Before it’s time to officially unwind for summer, Jennifer Berry (@mrsjmberry) always makes sure the long-term schemes of work are complete for the up-and-coming school year. After nearly 15 years of teaching, Berry likes to start with the big picture to see how everything fits together leaving wiggle room for assignments, projects, and lessons depending on the cohort sitting in front of her. Sometimes the long term plans work, sometimes they don’t – what we learn as teachers is that reflection and redirection is not just for the students in our classroom.
Most of us know that the long-term scheme of work is a crucial planning element needed before the school year begins for a few reasons: In a big department, you have to align texts or pacing with other teachers, you may need to request certain texts, and most importantly, you probably need to have an idea of where you are going if you are going to keep your head above the water. Let’s face it – after the past two years, we have all been fighting to keep afloat.
The day to day teaching is impacted so significantly by reflection: did the students get it? Do they need more time with a chapter or a concept? Do they need an extension because they thrived with a certain skill? It’s a challenge to plan for these specific details – but this is what we do as classroom and co-teachers – with a solid long-term scheme of work, the big picture doesn’t feel so overwhelming and your pacing is a lot easier to keep track of once you get going.
Next year, Berry will be teaching Honors English 10 in her district for the fifth year. Each year, things have changed. Texts have differed, writing assessments have been modified, units have been added or subtracted, but as the years have progressed, Berry feels as though she has improved and offered her students her best.
Over the course of Berry’s time teaching, the way in which you plan a year has changed. Initially, we planned based on what text we knew that we had to teach. A few years ago, Barry’s district introduced “Big Ideas” and “Essential Questions” to the curriculum mapping process. Being part of a small school and being the only 10th grade English teacher, this was an interesting addition to the way in which Berry thought about units. While she knows she is teaching short stories followed by The Great Gatsby, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Death of a Salesman, Things Fall Apart, and Julius Caesar, there are so many other things that are going to play a part in how these units are taught and how they fit together.
Here’s the first unit: Unit 1 Short Stories
Big Idea: Character Voice and Author Choice
Essential Questions:
- What makes a voice?
- How does plot structure influence reader engagement?
- What is the point of view of your main character/characters?
- How does setting and description impact mood and tone?
- How do various themes impact the reader’s interpretation of the story?
- “Artist of the Beautiful” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- “A + P” by John Updike
- “Araby” by James Joyce
- “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara
- “The Lottery” by by Shirley Jackson
Berry follows this pattern for all of her units, ensuring standards are met and divided up throughout the year and students have the opportunity to read, write, speak, and think in different and challenging ways. This doesn’t take a lot of time, but is a great way to close out a school year and begin thinking about a new one!
Have you planned your main units yet? Do you start with the texts you are teaching or the thematic questions you want your students to grasp? Whichever way works for you, get those ideas down and step away from units for a few weeks if you can in the summer. Recharge and refresh – it’ll make things a lot easier in the fall.
