Planning For Learning

Overview

The following sample unit plans are intended to give a suggested overview as to how a subject department and individual teachers may schedule their academic year with First Year students using Touchstones 1. Three options have been generated for teachers to engage with. These are: genre-based units of learning learning-focused units of learning a mixture of genre-based and learning-focused units of learning In the first instance, unit plans have been developed for teachers to use on an individual basis. After the individual unit plans, you will find three suggested subject department plans. These have been designed to give a recommended outline of how a department might collaborate to plan for learning. These department plans are intended to complement the detailed unit plans. Teachers may decide to take a solely genre-based approach, a learning-focused approach or use a mixture of genre-based and learning-focused plans. All units have been designed working directly from the learning outcomes specified for First Year, whilst also balancing the text study demands as outlined in the specification. Blank templates have also been provided should you and/or your department decide to chart your own course through Touchstones 1. Rationale, learning outcomes and key learning in focus Often the hardest question to answer when selecting learning outcomes is… where to start? Quite often the easiest and most appropriate answer is to select learning outcomes that reflect where students currently are in their learning, i.e. base your learning outcome selection on their prior knowledge. The plan for each unit of learning given here provides a rationale for why the particular learning outcomes for this unit have been chosen. As learning outcomes are for three years and your students are at the very start, specific learning for that unit has been identified. Priority has been given in both the design of the book and subsequent planning to the twenty-two circled learning outcomes identified for First Year students in the Junior Cycle English specification – see curriculumonline.ie. Each unit also has a suggested learning intention. The book takes the approach of using one broad learning intention for students and teachers to apply across the whole unit, to help students stay focused on what it is they are learning to do. If you are designing your endof-year exams, these learning intentions may serve as appropriate section headings, around which to create tasks for your students.©The Educational Company of Ireland

Ideas for ongoing assessment

As with any effective assessment practice, it is helpful to start with the end in mind. At the close of each unit, you will find a suggested end-of-unit assessment, created to have a balanced mix of questions assessing oral language, reading and writing skills, and knowledge. Suggested formative assessment practices have also been included for use across individual units. Complementing this, ideas for formative assessment approaches that are used in activities across the textbook have been captured in the individual unit plans. Texts students engage with The text requirements for First Year state that students must engage with: a studied novel, with on-going, sustained reading of novels throughout the year a variety of drama extracts to suit appropriate learning outcomes a variety of non-literary texts, including texts in oral format a number of short stories at least ten poems Simply by engaging with Touchstones 1, students and teachers will meet these requirements and more. The greater challenge will be deciding which texts not to engage with. In the case of the studied novel, you will find a specific unit of learning in the learningfocused units to assist you in your engagement with the novel. SPaG, vocabulary development and scaffolding Whilst the textbook does contain a specific SPaG section, developing student proficiency in these areas has been spread across the textbook. You will notice that each unit of learning also comes with suggested words and terms for vocabulary development. Both new literary terms and potentially difficult words are highlighted to support students at the time of learning. These challenging words may also be used to make testing, knowledge organisers and re-teaching activities easier for teachers. Finally, suggested scaffolding activities from the textbook have been specified in the unit plans for the convenience of the teacher. Teacher and depar tment reflection The greatest factor to consider when selecting learning outcomes is to have a sense of where students are currently at in their learning. Space has been provided at the end of each unit for teachers to capture their thoughts on how well student learning progressed. The reflections captured here may help your decision on what you need to re-teach, what areas need additional discussion at departmental level, what needs to be further assessed and/or what learning outcomes might best support students later in First Year or indeed when they return in Second Year. Linear or non-linear approach The planning-for-learning approach for Touchstones 1 was designed to be as flexible as possible for teachers to use. You may wish to start on page one and work your way through the textbook using the genre-based approach. You may also decide to select various learning-focused units and plot your own way through the textbook with your students.©The Educational Company of Ireland And of course, there is an approach somewhere in between. It’s hoped you find the plans that follow supportive of your teaching choices.