In wanting to make this class as applicable as possible, I am proposing to create a unit about Modernist journals for Fifth grade students that concentrates on social studies and ELA skills. Too often, fifth graders are taught mundane and boring subjects in terms of literacy and literary genres. I plan on highlighting the creativity and sarcasm of Modernist period.

The unit will begin by an overview of Modernism in general. This will create the foundation for the rest of the unit. From there, we concentrate on how to read Modernist periodicals like the New Age and Blast. While this is a tough assignment, I plan on using important skills like critical reading and other tenents of the New York ELA standards that will help the class prepare for the test (Social Studies and ELA) while learning about Modernism. After learning about how to read these periodicals, we will then move on to highlight two main personalities of the Modernist Era: Ezra Pound and Orage. These two dynamic writers really symbolize what the Modernist age was all about. Taking these two personalities will help the students understand the writers motivation.

While this is a skeleton of a unit, I think that it could actually work for certain type of class. I will include lesson plans that have differentiated instruction as well as assessments that will highlight the creativity and satire of the era.