Understanding By Design Unit Template

Title of Unit Poetry

Grade Level 5/6

Subject English Language Arts

Time Frame 3 Weeks
(ELA)

Developed By Shiva Goli

Stage 1 - Identify Desired Results

Broad Areas of Learning

How are the BAL incorporated into this unit?

Broad Areas of Learning/Competencies:

The BAL’s are incorporated through the authentic learning tasks that exist within the unit plan. By
exploring poetry, students are challenged in terms of comprehension and understand that the
world around them incorporates poetry every day, such as song lyrics and catchy commercials.

● Creativity and Innovation: Students are provided with multiple opportunities to choose a
mode of representation to share their learning. To further their learning the unit plan provides
opportunities for peer, and self -feedback with work revisions.
● Social, Cultural Global, and Environmental Responsibility: Students are introduced to the
concept of poetry through the exploration of multiple poems, and the various elements and
literal devices incorporated in the poem.
● Communication: Students are expected to work individually and as a group throughout the
unit. Guidelines are given to support proper group interaction and communication within and
between groups. The unit allows for multi-modal means of expression, allowing learners to
choose from a pre-determined list of representation.
● Digital and Technological Fluency: Within the unit learners are expected to conduct research
about poetry, elements of poetry and technical devices used in poetry using technology.
Students also have access to supportive technology throughout the lessons as part of a
differentiation strategy to mediate some of the barriers presented.
● Life-Long Learning, Personal Management, and Well-being: One of the integral pieces within
the unit is self, peer, and group feedback. Learners will recognize the importance of revisiting
work and ongoing revision.
● Collaboration and Leadership: Within the lessons self-directed learning is incorporated to
ensure student involvement with their own learning. Students are also working within groups
throughout the unit and expected to collaborate and compromise while remaining respectful
and mindful of other members within the group.

Cross curricular Competencies

How will this unit promote the CCC?

The cross curricular competencies for Alberta are as follows: Critical thinking, problem solving,
managing information, creativity and innovation, communication, collaboration, cultural and global
citizenship, personal growth and wellbeing (Competencies Overview, 2016).

This unit promotes the CCC’s because it is designed around a topic that is authentic and
applicable to the students understanding of different styles of poetry. The lessons in this unit
cover: managing information, communication, creativity and innovation, cultural and global
citizenship, and collaboration. The learners experience these through inquiry and teacher
guidance.

Learning Outcomes
What relevant goals will this unit address?
(must come from curriculum; include the designations e.g. IN2.1)

English Language Arts

General Outcome 3: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to manage ideas
and information.

Specific Outcomes: 3.4 Share and Review

3.4.1 Share ideas and information
● communicate ideas and information in a variety of oral, print and other media texts, such
as multiparagraph reports, question and answer formats and graphs
● select appropriate visuals, print and/or other media to inform and engage the audience
3.4.2: Review research process
establish goals for enhancing research skills

General Outcome 4: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to enhance the
clarity and artistry of communication.

4.1 Enhance and Improve

4.1.1 Appraise own and other's work
● work collaboratively to revise and enhance oral, print and other media texts
● ask for and evaluate the usefulness of feedback and assistance from peers
4.1.2 Revise and edit
 revise to provide focus, expand relevant ideas and eliminate unnecessary information
 edit for appropriate verb tense and for correct pronoun references
 use paragraph structures in expository and narrative texts
4.1.3: Enhance legibility
 write legibly and at a pace appropriate to context and purpose
 experiment with a variety of software design elements, such as spacing, graphics, titles
and headings, and font sizes and styles, to enhance the presentation of texts
4.1.4: Expand knowledge of language
 show the relationships among key words associated with topics of study, using a variety
of strategies such as thought webs, outlines and lists
 choose words that capture a particular aspect of meaning and that are appropriate for
context, audience and purpose
4.1.5 Enhanced Artistry
 experiment with several options, such as sentence structures, figurative language and
multimedia effects, to choose the most appropriate way of communicating ideas or
information
4.3 Present and Share
4.3.1: Present information
 use various styles and forms of presentations, depending on content, audience and
purpose
4.3.2: Enhance presentation
 emphasize key ideas and information to enhance audience understanding and enjoyment
4.3.3: Use effective oral and visual communication
 demonstrate control of voice, pacing, gestures and facial expressions; arrange props and
presentation space to enhance communication
4.3.4: Demonstrate attentive listening and viewing
 identify the tone, mood and emotion conveyed in oral and visual presentations
 respond to the emotional aspects of presentations by providing nonverbal encouragement
and appreciative comments

General Outcome 5 Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to respect,
support and collaborate with others.

5.1 Respect Others and Strengthen Community

5.1.1: Appreciate diversity
 compare personal challenges and situations encountered in daily life with those
experienced by people or characters in other times, places and cultures portrayed in oral,
print and other media texts
 share and discuss ideas and experiences that contribute to different responses to oral,
print and other media texts
5.1.2: Relate texts to culture
 identify ways in which oral, print and other media texts from diverse cultures and
communities explore similar ideas
5.1.3: Celebrate accomplishments and events
 use appropriate language to participate in public events, occasions or traditions
5.1.4: Use language to show respect
 demonstrate respect by choosing appropriate language and tone in oral, print and other
media texts
Enduring Understandings
What understandings about the big ideas are
desired? (what you want students to
understand & be able to use several years
from now)
What misunderstandings are predictable?
Students will understand that...
● We read poetry by analyzing how its
sequence of thoughts, figurative language,
sounds of words, and imagery convey ideas
and emotions
● Students can elaborate their understanding
after reading by asking for clarification
● By discussing different styles of poems with
the class and teacher, it deepens
comprehension and a student’s understanding
● One can recall important information in our
own lives when we read
● Students will understand how to consider
more than one perspective (through
discussions around poetry)
● Students will understand how to combine
previous ideas into a poem depicting
sequence of thoughts, figurative language,
sounds of words, and imagery convey ideas
and emotions.
● There are multiple ways in which someone
can express their ideas and thoughts
● Group work requires compromise and
respectful interactions.
Related misconceptions…
.
● Poetry is irrelevant in the modern-world:
● Poetry is not a valid form of literature
● Poetry must be written in an eloquent
language
● Poetry has to rhyme
● Poetry is always short
Knowledge:
What knowledge will student acquire as a
result of this unit? This content knowledge
may come from the indicators, or might also
address pre-requisite knowledge that
students will need for this unit.
Essential Questions
What provocative questions will foster
inquiry into the content? (open-ended
questions that stimulate thought and
inquiry linked to the content of the
enduring understanding)
Content specific….
● What is Poetry?
● How do we read poetry?
● What are the main elements of a poem?
● How is poetry used in reality?
● How important is the role of sound
effects, such as rhyme and rhythm? How
do they affect tone and meaning?
● How do figures of speech affect the
message given
FNMI, multicultural, cross-curricular…
● Oral communication is embedded into
the learning activities as students are
able to express their ideas through
discussions which integrates FNMI
learning strategies and will also help who
have difficulties with writing and reading.
● Opportunities for use of FNMI
approaches to learning. (sharing poems
in small groups)
Skills
What skills will students acquire as a
result of this unit? List the skills and/or
behaviours that students will be able to
exhibit as a result of their work in this
unit. These will come from the
indicators.
Students will know...
● Domain-specific academic vocabulary related
to poetry, e.g., character, mood, tone, theme,
analyze, perspective, point of view,
composition, emphasis, realism, abstraction,
etc.
● A comparison of two works requires first a
detailed analysis of each individual work,
followed by an analysis of the shared
qualities and the differences of the two
works.
● Strategies for understanding a poem by
identifying how the character acts, what the
character says and/or thinks.
● Rules for effective speaking and listening
when discussing and sharing ideas from
books and within a group
● The importance of writing about what we
read is to improve comprehension
● Students will know what it means to share
their ideas and talk to others respectfully.
● Students will know how to select and process
and organize their thoughts (worksheet
provided)
● Students will know how to express feelings
and understandings while writing their own
poems
● Students will know how to elaborate and add
detail to their ideas
● Students will know how to enhance and
improve their writing through teacher, peer
and self-editing. (peers reviews etc.)
● What it means to respect others & strengthen
the community (class & beyond)
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Students will be able to…
● Analyzing poetry using domain-specific
vocabulary for each element of poetry
● Predict the reasons behind poet’s usage
of voice, technical language and in what
way it is developed throughout the
poem.
● Discussing ideas from a poem with
peers, using agreed-upon rules for
discussion.
● Responding to a general, open-ended
question about a poem in writing.
● Using the writing process to develop a
poem piece and for vocabulary, using
the cues from brainstorming ideas with
peers, word wall, phrase wall,
dictionary and search on laptops.
● Understand and discuss the elements of
poem structure.
● Students will be able to discuss and
explore what is meaningful to them
● Students will be able to listen and share
with peers respectfully. [
● Students will be able to understand that
others may have different ideas, and
perspective then them.
● Students will know how to select and
process and organize their thoughts
● Students will be able to choose
appropriate forms of for communicating
and sharing their poems with the class.
● Students will be able to use textual cues
within their written text.
● Engage, present and share their
research.
● Revisit and revise work
Performance Task
Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate the desired
understandings, knowledge, and skills? (describes the learning activity in “story” form.
Typically, the P.T. describes a scenario or situation that requires students to apply knowledge
and skills to demonstrate their understanding in a real life situation. Describe your
performance task scenario below)
By what criteria will performances of understanding be judged?

GRASPS Elements of the Performance Task

G – Goal Goal: Student will accomplish increased understanding of poetry,

What should students accomplish by
completing this task?
R – Role
What role (perspective) will your
students be taking?
A – Audience
Who is the relevant audience?
S – Situation
The context or challenge
provided to the student.
P – Product, Performance
What product/performance will
the student create?
meaning of words as they are used in the poem, impact of
particular word choices on meaning and tone. Students will further
their learning in the grade 5/6 ELA competencies while
authentically exploring outcomes in Visual arts
Role: Students will be taking the perspective of particular
character’s point of view and understand the concept of writing
short poem. This will require critical thinking skills to evaluate how
reasoning, development and style are appropriate to the purpose,
audience and task.
Audience: The students will be addressing themselves (reflection),
their peers, teacher and their parents (work will be displayed on the
board for Parents-Teachers meeting)
Situation: The context provided to the student is a multifaceted
exercise. The student will first define what poetry is and the class
will then lead a discussion and together, decide and overarching
definition or theme of poetry, then show the elements of a poem
followed by types of poetry and ended with a final poem.

Product: The students will write their own poems using different
styles and poetic devices. They will also create art which will
represent the theme of the poem they have created.

S – Standards & Criteria for Standards/criteria: Students will represent their understandings,
Success through brainstorming, journaling, sharing circles, writing poems,
Create the rubric for the research, and presentations.
Performance Task
Other Evidence Student Self-Assessment
Through what other evidence (work samples, How will students reflect upon or self-assess
observations, quizzes, tests, journals or other their learning?
means) will students demonstrate
achievement of the desired results? Formative
and summative assessments used throughout
the unit to arrive at the outcomes.

Formative Assessment:
● Students’ participation in discussions ● Self-editing and brainstorming
● Students’ abilities to use specific text to support ● Peer, self-assessment and feedback on
their ideas in oral discussions and written brainstorming ideas and concepts.
responses ● Entrance and exit questions based around
● Students’ discussions and responses to poetry and meaningfulness and other
Essential Questions perspectives, feelings in poems (as needed).
● Checking their understanding with sample and ● Students will be asked to self and peer
similar questions assess their first product.
● Formative assessment, through observations ● Students will have ongoing informal self-
and individual meetings (throughout) assessments (thumbs up/thumbs down, exit
● Formative assessment reviews with peers and slips, discussions with peers & teachers)
teacher ● Students are to summarize what is written in
● Assessment of group research the poetry given along with fabricating
● Ongoing informal formative assessment. questions and answering them through group
(conversations, thumbs up, thumbs down, exit discussions.
slips, etc.) ● Learners are provided opportunities for peer
● Informal formative assessment using student's feedback through table groups and circle
work-books. discussions
● Learners are provided opportunities for peer
Summative Assessment: feedback with teacher led self-reflections
Oral presentations, audio recording, Writing following feedback activities. Allowing
Journals google docs, final poem booklets will students to engage in informal self-
include: feedback/reflection.
 Assessment of notes, locating and citing
poetic devices and figurative language in
the poems and the inferences they make
based on that evidence.
● Presentation will be assessed for
communication and comprehension.
● Students will submit a written hard copy of
their poems and also present to the class
this is content based, not performance
based.
● Students are summatively assessed on
their organization and execution of their
research on their final poem booklet.
Students are further assessed on their
ability to communicate and share their
findings with the class using the medium of
their choice.
 Stage 3 – Learning Plan
What teaching and learning experiences will you use to:
● achieve the desired results identified in Stage 1?
● equip students to complete the assessment tasks identified in Stage 2?

Where are your students headed? Where have they been? How will you make sure the
students know where they are going?
What experiences do the learners bring to the unit? How have the interests of the
learners been ascertained? Have the learners been part of the pre-planning in any way?
What individual needs do you anticipate will need to be addressed?
Learning environment: Where can this learning best occur? How can the physical
environment be arranged to enhance learning?

Where are students headed: In this unit the students will be exploring open-ended inquiries, trying to
understand poetry through knowledge of figurative language and discussions. While investigating
poetry, students will try to understand perspective and broad ideas in poetry.
Where have they been: Students have growing knowledge in brainstorming, journaling, reflecting,
writing poems.
How will you make sure that students know where they are going: Throughout each lesson in this
unit there are continuous teacher observations and check ins and various formative assessments to
ensure student understanding. If students need additional instruction/activities for understanding the
teacher will find these areas with daily formative assessments and observations. There is scaffolding
between lessons
What experiences do the learners bring to the unit: Experience learners bring into the unit is
previous knowledge in poems, strong vocabulary, reading and writing skill development, from class and
individual exercises, journaling, and reflections.
How have the interests of the learner's been ascertained: The interests of students have been
ascertained as the activities within the unit are authentic, and can be made relatable for all students.
What individual needs to you anticipate/will need to address: Both ELL and students below grade
level will struggle with: decoding, sight words, fluency, spelling and sentence construction. Students are
at increased risk of reduced involvement during peer and class discussions. May require increased
teacher encouragement. Students are also at higher risks of learned helplessness.
Learning Experiences:
Where can this learning best occur? The learning for this lesson is best in the classroom where
students have their table groups, quiet table, and resources needed.
How can the physical environment be arranges to enhance learning? Tables will be arranged in
stations, and will be assigned. In addition to table groups, which allow for discussion and group work,
there will be at least one quiet table to accommodate students who prefer a quiet environment (with
headphones).

How will you engage students at the beginning of the unit? (motivational set)
 To engage the students at the beginning of the unit, the teacher will present a video detailing exactly
what the students will be learning including the elements of poetry, what poetry is, and how poetry can
be used in actuality. This video will detail the misconceptions poetry can face and will show the students
examples of poetry in life. As a visual representation of learning, the video will far better gather the
students attention rather than speaking alone.

What events will help students experience and explore the enduring understandings
and essential questions in the unit? How will you equip them with needed skills and
knowledge?

# Lesson Lesson Activities CCCs Resources

Title Summary of Key Learning Events and Instruction

Lesso Lesson one answers the guiding question: What is Poetry? Critical Reading
n1 thinking, Response
Definition 1. Guiding questions are answered through class and
Journals/pencil
of poems group discussions, journaling, and reflections.
Managing s/erase
Students will explore this topic by answering the information
guiding questions. This will be furthered through Whiteboard/S
individual journal writing. Communicat MART
2. Place the class in their table groups and ask them board/PC
ion
to answer to the question. What do you mean by Visual/written
Poetry? (5-10 mins) Collaboratio schedule of
3. Ask one member from the group to read out their n task displayed
definition of poetry and write it in whiteboard or
Junior
smart board (preferable). (10 mins) Dictionaries
Personal
4. As a class let the students sort it out to make it a
growth &
Class definition of Poetry taking the main Junior
well being
ideas/poetry buzz words from all the teams. (10 Thesaurus
mins)
5. Show them different definitions from the dictionaries Text to Speech
and Speech to
and let them compare what matches/contrasts with Text software
their own and the other definitions. (10 mins)
6. Show them a video on What is Poetry? (6 mins)
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwhouCNq-Fc

7. Post the class definition on the smartboard or chart-

paper(2 mins)
8. Review of the lesson (5 mins)

Lesso Throughout lesson 2 of the unit students will experience and Juniour
n2 explore to write a simple poem (Bio-poem or Buddy’s Bio-poem) Managing Dictionaries
Bio Poems information
exploring the questions “What is poetry? And “In what ways do
Junior
you think it can be created? creating their own poem about Creativity Thesaurus
themselves or their assigned buddy. Students will explore further and
into poetry by asking questions and ideas by reflecting or innovation Text to Speech
and Speech to
interviewing. By writing a poem about what is meaningful to them Communicat Text software
and why, the students will individually experience sharing their ion
own poem to the rest of the class. Within the lesson students will Whiteboard/SM
experience multiple opportunities to share and explore new ideas Personal ART board/
growth and
and different perspectives of others in Sharing circles.
 Visual/written
well being schedule(s)
displayed

Lesso Lesson 3 focuses on analyzing poetry. Students read Supporting

n3 Managing Booklet
poems and analyze their use of poetic devices and figurative information Whiteboard
language to create meaning and tone. The teacher walks Computers
Creativity
Analyzing students through an analysis of a selected poem using text- and
Assistive
dependent questions. Then students work in pairs to analyze programs
poetry innovation
(TTS/STT)
a poem of their choice
Communicat
ion

Collaboratio
n

Assess and Reflect (Stage 4)

Considerations Comments

Required Areas of Study:
Is there alignment between
outcomes, performance
assessment and learning
experiences?
When designing the Unit it was ensured that there was
consistent alignment between the outcomes, performance
assessment, and learning experience. The unit provides a
common theme of exploring poetry and poetic technical
devices. This ensures that the learning tasks designed
within each lesson have a similar learning experience.

Further, focus was on the ELA general outcome 3, 4 and

5. All of the 3 general outcomes are hit and emphasis on
those 3 outcomes to ensure that there is sufficient
overlap. This focus allowed to align the outcomes and
performance assessments within the lessons.

Adaptive Dimension: For struggling students:

Have I made purposeful adjustments to
the curriculum content (not outcomes),
instructional practices, and/or the
learning environment to meet the
learning needs and diversities of all my
students?
There has been purposeful adjustments to the content
and the presentation of the content to the students
throughout the lessons in the unit, while keeping the
curriculum content. The changes are slight modifications
for students that require modifications without giving them
different tasks, allowing for increased participation and
peer discussions, and student success.

For students who need a challenge:

The tasks presented throughout can be modified to

Instructional Approaches:
Do I use a variety of teacher directed
and student centered instructional
approaches?
Resource Based Learning:
Do the students have access to
various resources on an ongoing
basis?
FNM/I Content and
Perspectives/Gender
Equity/Multicultural Education:
Have I nurtured and promoted diversity
while honoring each child’s identity?
From: Wiggins, Grant and J. McTighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (pbk)
present challenge to the students that would need it. The
tasks are versatile for modifications and/or extensions, as
needed for student success.
*There are no students (gifted student) that are identified
as needing a challenge within the classroom profile –
therefore the differentiation methods do not reflect this
need.*
Although the unit is streamlined to progress in a natural
way throughout the ELA curriculum, there is a variety of
learning tasks and instructional approaches that are taken
within each lesson. The learning tasks occur at an
individual, small group, and class level. There is balance
between teacher-directed learning and student autonomy
in their learning. When deemed appropriate throughout
the lessons students are provided choices in their
representation of their learning.
Students have access throughout the unit to assistive
technologies with pre-loaded programs to support their
learning. These supportive technologies include Text to
Speech and Speech to Text, as well as apps to help with
comprehension and literacy.
Other resources that students have access too are their
peers, using them as knowledge-keepers through partner,
small group, or class discussions/activities.
This unit is friendly for diversity. With the Programs of
Studies for language and arts, communication and
Interactions, the class will be welcoming and respectful.
Sharing circles from FNMI ways of knowing are
implemented, to encourage respect, relationships, and
sharing through interactions.
Name: Grade: Date:
Rubric for self-reflection- Poems (Lesson # )

Poem Rubric
3 2 1

Word *8 or more interesting *3-7 interesting and *0-2 interesting words

Choice and vivid descriptive vivid descriptive were used.
words were used. words were used.
*Vocabulary is very
*Words clearly illustrate *Words somewhat basic, and descriptions
and represent the enhance the of poem’s topic being
poem’s subject. description / vague or plain.
representation of the
poem’s subject.
Convention No misspelled words. 3-5 misspelled words. 5 or more misspelled
s 1078074
words.
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No w ords w ere m 3-5 w ords w ere

Ideas and *The poem was
Content completed and it makes
perfect sense.
* All starters appear in
the correct order.
* All lines are prefaced
with correct starter.
*All sections of the
poem are unique and
rarely if ever repeat
* The poem was
completed but some
of it does not make
sense.
* Starters may not
appear in the correct
order
* 1 – 2 starters may
be omitted / altered.
* There is some
* The poem does not
make sense.
* The poem has gone
off topic.
* 3 or more of the
starters have been
omitted or altered.
* There is excessive
repetition within the
poem.
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themselves (except minor repetition in The poem w as co

where required to do so). the poem.

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The poem w as co

Name: Grade: Date:

Rubric for Presentation & Research Summary (Lesson # )

Level/Crit Excellent Proficient Adequate Limited * Insufficient/

eria Blank *

Presentation was Presentation was Presentation Presentation No score is

Share Ideas skillful in sharing systematic in was simplistic in was awarded
and
information about sharing sharing disorganized in because there
Information
the poems information information is insufficient
] Present sharing
Information about the poems about the evidence of
information
poems
 about the student
poems performance
based on the
Methods for Methods for Methods for Methods for requirements
research, research, research, research, of the
Organize organization and organization and organization organization assessment
Information recording of recording of and recording and recording task.
Record information was information was of information of information
Information
done skillfully. done was done was done
systematically. simplistically. haphazardly.

Use Oral and visual Oral and visual Oral and visual Oral and visual
effective
communication communication communication communication
oral and
visual during during during during
communicati presentation was presentation was presentation presentation
on compelling. effective. was predictable did little to
. sustain
interest.

References
Competencies Overview (2016), Retrieved from:
https://education.alberta.ca/media/3115408/competencies-overview-may-17.pdf

Mitchell, David. (2014).  What really works in special and inclusive education, 2nd Edition.  Abingdon,
Oxon: Routledge.

Wiggins, G. (2005). Understanding by design: Overview of UBD & the design template. Available at:
http://www.grantwiggins.org/documents/UbDQuikvue1005.pdf