Morgan Frye, M.Ed.

Master of Science in Education


Unit Planning for Wit & Wisdom



Table of Contents



Introduction
Overview of Wit & Wisdom
Using Essential Questions to Guide Instruction
Unit Planning with Thematic Units
Conclusion




Introduction





Unit Planning for Wit & Wisdom literacy curriculum



Unit planning for Wit & Wisdom is similar to that of long-term planning, the units in Wit & Wisdom are comprised of "modules" that each contain roughly thirty to thirty-two lessons in each. Unit planning helps teachers to understand the depth of each module and the standards that are to be taught in each one.


When teachers understand the material they are teaching and are thoroughly knowledgeable about the content, they are able to effectively teach students the material to ensure growth and mastery of standards occur. Unit planning is one way for teachers to gain significant knowledge of the the curriculum to understand content and benchmark goals for students.



Above is the online portal for Module (Unit) 2 of Wit & Wisdom, titled "Once Upon a Farm." This module centered around farm life, stories about farms, farm animals, and fictional texts/fairy tales that centered around animals generally found on farms (including the story of "The Three Little Pigs" and "The Little Red Hen."




Overview of Wit & Wisdom





What are the modules of the Wit & Wisdom Kindergarten curriculum?



The modules in the Wit & Wisdom Kindergarten curriculum include the Senses, Farm life, American history, and Geography. Each one of these modules has multiple lessons that align to Common Core standards for literacy. The lessons in each module are daily lessons that are comprised of whole group instruction, small group instruction, as well as a vocabulary deep dive and writing portion. The modules in the Kindergarten curriculum are different from that of the first and second grade Wit & Wisdom curriculums, and build off of each other as the Wit & Wisdom grows and develops with the students.



Above are the different modules (or units) for the Kindergarten Wit & Wisdom curriculum. The curriculums include The Five Senses, Once Upon a Farm, America: Then and Now, and The Continents. All of these modules have specific lessons that connect to social studies and science.



Above is a module map for Module 3 in Wit & Wisdom. This unit is all about American history. While Module 2 focuses more on incorporating science into the curriculum, Module 3 focuses more on incorporating social studies with history.




Using Essential Questions to Guide Wit & Wisdom





What are the essential questions? What are other guided questions?



Essential questions in Wit & Wisdom are questions that are posed throughout the entire module and are posed with the introduction of each new text. The essential question for the first module, for example, is "how do our senses help us learn?" Each module has a guiding essential question, as well as other various questions that are posed to correspond more directly to the text or concept being discussed in that particular lesson. These questions fit into Unit Planning well, as they are guiding for the Unit Plan as a way to see where students needs be and what they need to know throughout the modules.



Above are the questions associated with Lesson 2 in Wit & Wisdom Module 2. These questions include the essential question, focusing question, content framing question, and craft question. These questions are different throughout different lessons and different modules, and their goal is to ensure that students have a framework in which to guide their thinking during instruction and reading.



Above is the essential question for the whole unit in Module 2. While the focusing questions, content framing questions, and craft questions are all different, the essential question stays the same. The questions give guidance for teachers to frame instruction for the whole unit.



Above is the focusing question for a lesson in Module 2. This focusing question discussed characters and how authors create them. Planning out the unit with these questions in mind helps teachers ensure that students can answer these questions with the instruction that they have.



The content framing questions, like the one above, are all different. The content framing questions provide a more focused question to frame instruction around for student comprehension. Teachers can use these questions to guide instruction throughout the units.




Unit Planning with Thematic Units





How do thematic units aid in instruction?



While Wit & Wisdom is a complete curriculum, it is up to the teacher to ensure that the units are engaging for our youngest learners. Since Wit & Wisdom uses thematic modules to guide instruction, it becomes easy for me to ensure that there are different activities themed to the module to keep students engaged. For example, the first unit of Wit & Wisdom was about the senses, and there were several different learning activities that students engaged with throughout the unit to keep interest high, including games, drawings, activities, etc.



Above is a picture taken from the book, "My Five Senses." The theme of this book (and Module 1) is the senses. Having themes for the modules allows for students to gain a better understanding of the material through a variety of texts. In unit planning, I ensure that I go through each text and add sticky note questions that are framed by the module's guiding questions.



Above is another book that was covered in the first module, "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom." This book was used as a read aloud and the guiding questions ensured that students were thinking about the text in relation to their senses.



This anchor chart from the first module was in regard to the text, "The Last Stop on Market Street." In the text, the main character uses his senses to explore the world around him. This fit into the theme of the unit by ensuring that students were focusing on their senses and the senses of others. Planning for these units involves making anchor charts for students to fill in later.



Above is another anchor chart from the first module that focused on the five senses. This anchor chart was introduced during the read aloud of "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and the students were engaged when thinking about palm trees and sand. In my planning, we prepped for students touching the sand table to gain a better understanding of sand and where coconut trees grow.




Conclusion





How does Unit Planning fit into other planning strategies?



Unit Planning fits into planning as more detailed version of a long-term plan and as an overarching guide to lesson plans. Unit Planning allows for me to ensure that the lessons for Wit & Wisdom are being implemented with fidelity and that we stay on task for the week. Ensuring that students are mastering all standards and content that was taught for a particular week keeps the pace for the curriculum and allows for me to see the whole thematic unit and create lesson plans from it.