"My revenge has just begun! I spread it over centuries and time is on my side." - Bram Stoker Dracula
For the culminating English 747 assignment we were tasked to create a unit plan for any high school grade, with any theme, that must have 3 detailed lessons. So, myself along with two of my peers Shannon Gauthier and Merida Zeindler, created a unit plan focused around the genre of Gothic Horror and a novel study on Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Below I have posted our unit plan, the three detailed lessons, and our presentation power point that we showed our class on Monday.
Gothic Horror Unit Plan
Dracula Untold
Movie Rendition
There are multiple film renditions of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and "Dracula Untold" is the newest. I believe that looking at film renditions of novels is a great way to allow your imagination to come alive and compare your opinions and comprehension of the novel to those of others.
Reflection
This was an exceptionally meaningful assignment for me as it was the first lesson plan that I was able to do in my discipline (and I loved it!). I became extremely passionate about this assignment and it was truly the hardest I have worked on a unit/lesson plan this whole semester. It was so much fun being about to plan to spread my excitement of the genre of Gothic Horror and the majesty that is Dracula with multiple students.
I believe that this assignment shows the teacher competencies of:
-Educators have a broad knowledge base and understand the subject areas they teach.
-Educators implement effective practices in areas of classroom management, planning, instruction, assessment, evaluation, and reporting.
-Educators understand and apply knowledge of student growth and development.
As well as the First People's Principle:
-Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story.
My Review
I saw this ballet and was completely surprised by it. Ballet Victoria did a very modern rendition of the classic story of Dracula, adding new-age music like Sia's "Chandelier", to their set-list. Although these songs and modern additions sometimes left me feeling caught in an awkward time-warp, stuck between 2014 and 1897, they also allowed for a different type of emotional response to classic story that added a layer of depth. Overall I was happy with the experience and would recommend it to a die-hard Dracula fan like myself!
My Personal Opinion
Personally, I LOVE Dracula and was exceptionally excited to be using it as our novel study for the unit plan. Dracula has so many elements and moods and I find it is a good choice for any reader.
Looking back & forwards
Looking back...
This unit/lesson plan really offered me a chance to engage in the passion that began my journey in this program --> my love of reading and teaching English Language Arts. I really enjoyed being able to flex my skills and develop them in this area.
Looking forward...
I absolutely cannot wait to use this unit plan in my classroom, add more to it and see how the students respond to it.