The unit is based on a suburban school that is situated within 15 miles of a major city. It has a diverse population, with an even mix of White, African American, and Asian students. The majority of the students speak English, with a few exchange students that are English Language Learners. There is an even mix of male and female students within the school with approximately 18-25 students per classroom. A personal IPad is assigned to each student and the classrooms are supplied with both whiteboards and smart boards. Leadership for change, which is part of the eighth grade curriculum, will be the developing concept for the unit. The students are learning about leaders in history in both their language arts and social studies classes. This unit was chosen for the eighth graders because of their seniority within the school building. Its goal is to build positive leaders within the school’s student population; one that will set an example to younger students. This unit will start at the beginning of the school to build community within the grade and school. This unit was also selected for this group of students because of their close proximity to a city that is currently struggling with an increasing homelessness rate. The homeless rate in the city has doubled in the past two years with no sight of slowing down. The significance of a leadership unit is to show the impact that leaders have within a community or society and to help students develop a voice to lead change. Creating student-led inquiry to discover concepts about the attributes of effective leaders and questions about the reasons for homelessness will give them this voice and allow them to create real answers to real life issues that they can put into action. |
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What questions and concepts will your students be exploring together through reading, writing, speaking, and listening?
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How will your unit lead to a more just and equitable world?
Students will develop an awareness of how leaders change the world. This will develop a student’s voice to create change for current social issues. Students will see a variety of leadership qualities can be used to facilitate change. This unit will allow them to see everyone possesses leadership qualities and their own qualities can create a change. |
How will it prompt individual transformation, community engagement, and social change?
The students will develop an awareness of what successful leaders do and look like. They will make connections to those leaders and their own lives. Doing this will show students they possess similar qualities. Using a relevant topic like homelessness, students reflect and demonstrate how their own leadership qualities can be used to create change. Students will be given a lifelong experience that allows them to see how even someone like themselves can make a difference in the world. ies can be used to facilitate change. This unit will allow them to see everyone possesses leadership qualities and their own qualities can create a change. |
http://www.dpsdesign.org/what-we-create/los-alamos-middle-school