Memoir Unit Plan

Shealeigh Brandford
OHS 2017/18
Identification Information

Teacher: Shealeigh Brandford

School: OHS

Grades: 8

Subject: English Language Arts

Overview
This thematic unit will be used to both summatively and formatively assess students’ writing as well as get to know students

and creating relationships. As this is the first unit of the year, it is a great opportunity for me as their teacher to get to know them on a

personal and scholastic level. By allowing students to divulge in what makes them unique it will allow me as a teacher insight into

their past, interests, and lives in a creative and unique way. This unit will re-introduce students to paragraph writing and we will be

workshopping and peer editing our memoirs. These workshops will allow students to build a foundation or revisit prior knowledge

that will continue throughout the year.

The essential questions for this unit will be:

● What events, people, or experiences have shaped you into the person you are today?
 ● How can I improve my writing through peer, self, and teacher editing?

There will be multiple opportunities for extensive formative written, oral, and peer feedback during this unit to ensure student

success and learning. The summative project for this unit will be their final edited and completed memoir photo essay to be handed in

on the last day of the unit. This summative project will allow students to choose 8-10 artifacts that represent them the best and write

short, conventionally sound paragraphs to accompany them. To ensure differentiation and student success, students may present their

memoir in any format (ie. Comic book, paper machete, etc.)

Rationale
Student Need
Through this unit students will learn (or be refreshed on) the fundamentals of paragraph, sentence, and transitional writing.

Students will discover the value of words and how these words can express your identity through writing. This unit will not only allow

me as the teacher to understand the student better, but for the student to evaluate what events, people, or places are significant in their

lives. This will be a foundation to laying a safe and inclusive classroom for the remainder of the year. Differentiation will be provided

in this unit to ensure that students are showing and growing in their learning.

Student Interest
Students are more likely to be actively engaged and participatory when they are interested in the subject material. This unit plan is

directly related to student’s personal experiences, family, friends, and interest. Students will be able to express and present their

memoir in a way that is creative and personalized. This will also be an opportunity for students to get to know and understand me as

their teacher.
 This unit will provide students with the fundamental knowledge, skills, and attributes that will follow throughout the year. This

unit will build student confidence in writing and provide them with a safe and encouraging environment to develop their writing skills.

Reading Writing Listening Speaking Viewing Representing

Reading excerpts from Paragraph writing. Peer feedback Oral Photo essay component Representing their life(visual
other memoir Photo writing Oral memoir presentations. Student final projects artifacts)
prompts Photo writing prompts

Materials
Books (Excerpts)

- Who We Are – One Direction

- First Step 2 Forever – Justin Bieber

- Family – P!NK

- I Am Malala – Malala

- Other songs and excerpts from Memoirs.

Materials

- Electronics, paper, pencils, handouts, etc.

Electronics

- Laptops / ChromeBooks (to be booked).

- Personal Devices (only when prompted).

- Other Technologies
 Goals and Objectives

General Learner Outcomes

GLO 1 - Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore thoughts, ideas,
feelings and experiences.
GLO 2- Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond
personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.
GLO 3- Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore thoughts, ideas,
feelings and experiences.
GLO 4 – students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to enhance the clarity and
artistry of communication.

Specific Learner Outcomes

Grade 8/9
GLO 1
1.1 Discover and Explore
1.1.1 Express Ideas and Develop Understanding
1.1.2 Experiment with Language and Forms
GLO 2
2.1 Use Strategies and Cues
2.1.1 Use prior knowledge
2.2 Respond to text
2.3 Understand Forms, Elements, and Techniques
2.4 Create Original Text
2.4.1 Structure Text
GLO 3
3.4 Share and Review
3.4.2 Share ideas and information
GLO 4
4.2 Attend to Conventions
4.3 Present and Share
 Memoir UNIT ASSESSMENT PLAN
Stage 1 – Desired Results

Teachers Shealeigh Brandford

Grade Grade 8
Subject ELA
Time 5 Weeks
Established Goals:
GLO 1 - Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore thoughts, ideas,
feelings and experiences.

GLO 2- Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond
personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.

GLO 3- Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore thoughts, ideas,
feelings and experiences.

GLO 4 - students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to enhance the clarity and artistry of communication.
Understandings: Essential Questions:
Students will understand that…
● What events, people, or experiences have shaped you into the person you
● Their experiences shape their current
thoughts, feelings, and identities. are today?
● Critically responding to their own work
through the editing process will enhance ● How can I improve my writing through peer, self, and teacher editing?
their work.
● Exploring their thoughts feelings and
experiences through a personal mean can
be fun.

Students will know…

A variety of methods to express their thoughts,
ideas, feelings, and experiences.

The importance of responding personally to a

variety of genre based texts.
How to effectively communicate their thoughts,
feelings, and ideas through the writing, editing,
and submitting process.
 Memoir Unit Plan Assessment Matrix
Memoir Book Exit Slips/Peer Editing
Title Memoir Photo Essay Memoir Rough Draft
Covers Checklists/Other
Learning
Outcomes Type
(Formative/Summative Summative Formative Formative Formative
)

Weighting 100% N/A N/A N/A

1.1.1 Express Ideas and Develop
Understanding
✓ ✓ ✓

1.1.2 Experiment with Language

and Forms ✓ ✓ ✓

2.3 Understand Forms, Elements,

and Techniques ✓ ✓ ✓

2.4.1 Structure Text

✓ ✓ ✓

3.4.2 Share ideas and information

✓ ✓ ✓
Assessment Tool Overview
Assessment Tool Brief Description Assessment FOR Learning Assessment AS Learning Assessment OF Learning
Students will be assessed on their writing after
having extensive teacher, self and peer
Memoir (Written
feedback and editing. This will be assessing x x
and Visual)
the formal aspects of writing through the
program of studies.
Students will submit this formative assessment
through google docs and receive teacher
Memoir Rough
feedback. This will allow me to formatively x
x
Draft
assess how far they are on their written
Memoir.
To ensure that students have had two
classmates assess their work, they will need to
Peer Editing
submit a peer editing checklist. As a class we x
Checklist
will extensively discuss what effective peer
feedback looks like (not just ‘good’ or ‘bad’)
These formative assessments will vary daily:
exit slips, verbal assessments, etc. This will
Exit Slips // Daily
allow me as the teacher to check their x
Formative x
understanding. They will vary between public
Assessments
displays of understanding (five finger, etc) to
private (sticky notes, individual).

Used as a formative assessment, this will

Book Covers allow students to brainstorm ideas in their life x x
for their memoir paragraphs.
 Memoir Unit Plan – September 2017

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

4 5 6 7 8

11 WRITING TERR. 12 13 HEART MAP 14 15

- Developing - Heart Mapping
writing ideas - Creating their
heart maps to
engage in
writing process

18 PRE-WRITING 19 20 SEED WRITING 21 22 SEED WRITING

- Pre-writing - Creating a ‘seed’ - First drafts
- Graphic for writing. - Developing the
organizer - Writing process. ‘seeds’ lesson
- Generating ideas

25 FIRST DRAFTS 26 27 FIRST DRAFTS 28 29

- First draft - First/second
creation draft creations
- Assignment - Working
overview collaboratively
- Creating an - First drafts DUE
effective lead at end of the
lesson class
- The power of ‘i’

2 REVISING 3 4 REVISING 5 6 PEER

- Revising lesson - continuing CONFERENCING
- Adding editing process - peer
 - The rule of ‘so conferencing
what’ lesson with students

9 EDITING 10 11 EDITING 12 13
- The power of i - Closing lesson
review continued
- Closing lesson - Checklists

16 PUBLISHING 17 18 MEMOIRS DUE 19 20 Start Short Story

- Publishing and - Celebrating Unit
refining for - Sharing
publication
- Publishing
checklists