5 Tips for Creating and Implementing a Successful Unit Plan in Secondary ELA
5 Tips for Creating and Implementing a Successful Unit Plan in Secondary ELA
The following post is a guest writer contribution from Samantha in Secondary.
Creating a successful unit plan in secondary English Language Arts can be a daunting task. How should you get started? How do you know what students should be learning? How can you tell that they’ve actually learned something? In this blog, I’ll give you 5 tips for creating your unit plan that will help you consider the way you think about the unit all the way through assessing students’ learning.
#1: Getting Started with Unit Planning
In order to create a successful unit in ELA, you have to first know what’s expected of you. Does your district require that specific texts be taught? How about certain standards? Expectations vary widely from district to district, so make sure you know what’s expected first before you begin your planning. For example, my district requires that all 11th graders read “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, so I knew that I was going to need to teach it.
#2: Begin with the End in Mind
Now that you know what’s expected of you, think about what you want students to understand when they’ve completed the unit. Having a clear goal will help you stay on track. This can sometimes come from the standards or can even be the response to whichever unit frame you’ve chosen. (See the next step!) Getting really clear on the unit goal will help your unit run much more smoothly. With my unit on “The Crucible”, I knew I wanted students to see how literature can translate to real life and span generations. “The Crucible” is an enduring text with plenty of implications in our current society, so I wanted them to be able to see that.
#3: Figure Out the Frame
How do you want to frame your unit for you and your students? Finding a frame will help everyone understand the larger picture. Do you want to use a theme, a genre, a time period, or maybe even the text itself? One way I love to frame my unit is through a text set that speaks to the same theme. Amanda loves to use essential questions which is another great frame that can work, too. Successful teachers have lots of ways to frame their units that feel natural to them. You have to figure out what works for you. Maybe you don’t know yet, and that’s okay! Try a few different ways until one of them clicks.
Again, in regards to my unit on “The Crucible”, I went with a text set with the theme of literature reflecting real life. My text set included: the play itself, the film (starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, of course), nonfiction texts on various topics related to different sections of the book (like cancel culture), the poem “Half-Hanged Mary” by Margaret Atwood, and snippets from this podcast that recommends modern reading outside of the play. Finding appropriate novel pairings can also help if you want to concurrently run a choice reading unit which I often do.
#4: Ditch the Reading Quizzes
Okay, I’m going to say it: reading quizzes might have a time and place in very specific and limited instances, but for the overwhelming majority of time, you can assess reading without a multiple choice quiz. (Really, you can!) Instead of reading quizzes, I almost exclusively use response to literature activities. I set up my unit with before, during, and after reading activities and I use this strategy with every text we read (even short stories!). I have found so much more success in making sure that my students are actively participating in the reading instead of just making them read and following it up with one multiple choice test. Try it out! I’m positive you’ll love the results. Here are some ideas:
For the before reading activities, we set context, activate prior knowledge, make predictions, develop questions, etc. These can be incredibly powerful activities to help students get ready to read.
During reading activities give students a more active role in their reading. These activities can include anything from doodle notetaking, close reading, and more. AdLit has an impressive list of ideas on their website as well.
When students are finished, it’s time for the after reading activities. These tend to be my favorite. There are tons of creative ways to assess learning that isn’t another quiz. Try a One Pager, Mood Board, or a Book Flay Lay for starters.
In my unit on “The Crucible”, students read about the puritans, examined various versions of the cover to make predictions, and researched the Salem Witch Trials. For each act, I rotate during reading activities. Sometimes students create charts based on a specific question (for instance, how is Abigail different from Elizabeth?), find relevant quotes to analyze, or make a virtual field trip based on places the characters might visit. After reading, I use a great song analysis activity where students create a soundtrack for a character or the text itself. It is one of my favorite units to teach. If you’re interested in checking out my pre-made unit, click here.
#5: Make it Relevant
Adding nonfiction to your text set is an invaluable way to hook your students. Showing them how the text reflects the real world helps them understand the value of literature. I always find that when I add nonfiction text, students gain a deeper appreciation of what they’re reading in class. I have a variety of print-and-go nonfiction text activities in my TPT shop that cover an array of topics. All of my nonfiction text activities follow my tried-and-true close reading process, so students can gain a deeper understanding of the topic. You can also find paired text sets created for you through websites like CommonLit which are completely free.
I hope this blog post has given you plenty to think about in terms of planning a rich unit and creating engaging response to literature activities to accompany it. For more great tips for your secondary ELA classroom, follow me on Instagram or find me at samanthainsecondary.com.
Happy teaching!
MEET OUR GUEST CONTRIBUTOR:
Hi there! My name is Samantha and I am on a mission to help secondary ELA teachers find the best books for their curriculum and classroom libraries. You can find tons of book recommendations and creative ways to implement the reading in your own classroom on my blog at Samantha in Secondary.
