Daniel+Reschke



Hello! I'm Dan Reschke and I'm a secondary education English major. I plan on graduating in the fall of 2011 and I hope to find a job in Michigan but that's looking very unlikely. Outside of school I like to keep busy by playing sports, camping/hiking, and writing short stories and poetry. Anyways, I look forward to getting to know all of you a little bit better throughout the semester!

__**My Professional Article**__




 * __My Unit Plan Introduction/ July 20, 2010__**

Subject: 10th grade English Topic: The American Dream Timeline: 2 weeks/ 10 days

Demographics: The school that this unit plan is intended for is based off of Mattawan High School, the school I did my pre-internship at. The school has about 1,500 students, most of which are white. Because of the lack of diversity, I feel that this unit will enrich the students' knowledge of other cultures. Each class consists of 30 students, half boys, half girls.

Introduction: This unit is intended to challenge students' thoughts/opinions about what the American dream means to them by examining several texts that each suggests something different about the American dream and then sharing their thoughts through a series of writings and speeches. The anchor text I intend on using is F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. I also plan on using several picture books which offer different perspectives as to what the American dream means to different people and different minorities. I believe this unit will make implementing multicultural instruction very easy and students will learn a tremendous amount about themselves and their classmates as we explore different perspectives of the American dream. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

__**My Unit Plan Resources/ July 22, 2010**__

Bolden, T. (2002). //Tell All the Children Our Story//. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Gilchrist, J.S. (2007). //My America//. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. Maestro. B. (1996). //Coming to America//. New York: Scholastic Press. Ringgold, F. (1991). //Tar Beach//. NEw York: Crown Publishers, Inc.
 * Picture Books for Unit Plan**

Fitzgerald, F.S. (1925). //The Great Gatsby//. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
 * Anchor Text for Unit Plan**


 * Music for Unit Plan**

Diamond, N. (Performer). (1980). America. On //The Jazz Singer Soundtrack// [Audiocassette]. Springstein, B. (Performer). (1988). Born in the USA. //On Born in the USA// [CD].

**Movie for Unit Plan**

Clayton, J. (Director). Fitzgerald, F.S. & Coppola, F.F. (Writer). (1974). //The Great Gatsby// [Motion Picture].

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx __**2 Lesson Plans (Tentative--suggestions appreciated) / August 1**__ __Monday Day 1__
 * __Title of Lesson-__**The American Dream Introduction

__**Lesson Goals-**__ 1) Introduce the American Dream through a short picture book. 2) Have students begin to think about what the American Dream means to them. 3) Introduce F. Scott Fitzgerald's //The Great Gatsby.// 4) Remind students how to properly fill out reading logs. __**Lesson Objectives-**__ Students will be familiar with different perceptions of the American Dream and have an idea about what the American Dream means to them. Students will also begin reading //The Great Gatsby// and fill out reading logs for each chapter so that I can monitor their understanding of the story.


 * __State Standards-__** 1.3, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1

__**Prerequisites-**__ None

__**Materials**__- 1)copies of the novel. 2) Reading Logs

__**Lesson Procedure-**__

1. Introduce the new unit's topic by asking the students what the American Dream means to them and recording answers and common themes on the board (15 minutes). //TRANSITION--Picture Book// 2. Read J.S. Gilchrist's picture book //My America// aloud to the class then discuss how the book describes the American Dream. (25 minutes) //TRANSITION--Anchor Text// 3. Introduce F. Scott Fitzgerald's //The Great Gatsby// by giving the students background information on both the text and the author. (10 minutes) //TRANSITION--Things to look for// 4. Before beginning the story, remind the students of things to pay attention for (ex. foreshadowing, symbolism, irony, etc.) and pass out reading logs so that they can organize their thoughts and so I can monitor their understanding of the story. (10 minutes) 5. Begin reading aloud, calling on student volunteers to read (30 minutes).

__**Homework**__- Read up to chapter 3/Reading Logs

__**Evalutation-**__ I will evaluate the effectiveness of this lesson by monitoring participation as I ask questions to see if students are following along. If I sense that the students are being lazy and not following along, or doing their assigned readings for homework, I will give quizzes so that those that do the work are rewarded and those that don't are punished.

__**Assessment**__- I will assess the students' understanding by collecting and grading the reading logs. From these I should be able to identify common confusions in the text and clarify for the students.

__Tuesday Day 2__ __**Title of Lesson**__- The American Dream Continued

__**Lesson Goals**__- 1) Talk about what was read yesterday in groups and then together. 2) Collect Reading Logs. 3) Ask students if their thoughts about the American Dream have changed since beginning this book. 4) Play the Neil Diamond Song America and asking students how he portrays the American Dream in his lyrics. 5) Give students the option of reading aloud, in groups, or silently.

__**Lesson Objectives**__- Students will have a clear understanding about the first three chapters of the book before they begin reading the next three chapters. Students will also revisist their thoughts about the American Dream by comparing their ideas to those of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Neil Diamond as well as the rest of their classmates.

__**State Standards**__-1.3, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1

__**Prerequisites**__- Have first three chapters read.

__**Materials**__- 1) Copies of book. 2) Reading Logs

__**Lesson Procedures-**__

1. Divide students into groups and have them discuss the first three chapters of the book. They can use their reading logs for help. (15 minutes). 2. Bring the class back together and talk about the first three chapters with the students to clarify any confusion and to make sure everyone is on track. During the discussion ask questions that make the students reflect on the reading so that they learn to challenge themselves while reading. (15 minutes) //TRANSITION--Have your thoughts changed?// 3. Ask the students if their own thoughts about the American Dream has changed after reading the first three chapters of the book (5 minutes). //TRANSITION--Another perspective about the American Dream// 4. Play Neil Diamond's song America and have the kids analyze the lyrics to see how this song portrays the American Dream. (15 mintes) //TRANSITION--Back to the reading// 5. Give students the option of reading aloud, in groups, or silently and have the next three chapters done by tomorrow. Whatever isn't finished in class is finished for homework. (30 minutes)

__**Homework**__- Read up to chapter 6/Reading Logs

__**Evaluation**__- I will evaluate the effectiveness of this lesson by monitoring student particpation during discussion as well as reading time. If I sense that students aren't doing the assigned work I will give quizzes.

__**Assessment**__- I will assess the students' understanding by grading their reading logs and looking for common misunderstandings.

=**//__FINAL UNIT PLAN!!!!!!!!__//**=