Category Archives: Curriculum Units

2023 Vol 3: All Roads of Through Run Through Oz

Easing on Down The Yellow Brick Road and Discovering the Power Within: Lessons Learned from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 

April 19, 2025 – 1:28 pm

Shundra Allison, English, Myers Park High School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: We are facing a crisis. Not only are our high school students struggling to figure out their next steps in life, but they are struggling with whether they have what it takes to persevere. Mental health struggles amongst children and teens are on the rise and the pandemic only exacerbated it as it disrupted the social interaction they so desperately need. It is crucial that at every chance we get as educators to be supportive and show them that they are survivors. They need to know they can withstand any situation. As adults we sometimes need to be reminded of that too. L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written in 1900 taps into the inner child that is still full of imagination and the anything is possible attitude. While providing lessons on overcoming, facing obstacles, inclusivity and diversity students will meet the standards and goals set forth in English III, Creative Writing, American History, and other content electives. This will be accomplished using The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as the anchor text for this unit. I will support the anchor text by using additional resources such as MGM’s 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, the 1978 film The Wiz alongside published articles and excerpts from credible scholars in this field of study. 

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2023 Vol 3: All Roads of Through Run Through Oz

The Wiz in You

April 19, 2025 – 1:26 pm

Marian Myers, 8th Grade, Northridge Middle School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: This curriculum unit will focus on teaching self-awareness and how students’ personality, attitudes, interests, values and learning styles can influence career decisions. The first part of this unit involves personal character education. Strategies include self-assessments (https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/identity-charts-0), discovering interests and skills for working with people, working with data, working with things, or working with ideas, interactive notebooks, goal-setting and decision-making activities, role plays, and analyzing real-life scenarios. By integrating character traits like caring, respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, citizenship, and fairness into all areas of the school experience, students gain better self-awareness, self-confidence, and the desire to become more socially responsible. Part two of this unit focuses on career exploration of interests and skills (https://www.careeronestop.org/), job market trends, education and training needed, cost-of-living /reality-checks, mock interviewing, completing applications and networking. A gallery walk strategy will provide opportunities for group work to research and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of various career decisions. 

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2023 Vol 3: All Roads of Through Run Through Oz

Overcoming Challenges: A Collaborative Project Exploring Climate Migration 

April 19, 2025 – 1:23 pm

Lynne Wiesecke, Learning and Language Acquisition, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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 Synopsis: Across the globe immigration is a reality for many students. The movement of families worldwide has uniquely affected all of us and how we teach. Many students have directly overcome difficult migration journeys and others have close family members who have overcome such experiences. A variety of complex push factors have led families to take dangerous and long journeys through the unknown, in a way not dissimilar to the journey of Dorothy and her friends in L. Frank Baum’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz1 The characters in this book, like families seeking a better future, have many distinctive characteristics. This curriculum unit helps students understand and embrace positive character habits. Students learn how these strategies and behaviors can help them overcome future challenges. 

This unit begins with an amplified version of, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for Multilingual Learners, by Lynne Wiesecke. This picture based digital graphic novel allows novice English speakers to gain a basic grasp of this classic story. A shared reading experience is followed by writing and speaking activities that prompt students to discuss and define distinctive personal characteristics. Students use Book Creator® to create their own personal e-book titled, My Journey to Oz. Students are encouraged to explore, illustrate and write about their own family’s migration and how challenges were overcome. Validation of each student’s unique history boosts self-esteem, creativity, pride and provides a sense of welcome and inclusion. 

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2023 Vol 3: All Roads of Through Run Through Oz

Comparing Female Character Portrayal in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other Early 20th Century Children’s Literature 

April 19, 2025 – 1:19 pm

Jashonai Payne, 4th Grade, Clear Creek Elementary School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: This curriculum unit explores the novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum in 1900 and how it was revolutionary for its time period. Baum created the main character Dorothy Gale and broke the mold of the previous portrayals of female characters in its contemporaries of children’s literature. Dorothy was a strong, brave soul who went on an unexpected adventure with four friends in a magical land. She was equally as helpful as her male companions and often acted more courageous than they. Looking at other stories, the female main characters were weepy, obedient, and stayed in their traditional gender roles as helpers. They were in great contrast to how Baum created Dorothy, who was greatly influenced by his mother-in-law, Matilda Gage. Gage was a great supporter of the Woman’s Suffrage movement, which is a wonderful connection to the other novel I will explore in this unit entitled The Hope Chest. The Hope Chest was set during the 1920s during the Suffrage era and shows another female character who also goes on a dangerous and life-altering adventure. I want my students to read and compare both novels and main characters to distinguish the similarities and differences between the two. 

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2023 Vol 3: All Roads of Through Run Through Oz

The Wonderful World of Adjectives in Oz 

April 19, 2025 – 1:17 pm

Elizabeth Cochrane, Multilingual Learners, East Mecklenburg High School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: In this unit, students focus on how L. Frank Baum uses adjectives in the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and how they contribute to characterizing Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion. Students learn to think critically about the adjectives that Baum chooses to describe his characters and whether they can trust Baum with his descriptions, leading to a discussion on irony and its effect on the novel. Students then use the information gleaned from their characterization study to develop and analyze themes in the novel. 

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2023 Vol 3: All Roads of Through Run Through Oz

Ease on Down the Road

April 19, 2025 – 1:14 pm

Debbie Gresham, Dance, Bradley Middle School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: My unit will focus on the elements of dance vocabulary and how these elements can be used to choreograph movement to the music from The Wiz. My focus will be on literary themes from both the movie, The Wiz and the MGM movie, The Wizard of Oz, and the relationships these stories have with the dance elements of time, space, energy, and relationships of the main characters. 

Part one of the unit will focus on choreography and the movement of individuals within the dance space. I will focus specifically on pathways, gestures, and pedestrian movements. 

Part two of the unit will focus on the vocabulary of time, space, energy, relationships, shapes, levels, pathways, directions, transitions, tempo, rhythms, speed, locomotor and non-locomotor movement, and pedestrian movement. 

Part three will focus on the choreographic themes of Accumulation and Chance. Accumulation will involve adding movements when each character is introduced. Chance will occur as students roll the dice to see what order the movements are performed in. Students will also explore the performance elements of stage space, props, sets and use of costumes. 

Part four will include a career project focusing on the relation to dance, theatre, music, and film. 

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2023 Vol 3: All Roads of Through Run Through Oz

Read, Write, Listen, and Speak as a Historian with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 

April 19, 2025 – 1:12 pm

Tamara Babulski, World History, Independence High School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: When people think of history, they either think of it fondly as a string of stories from the past or they think of it as a collection of dusty tombs that are better left alone. I encourage my students to think of history as a life narrative that explains where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going. My goal with this curriculum unit is to accomplish three goals. First, I want to instill within my students an appreciation of history as a life narrative. Second, I want my students to see how narratives of history are all around them, such as allegories of the Industrial Revolution within L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Finally, I aim to increase my students’ grasp of critical thinking using two strategies that I identify as R.A.T.E. and R.A.C.E. These are two strategies that I incorporate in my classes to aid my students in reading, writing, listening, and thinking like historians. Both strategies are used to aid understanding of text sets. In addition, my students will gain a deeper understanding of multiple perspectives by assuming the role of a dog that is observing the changing industrialized world around them. Just as Toto led Dorothy in the Land of Oz, my students will follow their own dog through the Industrial Era. 

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2023 Vol 2: Race, History, Change, and Social Activism: Baseball's Impact on America

Race & Baseball: The Daily Life, Social Activism, and Statistical Impact of the Negro Leagues

April 19, 2025 – 1:02 pm

Timothy Wells, 7th Grade Social Studies, Alexander Graham Middle School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: The 1940s to 1960s marked a transformative era for race and baseball in the United States, with significant strides in civil rights and social activism intersecting with the sport. During this period, the Negro Leagues played a pivotal role in providing African American players with a platform to showcase their talents, as segregation barred them from Major League Baseball. The Negro Leagues was laced with a rich history and traditions on the mainstream icons like Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947 when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, challenging racial prejudices and becoming a symbol of integration. The 1950s witnessed increasing racial tension, but players like Robinson, Larry Doby, and Willie Mays became beacons of hope. Beyond the diamond, athletes engaged in social activism, advocating for equality and justice. The 1960s saw a surge in civil rights activism, and baseball players played an active role. The courage of these pioneers in the face of adversity contributed to the broader struggle for racial equality, making the diamond a battleground for societal change during a tumultuous period in American history. In my curriculum unit, my students will undergo the process of deconstructing Race and Baseball on three different fronts: understanding background historical information, daily life, and statistical/financial impact. The goal of this is to gain a full understanding of what happened race and baseball, the significance of the Negro League and what they had to endure.

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2023 Vol 2: Race, History, Change, and Social Activism: Baseball's Impact on America

Hidden Baseball: The Legacy of the Negro League

April 19, 2025 – 12:58 pm

Shannon McFarland, 6th Grade English Language Arts, Alexander Graham Middle School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: Students explore the legacy of the Negro League in America, the impact of segregation on American life in the 1920s and 1930s, and write poetry to celebrate the accomplishments of early Black and Latin American baseball players.

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2023 Vol 2: Race, History, Change, and Social Activism: Baseball's Impact on America

It’s Up, and It’s All Good: A Comprehensive Review of the Civil Rights Movement through the Lens of the Forgotten Players of Negro League Baseball

April 19, 2025 – 12:55 pm

Mary McElhaney, Social Studies, Northridge Middle School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: The contribution of African American individuals who played a part in helping in the fight to end segregation and the civil rights movement is often understated. While students learn about Jackie Robinson, many hidden figures in the Civil Rights movement existed. Baseball is a perfect example of the hidden figures of the civil rights movement. Each individual in the unit plan has significantly contributed to the moment, rebelling and resisting oppression in their own ways.

The rationale for the unit plan is to create lessons with a circular focus. The unit will demonstrate how baseball themes can intertwine with Social Studies and US History standards. The Unit will incorporate African American baseball lessons into critical historical eras. This unit will function yearly and can be used with existing curricula. The central focus of this unit will be on six individuals: Oscar Charleston, Satchel Page, Moses Fleetwood Walker, John Bud Fowler, Andrew Rube Foster, and Jackie Robinson.

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2023 Vol 2: Race, History, Change, and Social Activism: Baseball's Impact on America

The Kansas City Monarchs Impact on Baseball and America While at the Helm of Global Social Change

April 19, 2025 – 12:51 pm

Lusette Humphrey, 7th Grade, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: This unit is a focus on the importance of “the power of influence” one has for social change and impact in their respective sports and communities. The power to use influence for social change is big. This is seen across many sports arenas where athletes use their platform to bring social change that is needed in some or all parts of the world. There are several athletes such as Colin Kapernick, Lebron James, Naomi Osaika can be seen using their level of influence to bring change to their respective causes. In the past we have athletes like Jacki Robinson, Roberto Clemente, and Rube Foster as lead change agents of their time.

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2023 Vol 2: Race, History, Change, and Social Activism: Baseball's Impact on America

America’s Favorite Pastime: Analyzing the Cultural and Political Impact of the Negro National League

April 19, 2025 – 12:45 pm

Jazmyne Capel, 3rd Grade, Billingsville-Cotswold Elementary School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: In this unit students will explore and critically think about how race, access (or lack thereof) to resources, and legislation have impacted society through the lens of baseball. While examining these historical events, students will learn that the impacts of said events can be both positive and negative, and that there is more than one perspective on most stories. To drive student inquiry, the essential question this unit is based around is “How does the past influence the present?” Utilizing past and modern literature on the subject, historical artifacts, and local and national events, students will expand their critical thinking and enhance their knowledge of various topics. Topics including but not limited to, national and local baseball history, how African American players and players of color have influenced policy and politics, how Baseball is played globally, and women’s influence in the sport. Generally, this unit guides students on an exploration about historical events that have impacted our community, state, nation, and even the world. This unit aligns with the North Carolina Social Studies standards of explaining the lasting impact historical events have had on local communities. Another aligned North Carolina Social Studies standard is the use of primary and secondary sources to compare multiple interpretations of various historical symbols and events in local communities. Students will use their student notebook to take notes and complete daily exit tickets that will serve as knowledge checkpoints.

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2023 Vol 2: Race, History, Change, and Social Activism: Baseball's Impact on America

Stand Tall, Talk Small, Play Ball!

April 19, 2025 – 12:41 pm

Genitia Johnson, 1st Grade, Huntingtowne Farms Elementary School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: In this unit students will learn the history of baseball and the impact in America. The students will learn about the Negro League and the impact of Black History. The unit will allow students to learn history concepts while learning literacy. Students will use read aloud stories, songs, and gestures to learn skills. They will have a better opportunity to use their problem-solving skills and make connections. They will also learn to use nonfiction text features. The lessons will also include movement, music, gestures, and hands-on experiences.

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2023 Vol 2: Race, History, Change, and Social Activism: Baseball's Impact on America

Decline in an Era of Social Progress: Why African Americans are not Engaged with America’s Pastime

April 19, 2025 – 12:38 pm

Andrew Bartkowiak, African American Studies, East Mecklenburg High School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: This Curriculum Unit aims to inform students about the historical origins of African Americans in baseball, while also exploring the more recent phenomenon in baseball about the lack of African American players in the league today. The Unit will begin with a broad overview of the influence of African Americans on the modern happenings of the game, studies of important players and teams from the Negro Leagues, while also focusing on systemic inequities within the game, which are limiting African American access to the sport at its highest levels. The Unit will conclude with students connecting struggles with redlining, urban renewal, and social injustices to reasons why African Americans had structural barriers to entry at the highest levels of baseball. The hope is that students will then chart a path forward to take informed action and take a stand against these injustices to impact change as it relates to African American involvement in baseball.

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2023 Vol 2: Race, History, Change, and Social Activism: Baseball's Impact on America

An American Pastime: Exploring How Negro Leagues Baseball Influenced Business and Entrepreneurship

April 19, 2025 – 12:17 pm

Thomas Murphy, Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing, Rocky River High School

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Synopsis: This Curriculum Unit aims to inform students about the historical origins of the Negro Leagues formation, while also exploring the many aspects that Negro League baseball paved the way through entrepreneurship and digital marketing. The modules will facilitate ways to discuss and explore in depth how the impact of the Negro Leagues Baseball not only produce top talent, but was extremely vital and impactful in developing community abolitionists, social activists, coaches, managers, business owners, entrepreneurs, while showcasing some of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game. The Negro Leagues should also be credited with creating some of the greatest money-making barnstorming events in the history of not only for the Negro Leagues but in all of baseball during that time. It’s speculated that many opportunities were missed to integrate baseball. Clearly, MLB remained silent and fostered unspoken recognized success of the Negro Leagues avoiding the need to bridge a working relationship but continue its greed in capitalizing on the lucrative ways to sustain the Negro Leagues enterprises to maintain massive paydays achieved during this time. The main objectives of this study will be centered on challenging students to witness the ongoing development throughout history by reflecting on the eyewitness accounts that fostered personal and community growth in the wake of segregation. My goals for the students are to aid them in exploring the Negro Leagues through the various readings and resources to identify the valuable contribution of these legends who were entrenched in the struggles of segregation. Many of these players only wanted to make an honest living by simply seeking to be accepted on their merit in their communities. By the end of this study students will be able to answer if the Negro Leagues were political.

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