Understanding By Design Unit

Title of Unit
Curriculum Area
Developed By

Edgar Allan Poe

English
Hillary Huebner, Rj Roberts, Nicole Schmidt

Grade Level
Time Frame

11th grade
45 minutes

Engineering (Stage 1)
Content Standards
RL.1112.2Determinetwoormorethemesorcentralideasofatextandanalyzetheirdevelopmentoverthecourseofthetext,includinghowtheyinteractandbuildon
oneanothertoproduceacomplexaccount;provideanobjectivesummaryofthetext.

Understandings
Overarching Understanding
1. Knowing the symbolism used by Poe
2. Connecting Poes life to his work
3. Identifying themes in Poes work

Essential Questions
Overarching

Name some symbolism

Poe uses in his works
Make connections
between his life and his
works

Related Misconceptions
The students could confuse different works of Poe with each other
because they all have a darker background

Knowledge

Skills

Students will know

Students will be able to

The symbolism Poe uses in his work

How his life influenced his writing
The common themes used in Poes writing

To attempt to understand Poe

Presenters, Peers, Critics
Their peers

Have students identify

themes of The Tell Tale
Heart, The Raven,
Annabel Lee, The Bells,
The Conqueror Worm,
The Pit and the
Pendulum.

Name the symbolism Poe uses in his works

Make connections between his life and his works
Identify themes of Poes works

Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)

Performance Task Description
Goal
Role
Audience

Topical

Situation
Product/Performan
ce
Standards

Learning about Poe

Skit, Graphic Organizers, Presentations, Analogies, Group Discussions, Foldable for Vocabulary
RL.1112.2Determinetwoormorethemesorcentralideasofatextandanalyzetheirdevelopmentoverthecourseofthetext,including
howtheyinteractandbuildononeanothertoproduceacomplexaccount;provideanobjectivesummaryofthetext.

Other Evidence
Participation, Graphic Organizer, Performance of Skit

Learning Plan (Stage 3)

Where are your students headed? Where
have they been? How will you make sure
the students know where they are going?
How will you hook students at the
beginning of the unit?
What events will help students experience
and explore the big idea and questions in
the unit? How will you equip them with
needed skills and knowledge?
How will you cause students to reflect and
rethink? How will you guide them in
rehearsing, revising, and refining their
work?
How will you help students to exhibit and
self-evaluate their growing skills,
knowledge, and understanding throughout
the unit?
How will you tailor and otherwise
personalize the learning plan to optimize
the engagement and effectiveness of ALL
students, without compromising the goals
of the unit?
How will you organize and sequence the
learning activities to optimize the
engagement and achievement of ALL
students?

They heading to 12th grade and they are currently in 11th grade. I will set class and
individual goals for the students.
A quote from Tell Tale Heart
Skits, Graphic Organizers, Presentations, Analogies, Group Discussions, Foldable for
Vocabulary
Know and recalling the symbolism and themes of his work, and by making
connections back to his life
By doing exit slips daily and by doing reflections on their presentations

I could try to incorporate all the different learning styles. For visual, I would model in
the information. For social, I would have them work in groups on their Presentations.
For kinesthetic, it would be performing the skits.
I would use multiple strategies with the students so that they get a variety.

From: Wiggins, Grant and J. Mc Tighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (ppk)