HPRP 3

How can I plan for a highly engaging unit?

This Unit by Design helped me dive even deeper into my content area and come out with fresh ideas and a more profound appreciation for all the ways my past English teachers have tried to make it engaging. I learned how to better model and explain persuasive writing and academic debate. I felt a sense of conviction for my own beliefs and revisited some of the claims that needed more or better evidence and relayed that information to my students as they began evaluating and creating their own arguments. And most importantly, I created a classroom environment of respect, where students could productively disagree and learn to see from another perspective.

How can I equip my students with the skills they will need in the future?

As an ELA teacher, I am fortunate to be able to incorporate certain 21st Century Skills, namely Collaboration and Critical Thinking, into nearly every lesson and activity I plan for my students. Students use a variety of mediums to complete and submit their work, combining handwritten and digital copies, using Kami to read and annotate articles, or creating brief presentations to deliver team debates. If my students are creating something digitally, they are rarely working alone, which forces them to cooperate and solve problems as a team.