Book Talk

When planning instruction, lesson/unit organization can be based upon the following factors:

• Theme or Survey: Organizing instruction around a historical or contemporary event (ex. A local election) or phenomenon, a place (local, national or international) or a particular time period. Many curriculum guidelines and textbooks are organized around similar themes.
• Generalization: A broad relationship statement (ex. People adapt their environments to meet their needs and they, in turn, adapt to their environments)
• Concept: How a particular concept (ex. Equality) relates to a particular example (ex. The treatment of disabled people in Canada)
• Issue: focus on an issue of concern (ex. What should be done to deal with climate change in our community?)
• Inquiry: a question that is answered by the students (ex. What rules govern our community?)
• Problem: focusing on courses of actions concerning what oneself or others ought to do to solve a particular social problem (ex. What can we do to make students more globally aware?)
• Project: Organizing instruction around the creation of something tangible (ex. Mural, video, newspaper, website or drama)
• Narrative: organizing instruction around a story or other narrative such as a biography (ex. Biographies/autobiographies/development of a city or an invention, etc…)

Whichever method is chosen, teachers need to map out what would be required to study the theme, answer the inquiry question, and so on. Webbing tends to be a very powerful tool to do this: 

• Semantic mapping: Diagramming the information and concepts  students already know (useful for assessment for and as learning)
• Webbing: Diagramming the elements of a topic and their relationships

Educators are advised to consider these factors and options when planning a unit as it may assist in planning through a backwards design whereby the final assessment task is at the heart of the instruction. Teachers are encouraged to have a range of instructional activities within their unit as this allows for student engagement to be high within the unit. It also allows for educators to target multiple intelligences within their class which ultimately allows for greater student achievement. Questions that should be addressed within the unit should be broad, open ended questions that allow students to make connections and apply critical thinking skills. 

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