The Gold Rush TfU 2 - North Oakland Community Charter Gold Rush... · Unit Abstract Students will learn how gold was discovered in California, how the news traveled and how the Californian

North Oakland Community Charter School Winter Trimester

2010-2011 Teaching for Understanding Unit

The Gold Rush

Grades 4/5

Teachers: Serian Strauss

Kate Hayes Iliana Phirippidis

Unit Abstract Students will learn how gold was discovered in California, how the news traveled and how the Californian Gold Rush affected people all around the world. The CA state standards covered were:

1. Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the physical environment (e.g., using biographies of John Sutter, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Louise Clapp).

2. Explain how the Gold Rush transformed the economy of California, including the types of products produced and consumed, changes in towns (e.g., Sacramento, San Francisco), and economic conflicts between diverse groups of people.

Students will have extensive practice in note taking and will be supported throughout the process. The culminating project for this unit is a comic book. Alongside learning note taking, students will learn about comic art and will use their knowledge of the art form to create a storyboard to put into a group comic book about the gold rush. Group work is a large part of this unit and in order to be successful, students will have to participate fully and work well with their peers.

Unit Understanding Goals & Performances of Understanding:

1. How did the gold rush affect the environment of California and the people involved?

Students will explore the effects of the gold rush on the California environment and the people involved.

(Social Studies, content)

Associated Studio/Student Habits:

Envision Stretch & Explore Understanding the Art World/Academic Discipline

2. How do we take notes on expository texts?

Students will learn how to take notes on expository texts.

(Social Studies, process)


Develop Craft Engage & Persist Express Reflect Stretch & Explore Collaborate

3. How do we tell a story using comic art?

Students will explore the art of comics and be able to retell a part of the history through this genre.

(Social Studies, process)


Develop Craft Engage & Persist Envision Express Observe Reflect Stretch & Explore Understanding the Art World/Academic Discipline Collaborate

Associated Performance(s) of Understanding:

A. (initial – “mucking about”) See Think Wonder

Students will examine different pictures taken within a 15 year period (1845-1860) and notice population shifts, structural development and technological advances. They will make notes of their observations independently, then will share with a partner, and finally share out to the rest of the class.

B. (guided) Research Notes on Gold Rush

Students will examine various resources about the Gold Rush. The main resource students will use is a teacher compiled packet which students will use to collect notes. Other books and article will be available for students to add to their notes. Students will be required to use at least other resources of information other than their packet. Topics to be explored are:

1. Eureka! The discovery of gold

• Sutter

• News traveling

2. The Rush is On!

• Methods of travel

• Hardships

3. Gold Mining

• Methods of mining

• Environmental impact

4. Perspectives

• American Indians

• Rancheros & Californios

• White Americans.

• Asian Immigrants

• Women

5. Life in the camps and the cities

• Mining Laws

• Social Implications

• Economics

C. (culminating) Comic Book on the Gold Rush

Students will create a story board that will be part of a group comic book that incorporates all of the above topics. Students must include an introductory paragraph for their section which presents the information in expository text. Students must chose a perspective and work with their group to make sure that all the 5 topics will be covered. The comic book should flow and make sense as a whole. Students will study comics as an art form, which will include the work they have done on perspective and vanishing points. During lessons on note taking, students will be working on storyboards along side their research. In addition,

students will go on a field trip to the San Francisco Comic Art Museum. Once comic books are completed, students will host a comic book release party for their families and present their process as well as the information they learned.

Culminating Performance of Understanding

Assessment Descriptors

Rubric: Taking Notes on non-fiction texts

Rubric Rating Criteria Descriptors

Exceeding

(Above Grade Level)

• Student intuitively selects important information in texts. • Student clearly and concisely rewrites information in his/her own

words. • Student independently organizes notes based on the purpose and

the ultimate goal of writing an expository paragraph. • Student acts as a leader and a role model in note taking groups.

Meeting

(Grade Level)

• Student recognizes important information in texts. • Student clearly rewrites information in his/her own words. • Student organizes notes into logical groups and sub-groups and in

a systematic order. • Student does his/her part in group and pair work

Approaching

• Student recognizes important information in texts with guidance. • Student rewrites information mostly in his/her own words. • Student organizes notes into general groups and sub-groups. • Student somewhat participates in group and pair work.

Developing

• Student is able to recognize information as important once pointed out by another person

• Student relies heavily on the text to write notes in his/her own words.

• Student is able to sort notes by groups that are already named for him/her.

• Student relies on others for information in group and pair work.

Beginning

• Student can not differentiate between important and unimportant information

• Student doesn’t understand text to rephrase it in his/her own words.

• Student is unable to sort notes independently. • Student participates minimally in group work.

Rubric: Expository writing


Exceeding

(Above Grade Level)

• Student has included accurate, important information gathered from supplemental materials beyond the given resources.

• Student has written a clear and concise paragraph in his/her own words which goes beyond the modeled example.

• Student organizes information within the paragraph into a logical order, using appropriate connecting words and phrases, and a unique voice that is relevant to the topic.

• Student easily utilizes proper paragraph formation, including a topic and concluding sentence.

Meeting

(Grade Level)

• Student has included accurate, important information, demonstrating understanding of the topic.

• Student has written a clear paragraph in his/her own words. • Student organizes information within the paragraph into a

logical order using appropriate connecting words and phrases. • Student has demonstrated an understanding of proper paragraph

formation, including a topic and concluding sentence.

Approaching

• Student has included some important information, demonstrating a moderate understanding of the topic.

• Student has written a paragraph mostly in his/her own words. • Student organizes information within the paragraph into a

logical order. • Student has demonstrated an understanding of proper paragraph

formation with guidance, including a topic and concluding sentence.

Developing

• Student has included some important information with guidance and demonstrates a limited understanding of the topic.

• Student relies heavily on the text to write a paragraph in his/her own words.

• Student relies on guidance in order to organize information within the paragraph.

• Student struggles with proper paragraph formation, omitting topic and/or concluding sentences.

Beginning

• Student does not understand the topic. • Student rewrites paragraph directly from the original text. • Student is unclear as to how to organize information within the

paragraph. • Student does not understand paragraph formation and transfers

notes as phrases, not as sentences.

Rubric: Comic Book


Exceeding

(Above Grade Level)

• Student utilizes an unusual and creative point of view that is pertinent to the topic.

• All aspects of the student’s comic (art, dialogue, tone) are infused with the historical details of the gold rush.

• Student demonstrates mastery of comic art strategies which have been taught.

• The student’s group works closely and cohesively, resulting in a comic book that flows from one section to the other.

Meeting

(Grade Level)

• Student utilizes a point of view that is pertinent to the topic. • Student includes information from the research about the gold

rush, making the comic historically accurate. • Student utilizes comic art strategies which have been taught. • The student’s group works supportively, resulting in a comic book

whose sections are complete and somewhat connected.

Approaching

• Student is unoriginal in his/her choice of point of view, borrowing it from another source.

• Student includes some information from the research about the gold rush, making the comic somewhat historically accurate.

• Student utilizes some of the comic art strategies which have been taught.

• The student’s group works independently with little consideration for the cohesive whole.

Developing

• Student relies heavily on guidance to write a comic from a different point of view.

• Student includes limited information from the research about the gold rush, ignoring the historical context of the comic.

• Student utilizes one of the comic art strategies which have been taught.

• The student’s group struggles with cooperation and needs adult support to complete the project.

Beginning

• Student does not understand the concept of point of view. • Student includes no information from the research about the gold

rush, ignoring the historical context of the comic. • Student does not utilize the comic art strategies which have been

taught. • The student’s group does not cooperate, and the project is

incomplete.

Unit Overview – Week by Week Part 1: San Francisco: Before and After (1 day)

Objective(s) / Understanding

Goals / Performance of Understanding

• How did the gold rush affect the environment of California and the people involved?

Demonstration-Lectures

The teacher will present photographs of San Francisco before, during and immediately after the gold rush, covering a 15 year period. (See attached)

Students at Work: Activities, Explorations, Experiments

While students silently look at these images, they will complete a see, think, wonder for each of the photographs (see attached). The teacher will then go back through the images one by one, allowing students to first share their thoughts with a partner and then share out with the rest of the class. The teacher will take notes about the periods before, during and after the gold rush on a piece of chart paper based on their see, think, wonders.

Reflection and/or On-Going Assessment Strategies and

Tools

Class discussion about the photographs and how the San Francisco Bay seemed to change over the time period. The teacher will lead the class in a discussion of what might have been going on during this time period to lead to such a drastic change.

Kate M. Hayes � 10/27/10 12:26 PMFormatted: Space After: 10 pt, Linespacing: multiple 1.15 li, No bullets ornumbering

Art/Garden Integration Lessons / Strategies

• None

Equity Strategies

• Engaging prior knowledge of the bay. • Think, pair, share method • See, think, wonder format

MLV and/or Documentation

Strategies

• Photographs of SF bay • See, think, wonder sheets

Service-Learning or

Field Experiences

• None

Teacher Created Materials

See, think, wonder sheet

Part 2: Note Taking (Six Weeks)




• How do we take notes on expository texts?


The teacher will present the major areas of topic that will be studied and the culminating performance of


Students will work through the first three main topics (Discovery of Gold, Rush is on, Gold Mining) with the teacher, taking notes with the rest of the class. The teacher will write the notes on the overhead while students copy the notes onto note cards. As students


Tools

Students will be completing a reflection journal based on the Studio Habits throughout the group note-taking process. (see attached)


understanding. Teacher will also present the method of note taking: All students will have a box to store note cards. The students will take notes using note cards, only writing one piece of information per card. On this card, students will rewrite notes written in their own words. On these note cards, they will also include the packet from which they took the note and the page number. When students are done taking notes, these notes will be spread out on the floor or a large surface and organized into sub-topics and sub-sub topics. Finally they will be put into a logical order. These notes will then become the body of expository paragraphs the students will write, leaving them to write topic and concluding sentences to complete the paragraph.

become more adept at this, the teacher will give the students the opportunity to discuss and devise notes with their tables, then report back to the rest of the class, while the teacher takes the best example and writes it on the overhead. The fourth topic (People/Perspectives) will be done in a jigsaw format, with students taking on one group of people to study. During this group activity, students will rotate through jobs (reader, restater, and writer) with all students writing down the agreed upon note onto their own cards. These cards will then be copied and distributed to the table groups while the “specialist” shares the information. The final topic (Life in the camps) will be done in pairs or individually with the support of the teacher for those students who are struggling.

Once research and note taking is done, students meet in comic book groups to select topics of focus. Students will then organize their notes into a logical order for their selected topic only. They will then write a topic sentence and a summarizing paragraph on this topic only.


• None

Equity Strategies

• Gradual release of control • Continual teacher support for struggling students • Students grouped/paired strategically to allow for peer

support.

MLV and/or Documentation

Strategies

• Notes

Service-Learning or

Field Experiences

• None


Studio Habits Reflection journal Group note-taking job rotation chart

Part 3: Comic book (Six weeks)




• How do we tell a story using comic art?


The teacher and art teachers will present and teach methods of comic art on an ongoing basis. Such


Students will be practicing comic art strategies on a regular basis in art classes.

Once research is done, students will select a perspective from which they will tell the story of their area of focus.


Tools

Students will participate in a comic book cafe where they will share their comic books with parents and other community members. ?


topics will include:

*How to tell a story visually and breaking a story down into minimal frames

*Facial Expressions

*Gestures

*Using Words in Comics

Teacher and art teachers will teach how to storyboard.

They will need to communicate with the rest of the group on a regular basis to ensure there is continuity in their story and that their perspectives are introduced in the previous section. Students will participate in tableaus to help them fully embrace these perspectives.

They will begin to storyboard their comic book section using this perspective. Once approved, students will complete the final draft of their section of the comic book, which will later be bound with the other students’ sections.


• Comic book art • Tableaus

Equity Strategies

• Continual teacher support for struggling students • Students grouped/paired strategically to allow for peer

support. • Invitation to all families to Comic Book Café?

MLV and/or • Story boards

Documentation Strategies

• Comic books • Previous Gold Rush Comic Books

Service-Learning or

Field Experiences

• Possible comic artist coming in


None

Unit Resources List all books, teaching resources, field trip contacts, etc. used in this unit.

• Oakland museum website

• Scott McCloud. Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative: Norton and Company 2008 ISBN: 9780393331271

• Scott McCoud. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art: First Harper 1993 ISBN: 9780060976255

Documents

The Gold Rush TfU 2 - North Oakland Community Charter Gold Rush... · Unit Abstract Students will learn how gold was discovered in California, how the news traveled and how the Californian