The unit I am presenting is one that offers a brief overview about Eugenics and its direct influence on Education as we know it today. Assessing reading comprehension using an anti-eugenic approach is what I am presenting as an alternative to standardized testing in the classroom. My unit consists of teaching strategies that we can implement in the hopes of assessing less with standardized tests and introducing more individualized project based learning. This unit uses a middle school level novel Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes, but the content objectives, teaching strategies, and activities are applicable to any novel study. Students will work with making text to self and text to world connections. My goal is to develop a student’s desire to want to read more because they are reading for meaning. In this unit, students will have various opportunities to interact with the text and make meaningful connections using analytical skills. The unit also allows for student discourse and in best practice we know students learn best when they learn from each other through conversation and the healthy exchange of ideas. The lessons provide a framework for student discussion beyond the text on issues about racism, inequality and stereotypes.
(Developed for ELA Readers Workshop and ELA Writers Workshop, grades 7-8; recommended for ELA, grades 5-6, and Bilingual reading ELA and Social Studies, grades 5-8)
