Hum 10 Curriculum Overview part 2--Unit 1--"Individual and Society--Cultural Imperialism and Colonialism"

There are a number of moving parts to any curriculum. Here's term 1 of the coming school year in a bunch of boxes. A quick walk-through so that other posts might make more sense (and holy heck, curriculum mapping is a good time!):

• We have four terms in a school year. Each of the four terms has a social justice-related theme that ties directly into the central text and the context for that central text. For term 1, we look at cultural imperialism and colonialism because Chinua Achebe's text and the context for that text (including his writings about "An Image of Africa") allow for a deep, rich dive for students and teachers. 
• The Essential Questions will remain the same over the course of the year. By keeping them the same and studying different societies over the course of the year, we hope to augment our understanding of these questions. 
• The Unit Understandings require a deep understanding of both the central text (Things Fall Apart) and the context (Nigeria, late 1800s). We've laid those out for each of the four terms of the school year.
• The Rationality Understandings build over the course of the year, as well. We're laying a foundation in the first term. It's tough to tease out what exactly we need there. We'd like to do EVERYTHING, but we need to be judicious about how we layer in information. 
• We have two different kinds of supporting texts in the curriculum. One type of text is designed to supplement the central text and augment students' understanding of the context. Here, they are labeled arts/literature/maps/architecture. The other kind of supplementary text augments the central text itself. One of the most powerful pieces in this term is Achebe's argument for why he wrote the central text. It's an incredible read.
• Finally, there are writing program targets for the term. In the lefthand box, we have the synthesis and analysis targets for instruction. In the righthand box, there are some common mechanic pieces to teach. 

The language/information in each and every box has been a four-year team effort. We've had different teachers in the seats every year, but this document has gone through a four-year evolution. Frankly, that's the only way that a map like this will work--it has to come from the people who are committed to delivering on it in their classrooms.  I'm looking forward to seeing how these pieces come together in the day-to-day work of my classroom this coming year.