Anthony

J. Zarate

February 3, 2013
In my fifth grade classroom, the students are 99% African American (1 Latino). Overall, RBCS 5th grade, 99% are African American (2 Latinos). The school overall is predominantly African American especially starting from the fourth grade. Younger grades have a more diverse demographic spread. Students in my class have expressed interest in learning about Black History, the Civil Rights Movement, and racism/discrimination in todays context. My CMs grade partner has been teaching Civil Rights since December. I decided to pick up on it for Black History Month and the rest of this year. This unit was done previously in other years as an expedition by both fifth grade teachers.

My unit will be on the topic of Educational Equality within the context of the Civil Rights Movement. It will address standards from three content areas: math, literacy, and social studies. PA Social Studies Standards 8.3 United States History 8.3.5.A Compare and contrast common characteristics of the social, political, cultural, and economic groups in the United States. 8.3.5 B Illustrate concepts and knowledge of historical documents, artifacts, and places critical to United States history. 8.3.5.D Examine patterns of conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations that impacted the history and development of the United States ethnicity and race. PA Literacy Standards CC.1.2.5.D Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the `point of view they represent. CC. 1.2.5.E Use text structure, in and among texts, to interpret information. CC.1.2.5.G. Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently. CC 1.2.5.J Acquire and use accurately grade appropriate conversational general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships. CC. 1.2.5.L Read and comprehend literary non-fiction and informational text on grade level , reading independently and proficiently. PA Mathematics Standards 2.6.5.B Use pictures, tallies, tables, charts, bar graphs, line graphs, diagrams, and graphs to organize, display, and analyze data. 2.6.5.D Compare data using multiple categories displayed in a graph. 2.6.5.E Determine the reasonableness of a statement based on a comparison to data displayed in a graph and summarized by numerical measures.

Notebooks for Journals Harcourt Social Studies textbook Poster Paper Supplemental Reading Material A Young Peoples History of the United States BrainPop Website Projector and White Board Youtube Mrs. Locicero Civil Rights Expedition binder Sticky Notes Timeline Handmade Journals for Reflection Read Aloud Books Newspaper articles

KWL(C) Charts small group discussions and whole class discussions debates on hot topic issues class readings on historical topics and some jigsaw readings gallery walks on very controversial and monumental pictures journaling and moments of reflection writing in the perspectives of historical figures usage of documentaries, Youtube videos presentations on certain topics guided notes on historical dates and vocabulary

Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world Nelson Mendela; I believe this unit will give them some perspective of what the context of the world is looking like today. Intelligence plus character. MLK Jr. Students need to understand not only the historical context, but cultural context in the way our society is formed today. Students deserve to know the truth. For years, they were given the fairy tale versions, but they need to know where they stand and why society acts the way that they do. As these students get older, they need to develop more skills and context to become culturally competent or at least aware. Every student that enters the public educational system need to learn about their own culture and where they come from. They should not be bound to just American History.

The transfer of knowledge can only occur when there is a feeling of reciprocity and trust. Before children can successfully participate and learn in the classroom, safety needs to be realized (Maslow). Children are their own experts. They can learn from their own independent experiences (Lareau). We need to be interested in the progress made by the individual child (Dewey). As teachers we need to introduce students to the world we might otherwise never encounter, thereby shaping our vision of the world we think we know (Osborne). There are many different ways students can learn in an academic setting multiple intelligences (Gardner). Responsive Classroom (Denton and Kriete) Teacher as learner (Freir) Draw on students funds of knowledge and prior experience to enhance their learning (Moll). Cooperative learning allows and motivates children to work together to accomplish shared goals (Gillies).