Unit planning is the main focus of both courses and practicum in PSII. During this semester, I went from not knowing where to start when it came to unit planning, to creating an extensive and extremely effective unit plan that I was able to teach in its entirety to my Grade 8 English class. I am extremely proud of this unit and all of the work that I put into it. I had a wonderful time teaching it, and my Grade 8's really enjoyed learning and growing throughout it as we read and studied the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry. While I myself thought that my planning and delivery of this unit was effective, I was humbled to learn that my mentor teacher in PSII said that the teaching of this unit gave her class "a part of their Grade 8 education." I consider this an incredible compliment and it confirms that this unit was well planned, thought out and delivered. Below is the attached unit plan which includes a unit overview, unit rationale, unit learning outcomes, general and specific outcomes that were met, an assessment and evaluation plan, reflection after the completion of the unit, and a unit calendar that outlines the individual lessons that were taught.
Below is a unit plan that I created for my PSIII Internship. It is for Topic D: Hearing and Sound that is a part of the Grade 3 Science curriculum. I put an incredible amount of work, time, and effort into this plan and I was able to deliver it without having to make too many changes along the way. It was incredibly valuable to put in lots of work and detail beforehand, so that when it came to making my lesson plans, most of my work was already done. As I delivered this unit, I constantly wanted to make my teaching better, as I do with every unit that I teach, so I found myself making minor changes to certain activities and assessments to improve student learning, engagement, and understanding. Not all of these changes are included in this unit plan, which reflects the constant improvement and change that teacher's planning goes through over time.