curriculum assignment

Hi Folks,
Venus indicated that some of you had expressed uncertainty about your curriculum projects and about what you should prepare to present here at USC on September 18-19. We talked about this at the orientation and on the journey, but here is a bit more *in writing*. I apologize that we didn't give you this previously.

CURRICULUM PROJECTS

While you were encouraged to brainstorm with and collaborate with other participants, each of you must prepare these materials separately for your specific teaching situation.

1. Your curriculum projects MUST include information and materials from the study tour. You are not limited, though, to materials/ideas gathered during the tour.

2. Your curriculum projects MUST be designed to be used this year, in one or more of the classes you are teaching. That is, they should be designed for real world use, with the students you will be working with.

3. The lessons should cover 3-5 days of instruction. These not be consecutive days. For example, perhaps you'd do something on aging one day in October, something on imperialism one day in January, and something on architecture and state power one day in May. Or perhaps you'll have a one week unit on Taiwan or on early China. These are all acceptable, but your detailed lesson plans must cover a minimum of three days of classes.

You are encouraged, but not required, to create lessons that will help your students meet the California educational standards (http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=2073). You are also encouraged to incorporate the Internet into your lessons, either in the research assigned, activities employed, or presentation of conclusions. You may wish to put draft versions of your lesson plan on the discussion forum to secure feedback from your colleagues.

Your multi-lesson curriculum project should include the following components:

a. A rationale for the proposed unit
Explain how and where the unit fits into your course. What skills and/or content will your students have prior to the unit and what will they be ready to tackle?

Include a statement about how your participation in the trip influenced the lesson in its design, content, focus, or ?

b. Skill and content objectives
Refer to the CA and NCHS world history standards or the CA language arts standards (teachers completing the seminar at USC have this in the “Reference” section of your seminar binder) and identify which of these is addressed by your lesson plans.

c. Detailed lesson plan
Include specific lesson objectives, class and individual activities, and materials to be used. Provide discussion-launching questions, vocabulary terms, maps, questions to guide reading, and other procedural tips. Include copies of textbook readings, draft handouts, or other materials. Be sure to provide complete citations for the materials you include.

There are a wide variety of teaching guides you may consult for activity suggestions, and many primary source materials are available from the USCI website. You are encouraged to use music, film, and the web as part of your lessons.

As a supplement to your lessons, please consider whether your location and budget might permit class trips to museums, temples, or ethnic commercial districts into your unit (don't neglect the possibility of virtual trips to museums and other sites).

d. A plan for assessing student achievement
Describe culminating activities, projects, or other tasks which will permit students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have acquired.

Optional
Discuss possible extracurricular extensions of this unit (e.g., Model UN, world music/film club, etc.)

SUBMISSION: You must submit hard copy versions of your unit (including photocopied readings, etc. to Venus (USC US-China Institute, 3535 S. Figueroa St. FIG 202, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1262) by September 15. You must also submit an electronic copy of the materials you create (e.g., lesson plans, handouts, etc.), though not textbook and other readings at the same time. Please submit these on a cd-rom with the hard copies.

PRESENTATIONS

We'll share these units during the follow-up weekend. You may choose to present your unit in tandem with other members of your curriculum group. Or you may go solo in presenting your unit.

Individual presentations can be 3-7 minutes in length. Group presentations may not be longer than 5 minutes per presenter. DO NOT EXCEED the time limit. This means you can't actually "teach" the lessons. Instead, you should tell us about:

-- the reason you chose to focus on this particular topic
-- the target audience for the lessons (grade, subject, skill level, etc.)
-- your goals for the lessons (what knowledge you want your students to acquire and which skills you want them to develop)
-- what materials and methods will you use (e.g., images, readings, activities)
-- how the trip influenced this set of lessons (did it cause you to chose the topic, what did it allow you to do that you couldn't otherwise have done, what did it allow you to do better)

[Edit by="Clay Dube on Sep 10, 7:25:21 PM"][/Edit]