How to Write Unit Plans
Unit plans outline what students will learn during an extended period of time. They dictate how individual lesson plans will relate and build upon one other to teach a specific set of skills. Teachers generally plan units at the beginning of the school year and issue a course outline to students and their families. Unit planning demands that teachers draw upon a combination of research and experience to make sure that required learning objectives are met as the result of cohesive, balanced instruction.
Instructions
-
-
1
Determine and list the learning objectives for the unit. Explain not only the concepts that students will comprehend but describe specific actions the students should be able to take to demonstrate learning at the unit's conclusion.
-
2
Identify and list learning materials and activities to include in the unit. These can include specific stories to read, videos to watch, experiments to perform, creative projects to complete and websites to evaluate.
-
-
3
Determine the best structure for introducing the materials and resources you selected. Many teachers use Bloom's Taxonomy as a guide. Bloom's Taxonomy shows that people begin learning about a topic through memorizing information and progress through five additional stages of learning, which culminate with creation. You can structure the lessons within a unit to begin by focusing on memorization and to progress through the hierarchy of Bloom's Taxonomy.
-
4
Decide how many lesson will be included in the unit, and estimate how long each lesson will take to complete. Identify specific learning goals for each lesson. Make sure the learning goals are aligned with your state's required learning standards, the unit's overall objectives and the level of Bloom's Taxonomy on which you're focusing, if you're using it.
-
5
Establish deadlines for conducting key student assessments within the unit. Typically, assessments occur at the beginning, middle and end of a unit. Determine and record whether these assessments will be objective tests or comprehensive projects.
-
1
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
