How To Map Out An Effective Unit Plan

Learning Objective: Teachers will be able to (TWBAT) design a more focused, engaging, coherent, and effective unit plan.

In my early years of teaching, I have fond memories of plowing through lesson databases, trying to put together the “story” of my lesson. I remember being super stoked about finding the “biggest wow” lessons, which seemed super fun, but probably not the most effective. Looking back, I probably was a well-liked teacher, but not nearly as effective as I could have been. This week I want to highlight key insights I’ve learned to develop a strong unit plan.

To begin, I want to preface that this post is heavily influenced by the fundamentals of Understanding by Design (UbD), a three-stage planning approach. The main idea is that you “backwards plan” with the end goal(s) in mind, to guide you to make better choices about the tasks you will assign. Being intentional about the activities you choose, and the order in which you present them, can transform you from “fun & ____” to “fun & a great teacher.”

Step 1. Identify End Goal

First, select the top priority standards you’d like to cover in the unit. As we all know, there isn’t enough time to cover everything...or at least everything well. Next, make your unit plan digestible by creating 5-10 learning objective statements that address what students should know, understand, and be able to do. Gold Star Tip: Use this guide to translate your standards to a student-friendly Unit Objective Sheet. When students know exactly what is expected of them, it reduces uncertainty and anxiety, allowing them to better focus on the ideas being introduced. Additionally, as educational guru Marzano says, “Students who can identify what they are learning significantly outscore those who cannot.”

Step 2. Select Activities and Assessments

Too many times I walked away from a class saying to myself, “That was fun. I think it went well!” only to be surprised a week later when the unit quiz/exam rolled around and my students demonstrated zero knowledge of what I “taught.” *Hand on forehead* In this section I want to emphasize the importance of creating clear and concise daily learning objectives and using assessments to measure mastery of those objectives.

For each unit objective I choose, I ask myself what I need to teach in order to get that objective taught. Then, and only then, can I search for activities while using strict guidelines that help me not get distracted by the “coolness” of an activity and focus on its effectiveness. I ask myself, “Is this an intro activity or a culminating review activity? How many concepts are being addressed in this activity? Is this the most streamlined and direct way to teach this concept? Is this something that will directly build understanding or confuse the students with a somewhat irrelevant idea?” By keeping these guidelines in mind, I can ensure that I will have a more coherent and focused unit plan.

The second part to this step is implementing formative assessments to drive instruction. How will I know if students met the objective and what will I accept as evidence of student understanding? Personally, I use daily exit tickets and if 80% meet the objective, I move on and make sure I check-in with the students that did not meet the objective. If below 80% cannot correctly answer the exit ticket, I know I need to reteach the material. Gold Star Tip: Read the last post about Plickers, an excellent formative assessment tool.

Step 3. Intentionally Order Activities

Once you select the activities you want to teach you need to order them in a way that builds student autonomy. You must ask yourself what supports will you put in place to ensure all learners first, understand the material, and then can eventually apply that knowledge. Unfortunately students don’t usually just magically “get it.” They need to build upon small pieces and need to be shown how to connect all those ideas together. My general recipe: initiate with inquiry, inform with a little direct teaching, and provide opportunities to process with guided and independent practice.

I hope this process helps you develop a more focused, engaging, coherent, and effective unit plan. Here is your motivational quote for the week:

“The best way to succeed is to have a specific intent, a clear vision, a plan of action, and the ability to maintain clarity. Those are the four pillars of success. It never fails!”