Read the definition of the terms Big Idea and Enduring Understandings in the UbD Glossary. Big Ideas can appear anywhere throughout the unit plan, so scan the entire thing for anything that smacks of a Big Idea, and highlight it!
Desired Results #00FFFF
Read the definition of the term Desired Results in the UbD Glossary.
Knowledge and Skills #C0C0C0
Read the definition of the terms Knowledge and Skills, and Understanding in the UbD Glossary.
Assessment #00FF00
Read this PDF on Assessment. It is a few key pages from the UbD book on one of the most important concepts in instructional design: ch7_assessor.pdf Also, visit the UbD Glossary as needed. Be very familiar with the terms Assessment, Authentic Assessment, Performance Tasks, Academic Prompts, Quiz and Test Items, and Informal Checks for Understanding.
In a nutshell, Assessment is about collecting evidence of learning. What in this unit plan could be evidence of student learning?
Use of Technology #FF00FF
There is no UbD explanation for this. Highlight anywhere you see technology used to support the unit plan activities.
Introduce the story, Miss Bindergarten Stays Home From Kindergarten, and ask students to give reasons why a teacher might have to stay home from school. Ask students if they have ever been sick and what things they had to do to get better. Discuss vocabulary that will help in understanding the text, such as flu and temperature.
Talk about what schools and students do when a teacher cannot come to school. Have students explain what a substitute is and how they can help when a substitute comes to their class.
Ask if there is anything people can do to help someone who is sick (e.g., make them a get-well card, take them soup). Tell students that you will be talking about a way to help keep people from getting sick.
During reading
Ask questions to guide the discussion and highlight strategies that good readers use. The following questions can be asked as you read the corresponding page numbers, but remember that the reading should be interactive so take cues from your students and tailor your questions according to their needs and responses.
Page 1: Who is Miss Bindergarten calling? (–the substitute or the principal) Why? (–because she is too sick to come to school)
Page 8 and 9: What do you notice about the beginning letters of the kids' names so far? (–they are in alphabetical order) You would only mention this aspect if you are focusing on the alphabetical nature of names in the story.
Page 9: What is happening to Franny? (–she is getting sick)
Page 10 and 11: Why are both Franny and Miss Bindergarten staying home from school? (–they do not feel well enough to go and they need to keep their germs to themselves)
Page 15-17: What kind of cards are the kids making for Miss Bindergarten? (–get-well cards)
Page 17: What is happening to Lenny? (–he is getting sick too)
Page 22-23: What is happening to Raffie? Do you notice something that keeps repeating in the story, like a pattern? (–people keep getting sick) Explain that good readers watch for patterns to help them predict what might happen next and to understand and remember the story.
Page 24-25: What can you tell from the pictures about how the characters in the story are feeling? (–they are starting to feel better)
Page 29: If you are focusing on the alphabetical nature of the kids' names you can ask the following. Where are we in the alphabet now with Ursula, Vicky, and Wanda? (–getting close to the end of the alphabet, so we are probably getting close to the end of the story)
Page 38: What happened to Mr. Tusky? (–he caught the sickness Miss Bindergarten and the kids in her class had)
After reading
Tell students that you don't want to be sick and have to miss school. Explain that there is a terrific way they can help keep everyone in the class healthy—by washing their hands! Discuss what germs are and how they make people sick, and end the session by telling students that the best way to get rid of germs is to wash them down the drain! back to top
Session 2: Hand Washing Lesson
Access the Handwashing Teaching Module for lessons and activites that focus on the importance of hand washing and the general principles of germ transmission. Lesson 3 in the module provides techniques for proper hand washing. An evaluation sheet is provided to assess how well students follow the hand washing steps.
This session is intended to help students explore the read-aloud in personal and exciting ways and to assess their knowledge of good hand washing techniques. Ask each student to make a "stay well" card for a friend or relative. Enlist an upper-grade class to help students make their cards.
Have students access the My Card Maker website and choose the cover for their cards. For the message section, students should dictate or write the basic steps for correct hand washing. Students can then print the cards and give them to their friends and relatives. Make sure that students remember to also tell the recipients about the story they read in class and explain good hand washing techniques to them. It's helpful to attach an evaluation sheet with each card to ask the recipient for feedback on whether the student was able to tell about the story and explain why hand washing is important and how to wash. The evaluation sheet can be adapted for the purposes of your lesson. back to top
EXTENSIONS
Design a poster about good hand washing techniques to be posted in the school bathrooms and above classroom sinks. When distributing copies of the poster to other classrooms, students can retell the main parts of the story Miss Bindergarten Stays Home From Kindergarten and explain why it is important for students to wash their hands in school and at home. The class or teacher can fill out an evaluation sheet.
Help students compose a class book explaining the routines they follow in class each day. If students are advanced enough to write on their own, divide them into groups to write different chapters such as "Our opening routine" or "How we go to lunch," etc. For less experienced students, allow students to dictate the text for their book while you write for them. Students can then illustrate the pages. The final product serves as a good resource for substitute teachers and helps establish the classroom community.
Since this is an interactive experience, you can constantly assess students' understanding during class discussions. For example, do students base their predictions on the text or are their predictions random? Do they pick up on the pattern presented in the story? Do they understand and use the new vocabulary? Kid-watching is the best assessment method during an interactive read-aloud.
Use the evaluation sheet to evaluate each student's ability to retell the main events of the story and to relate the importance and proper techniques of hand washing.
Read other patterned or predictable texts with students and observe whether they can find the patterns and make accurate predictions. Provide these types of texts for independent reading and discuss with students what patterns they noticed or how well they were able to predict what would happen.
Have students make a chart highlighting the strategies that good readers use, such as look for patterns, make predictions, check predictions, and so on.
Anecdotal records documenting student responses in both whole class and individual settings can also help assess students' understanding of the concepts presented during the lesson.
Unit Plan Rainbow Critique
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In a nutshell, Assessment is about collecting evidence of learning. What in this unit plan could be evidence of student learning?
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unit plan
STUDENT OBJECTIVES
Students willSession 1: Interactive Read-Aloud
Before readingIntroduce the story, Miss Bindergarten Stays Home From Kindergarten, and ask students to give reasons why a teacher might have to stay home from school. Ask students if they have ever been sick and what things they had to do to get better. Discuss vocabulary that will help in understanding the text, such as flu and temperature.
Talk about what schools and students do when a teacher cannot come to school. Have students explain what a substitute is and how they can help when a substitute comes to their class.
Ask if there is anything people can do to help someone who is sick (e.g., make them a get-well card, take them soup). Tell students that you will be talking about a way to help keep people from getting sick.
During reading
Ask questions to guide the discussion and highlight strategies that good readers use. The following questions can be asked as you read the corresponding page numbers, but remember that the reading should be interactive so take cues from your students and tailor your questions according to their needs and responses.
- Page 1: Who is Miss Bindergarten calling? (–the substitute or the principal) Why? (–because she is too sick to come to school)
- Page 8 and 9: What do you notice about the beginning letters of the kids' names so far? (–they are in alphabetical order) You would only mention this aspect if you are focusing on the alphabetical nature of names in the story.
- Page 9: What is happening to Franny? (–she is getting sick)
- Page 10 and 11: Why are both Franny and Miss Bindergarten staying home from school? (–they do not feel well enough to go and they need to keep their germs to themselves)
- Page 15-17: What kind of cards are the kids making for Miss Bindergarten? (–get-well cards)
- Page 17: What is happening to Lenny? (–he is getting sick too)
- Page 22-23: What is happening to Raffie? Do you notice something that keeps repeating in the story, like a pattern? (–people keep getting sick) Explain that good readers watch for patterns to help them predict what might happen next and to understand and remember the story.
- Page 24-25: What can you tell from the pictures about how the characters in the story are feeling? (–they are starting to feel better)
- Page 29: If you are focusing on the alphabetical nature of the kids' names you can ask the following. Where are we in the alphabet now with Ursula, Vicky, and Wanda? (–getting close to the end of the alphabet, so we are probably getting close to the end of the story)
- Page 38: What happened to Mr. Tusky? (–he caught the sickness Miss Bindergarten and the kids in her class had)
After readingTell students that you don't want to be sick and have to miss school. Explain that there is a terrific way they can help keep everyone in the class healthy—by washing their hands! Discuss what germs are and how they make people sick, and end the session by telling students that the best way to get rid of germs is to wash them down the drain!
Session 2: Hand Washing Lesson
Access the Handwashing Teaching Module for lessons and activites that focus on the importance of hand washing and the general principles of germ transmission. Lesson 3 in the module provides techniques for proper hand washing. An evaluation sheet is provided to assess how well students follow the hand washing steps.Check the Great Ideas for Handwashing Educators for additional education methods related to hand washing. Students may also enjoy the Henry the Hand theme song.
Session 3: Making Cards
This session is intended to help students explore the read-aloud in personal and exciting ways and to assess their knowledge of good hand washing techniques. Ask each student to make a "stay well" card for a friend or relative. Enlist an upper-grade class to help students make their cards.Have students access the My Card Maker website and choose the cover for their cards. For the message section, students should dictate or write the basic steps for correct hand washing. Students can then print the cards and give them to their friends and relatives. Make sure that students remember to also tell the recipients about the story they read in class and explain good hand washing techniques to them. It's helpful to attach an evaluation sheet with each card to ask the recipient for feedback on whether the student was able to tell about the story and explain why hand washing is important and how to wash. The evaluation sheet can be adapted for the purposes of your lesson.
EXTENSIONS
STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS