(Assignment 3(a). 1200- word equivalent.
Assignment 3(b) 2000- word equivalent.

Assignment 3a: Unit outline and objectives
Your assignment should include the following components:
1. Brief introduction to the unit, explaining how aspects of the Parallel Curriculum Model 
will guide the unit design. For example, you might choose to focus predominantly on one of the four parallels in designing your unit, or you might decide to include an equal spread across all four. 

2. Brief overview of the topic for the unit, which explains the key content to be explored. 

3. Clear objectives for what students are expected to KNOW (facts and vocabulary), BE ABLE TO DO (skills and processes) and UNDERSTAND (concepts and “big ideas” or key principles) as a result of participation in the curriculum unit. 

4. A list of at least eight focusing questions that could spark students’ interest in the topic and lead them to think about the big ideas outlined in the objectives. These should be guided by the focusing questions suggested for each parallel in the required text. For each question, identify to which of the four parallels it relates. If you choose to predominantly focus on one or two parallels for your unit, you might want to develop questions for only these parallels. 

5. Brief description of the summative assessment task that will be used to assess students’ mastery of the unit objectives at the end of the unit. Indicate how this assessment task fits into one or more of the parallels. 

6. A list of at least 4 activities that you might include somewhere in the unit, indicating to which each parallel each activity relates. These could include introductory activities, teaching methods, learning activities, products and/or extension activities. Once again, if you choose to predominantly focus on one parallel, most or all of your activities will relate to that parallel, whereas you might choose to include activities relating to a variety of parallels. The required text has many examples that you can consider for each parallel and adapt or use for inspiration in developing your own unit plan. You need only provide a brief description of each activity for part 3a. 

Notes:
•To ensure that your assignment covers all required components, I would encourage you to use subheadings, a numbered list, tables, or some other organisational device to make it clear which aspects of the assignment you are addressing. 

•The Assessment Guide for Assignment 3a is included on FLO. 13 


Assignment 3b: Annotated Unit Plan
The final unit plan will include the sections submitted for Part 3a, edited or expanded as necessary in response to feedback or adjusted as the unit design has progressed. In addition, Part 3b will include:
1. A summary table showing how your unit incorporates each of the 11 curriculum components detailed in the PCM. Examples of these summary tables can be found on pages 83, 122, 161, and 200 of your text. You might select and adapt some of these general ideas to suit your unit, or use these as inspiration for developing your own. Where applicable, be sure to indicate which parallel/s you are trying to address through each point. 

2. A copy of the pre-assessment task used to assess students’ point of entry prior to teaching the unit. 

3. A full copy of the summative assessment description and any materials a teacher would need to implement the task (e.g., the rubric outlining criteria for quality performance). 

4. THREE complete lesson plans, including the specific unit objectives each individual lesson is designed to address. These could be lessons from any point in the unit, and do not have to be consecutive lessons. In each case, you should make it clear which parallel/s the lesson is addressing. You should also include copies of any handouts, formative assessment tasks, instruction sheets, resources, or any other created materials a teacher would require in order to teach these three lessons. 

Notes:
•You are advised to annotate your lesson plans where necessary to make it clear where learning tasks have been differentiated or specifically designed to meet the needs of gifted students within the group, or how you are applying aspects of the PCM to your planning. It might be helpful, for example, to include a second column in the lesson plan documents entitled “Teacher Notes”, in which the rationale for grouping decisions, resource selection and activity design is clearly explained, including in relation to the PCM. 

•Examples of curriculum units and tasks using the PCM design framework are available in eReadings and in texts on reserve in the library, as well as in the required text. Please be aware that some of these examples are much more comprehensive than you are required to develop for this assignment; you need only produce a plan with three detailed lessons, rather than a complete unit. These are intended only as a guide to some of the ways the PCM can guide planning. An example of a previous student’s work is on FLO to give you additional guidance. 

•Don’t panic if this task seems daunting to you in the beginning! This is a rich, complex curriculum model to work with and it is unfamiliar to most educators. It is hoped that your hard work will pay off in the end and you will see the value in using aspects of this framework to guide future curriculum planning. Be ready for a challenge, support your colleagues on the discussion boards and hang in there!