I used this unit plan for my grade 9 Mandarin class. The textbook the lessons are based on is Go100 by IQ Chinese. The lessons are structured in a way that each class focuses on a different aspect of language learning (key words, sentence patters, dialogues).
I made this unit for my English 12 classes. I tried to incorporate opportunities to be creative, but the students didn’t really take advantage of them. The unit culminated in a final research paper which was the only one they did in the school year. If I had to teach this unit again, I would leave more time to teach essay structure and citations.
MIEN10 Brave New World unit plan
This unit plan is geared towards students in a mini school class. I designed this unit in a flipped classroom format where the students read the novel at home and designated discussion leaders come up with insightful questions to discuss in class. I was particularly proud of this unit because of the way I slowly built up to having the students write an in-class essay which they have never done before.
This was one of the most successful lessons in my long practicum. I was lucky that I spotted the article on gene modification in the Vancouver Sun and immediately realized that I could connect it with what I was teaching in my mini school English 10 class. I created questions regarding the ethical ramifications of gene modification for small group and class discussions. The students were very engaged and the class discussion was quite successful. I gave students time at the end to create a cheat sheet for their upcoming in-class essay.
I have not had the opportunity to teach a unit of poetry so far, but poetry is a major part of who I am and I would really enjoy teaching poetry. This article mentions some reasons why teaching poetry is important and provides some resources for teaching poetry.
http://www.edudemic.com/7-reasons-keep-poetry-instruction-alive/
I created a pinterest account for my grade 12 English classes during my practicum, and I had a board with lots of quotes from Hamlet as well as funny comics related to the play, but unfortunately I just never had the time to show my students. I agree with the article that with the right parameters established beforehand, pinterest boards can be a great way of getting students to engage with the class content and to collaborate with each other. In the future, I would like to try incorporating pinterest into my classes again.
http://www.edudemic.com/the-teachers-guide-to-pinterest/
A teaching strategy I used during my practicum was to start off classes that were right after recess and lunch by having the students do some meditation exercises that involved deep breathing. Students can be more excited or agitated when they have just returned from playing outside or interacting with their peers, so meditation is a good way of helping students calm down and prepare for learning.
http://www.edudemic.com/meditation-help-master-life/