EDU251 Thematic Unit Plan

Thematic Unit: On the Construction Site

Abigail Glumac
School of Education, Geneva College
EDU 251 Integrating the Arts
11/19/2023
EDU251 Thematic Unit Plan

Name: Abigail Glumac

Date: Fall Semester 2023

Unit Title (must include the topic): On the Construction Site

Grade Level: 1st Grade

1) Broad Unit Understandings/Goals:

 Students will understand that there are different kinds of construction vehicles.
 Students will understand that most things are created and built.
 Students will understand processes that go into constructing new things.
 Students will understand the different kinds of buildings throughout time.

2) Unit Questions:
 “Do you know any types of construction vehicles?”
 “Who are the people that create buildings?”
 “What resources have been used over the years in building?”
 “What are tools used by construction workers?”
 “What is each tool used for?”
 “Why is safety so important on a construction site?”

3) State/Common Core Standards (obtained from PDESAS):

 ELA- Standard - CC.1.2.1.C- Describe the connection between two individual events,
ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
 Math- Standard - CC.2.2.1.A.1- Represent and solve problems involving addition and
subtraction within 20.
 Social Studies- Standard - 8.4.1.B- Explain the importance of world landmarks.

4) Learning Objectives:
 (ELA) Students will be able to identify types of construction vehicles from the book read
in class.
 (Math) Students will be able to count up to 20 with the help of building blocks.
 (Social Studies) Students will be able to identify the different kinds of buildings across
the world and time.

5) Description of Unit:
This unit is entitled “On the Construction Site”. My unit will lead students through a
construction site and show them the different kinds of people who work there, the vehicles they
use, and the tools they utilize to build all kinds of amazing things. A wide array of activities will
be used to help students grasp concepts in all the core subjects as well as art and music. 1st
graders learning about construction will help their creativity soar. They will be pushed to expand
their creativity while simultaneously learning about the world around them and the process by
which most things exist.
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6) Introduction
The thematic unit entitled On the Construction Site will take my students through
construction and the processes that are within it. Introducing students to construction will
allow them to understand better the world around them; the knowledge that everything they
use on a daily basis is created and crafted can unlock creativity and imagination within each
of the students. This information is also a foundational concept, in that it can be built on later
in their academic careers.
Play, experience, and project-based activities invites multiple angles of approaches for
learning. Students can learn in all different ways, so utilizing multiple avenues to get to a
lesson’s goal benefits all learners. For example, giving students the opportunity to create a
building is a great way to engage in a project-based activity that can be approached in
varying ways. Students can utilize what they have learned in class to create a building in their
own unique style. Life experiences can also be introduced into the classroom through perhaps
a guest speaker who is a construction worker being invited. Students could also go through
an interactive website that walks them through a construction site. Field trips would not be
likely, as a construction site could be dangerous for little 1st graders, but the website and
guest speaker adequately allow students to interact with the content themselves.
One way to get students engaged through project-based play would be to have them
create a building using materials provided in class. It would not just be project based but also
incorporate visual arts. Students would be given glue sticks, tape, construction paper, and
popsicle sticks to create the building of their choice. They would be welcome to create
whatever kind of building they wanted, as long as it does not fall down. They would be
implementing the ideas discussed in class that could affect building construction such as
gravity, the number of materials, and distribution of weight. These parts of science greatly
affect creating a building, and students would be reminded of that throughout their project.
After the building is constructed, students would be given markers or crayons and given the
opportunity to decorate their buildings however they desired.
Another way to incorporate the arts is through the use of a storybook. I would read
through the book Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Rinker aloud to my
students. The book uses rhyming patterns and colorful illustrations to take readers through a
day and night in a construction site; the book describes many different types of machines and
what they do. It presents the material in a way that students at the 1st grade level can
understand while also challenging them with somewhat more construction-specific
vocabulary. After I read the book in full to my classroom, I would then open up the book to
discussion via some questions. Some questions could be, “What kind of machine digs
holes?”, “What were the machines building at the beginning of the book?”, and “What was
your favorite machine that was discussed?”. Asking these questions will help the students
interact with the reading not just through listening, but actual discussions with their teacher
and classmates. This book and subsequent discussion will provide students with yet another
avenue from which to approach construction.
A final way through which students can engage with the unit is through pictures and
models of buildings throughout time. Construction is not simply building skyscrapers
through the use of a hammer and nails. Students will learn that construction looked different
for different cultures throughout time. I would provide models of the pyramids and pictures
of the tools that the ancient Egyptians used to craft them. Students would be able to compare
EDU251 Thematic Unit Plan

the tools used to create the pyramids to the tools used today. Throughout the discussion I
would be able to ask questions that facilitate critical thinking. Some of the questions could
be, “How are the tools used in the past different or similar to today’s tools?”, or “Which
machines from today do you think would have helped the most to build the pyramids?”.
These questions paired with the pictures and models would help students get a full
understanding of the history of construction and how much it has changed.
Thematic units must be fashioned in a way that is able to include every student. Art
should be at the forefront of most, if not all, of the lessons within a unit so that students can
gain a full understanding of the theme from all angles. Using different activities throughout
the unit can enable creativity to be fostered and can help students come together as a class
and work together as a team. These skills that will be learned are crucial to the rest of
students’ academic careers and will be fostered in each activity through the use and
integration of the arts.

7) Additional Standards and Assessment

 Standard - 8.2.1.A - Identify groups of people who contribute to a community.
o During a lesson about past and historical buildings, I would ask students to
describe the different groups of people that built the buildings that we were
studying. We should be able to identify at least three different groups of people
that were discussed in class.
 Standard - CC.1.1.1.C - Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and
sounds.
o Book Assessment- Students will be given some questions based on the book
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Rinker. Students would use a
paper and pencil test and should score 80 percent or higher. If they did not score
80 percent or higher, I would go over the missed questions with the classroom
together.
 Standard - CC.1.2.1.C - Describe the connection between two individual events, ideas, or
pieces of information in a text.
o I would ask students about the machines described in Goodnight, Goodnight,
Construction Site by Sherri Rinker and how they worked. I would then connect
the machines detailed in the text to the machines we learned about in class and
how they are used on construction sites.
 Standard - CC.1.2.1.G - Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
o Throughout the reading of the book, I would ask questions before I read the
sentence regarding the purpose of the tools and machinery depicted and what they
are doing in the pictures. Students should get every question right, if not I would
redirect their attention to the more important details of the picture.
 Standard - 3.2.1.B1 - Demonstrate various types of motion. Observe and describe how
pushes and pulls change the motion of objects.
o Students would be assessed on construction machinery and how they affect the
objects around them. They would demonstrate their knowledge through the use of
vehicle toys and describing to me what is a push, pull, and what gravity’s affect
is.

**Your final product should include:

EDU251 Thematic Unit Plan

 A title page (APA format)

 The completed thematic unit plan (above)
 The completed thematic graphic plan of subjects/ideas/projects (below)
 Reference page (APA format)
 Expectations
o Points will be deducted for ideas that are not plausible, fully explained, or
standards and assessments that are not reasonable.
o Points will be deducted for errors in mechanics, inconsistencies, omissions, lack
of neatness, and late work.
o Final product will be uploaded to eLearning.

Thematic Graphic

Other areas to consider: Community or Pop Culture, IEP goals (gifted, IDD, SLD, etc.)
Literature, History, Technology

*History focuses on the people and human contributions that led to historical (past) events.
EDU251 Thematic Unit Plan

References
Pennsylvania Department of Education, (2023, Nov 20) View Standards.
https://pdesas.org/Standard/View