820: Thematic Unit Final Project

The University of Kansas

Alexis Lipson
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The thematic unit presented within this project is based upon a seventh grade class of

Ukrainian scholars located in Ukraine. There are 15 scholars, approximately 12-13 years old,

that have been taking English as a second language for a few years and are a mix of low and

high intermediate level English learners. I chose this future class as I will possibly be serving

such a class come August. As a Community Youth Worker, I will be teaching civics classes and

leading after school clubs. This unit is based on a potential civics course and focuses on the

similarities and differences between the Ukrainian and United States governments. This would

be taught at the beginning of a school year as an introduction to a course aimed at increasing

the communitys civic health as well as providing a cultural exchange between myself and my

scholars. I was unable to locate Ukrainian language or civic standards, although I am sure the

training provided once in country from the Peace Corps would include these standards, so I

chose to use the standards presented by the ELPA (English Language Proficiency Assessment for

the 21st Century, 2014).

This population is in a rural village in the Ukraine, where Peace Corps volunteers are

typically assigned. Typically, small villages such as this one in Ukraine are facing an economic

downturn. A good number of these students are likely living in poverty and sometimes

expected to assist the family by bringing in extra income. This can hinder learning as students

are unable to spend time outside of the classroom in clubs or studying.

When determining the specific lessons to be presented, I had to take into consideration

recent events in Ukrainian history. In 2014, Russia annexed a part of Ukraine known as Crimea.

While condemned by the Western powers and not formally recognized by Ukraines

government, this event has had a lasting impact. It was the culmination of a rather violent
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revolution that came about due to years of government corruption, lack of economic growth,

and various other issues (W., 2014). During the 2000s, the Ukrainian government showed

interest and made moves that brought it very close to joining the European Union. In the last

minute, President Yanukovych refused to sign the agreement and sparked a wave of protests.

The protests were quickly responded to by Ukrainian security services, but this only enraged

them further, leading to the violent revolution in February of 2014, known as Euromaiden or

European Square, because of its location around Kievs main square. This unrest was followed

by an uprising of a pro-Russian separatists which eventually led to the annexation of Crimea

by Russia (Kramer, 2013).

Peace Corps Volunteers were removed from Ukraine due to the instability in 2014, but

have since returned (Goncharova, 2015). Undoubtedly, scholars across Ukraine were affected

by these events and engaging students civically will take tact and patience. While the United

States government is seen on corrupt on some levels, it is not to the same level Ukrainians have

learned to view their own government. Just three years ago, these scholars were likely

watching news stories showing citizens being gunned down in the street by a militarized police

force due to their civic engagement. I believe easing students into the idea of being involved in

their governments processes is the best path to take (Afineevsky, 2015).

The first lesson presented was chosen so that scholars are introduced to new English

vocabulary while still feeling some ownership over the information being discussed. We begin

the lesson by splitting into groups of 2-3 scholars based on word cards they receive upon

entering the classroom. The words will be based on the specialized vocabulary listed in the

SIOP lesson plan, which will prepare them for the content to come in the body of the lesson.
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The groups will be a mix of low and high intermediate scholars so that knowledge and skills are

spread out amongst different groups. The goal will be to predict a definition of the word

provided. The class will join together after a few minutes spent on this activity and each group

will present their definition. If the rest of the class agrees, we will add this word and the

definition to the word wall.

Following our word wall activity, I will utilize the scholars prior knowledge of their own

government. We will fill in blanks on a graphic organizer. The graphic organizer will be created

with low intermediate level scholars in mind, leaving only key words blank but giving enough

hints and context clues to provide extra assistance. I will also, at the front of the classroom, be

filling out a larger version of the same graphic organizer so scholars can see the word written

while hearing them pronounced. We will use this time to discuss the three different branches of

the Ukrainian government and what each of those branches look like individually. This will

include discussing how members of each branch are either elected or appointed to their

positions. This use of the scholars knowledge about their own country will give them

ownership, piquing their interest in the other two lessons present in this unit.

The final activity in the lesson will be for the class to return to their original groups and

create individual exit tickets as they discuss any new information that surprised them or new

words with which they are having trouble. Based on these exit tickets, I will assess which

scholars are having trouble grasping the new vocabulary. We will do a classroom activity in

which we create flash cards one side will show the word written in English, the other will be

an illustration the scholar creates to assist with remembering what the word means. I will pull
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out scholars that had more trouble with the vocabulary and do this as a group activity with

them so that I can provide them with more assistance.

The second lesson will follow a similar format as the first so that there is continuity, as

the United States government is not formatted very differently from that of Ukraine. The class

will start with an individual vocabulary matching activity in which students will receive to

baggies of index cards one set will have the new vocabulary and the other set will have the

definition. We will go over these as a class after a few minutes of individual work. At this point,

we will pull out the first lessons graphic organizers and students will receive a second

organizer, this time based on the United States government. As a class, we will predict what

words blanks will be the same. Following our predictions, I will show the class a School House

Rock video, Three Ring Government. I will play a version with captions, as students may need

these to follow the quick lyrics. We will then discuss as a class what predictions we got right and

fill in any other information necessary.

At the end of the lesson, we will again return to our original word wall groups and go

through the same exit ticket process as we did during lesson one, this time also focusing on

the aspects of American government that were confusing. We will also again create flash cards,

with those struggling again being pulled out into a focus group where we can work on the

vocabulary together.

The final lesson will continue to utilize the same groups we began with during lesson

one, this time the students will be compiling what they have learned and choosing one branch

of government to compare between the two countries. They will be provided with materials to
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create a short 3-5 minute presentation about the knowledge they have gained, but they will

also have the opportunity to do some extra research, either to add to their presentations or

confirm what they have already learned. I will use a group presentation rubric to assess the

students as well as another exit ticket, this time done individually. If some scholars are still

struggling, I will set aside time during another class period to do a focus group where we work

through some more matching activities and discussion about the material presented.

This 3-lesson unit serves as a basic introduction to government for the students, easing

them into the idea of understanding the processes and systems in place. It will also introduce

the United States government, giving them something to compare their own government to as

well as begin to understand more when they see news about the United States government.
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SIOP Lesson One Outline

Grade/Class/Subject 7th Grade/ESL/Civics class is split between low/high intermediate English

level

Unit Theme: Ukrainian Govt. vs. USA Govt.

Standards: ELPA Grade 7: Standard 1: An ELL can construct meaning from oral presentations and
literary and informational text through grade appropriate listening, reading, and viewing.
ELPA Grade 7: Standard 2: An ELL can participate in grade appropriate oral and written exchanges
of information, ideas, and analyses, responding to peer, audience, or reader comments and
questions.

Lesson Objectives:
Content Knowledge: By the end of the lesson, ESOLs will:
1. Define republic.
2. Identify the three branches of the Ukrainian government.
3. Recall history of Ukrainian government.

Language Objectives: By the end of the lesson, ESOLs will demonstrate increasing proficiency in
the performance of the following functions and their forms:

Form
Function
(grammatical term and/or example, eg. Past
(in ing form, eg. Retelling a story )
Tense: The boy went to see his grandfather;)
1) Retelling history. Past tense: The current Ukrainian constitution
was adopted in 1996.

2) Discussing. Present tense: The Constitutional Court has 18

members.

3) Differentiating. Compare/Contrast: The members of the

Judiciary branch are appointed, but the
Legislative branch are elected.
Vocabulary Objectives: By the end of the lesson, ESOLs will demonstrate an understanding of
the following vocabulary words:

Content Vocabulary Academic Vocabulary Cohesion Words

(vocabulary that may need to be taught
(new vocabulary to be explicitly taught
or emphasized that is critical to
that is critical to an understanding of the
participation in academic tasks, such as
content) categorize, list, describe)
(vocabulary that may need to be taught
or emphasized that link concepts in
meaningful ways, such as conjunctions
and time markers)

Constitution Illustrate But

Court Discuss Years
Judiciary Compare Total
Legislative Contrast Before
Executive Explain Until
Republic
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Represent
Unicameral
Elect
Appoint

Special Cross-Cultural Considerations for ESOLs: Part of Ukraine was recently annexed by
Russia. The Ukrainian government does not recognize this annexation. There was also a revolution
in 2014, which resulted in the ousting of Ukrainian President Yanukovych. This revolution turned
extremely violent, with protestors being gunned down in the streets surrounding the capitol.
Scholars may be wary of civic engagement due to these recent events.
Materials: Cards for word wall, prepared word wall in classroom, Ukrainian government graphic
organizer for each student, graphic organizer for front of room (if whiteboard/chalkboard is available
use that, or use butcher paper), index cards for exit ticket
Lesson Sequence (This may be adjusted as necessary to accommodate unique lesson plan
features)

MOTIVATION: (Describe how you will build background and the specific strategies that you will use
to ensure the participation of ESOLs.)
Upon entering the classroom, scholars will receive a word that will eventually be placed on the word
wall. They will find the other 2-3 scholars with the same word and discuss within their groups what
they believe the definition of that word to be. Since we have not discussed these words previously,
the scholars are not expected to know the correct answer. This activity will serve as an assessment
to determine prior knowledge and to pique their interest in the upcoming lesson. One scholar from
each group will present the definition they create, and if the class agrees, we will add this
word/definition to the word wall. If not, we will discuss other possible definitions until there is
agreement. Will mix low and high intermediate students so that knowledge is spread out amongst
groups.

PRESENTATION: (Describe the specific techniques you will use to make your presentation of new
material comprehensible to ESOLs, to provide opportunities for interaction through appropriate
questioning, and to assess whether or not ESOLs are getting it.)
Scholars will be provided with a Ukrainian government graphic organizer. Some areas will already be
filled in, assisting scholars at the low intermediate level with comprehension of new words. There
will also be a graphic organizer at the front of the classroom that I will fill out, providing scholars
with an example to follow while learning new vocabulary.
In order to fill this graphic organizer out, I will ask for scholar input utilizing their prior knowledge.
I will walk around the classroom throughout the lesson in order to assess how well students are
grasping new concepts.
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PRACTICE/APPLICATION: (Describe the activities you will use to allow for meaningful interaction
and practice using ALL language skills, the strategies you will use to ensure full participation by
ESOLs, and the techniques you will use to assess their success in the activities.)
To close the lesson, students will return to the same groups we began with during the word wall
activity and I will ask students to discuss whether there were any new words they found confusing
or hard to pronounce, or even anything new they learned about their government. Students will be
provided with an index card during this activity on which they will record the items they have
discussed. This will be their exit ticket, turned into me at the end of the lesson.

EXTENSION: (Describe additional follow-up activities you will use with ESOLs to address any areas
that you deem need further explanation or practice to ensure their mastery of the content and
language objectives.)

Based on scholars exit tickets, I will assess which students had trouble with grasping the new
vocabulary. I will have the entire class create flash cards, one side will have each new vocabulary
word on it and on the other, scholars will create an illustration to assist them remembering what
that word means. I will pull out scholars that had more trouble with the new words into a focus
group while we do this activity so I can provide them with extra assistance during this activity.
 10

SIOP Lesson Two Outline

Grade/Class/Subject 7th Grade/ESL/Civics class is split between low/high intermediate English

level

Unit Theme: Ukrainian Govt. vs. USA Govt.

Standards: ELPA Grade 7: Standard 1: An ELL can construct meaning from oral presentations and
literary and informational text through grade appropriate listening, reading, and viewing.
ELPA Grade 7: Standard 2: An ELL can participate in grade appropriate oral and written exchanges
of information, ideas, and analyses, responding to peer, audience, or reader comments and
questions.
W
Lesson Objectives:
Content Knowledge: By the end of the lesson, ESOLs will:
1. Recall definition of republic.
2. Identify the three branches of the American government.
3. Understand history of United States government.

Language Objectives: By the end of the lesson, ESOLs will demonstrate increasing proficiency in
the performance of the following functions and their forms:

Form
Function
(grammatical term and/or example, eg. Past
(in ing form, eg. Retelling a story )
Tense: The boy went to see his grandfather;)
1) Defining republic. A country governed by elected representatives
and an elected leader rather than a king or
queen.
2) Discussing. Present tense: The Supreme Court has 9
members.

3) Recalling information. Past tense: The United States constitution was

written in 1789.

Vocabulary Objectives: By the end of the lesson, ESOLs will demonstrate an understanding of
the following vocabulary words:

Content Vocabulary Academic Vocabulary Cohesion Words

(vocabulary that may need to be taught
(new vocabulary to be explicitly taught
or emphasized that is critical to
that is critical to an understanding of the
participation in academic tasks, such as
content) categorize, list, describe)
(vocabulary that may need to be taught
or emphasized that link concepts in
meaningful ways, such as conjunctions
and time markers)

Constitution Illustrate But

Court Discuss Years
Judiciary Compare Total
Legislative Contrast Before
Executive Explain Until
Congress Repeat After
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Republic Predict
Represent
Bicameral

Special Cross-Cultural Considerations for ESOLs: Part of Ukraine was recently annexed by
Russia. The Ukrainian government does not recognize this annexation. There was also a revolution
in 2014, which resulted in the ousting of Ukrainian President Yanukovych. This revolution turned
extremely violent, with protestors being gunned down in the streets surrounding the capitol.
Scholars may be wary of civic engagement due to these recent events.
Materials: Vocabulary cards for matching activity, American government graphic organizer for each
student, graphic organizer for front of room (if whiteboard/chalkboard is available use that, or use
butcher paper), technology to watch youtube video on, index cards for exit ticket
Lesson Sequence (This may be adjusted as necessary to accommodate unique lesson plan
features)

MOTIVATION: (Describe how you will build background and the specific strategies that you will use
to ensure the participation of ESOLs.)
Each student will receive a short matching activity two sets of index cards, one with the words we
learned during lesson one, one with the definitions. They will be given a few minutes to match each
word to its definition. The word wall we created the day before will be visible for students, which will
give low intermediate scholars assistance, if needed. This activity will not be graded, but I will walk
around the classroom during the activity in order to assess scholar progress.

PRESENTATION: (Describe the specific techniques you will use to make your presentation of new
material comprehensible to ESOLs, to provide opportunities for interaction through appropriate
questioning, and to assess whether or not ESOLs are getting it.)
Scholars will be provided with an American government graphic organizer, formatted so that there
are obvious similarities to the Ukrainian one filled out in the prior lesson. We will work as a class to
identify blanks that seem to match.
After we have identified the answers we believe are the same, we will watch the Schoolhouse Rock
video Three Ring Government. I will play this version with captions, as both the high and low
intermediate students may have trouble following the quick lyrics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEPd98CbbMk
Following the video, we will assess whether we were correct in our predictions and fill out any
blanks we have left.

PRACTICE/APPLICATION: (Describe the activities you will use to allow for meaningful interaction
and practice using ALL language skills, the strategies you will use to ensure full participation by
ESOLs, and the techniques you will use to assess their success in the activities.)
 12

To close the lesson, students will return to the same groups we began with during the word wall
activity during lesson one and I will ask students to discuss whether there were any new words they
found confusing or hard to pronounce as well as anything about the American government that
confused them. Students will be provided with an index card during this activity on which they will
record the items they have discussed. This will be their exit ticket, turned into me at the end of
the lesson. We will keep the same groups in order to provide consistency students will not have to
explain the same issue twice and will also be able to continue any discussions that may have started
during the first lesson.

EXTENSION: (Describe additional follow-up activities you will use with ESOLs to address any areas
that you deem need further explanation or practice to ensure their mastery of the content and
language objectives.)

Based on scholars exit tickets, I will assess which students had trouble with grasping the new
vocabulary and concepts presented. I will have the entire class create flash cards, one side will have
each new vocabulary word on it and on the other, students will create an illustration to assist them
remembering what that word means. I will pull out students that had more trouble with the new
words into a focus group while we do this activity so I can provide them with extra assistance during
this activity.
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SIOP Lesson Three Outline

Grade/Class/Subject 7th Grade/ESL/Civics class is split between low/high intermediate English

level

Unit Theme: Ukrainian Govt. vs. USA Govt.

Standards: ELPA Grade 7: Standard 2: An ELL can participate in grade appropriate oral and
written exchanges of information, ideas, and analyses, responding to peer, audience, or reader
comments and questions.
ELPA Grade 7: Standard 8: An ELL can determine the meaning of words and phrases in oral
presentations and literary and informational text.

Lesson Objectives:
Content Knowledge: By the end of the lesson, ESOLs will:
1. Define a republic.
2. Identify the three branches of the American & Ukrainian governments.
3. Understand key differences between United States and Ukraine government.

Language Objectives: By the end of the lesson, ESOLs will demonstrate increasing proficiency in
the performance of the following functions and their forms:

Form
Function
(grammatical term and/or example, eg. Past
(in ing form, eg. Retelling a story )
Tense: The boy went to see his grandfather;)
1) Comparing governments. Comparative/Contrasting language: The
Ukrainian President serves a 5 year term, but
the American President serves only 4 years.
2) Asking clarifying questions. Present tense: How many judges are on the
United States Supreme Court?

3) Retelling history. Past tense: The current Ukrainian constitution

was adopted in 1996, 207 years after the
American constitution was adopted.
Vocabulary Objectives: By the end of the lesson, ESOLs will demonstrate an understanding of
the following vocabulary words:

Content Vocabulary Academic Vocabulary Cohesion Words

(vocabulary that may need to be taught
(new vocabulary to be explicitly taught
or emphasized that is critical to
that is critical to an understanding of the
participation in academic tasks, such as
content) categorize, list, describe)
(vocabulary that may need to be taught
or emphasized that link concepts in
meaningful ways, such as conjunctions
and time markers)

Government Compare However

Republic Contrast But
Judiciary Clarify Years
Legislative Retell Total
Executive Describe Until
Unicameral
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Bicameral

Special Cross-Cultural Considerations for ESOLs: Part of Ukraine was recently annexed by
Russia. The Ukrainian government does not recognize this annexation. There was also a revolution
in 2014, which resulted in the ousting of Ukrainian President Yanukovych. This revolution turned
extremely violent, with protestors being gunned down in the streets surrounding the capitol.
Scholars may be wary of civic engagement due to these recent events.
Materials: Laptops/Tablets for independent research & kahoot! Quiz activity, notebook paper,
butcher paper, markers, pencils
Lesson Sequence (This may be adjusted as necessary to accommodate unique lesson plan
features)

MOTIVATION: (Describe how you will build background and the specific strategies that you will use
to ensure the participation of ESOLs.)
Upon entering the classroom, scholars will break off into the same groups they have been in during
the last two lessons. Each group will be a team, receiving a tablet or laptop to log in to the Kahoot!
quiz which will serve as a review before we dive into the bulk of the lesson.
https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/9d25567d-8a18-44bf-99ba-42dd783edd1b

PRACTICE/APPLICATION: (Describe the activities you will use to allow for meaningful interaction
and practice using ALL language skills, the strategies you will use to ensure full participation by
ESOLs, and the techniques you will use to assess their success in the activities.)
After the Kahoot! Quiz, I will introduce the final project for the theme. Within their groups, scholars
will choose a branch of government to compare/contrast between the United States and Ukraine.
Scholars may use the laptops/tablets to do extra research if desired. They will also have their
graphic organizers to assist in the planning of their presentations. Scholars may present in any
format a skit, a powerpoint, a more focused graphic organizer created on butcher paper, etc.
Materials will be provided as needed by scholars.
Scholars will present their projects to the class, becoming experts on their chosen branch of
government. The class will be able to ask presenters questions if there are any.
I will use the Group Presentation Rubric provided at the end of this lesson to assess each group.
(Source: https://pbl101.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/3/1/31318861/group_presentation_rubric.pdf)

EXTENSION: (Describe additional follow-up activities you will use with ESOLs to address any areas
that you deem need further explanation or practice to ensure their mastery of the content and
language objectives.)

Instead of working in groups, students will create exit tickets on their own following this lesson. This
will be a good activity during which I can check in with each student and discuss how the unit has
 15

gone for them. I will be able to address any issues that showed up during the presentations, based
on the rubric used for assessment.
If scholars are still struggling with the information that has been presented, I will set aside a time
where we can do a focus group for the struggling scholars and work through some more matching
activities and talk through the information provided in a smaller group setting than the full class.
This way, we work on pronunciation and definitions more independently.
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Group Presentation Rubric

The teacher will use this rubric to evaluate each groups presentation. Students can look at this
rubric so they may understand what they are being graded on. The Group Presentation Rubric will
be combine with the Teammate Participation Rubric to determine your final grade for the project.
Trait Criteria Points
1 2 3 4
Content Presentation Presentation Presentation Presentation had
Did the contained little had moments had a good an exceptional
presentation to no valuable where valuable amount of amount of
have valuable material. material was material and valuable material
material? present but as benefited the and was
a whole class. extremely ____
content was beneficial to the
lacking. class.
Collaboration The teammates The The The teammates
Did everyone never worked teammates teammates always worked
contribute to from others sometimes worked from from others
the ideas. It seems worked from others ideas ideas. It was
presentation? as though only a others ideas. most of the evident that all of
Did everyone few people However it time. And it the group
seem well worked on the seems as seems like members
versed in the presentation. though certain every did some contributed ____
material? people did not work, but equally to the
do as much some people presentation.
work as others. are carrying
the
presentation.
Organization The There were The The presentation
Was the presentation minimal signs presentation was well
presentation lacked of organization had organizing organized, well
well organized organization and or preparation. ideas but could prepared and
and easy to had little have been easy to follow.
follow? evidence of much stronger ____
preparation. with better
preparation.
Presentation Presenters were Presenters Presenters Presenters were
Did the unconfident and were not were all very confident
presenters demonstrated consistent with occasionally in delivery and
Speak clearly? little evidence of the level of confident with they did an
Did the planning prior to confidence/ their excellent job of ____
engage the presentation. preparedness presentation engaging the
audience? they showed however the class. Preparation
Was it the classroom presentation is very evident.
obvious the but had some was not as
material had strong engaging as it
been moments. could have
rehearsed? been for the
class
Source: https://pbl101.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/3/1/31318861/group_presentation_rubric.pdf
 17

Works Cited

Afineevsky, E. (Director). (2015). Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom [Motion Picture].

English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century. (2014, April). Retrieved from ELPA21:
http://www.elpa21.org/sites/default/files/Final%204_30%20ELPA21%20Standards_1.pdf

Goncharova, O. (2015, July 3). KyivPost. Retrieved from KyivPost:

https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/business/us-peace-corps-volunteers-gladly-return-
to-ukraine-after-february-2014-suspension-during-euromaidan-revolution-392566.html

Kramer, A. E. (2013, December 15). The Boston Globe. Retrieved from The Boston Globe:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2013/12/15/suspends-trade-deal-talks-with-
ukraine/gzOIK9J1kFp2wMKw0IblVI/story.html

The World Fact Book. (2017, December 1). Retrieved from Central Intelligence Agency:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/up.html

Vogt, M. E. (2012, March 12). PearsonSIOPModel. Retrieved from YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5xK5gP_Tbw

W., C. (2014, March 5). Economist. Retrieved from Economist:

https://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2014/03/ukraine-and-russia