Social Studies Unit Plans
These lessons demonstrate how I build and scaffold student learning throughout the course of unit. I have experience teaching grades 6-12 and content ranging from geography to ancient world history to apartheid in South Africa. These selected units highlight full units that I developed for middle school and high school, fostering critical understanding of content and development of essential skills. Specifically, I am highlighting:
- a middle school unit about understanding race and racism in the United States;
- an early high school unit designed to support students in conducting their own historical research and writing an essay; and
- a late high school unit focused on the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and preparing students for the International Baccalaureate exams.
8th Grade American Studies: Creating Race & Interracial America Unit
This unit is set early in the year for my middle school course about early American history as I think it sets a guiding way for students to understand and analyze the rest of the content in the course and start thinking about and questioning my role as their teacher and curator of the content/knowledge they will learn and develop. It includes a lot of concepts and ideas rooted in sociology and critical race theory and frequently works to connect to students' lives and/or current events. The final project allows for students to choose their own way of demonstrating knowledge and exploring ideas of race and racism in more detail while they all still seek to deepen their own understanding of the idea that "Race is a myth, but racism is very real."
Unit Overview
Week 1 - Race is a social construction. (What is race? What does “social construction” mean”? How did people recognize and name difference before the invention of race?) (Define: race, social construction)
Week 2 - In the U.S., race was largely constructed by white people for power. (Who invented race? When? Why?) (Define: racism, privilege, oppression, historiography)
Week 3 - Racism is now a system used to maintain power for some and oppress others. (How did the idea of race help create a system of oppression? What are the ways in which racism is systemic?) (Define: systemic racism; 4 levels of privilege/oppression)
Weeks 4-5 - Race is a myth but racism is real. (How do race and racism impact people’s lives? How did it impact this point in history? How does it impact things today?)
Context of the Unit
This unit was first created and used in my seventh year of teaching at Washtenaw International Middle Academy in Ypsilanti, MI. It was my sixth year teaching the 8th Grade American Studies course for our Middle Years Program of the International Baccalaureate Program. Although we had fairly significant diversity in race and socio-economic status, most students were generally interested in school and motivated to work in school and try to succeed academically. Many of them had been with us since sixth grade and were already familiar with some of these ideas, the grading rubrics, etc. from prior years or other classes.
Unit Plan & Materials
Included here is the unit plan (developed in the International Baccalaureate's Middle Years Program structure) and the folder of materials and resources for this unit.
Unit Overview
Week 1 - Race is a social construction. (What is race? What does “social construction” mean”? How did people recognize and name difference before the invention of race?) (Define: race, social construction)
Week 2 - In the U.S., race was largely constructed by white people for power. (Who invented race? When? Why?) (Define: racism, privilege, oppression, historiography)
Week 3 - Racism is now a system used to maintain power for some and oppress others. (How did the idea of race help create a system of oppression? What are the ways in which racism is systemic?) (Define: systemic racism; 4 levels of privilege/oppression)
Weeks 4-5 - Race is a myth but racism is real. (How do race and racism impact people’s lives? How did it impact this point in history? How does it impact things today?)
Context of the Unit
This unit was first created and used in my seventh year of teaching at Washtenaw International Middle Academy in Ypsilanti, MI. It was my sixth year teaching the 8th Grade American Studies course for our Middle Years Program of the International Baccalaureate Program. Although we had fairly significant diversity in race and socio-economic status, most students were generally interested in school and motivated to work in school and try to succeed academically. Many of them had been with us since sixth grade and were already familiar with some of these ideas, the grading rubrics, etc. from prior years or other classes.
Unit Plan & Materials
Included here is the unit plan (developed in the International Baccalaureate's Middle Years Program structure) and the folder of materials and resources for this unit.
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9th Grade World Studies: Historical Investigation Unit
Unit Overview
Week 1 -
Context of the Unit
Unit Plan & Materials
Unit Overview
Week 1 -
Context of the Unit
Unit Plan & Materials
12th Grade IB History: Rights & Protest - US Civil Rights Movement
Unit Overview
Week 1 -
Context of the Unit
Unit Plan & Materials
Included here is the unit plan (developed in one of the structures provided by the International Baccalaureate's Diploma Program) and the folder of materials and resources for this unit.
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