Curriculum Implementation Plan Jennifer Pablico-Stelmack Module 7 EDU 707

UNIT: Characters/ Realistic Fiction  For FOURTH GRADE students  The two projected fourth grade classes of the school year will be implementing the new unit.  This implementation plan is for the School Year.

Prior to Teaching the Unit (Before September 29 th, 2014) 1. Choose read aloud chapter book to use as an anchor text for the unit. (Expert = Librarian) 2. Choose picture books to support the individual mini-lessons throughout the unit. (Expert = Librarian) 3. Complete the Benchmark Assessment System to identify students’ reading levels (due by Sept 23). (Experts = Reading/Literacy Specialists; They will help complete the reading assessment as well as interpret the results to help create guided reading groups.) 4. In second newsletter of the year (due September 24), introduce the unit to parents. Identify the Big Ideas, expectations for work at home, and how they can help their child. (Expert = Classroom Teachers) 5. With grade level team, develop the graphic organizers, the “Wanted” Poster, and grading rubrics during common planning times on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as Friday’s early release collaboration times. (Expert = Classroom Teachers)

Resources and Needs 0 Guiding Readers and Writers by Fountas and Pinnell (2000) 0 Benchmark Assessment System 2, Fountas and Pinnell (2010) 0 Curriculum Implementation Plan 0 Common Grade-Level Planning Time

Characters/Realistic Fiction Unit Calendar WEEK 1 M 9/29 What is Fiction? (Create Guided Reading Groups) T 9/30 Elements of a Fictional Story W 10/1 (continue investigating elements of a fictional story) TH 10/2 Story Mountain (Begin and maintain a story mountain for read alouds) F 10/3 (Create story mountains for independent reading book) WEEK 2 M 10/6 Strategy Lesson: Inferring T 10/7 Characters W 10/8 Character Analysis (“We learn about characters by what they say”) TH 10/9 (“We learn about characters by what they do”) F 10/10 (“We learn about characters by what they think””) WEEK 3 M 10/13 NO SCHOOL T 10/14 Theme (Begin “Wanted” Poster Assignment to be completed outside of reading time.) W 10/15 -In guided reading groups, begin discussion about theme TH 10/16 -Mini-lesson – finding evidence in the text to support the theme F 10/17 -In guided reading groups, find evidence to support chosen theme.

Due Dates 0 Story Mountain for independent reading book due October Guided Reading Books should be completed by October Theme organizer for guided reading book due by October “Wanted” Poster for independent reading book due October Characters/Realistic Fiction Unit Celebration on October 21. (students will share their “Wanted” posters)

Challenges 0 Schedules 0 Students may be pulled during this reading time to meet their IEP needs and accommodations. The challenge is finding a way to effectively catch them up so they are able to complete the assignments successfully. 0 Plan – At the end of the school year, develop schedules for content classes. Work with specialists to identify times where they cannot pull students. 0 Behavior – Transitioning into the fourth grade can be difficult because of the new expectations and responsibilities. 0 Plan – Teach explicit lessons on expectations for each aspect of the day. For reading, that includes coming to and leaving the rug, silent reading time, guided reading groups, group work, and completing assignments.

Challenges, Cont. 0 Lack of a Reading Curriculum – Students come to fourth grade from multiple classrooms and their experiences and knowledge bases are not consistent. This presents a challenge for the next year’s teachers. 0 Plan – With current fourth grade team, modify the current school year’s curriculum overview pacing chart to align with next year’s schedule. Revise units according to the Common Core Standards and Massachusetts Frameworks. 0 Materials/Resources – The Book Room was created last year and is fairly small, considering it needs to serve a K-8 school. It may be a challenge finding level-appropriate books for guided reading groups that pertain to the learning goals of this unit. 0 Plan – After creating guided reading groups, visit the Book Room to see the resources available. Use local public libraries and beginning of the year classroom funds to meet the needs if there are any.

References 0 Fountas, I., Pinnell, G. (2010) Benchmark Assessment System 2 (2 nd ed). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 0 Fountas, I., Pinnell, G. (2000) Guiding Readers and Writers (Grades 3-6): Teaching, comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 0 Wiles, J., Bondi, J., (2011) Curriculum development. A guide to practice (8 th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.