Creating Lifelong Learners

Alice Mercer has her unit opener plans completed do you?

Do you know how to plan a unit opener?

Here’s a few ideas to get you started for Unit 1:

• Kindergarten: School Unit Openers
• First Grade: Look Who’s Reading/Let’s Read! Unit Openers
• Second Grade: Sharing Stories Unit Openers
• Third Grade: Friendship Unit Openers
• Fourth Grade: Risks and Consequences Unit Openers
• Fifth Grade: Cooperation and Competition Unit Openers

Submit your own ideas here.

I’ve mentioned elsewhere teachers who have used blogging as a modern day platform for their Concept/Question Board.

Alice Mercer has now re-imagined the Concept/Question Board using VoiceThread, an online digital storytelling platform. Here, students record their voices asking questions and telling what they know about the coming unit.

See VoiceThread Online Concept/Question Boards:

• Third Grade: Money Unit
• Fifth Grade (2002): Making a New Nation
• Sixth Grade: Beyond the Notes

Also related:

• Concept Question Board: Wikipedia on Your Wall
• Activating (and Reactivating Your Concept Question Board)
• Other Concept Question Board Articles

The American Revolution Unit contains several wordy stories of American History. The goal of the unit opener should be to assess prior knowledge and plant the seeds of recognition of a few key characters and motivations so that the following stories are comprehensible and relevant.

Unit Opener Objective

Students will be able to explain the reasons behind the Revolutionary War and tell at least one significant fact about two key figures of the Revolution.

Advanced Tip:

Give students index cards to keep track of new learning and questions to place on concept/question board throughout the unit opener. Teachers may wish to chart new knowledge and questions on a KWL chart at the front of the room as well so that non-writers can at least copy from the chart.

Anticipatory Set:

Using the key figures of the revolution picture file, spark students’ interest in some of the characters they will be reading about throughout the unit.

Ideas:

Use any combination of these. I tried to use every one and it was a bit much.

1. Using Google Earth, map the journey of the British from England to the New World or view a pre-made film here.
2. Causes of the Revolution Role Play: Shawn Gibson presents an idea where students play the roles of king, tax collector, and citizen. As students pay taxes they understand the reasons why Americans wanted war.
3. Yertle the Turlte. This tale by Dr. Seuss cleverly illustrates the abuse of power and the feeling of taxation without representation.
4. John, Paul, George, and Ben is an amusing story by Lane Smith which provides just a little information about several of the key revolutionary figures students will be reading about. The book is also available on DVD.

Also see:

Available free revolutionary war movies to use as unit openers.

Online Concept/Question Board created using VoiceThread by teacher, Alice Mercer

American Revolution Webquest submitted by Obi Okediashi who suggests setting up a digital projector and working through it with students.

Ideas for follow-up activities using Comic Life and Kidpix.

Back in October, I hosted a Unit Opener planning week for Open Court units #2.

It resulted in some terrific ideas being posted by web site visitors and fellow bloggers and those ideas are now linked to from the unit opener pages of those units.

As teachers at different schools have different pacing, editions, and schedules, this might never come at the exact perfect time for you. However, it’s never too late to reinvigorate your unit and by the end of the planning time we’ll have another collection of great ideas for next time…but only if you contribute your own thoughts.

Options for Contributing

• Leave a comment below.
• Use submit unit opener form
• Post idea on your own blog and let me know about it.

Start sending in your ideas now.

submitted by Francie Kugelman

1. The students can research a family recipe that is handed down from generation to generation. They must cook it, and write step by step what they did in order to make it. They must also include the history from the recipe.

2. The students can create a fictional story about their families. They must illustrate pictures to go with this story, in the end it will be a book.

3. The student can research the meaning of his/her name. Look up the meaning in a baby book, plus ask parents where the name came from. Also, learn about middle name and last name too.

4. The student can find out when the family first arrived in America. How did they come, from what country? Did they have a different first name and last name from the prior country? When was it? Why did they come to America? Where did they stay? What was the first job the adults had?

5. Make a family tree. Michaels craft center has a cute family tree made of bears. I just copy this and have the students fill it in with illustrations or photos. They try and get all the names of their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents.

6. Make a drawing of their favorite home they have lived in. Do a guided walk as they close their eyes. You have them walk through every part of their home, remembering details.

Cumulating project: a story about a favorite memory.
You can teach the genre of memoir writing. I like to use Sandra Cisneros – House on Mango Street. We read the story, “Hairs”. The students draw portraits of their family members and then do an imitative Hairs poem. We give it to the moms on Mother’s Day.

Memoir Writing

Memoirs are focused on the significance of a relationship and are supported by memories of specific experiences. They may focus on any individual person, place, animal, or thing. The success of the memoir lies in the writer’s ability to provide the reader with an understanding of the importance of the relationship.

Examples to Use with Students Examples of Memoir Writing

More Heritage Unit Opener Ideas

This is a fantastic film which brings the story to life. It’s long I would not play it in its entirety in one sitting but would play a piece every day as you read the story.

Some teachers find it objectionable that Bill Pinkney drinks alcohol on his journey and says the d word at a time when his life is in danger. Use your best judgement and do preview the film ahead of time. Although I played only 5-10 minutes at a time, I did not edit any of it out in my classroom. Rather we used the mild bad language as a an opportunity to talk about the dangers Bill Pinkney was facing (and the importance of not swearing).

I encourage you to acquire this movie as well as a DVD player if you do not yet have one in your classroom. They’re cheaper than you think these days.

Here’s an awesome site which allows you to see 360 degree views of locations that have been photographed such as Times Square on New Year’s Eve or Macworld 2007.

Do preview the images before showing them in class (I’ve heard that the night life of Paris might not be the night life you’re thinking of) but once you allow the images to load, I think you’ll love it.

This could come in handy on Captain Pinkney’s Journey as well any other location specific stories.

Thanks to Angela Folendorf for passing this on in her SMARTBoard wokshop at CUELA Tech Fair.

Sandra Bacall, teacher and singer, created this film with her classroom about a song they wrote together for the City Wildlife Unit. At the end of the song, students talk about the songwriting process and compare it to the traditional writing process.

Using music appeals to students’ different learning modalities and increases engagement.

A thank you to all those who participated in Unit Opener Planning week by posting, reading, and responding.In addition to the ideas presented on this blog:Here’s the schedule for this blog (entries posted at 7:30 AM PST):

I hope you checked out:

Jose Rodriguez’s Open Court Unit Opener Ideas including incorporating realia.

City Teacher’s ideas for Collaborative Unit Openers where teachers split responsibilities across a grade level.

Alice Mercer’s ideas for supporting unit openers in a computer lab setting.

Jane Little’s ideas for planning higher level thinking questions in the City Wildlife unit.

And Leila’s reflection on the difficulty of teaching multiple grades and planning unit openers.

I’d also like to add a special thanks to Francie Kugelman, Stephanie Penniman, and Jill Kilbrosky who sent their entries in to me or posted on the discussion board even though they didn’t have their own blogs.

Also, two first grade teachers who sent in ideas for Things That Go.

Readership was up during the week of unit opener planning and I enjoyed the excitement of reflecting on what makes an effective opening to a unit.

I have not decided on whether I’d like to have another unit opener planning week when we approach unit 3. However, I am glad that we have the entries on unit two posted and can refer back to them. Over time I hope they are discovered by more and more teachers who will add their own ideas.

If you found the week of use please let me know.

by Francie Kugelman

I cover the clock with a piece of paper. I ask the students how the ancient people knew what time it was before clocks were invented.

Students usually mention the sun, sun dials.

Then we talk about seasons, and the need to know when to plant and harvest.

The discussion leads to Stonehenge, the Aztec temples aligned with the stars. We look at pictures of various ways people have told time. We look at pictures of Stonehenge, and ancient monoliths. I discuss with them the difficulty of moving these huge rocks, lifting them up high, and how they may have been used in religious ceremonies.

We discuss the constellations, and how the stars helped to guide people sailing years ago.

There is a great DVD clip from Mysteries of the Aztecs that explains how the Aztecs created a precise calendar. It shows the different wheels of the calendar spinning.

Another good DVD clip to show during the unit would be: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when the light hits the temple on one special day. This is an excellent prelude to the Circles, Squares and Daggers.

I like to stress in that story that it is artists, not scientists or anthropologists that have discovered many of the ancient Native American sites. If you can get the students excited about the idea of coming across a cave during the Winter Solstice, and being the first person in years to see the beam of light stream across, the students enjoy this story very much.

Here are some other free films you can show your students about space and space exploration.

During this unit I also enjoy playing David Bowie’s song, “Space Oddity”. I ask the students to tell me what happens to Major Tom. They often ask me if this song is true… Hear song in iTunes | See lyrics

Here are additional unit opener ideas for Astronomy unit.

Here are additional research links.