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The Middleton School District is located 20 miles northwest of Boise and eight miles northeast of Caldwell in Canyon County. The district is largely rural, containing approximately 50 square miles, with the major industry being agriculture. A high percentage of people commute to Boise, Nampa, or Caldwell to work. The city of Middleton (population around 2,000, while serving a districtwide population of approximately 10,000) is the only incorporated city in the district.
The total Middleton School District enrollment is nearly 1,800 students, of which approximately 95 percent are Caucasian. The primarily Hispanic minority population continues to grow. Middleton Middle School currently has 491 students and includes grades 6-8.
Scheduling for the sixth grade includes three instructional teams. Two of the teams contain two teachers, while the third team is made of three. Each team is responsible for teaching the core subjects of reading, language arts, science, social studies, and math to two blocks of students with 25-30 students per block. Each teacher instructs five 47-minute class periods per day. Sixth grade students are either enrolled in band for a full year, or they rotate through a series of exploratory classes, including art, computers, hands-on science, Spanish, and careers. Scheduling for grades 7-8 includes three instructional teams of 3-4 teachers each. These teams teach core subjects four periods per day to classes of 25-30 students, each teacher instructing five 47-minute class periods per day. Seventh- and eighth-grade students are also assigned to three additional classes, including math, physical education, and an elective course of the student's choosing.
Teachers in nonteam disciplines are provided a single prep period of 47 minutes per day for class planning purposes. In addition to the normal prep period, team staff are provided a prep period of 47 minutes per day to allow for planning integrated units within and between the core academic disciplines.
MMS began reorganizing its approach to curriculum and instruction during the academic year 96-97. The reorganization continues to progress. At this time, the greatest progress has been in and through the social studies program, particularly as it relates to other core subjects to be integrated. However, more science-centered units are being developed. The major objective of the desired approach is to provide for curriculum decision making that: encourages the direct involvement of students in the construction and delivery of curriculum to enhance student support for and positive participation in related learning activities; employs a thematic and integrated approach to curriculum to ensure desired depth and breadth to student learning; emphasizes an "activities" approach to enhance student pleasure in learning; and focuses on student interests in contemporary issues and problems to facilitate connections between real life situations of students and curriculum.
To facilitate this change in our approach, instructional teams at the 6-8 levels have formed for the purpose of developing and implementing integrated curricula and related teaching strategies for core academic disciplines. In addition, a review and rewrite of core curricula beginning with the social studies, and moving through language arts and science, is currently underway. This curriculum supports a thematic approach to instructional materials and strategies that reflect student interests, as well as facilitates cross-curricular integration of core academic disciplines. The project theme and focus of this unit of instruction reflects this new approach.
Sixth-grade social studies curriculum emphasizes the Western Hemisphere. A year ago, we took a survey of our students to determine Western Hemisphere topics that they would be interested in learning about. "Pirates of the Caribbean" was a topic that the students very enthusiastically supported. This is our first attempt at developing this unit of study.
School life for the middle-level student is a challenging time that warrants special attention from educators. The importance of curriculum construction that is developmentally appropriate for the middle school level student cannot be overestimated. According to James A. Beane, the approach to curriculum defines the very nature and value of school for early adolescents. He asserts further that for a middle school curriculum to be effective, it must be shaped by the characteristics of early adolescence.
Research indicates that early adolescence, 10-15 years of age, is a time of dramatic physical and emotional change in the life of middle-level students. Young adolescents during this period expend intense personal energy orienting themselves to their world as they experience it. The focus of middle-level students, therefore, is primarily on themselves and their peer relationships. Though their capacities for thinking and reflection may be unfolding, their outward behavior is accentuated by expressions of sensitivity, vulnerability, and emotion. Though open to and often searching for role models to guide their lives, middle-level students seek ways to exercise personal autonomy and independence as well. Most important, middle-level students are by nature explorers, curious and adventurous.
The characteristics of early adolescence carry powerful implications for the learning of middle-level students and the construction of curriculum. According to Beane, it is imperative that what is good and right for early adolescents should be the sole determining factor in the approach to their education. He states further that the primary focus of middle-level curriculum should rest primarily on the personal and social themes that directly impact the daily lives of early adolescents while at the same time making meaningful connections with the real world in which they live.
A curriculum addressing the needs of early adolescents, especially one that make meaningful connections between the students' life experiences and the real world, must reach beyond the traditional approach--with the teacher as "talker" and the student as "listener"-to teaching and learning. To challenge and motivate participation, middle-level students should be directly involved in the construction and operation of the entire teaching/learning enterprise. Such a curriculum should emphasize an exploratory approach that would provide ample opportunity for "hands-on" learning, as well as expose students to varied instructional strategies tailored to the diverse learning styles, levels of mental maturation, and range of prior achievement of each individual student.
This unit is designed to address the special needs of the middle-level student. The approach is thematic to encourage an exploratory approach to history, as well as to facilitate cross-curricular integration for added depth in its study. Themes selected for inclusion for grades 6-8 were identified by use of formal and informal teacher/student surveys. The surveys reflected consideration of teacher views regarding critical principles, persons and events that should be taught as part of history and science, and measured student interest as to material to be studied. The goals and objectives of this curriculum include promoting student awareness of the ideas, people, places,, and events that have shaped the history of our world, nation, state, and community; facilitating student exploration of the basic values, principles, and operations of democracy; enhancing an awareness of and encourage and appreciation for cultural diversity and its impact on our world, nation, state, and community; refining student skills in problem solving, critical, and moral thought, as well as in expression of ideas and opinions, both orally and in writing; and providing students with a foundation for continuing education in study of history, language arts, and science.
The sixth-grade team had had this unit in mind for a year -- but no time to develop it. The Sun Valley Institute in June, 1999, provided the impetus to begin our planning. We had already begun collecting resource materials, teacher books, and a novel on the topic of pirates. During the summer institute, we webbed out our main areas of focus. Four sixth-grade teachers, the art teacher, and the vice-principal have since met intermittently after school, during team prep, and during inservices to refine and add detail to the unit. We wanted to include more differentiated learning activities in our classrooms - to address the needs of the gifted as well as the slow learner. Therefore, we decided to create our unit in a game format. We created individual, color-coded game boards and tasks/activities. Color-coding will be assigned according to task complexity - but the students will not be aware of the differences.
Whole class activity: Students will read Under the Black Flag by Erik Christian Haugaard, a novel about a boy who is kidnapped by the infamous pirate Blackbeard and held for ransom.
Students will move along their Pirates of the Caribbean game boards, independently completing tasks/activities. Most tasks will be compiled in a student portfolio. Large, or three dimensional, products will be displayed in the classroom.
Activities will be assigned/chosen from the following list:
A full description of activities to be completed is given on each task card along with a rubric for grading. In many cases, a sample of excellent work is provided for use as a model.
Each completed task produces a piece of work, which is assessed. All work is compiled in a portfolio or displayed in the classroom.
At the end of the unit, a group test will be administered. Groups of four will be given a large piece of butcher paper. They will work together on the paper to show what they have learned about the Caribbean and piracy through written description, diagrams, pictures, graphs, charts, etc.
Too many people working on a project can make it more difficult to complete. We often had different visions of the unit, activities, and final student products. We had to learn to work together, listen to all ideas, and compromise. It was necessary to develop enough trust for honest sharing of ideas.
It is difficult to differentiate activities according to student ability and still maintain academic integrity. It also takes a lot of effort to keep activities authentic enough that students are not aware that some are simpler than others.
When a unit includes so much independent work, many resources are needed for student use so they can all be working at the same time.
It is important to build in accountability to ensure efficient use of work time on a daily basis.
The Pirate's Cache unit has wonderful activity cards already written and save a lot of teacher work. It also has an extensive bibliography of pirate sources.
Gail Edge, Kerry Ritchie-Campbell, Sheryl Rick, Mona Oxford-Lewis, and Carol Cornwall
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