Crosby Module 5 Curriculum Design Assignment
Crosby Module 5 Curriculum Design Assignment
Crosby Module 5 Curriculum Design Assignment
Table of Contents
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I. INTRODUCTION
II. CURRICULUM MAP
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V. CROSS-CURRICULAR ADDITIONS
VI. ASSESSMENT AND RUBRICS
VII.
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REFERENCES
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I. Introduction
In 2009, Albertans gathered as part of Inspiring Education: A Dialogue with Albertans to share
their hopes and aspirations for education in the 21st century. This process highlighted values, skills,
and knowledge that would be vital for students growing up in todays rapidly changing world; the
aim, to articulate what an educated Albertan of 2030 would need to know and be able to
demonstrated in order to be an engaged thinker and an ethical citizen with an entrepreneurial
spirit (Alberta Education, 2010, p. 6). Out of these many conversations, a broad policy framework
was developed to illustrate the overall direction, principles, and long-term goals for education. A
subcommittee of Inspiring Education, High School Redesign (HSR), was also formed to address the
complexities at the high school level, including focusing on mastery learning, providing a more
rigorous and a relevant curriculum, and increasing the flexibility of scheduling and course
completion.
As the largest high school in our division, Foothills Composite High School / Alberta High School
of Fine Arts (FCHS/AHSFA), like many other high schools in the province, has been diligently
working toward school improvementboth culturally and structurally. The most recent data from
our Tell Them From Me surveya Canada-wide assessment that collects, analyzes, and reports on
factors that are known to affect Student Learning Outcomesindicates that there has been a decline in
student engagement within our system. Consistent with the overall trend documented by Alberta
Education (2011), the Accountability Pillar surveya provincially administered study used to gather
information on the quality of education provided by Alberta school authoritiesdiscovered that
73% of Grade 7 students were intellectually engaged and found learning interesting, enjoyable, and
relevant. However, the study goes on to explain how this dropped to 50% by Grade 12. The
researchers indicated that such a steady decline in engagement could not merely be a result of the
transition from middle to secondary school; rather, students are becoming more and more
disengaged by the skill-and-drill approach of high school education.
The findings support the notionspearheaded by Inspiring Education and the HSR
committeesthat our curriculum needs to be relevant, rigorous, and interdisciplinary. In moving
learning from the exclusive domain of the classroom into the larger community, the presumption is
that teachers will more effectively engage students while maintaining or improving their overall
Diploma results. Data that is more recent continues to support this hypothesis as Albertas threeyear high school completion rate has increased to 74.9% in 2013 from 71.5% in 2009 with the
adoption of the HSR principles (Alberta Education, 2010). The increase follows efforts by schools,
boards, teachers, communities, and government to better engage students in the importance of
learning through the adoption of an integrated approach to developing programs of study,
assessment, and learning and teaching resources that encourage interdisciplinary learning.
Motivated by this data, FCHS/AHSFA has recently embarked on the journey of HSR and,
as such, we have been tasked with exploring the following action research questions as we move
forward with this work:
1) How do we design for and assess cross-curricular competencies to improve intellectual
engagement and academic performance?
2) What impact does intentional design and assessment of cross-curricular competencies
have on intellectual engagement and academic performance?
In order to delve deeper into these questions, the following is a plan outlining one possible method
of implementation of the Program of Studies (Alberta Education, 2003), and its Specific Learner Outcomes,
in a typical grade 11 English Language Arts classroomusing the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde (Jekyll & Hyde). English Language Arts 20-1 is the second course in the academic
high school program, leading directly to English Language Arts 30-1, graduation, and Diploma
examinations (provincial standardized exam). Students enrolling in this course are expected to
possess sound reading and writing ability as well as a genuine interest in literature and the
communication process. By narrowing the focus of the years overarching theme (Choices and
Influences) to an exploration of the dichotomy in the Balance of Opposites, our aspiration is to
construct a unit in which students can have authentic experiences in more than just a singular
content area (English Language Arts), but also, offer a range of learning activities and give students
choices in the projects they pursue and the ways they demonstrate their learning.
The unit has been designed using the process outlined by Rugg (1926, as cited in Wiles & Bondi,
2015, p. 7-8): (1) determine the fundamental objectives, (2) select activities and other materials of
instruction, and (3) discover the most effective organization and placement of this instruction.
Essentially, students will study the contents Jekyll & Hyde, as well as focus on its place in history
and the impact it had in the time that it was published. Students will be engaged throughout this
unit since many characteristics of Gothic literature mirror that of adolescence. Gothic literature
typically explores the depths of human nature as their characters are affected by their surroundings.
Adolescence is also a time for solidifying personas and for deciding what to be influenced by and
what to stand against. These texts also sympathize with the outcast and carry themes of loneliness,
confusion, and uncertaintyall things that teenage students often feel as they move closer to
adulthood. This unit will help students to understand that texts, particularly classic novels, are often
a reflection of their time, and should be regarded as much more than mere stories.
Daily reader-response and enrichment activitiesfurther outlined in section III. Newly Designed
Unit and the Jekyll & Hyde: Reading Guide (found at http://goo.gl/4Hn0Ej)will be used to
encourage students to dig deeper into the text and to assist students in continuously generating ideas
for their final Critical / Analytical Response to Literary Text essay. When students prepare to write, their
reading guide and class discussions will serve as a foundation for a thorough and in-depth
exploration of the text.
THE POWER OF
PERCEPTION
THE DARK KNIGHT
(film)
Types of
Assessments
Multiple-draft literary
thesis (graphic) essay
Various formative
check-ins (i.e. exit
slips, homework
checks, quizzes)
THE
RESPONSIBILITY
FOR SELF
THE FOUNTAIN
(film)
Sociogram
Various annotations /
end-commentaries
Poetry quick write
response
Various formative
check-ins (i.e. exit
slips, homework
checks, quizzes)
* UNIT OF FOCUS*
STRANGE CASE OF
DR. JEKYLL & MR.
HYDE
(novella)
LORD OF THE FLIES,
NIGHT, OR THE
INVISIBLE MAN
(independent novel
studies)
Types of
Assessments
Critical / Analytical
Response to Literary Text
Text comprehension
exam
THE BALANCE OF
OPPOSITES
Various annotations /
end-commentaries
Poetry quick write
response
Various formative
check-ins (i.e. exit
slips, homework
checks, quizzes)
Cross-Curricular
Competencies
Activities
THE
8
Types of
Assessments
Critical / Analytical
Response to Literary Text
Text comprehension
exam
Various formative
check-ins (i.e. exit
slips, homework
checks, quizzes)
Oral presentations
Culminating openended multi-step yearend project
III.
English 20-1
ANCHOR TEXT:
UNDERSTANDINGS:
Students will understand that
Literature does not exist in a
vacuum. It coexists with the society
in which it is created (i.e. the
philosophies, art, forensics, and
superstitions of London in the 1880s
directly influences Stevensons work).
Popular culture / media often
misrepresents classic texts.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
Is humankind inherently good or evil? Or do we learn this
behaviour?
What is the relationship between freedom and responsibility?
Do individuals have a moral obligation not to allow their own
freedom to negatively impact other human beings?
How do individuals control their dark side and reconcile their
dual nature? What could Dr. Jekylls potion represent in our
society?
10
OTHER EVIDENCE:
SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES:
Media:
Nonfiction:
Articles on Physiognomy & Phrenology
Whitechapel Road on a Saturday Night
Poetry:
Short Stories:
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Problem by Sir.
Arthur Conan Doyle
11
WEEK 1
DAY 1
The Original
Decalogue
Sherlock
Holmes: The
Final
Problem
WEEK 5
WEEK 4
WEEK 3
WEEK 2
Introducing
the Novella
DAY 2
Sherlock
Holmes: The
Final
Problem
DAY 3
BBC Sherlock:
Reichenbach
Fall
Holmes vs.
Moriarty
comparison
chart
BBC Sherlock:
Reichenbach
Fall
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Character
sketch
19th Century
Life Context
Quiz
Review
annotations /
reading
strategies
DAY 4
DAY 5
19th Century
Life
Webquest
Robert Louis
Stevenson:
The Man
Behind the
Novella
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Peter Bell
the Third by
Miching
Mallecho,
Esq. by
Percy Bysshe
Shelley
Physiognomy
& Phrenology
White
Chapel Road
on a Saturday
Night
Critical /
Analytical
planning chart
Chapter 10
Unit debrief
Metacognition
Reflection
Text Comprehension
Exam
19th Century
Life
Webquest
Chapter 1
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
The Carew
Murder:
Police Report
(Persuasive
Writing in
Context)
The Victorian
Gentleman
Chapter 6
The
Composition
of Evil
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Chapter 8
Poetry
writing: The
Ballad of
Jekyll and
Hyde
Replicating
Dr. Jekylls
formula
Chapter 10
Creative
writing: A
Walk Neither
Wishes to
Remember
Review
Critical /
Analytical
Writing
Review
Critical /
Analytical
Writing
Critical /
Analytical
Response to
Literary Text
Supporting
evidence
Quotation
integration
LEGEND
Cross-Curricular Activity
Enrichment Activity
Formative Assessment
Summative Assessment
12
V. Cross-Curricular Additions
Besides English Language Arts, many other disciplines are to be incorporated into this unit. Art,
biology, chemistry, history, sociology, and psychology are all discussed in relation to Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hydes struggles throughout the novella.
Research salts (a major part of Jekylls potion) to determine what the potion might
have included.
Create recipes, giving points for plausibility and creativity, as well as for evidence of
research.
Building on the theme, wherein a scientific discovery can be seen as having both
beneficial (Jekyll) and detrimental (Hyde) aspects, students can argue the ethics and
social responsibility of scientific discoveries.
Complete a webquest and view pictures of London in the late 1800s to gain a better
understanding of the Victorian Era as well as establish historical background on the
text before reading.
Explore elements of Gothic literature and the rise of the detective novel and its
influence on the construction of the novella.
Research the impact of Darwins work on life, literature, and science.
13
Learn more about the right and left hemispheres and draw info-graphics showing the
characteristics that might give someone this idea.
Research Darwinism and the effect that the Theory of Evolution had on Victorians.
14
15
16
VII.
17
Every teacher struggles with taking an abstract concept or idea and transforming it into a
concrete unit or lesson plan.
18
opportunity to be a part of this processtasked with exploring how to plan for rigorous and
relevant curriculumand will share this implementation guide at that time.
With the reorganization of FCHS/AHSFAs timetable to coincide with the initiatives of
HSR, a new block of flextime has been incorporated daily into the present schedule. This release
time is deliberate and will allow students to seek out assistance and/or enrichment of their learning
beyond the traditional class period. Part of this restructuring includes embedding weekly PLC time
into teachers schedules as well. As Wiles and Bondi (2015) assert, [c]ommon groups of students,
shared by common groups of teachers, with common planning times are necessary for
interdisciplinary teaching to succeed (p. 259).
together during this time will be essential for the success of this initiative. Within these cohorts,
teachers will have the opportunity to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each lesson or strategy
they have attempted to implement and its effectiveness in achieving its intended goal.
Finally, establishing protocols for observations of other teachers practices will need to
occur. In order to truly engage in interdisciplinary teaching a thorough understanding of not only a
teachers primary but also their ancillary curriculum is key. Without a working knowledge of biology
or chemistry, for instance, it would be difficult for an English Language Arts teacher to guide their
students through an exploration of the chemistry involved in producing Jekylls potion. However,
with a supportive PLC in place, as well as the opportunity to observe a chemistry teacher in action,
these endeavors have a greater chance of success. At the same time, the English Language Arts
teacher could also assist the biology / chemistry teacher in helping their students to develop the
skills necessary to read and navigate non-fiction texts such as their textbookskill that may not be
currently taught outside of the ELA classroom.
19
References
Alberta Education. (2003). Program of studies: English language arts (senior high). Retrieved from
https://education.alberta.ca/media/645805/srhelapofs.pdf
Alberta Education. (2010). Inspiring education: a dialogue with Albertans. Retrieved from
http://education.alberta.ca/media/7145083/inspiring%20education%20steering%20commit
tee%20report.pdf
Alberta Education. (2011). Tell them from me student survey: year in review 2010-2011. Retrieved from
https://ideas.education.alberta.ca/media/64692/ttfm_yearinreview2010_11_approved_final
.pdf
Dunkle, C. A. (2012). Leading the common core state standards: from common sense to common practice.
Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Corwin.
Wiles, J. W. & Bondi, J. C. (2015). Curriculum development: a guide to practice (9th Ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ.: Pearson.