Projecting Possibilities for Writers: The How, What, and Why of Designing Units of Study, K-5

by Matt Glover, Mary Alice Berry

"When you create a unit of study, it's tempting to think you know exactly what will happen on day 5, 13, or 18. But you can't know. As soon as a unit starts, we begin making adjustments. This book shares a process for projecting a unit of study so you can make decisions as you respond to students each day." Matt Glover and Mary Alice Berry As a teacher, you value instructional flexibility because, after all, nearly anything can happen-and does! Yet you still have to plan instruction that helps your writers meet curricular objectives. Helping you solve this dilemma is what Projecting Possibilities for Writers is all about. You can't know exactly when in a unit of study students will need extra support or be ready for a particular minilesson. That's why Matt Glover and Mary Alice Berry show how to project rather than plan -to design a sequence of instruction that not only supports deep understanding but gives you the agency to respond to individual needs and meet key writing standards. Projecting Possibilities for Writers shares how to determine what to teach during a unit, how to teach it, and why to teach it-as well as when to make the crucial adjustments that this flexible approach makes possible. You'll look over Mary Alice's shoulder as she plans a unit for her writing workshop, while "Try It Out" suggestions lead you to project your own units. Solve the flexibility vs. planning dilemma! Trust Projecting Possibilities for Writers and learn to teach with a roadmap rather than a rigid set of directions as you create learning experiences for classes of individual students with individual needs.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2012

Reviews

[Kris Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

+ If you’ve seen Matt Glover present, the content matches his session content exactly.

- If you’ve seen Matt Glover present, the content matches his session content exactly.

[Tamera Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has great ideas on how to project a unit based on student need, and not just follow a program guide.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a number of books out there that describe the process for creating units of study (Common Formative Assessments, Learning Targets, Understanding By Design). None are more applicable or relevant than this book. Although it needed a more thorough explanation of how to connect the standards to the primary and secondary goals, I really appreciated how the authors expect the teachers to develop these units organically. Look at your students' needs, consider what they need to know, explore mentor texts and pull out lessons, reflect and refine...this is a great resource because it is doable. Too many other resources get lost in translation trying to address everything. This book had a great focus on what's important for students and their learning.

[Briana Cleveland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for any teacher who wants to teach responsively. The process outlined is focused on writing, but you could project a unit for any subject at any grade level using this process. I highly recommend this book for all teachers!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very practical and instructional book on how to create your own units of study in writing workshop. It is about 130 pages and could be read in an afternoon. It does not contain pre-fab units, but gives tools, suggestions, and examples of how to go through the process of creating units. Having recently attended a literacy conference in which Matt Glover was a guest speaker and presenter, I wanted to learn more about developing units of study. This book is written with primary and intermediate elementary teachers in mind.