Reflection on 4 + 5

I like the way Chapters 4 and 5 laid out methods for writing unit plans because instead of simply saying "you should assess your students this way" or "you should organize a unit plan this way," Smagorinsky gave reasoning for why each strategy is an effective method and the situations in which it would be appropriate to use them.  The importance of this style of instruction was reflected in the vignette section in chapter 5, when he discusses the building of the railways and the importance of questioning ways of doing things.  As teachers and especially as English teachers I think it is important to teach our students to always be questioning rules and systems, and we should be modeling the same practices as teachers.  There are many methods in school systems that I believe are followed simply because that's the way it has always been done, when in order to be constantly striving for the best for students I think schools should always be reinventing themselves.