Standards: My unit on the changing landscape of West Philadelphia will address standards in social studies and literacy.

NCSS Social Studies Standards: ii. Time, Continuity, and Change iii. People, Places, and Environments v. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions viii. Science, Technology, and Society ix. Global Connections Pennsylvania Common Core State Standards for Third Quarter: E03.B-K.1.1 Demonstrate understanding of key ideas and details in informational texts. E03.B-K.1.1.3: Describe the relationship between a series of historical eventsusing language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect. E03.C.1.1: Write opinion pieces on topicssupporting a point of view with reason. E03.B.-C.3.1.3. Use information gained from illustrations, maps, photographs, and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding o the text (e.g. where, when why, and how key events occur). E03.C.1.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reason. E03.C.1.1.1 Introduce the topic or text for the intended audience, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons to support the writers purpose. Students will be able to write an introduction for opinion pieces that clearly state their preferences and supply the reasoning for their thinking. E03.C.1.1.2 Provide reasons that support the opinion. Students will be able to understand how their reasoning supports their opinion. E03.C.1.1.4 Provide a concluding statement or section.

Curriculum Materials: -Chart paper and markers -Brainstorming handouts -Historical, cultural, and demographic information on West Philadelphia -Maps that get increasingly specific to our unit: world, US, PA, Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, as well as historical maps of Philadelphia -Timeline base and cards -Read-Aloud texts: A Little House by Virginia Lee Burton and A Street Through Time: A 12,000-Year Walk Through History by DK Publishers & Illustrated by Steve Noon

Knowledge of Students and Context: -My students all live in West Philadelphia they go to Penn Alexander, a public school in the neighborhood so they are required to live in the catchment area. This means they are familiar with the area the park, the coffee shops, the community centers, the schools, the restaurants, etc. However, my students may not know about the history of their area, and how it has changed over time As this is their own neighborhood, I believe will be excited to learn more about it. They could get ideas as they go to and from school and could talk to their families about what places are important to them.

What

Lesson How

Why
Theories of Teaching and Learning: -My teaching should be relevant to my students lives. If students feel a connection with what they are learning, they will be more likely to be engaged and excited about learning. -Oakes and Lipton in "Instruction and Assessment: Classrooms as Learning Communities," said that one of the three characteristics of teaching that "promoted authenticity and high intellectual quality in classrooms" was that "teachers ensure that what students were learning had value or meaning beyond school" (Oakes & Lipton, 193). - As Grant Wiggins states in "Educative Assessment: A Vision," "[s]tudents in the classroom [should be] enabled to see what adults really are called on to do with their knowledge... that genuine performance is more than drill work that develops discrete knowledge and skill" (Wiggins, 18).

Teaching Methods: -Literacy will be integrated through writing an argument piece that asks students to evaluate the importance of a park in their neighborhood, and whether or not a mall should be built over it with stores they had previously stated they wished they had nearby. I will scaffold the writing of this paper by first introducing other argument pieces so that students can see what an argument piece looks like and how it is structures. We will then create an argument piece as a class and form a checklist of aspects not to be forgotten for when they work individually. Finally, I will conference with students about their pieces individually and they will type the final product. -Social Studies will be integrated in my unit as we use various methods to learn about the history of West Philadelphia and how and why it has changed over time. We will use maps, primary source documents like letters and journals, and ultimately create a Historians Notebook of West Philadelphia.

Educational Philosophy and Beliefs The first lesson I taught my third grade class at the beginning of the year was about community. I used a speech that Obama gave about acknowledging the people who help in your personal success. I, along with my classroom mentor, have tried to build a community of learners in my classroom where students understand that helping their peers and working hard as an individual is important for the success of the entire class. I think that if students feel a sense of community in their class and are comfortable asking their peers for help or making a mistake, everyone will learn better and be more engaged.