help them acquire that knowledge.

Legitimate Power
The teacher who seeks to influence students through legitimate power expects students to behave appropriately because the teacher has the legal and formal authority for maintaining appropriate behaviour in the classroom. The teacher must demonstrate through their behaviour that they accept the responsibilities as well as the power inherent in the role of the teacher.

Reward/ Coercive Power Reward/ Coercive is based on the behavioural notions of learning, they both foster teacher control over student behaviour and they are both governed by the same principles of application. There are several requirements for the effective use of this power base. The teacher must be consistent in assigning and withholding rewards and punishment. The teacher must ensure that students see the connection between their behaviour and the reward or punishment. The rewards or punishments actually must be perceived as rewards or punishment by the student.

What Are The Challenges of Teaching?

Like all professions, teaching has undesirable or difficult aspects.

Classroom Management and Increasing Violence.
· Lack of discipline would be the most important problem facing the schools in Public Schools. Fighting, violence and gangs are the most important aspect as well as increased crime and violence. In addition many schools have high teacher student ratios which can make classroom management more difficult.

Social Problems That Impact Students.
· Many social problems affect the lives and learning of many children and youth such as substance abuse, teen pregnancy, homelessness, poverty, family distress, child abuse and neglect, violence and crime, suicide and health problems such as HIV/AIDS and fetal alcohol syndrome.


Figure 1.2- There are several challenges that teachers will face once they have entered the profession. The two most common challenges are classroom management and violence that may arise from different social problems. These obstacles can be overcome with thorough strategic planning. Three important ways to overcome these challenges are through classroom management, rules & routines, and time management.


Why Do Teacher's Enter This Profession?

Reasons For Teaching
For some the desire to teach emerges early and is nurtured by positive experiences with teachers during the formative years of childhood. For others teaching is seen as a way of making a significant contribution to the world and experiencing the joy and helping others grow and develop. For others life as a teacher is attractive because it is exciting varied and stimulating.




Figure 1.1 – Based on the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) Workplace Survey (2001), indicates that the most important factor influencing teachers’ choice of profession is related to the love of helping and working with children.


Love Helping and Working with Children
· The day to day interactions between teachers and students build strong bonds. Daily contact also enables teachers to become familiar with the personal as well as the academic needs of their students and this concern for student’s welfare and growth outweighs the difficulties and frustrations of teaching.

Love of Children
· Teachers want to make a difference in students’ live and have significant rewards when they meet the needs of the children. They appreciate their unique qualities and enjoy their liveliness, curiosity, freshness, openness and idealism.

Desire to help develop and motivate children
· Many choose to teach because they want to serve others; they want the results of their labour to extend beyond themselves and their families.

Love of Teaching
· The most important factor influencing their decision is that they love helping and working with children. Not only do teacher love teaching but they also find it satisfying. They have a love of the subject, a love of the teaching life and a love of the teaching learning process