1. Professional Development January 5, 2015
Developing Thematic Units through
Discovery Education
Professional Development January 5, 2015
St. Elmo Elementary School
Facilitators: Cole and Munday

2. AGENDA Discovery Education Presentation
Developing Thematic Units through Discovery Education
Professional Training Session
January 5, 2015
Discovery Education Presentation
Planning Thematic Units using Discovery Education
Hands-On Practice/ Explore Resources

3. Discovery Education Discovery Education (Cole)
Username and password are logins and passwords for both teachers and students.

4. Thematic Units

5. What is a Thematic Unit?
Thematic instruction is a way of organizing your curriculum around a certain theme or concept that allows you to integrate other content-area standards within your selected theme.
*Themes are standard-driven
*Based on cross-curricular integration

6. Planning is essential for a successful thematic unit.
TIP: Planning Tools can help organize your thoughts and ideas surrounding your theme…
Planning is essential for a successful thematic unit.

7. Planning a Thematic Unit…
Step 1: Look at your standards first- specifically Science or Social Studies-to determine your theme. *Science *Social Studies English Language Arts Math * Can any of the standards be grouped together to form a theme?

8. Planning a Thematic Unit…
Step 2: Compare your Science and Social Studies standards for cross-curricular integration… look at other content areas for integration possibilities. Are there any standards that can be integrated into your theme? *Science English Language Arts *Social Studies Math

9. Planning a Thematic Unit…
Step 3: Look at your ELA standards to see which ones can be interwoven into your thematic unit. Science * English Language Arts Social Studies Math *Reading Informational Text: Since you have chosen a scientific theme or social studies related theme, ALL of the Reading Informational Text standards can be taught using nonfiction texts, hybrid texts, articles, brochures, diagrams, maps, internet, etc. *Reading Literature: Standards can be taught through various forms of fictional text focusing on the selected theme. (ex. trade books, poetry, diary/journal entries, etc.)

10. Planning a Thematic Unit…
Step 4: Think about possible activities, lessons, and resources to meet the selected standards you’ve chosen to teach *Reading Foundational Skills: ex. Choose meaningful vocabulary words, selected academic vocabulary words, fluency passages, on-level prose and poetry pertaining to your theme. (RF #20-21) *Writing: Choose meaningful tasks and/or writing prompts related to your theme. *Speaking and Listening: Speaking and listening opportunities can occur daily. Choose thoughtful tasks related to your theme.

11. Planning a Thematic Unit…
Thematic Units are meant to be engaging and fun… Step 5: *Incorporate projects and activities containing meaningful art and music opportunities while also reflecting elements of the CCRS.

12. Step 6: Gather your resources.
Planning a Thematic Unit…
Step 6: Gather your resources.
Think about what is readily available to you…
ALL teachers have access to:
-Book Room (multiple copies of levelized readers)
-Reading A to Z
-Science A to Z
-Writing A to Z
-ALEX Website (includes a variety of lessons)
-Big Universe (thousands of fiction and nonfiction book titles)
-Reading Street Materials- (“Sift” through and see if any basal stories
or leveled readers relate to your chosen theme.)
-Discovery Education and other online resources.

13. What is it I want my students to learn. Step 7: Map out your unit
What is it I want my students to learn? Step 7: Map out your unit. *Determine the length of your unit by mapping out a plan. (Is the “Time Span” appropriate for this unit?) *Develop your lesson plans using your Science, Social Studies, and ELA standards. Create lesson plans that flow from one day to the next. (Do the instructional objectives encourage higher-order thinking skills?) *Allow for learning checkpoints along the way. (Are my students learning? Do I need to make any changes?)

14. How will I know if learning is taking place. Step 8: Evaluation
How will I know if learning is taking place? Step 8: Evaluation *Performance rubrics, checklists, projects, conferences, journal writing, teacher observations, etc. *Assessments aligned to the CCRS.

15. Remember… Let the standards drive your unit. Have FUN with it!