Running Header: PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project 1: Topic Overview

Robin Henderson
Dr. Kathy Milhauser
Post University EDU 625
July 8, 2016

Project 1: Topic Overview

Rhode Island School for the Deaf currently uses the National Geographic Reach for
Reading curriculum, a Common Core K-5 reading program that features authentic, multicultural
literary texts with exclusive National Geographic informational texts and content.(Reachfor
Reading,n.d.)
InordertomeetthediverseneedsofthestudentsatRhodeIslandSchoolfortheDeaf,
teachersmodifythecurriculumtoallowandfacilitatelanguagelearningopportunitiesby
creatingthematicunitsusingthematerialsprovidedbyReachforReading.Thetopicchosenfor
thisprojectusesastoryandconceptsthatarepartofaninstructionalunittheReachforReading
curriculum.
Topic:
Thetopicfortheintegratedlearningandtechnologyprojectwillbebasedonathematic
unitbuiltaroundthestoryTheAntandtheGrasshopper.TheAntandtheGrasshopperisa
storythatispresentedwithintheReachforReadingcurriculumthatincorporatesscience,
readingandvocabularydevelopment.
Audience:
Theaudienceforthisprojectisanelementaryclassroom,gradeonethroughgradethree.
Theclassroomconsistsoffivestudentsages6to11.Theeducationalexperienceofthestudents
isdiverse.AllofthestudentsintheclassroomareDeaf,andarelearningEnglishasasecond
languagethroughAmericanSignLanguage.Oneofthefivestudentsisperformingatgrade
level(thegradeonestudent).ThreeofthefivestudentsareDeafwithadditionalneeds(dyslexia,
ADHD,workingmemorychallenges,etc).Onestudentoutoffiverecentlyimmigratedtothe

Project 1: Topic Overview

UnitedStatesattenyearsoldwithnopriorhistoryofschoolingandnoevidenceofanyspoken
language,formalsignlanguage,orwrittenlanguageineitherEnglishorSpanish.
Rationale:
ThisprojectwillbebasedonathematicunitcenteringaroundthestoryTheAntandthe
GrasshoppertakenfromtheReachforReadingcurriculum.Athematicunitisthe
organizationofacurriculumaroundacentraltheme.Inotherwords,it'saseriesoflessonsthat
integratesubjectsacrossthecurriculum,suchasmath,reading,socialstudies,science,language
arts,etc.thatalltieintothemainthemeoftheunit.(Cox,n.d.)
Traditionally,EnglishasaSecondLanguage(ESL)classesfocusonproducingstudents
whodevelopfunctionalcommunicationandliteracyskills.ESLstudentsusuallyreadshort
storieswrittenexclusivelyforEnglishlearners.Thenatureofreadingandwritingtasksin
traditionalESLclassesisshort,controlled,contrived,andwatereddown,andstudentlearningis
isolatedfromthegeneraleducationcurriculumcontent.Thisresultsinadisjointed,superficial,
andinauthenticcurriculum.(Brown,1999)
WhileRhodeIslandSchoolfortheDeafisnottechnicallyanESLschool,thestudents
learnEnglish(theirsecondlanguage)throughAmericanSignLanguage(theirfirstlanguage).A
thematicapproachtoinstruction,whichintegrateslanguageinstructionwithcontentareas,can
meetboththelinguisticandacademicneedsofEnglishlearners.(Brown,1999)
Additionally,thematicunitsdifferinthewaycontentispresented.Ratherthanteaching
contentinisolation,subjectareasareintegratedintoonebroadtopicthatchildrencanexplore
naturally.Thenaturalscaffoldingopportunitiesfosterstudentengagementandallowteachersto
focusonindividuallearningneeds.(Jordan,2013)

Project 1: Topic Overview

Subtopics:
Thefollowingsubtopicswillbecombinedtocreatethethematicunit:
Classifywords/vocabularydevelopmentInorderforEnglishlanguagelearnersto
understandnewliterature,vocabularydevelopmentandbuildingbackgroundknowledge

isessential.
Literacy/ReadingComprehensionAskandanswerquestionsrelatedtothestory.
CCSS.ELALITERACY.RL.1.3("EnglishLanguageArtsStandardsReading:

LiteratureGrade1,"n.d.)
SummarizingSummarizingthekeypointsofthestorywillbuildexpressivelanguage
anddemonstratecomprehensionaswellasaddresscommoncorestandards.(Example
CCSS.ELALITERACY.RL.1.2("EnglishLanguageArtsStandardsReading:

LiteratureGrade1,"n.d.)
Science/insectextensionCompareandcontrastthefunctionsandfeaturesofantsand
grasshoppers.
ThestoryTheAntandtheGrasshopperisagradelevelstoryborrowedfromanapproved
commoncoretextbook.Thesubtopicslistedaddressthelinguisticneeds(vocabulary
development)andacademicneeds(literaryelements,science)ofthestudents.

Project 1: Topic Overview

References
Brown, C. L. (1999). Content-Based College ESL Instruction. Academic Exchange Quarterly.
doi:10.4324/9781410603081
Cox, J. (n.d.). What is a Thematic Unit? Retrieved July 8, 2016, from
http://k6educators.about.com/od/Components/f/What-Is-A-Thematic-Unit.htm
English Language Arts Standards Reading: Literature Grade 1. (n.d.). Retrieved July 9, 2016, from
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/1/
Jordan, B. (2013, March 04). Using Thematic Units for English Language Development (ELD).
Retrieved July 8, 2016, from http://www.reallygoodstuff.com/community/using-thematic-unitsfor-english-language-development/
Reach for Reading (National Geographic). (n.d.). Retrieved July 8, 2016, from
http://www.doe.in.gov/ccr/reach-reading-national-geographic
Vogt, M. (n.d.). Cross-Curricular Thematic Instruction. Retrieved July 8, 2016, from
https://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/vogt.html

Project 1: Topic Overview