Welcome to the new world of education, with Time Travel included at no extra charge.
Below you will find the Suggested Unit Map for week one of 7th Grade English. This plan was created by our district as a way to implement the Common Core State Standards.
Please note that day 1 = first day of school for students. Yes, in fact, I do mean the first day they come back from summer vacation.
Each class is 45 minutes long. You might be thinking, "But we never actually have 45 minutes to teach in a period." Please refer to the notes from your PD sessions in order to work this out.
On the left of this chart is the Suggested Unit Map.
On the right and highlighted are some comments added by your tour guide.
You are reading it correctly. The first day of school, we should be able to organize a gallery walk in each class based on homework completed over the summer and brought to school, post pictures for it, have the gallery walk, create a group definition of truth, discuss and define perception and reality, do a close-read of a short story, complete a plot diagram, clean up the room so that the next class can have their fresh new gallery walk, and maybe even teach phrases/clauses and Greek/Latin affixes and roots.
Your Professional Development this August will consist of Time Compression and Time Travel strategies. Scaffolding will include small leaps of faith, suspension of disbelief, earwigs and wormholes, as well as watching Back to the Future in reverse.
In our day 2 lesson, we have an objective that is not included in the lesson. One positive is that we are given time to revisit yesterday's close read. Except that we probably never got to it because we ran out of time. In day 2 it is also assumed that students can jump right in and craft a brief objective summary and generate a theme statement.
You might be thinking, "But on day 2, I will probably be doing most of what I was supposed to do on Day 1."
You might be thinking, "But they are 12 years old."
Please refer to the notes from your PD sessions in order to work this out.
Day 3. We have a new reading assignment. The theme statements and summaries we did on day 2 (but probably didn't get to) are not discussed. [Maybe that is for the best.] The poem is said to be in Subtext, but sadly, the link says that the account expired. The subtext video does still work, for what it's worth. Next, our curriculum asks us to analyze word choice, but this lesson simply has us identifying imagery. Not the same skill.
To summarize, on day 3 we have read a poem and answered Close Reading questions, collaborated to complete a Venn diagram, and worked on phrases/clauses and Greek/Latin affixes and roots. It is possible that at this point, you might also be finishing what was planned for Day 1.
I don't think additional commentary is needed.
You may be thinking, "Wait! I am going to start out the year already days behind schedule, and that will be compounded all year and I will never catch up." Just put those thoughts out of your head.
If you do have continuing concerns, please watch Looper, Interstellar and/or Source Code prior to your August inservices. You could also read this article which will help you to understand why most teachers necessarily and pragmatically develop anxiety disorders.
If you are confused or worried, please refer to the instructional model below:
You might be thinking, "I am not sure that I can fit all of this in, even with Time Compression technology."
It is possible that at this point, you might also be finishing what was planned for Day 1.
Together Everyone Achieves More. TEAM.
**Note: These are district-level concerns and do not reflect at all on the school where I work. Fortunately, we have an awesome administration. Unfortunately not everyone is so lucky.
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