Unit Planning

Andrews University

Department of Teaching and Learning

Principles of Teaching

Presentation Developed by Mr. Bradley Sheppard

 Board Work – Focus On Outcomes

 The following examples of objectives DO NOT focus on

intended learner outcomes. Rewrite them so they do
represent intended learner outcomes.
Students will participate in a discussion on mammals.
Students will state how Roman civilization was like Greek
civilization.
Students will demonstrate their enthusiasm for painting.
Students will play basketball.
Students will know all the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Students will go to the Museum of Fine Arts and write a paper
on their favorite painting.
 Unit Topics:
Selected Content Areas

Art Home Economics

Watercolors Nutrition
Perspective Fabrics
Pottery Money Management
Printmaking Baking
Physical Education Music
Aerobic Exercise Rhythm
Tennis Jazz
Body Conditioning Wind Instruments
Swimming Classical Era
Do Activity
 Write out four or five different unit topics
for your own particular content area(s).

 Share your unit topics with your partner.

Unit Plans – Benefits
 For Teachers: Help bridge gap between
long-term planning and daily lesson plans.

 For Students: The components (goals,

objective, content, activities) are tied
together in a logical coherent manner,
providing structure for the new material to
be learned.
Unit Plan: Overview/Goal
 Describes the purpose Example: “This unit is
of the Unit intended to develop
 Starting point for unit fourth-graders’ ability to
use reference files, both in
planning process
paper form and on
 Conceptual organizer computer. This unit will
for the rest of the focus on titles, authors,
planning process and subject files.”
 Communicates
instructional intent to
students, teachers, and Teach This Concept
administrators. To Your Partner
Do Activity
 Write an overview/goal for one of the unit
topics that you wrote a few minutes ago.

 Share your overview/goal with your team.

 Unit Plan: Rationale
Example:
 Explains why the unit is
important and how it will
benefit students
 Encourages teacher to be
thoughtful and reflective
while planning
 Connects new content to
other topics
 Helps students see
importance of topic and
adds motivation
“Understanding
reference systems and how
they’re organized is necessary
for students using the library.
They need to be able to locate
desired materials to use in
research projects, and
eventually they need to be able
to work independently.
Because many libraries have
both physical and computerized
cataloging systems, students
should understand
both.”

Teach this concept to your partner!

Do Activity
 Write a rationale for one of the unit topics
you wrote a few minutes ago.

 Share your rationale with your partner.

 Unit Plan: Objectives
 Deal specifically with “What do
I want my students to learn?”
 Involves translating general
goals into more specific
objectives
 Desired Educational Outcomes
listed in specific terms.
 A description of a content area
or skill
 A statement of what students
will be able to do when they
reach the objectives
Example: “Given a ruler
and compass,
geometry students
will construct the
bisector of an angle
within 1 degree of
error.”
Teach this concept
to your partner!
Do Activity
 Write two or three objectives for one of the
unit topics you wrote a few minutes ago.

 Share your objectives with your partner.

 Unit Plan: Content
 Describes what students Examples: Schematic
will actually be studying Diagrams, Hierarchies,
 The information students and Outlines are all
will know or understand, effective ways of
or the skills they will organizing and
develop communicating the way
the content is organized.
 The way information is
organized
Teach this concept to
your partner!
Do Activity
 Write one “small” segment of the course
content section for a unit plan from one of
the topics you chose a few minutes ago.
– You may create brief outline or diagram.
– Do not write anything elaborate right now.

 Share your “Content” section with your

partner.
Unit Plan: Learning Activities
 Most important part of Example: Cooperative
the Unit Lessons and Today’s
 Elementary or Lesson called Say-
Secondary Methods See-Do.
 “What you teach
should influence how Teach this concept
you teach and how to your partner
your students should
learn”
Do Activity
 Brainstorm with your partner a list of ways
you can teach the objectives you wrote a
few minutes ago.
Unit Plan: Evaluation
 Provides students with  Connected to all other
feedback and feedback parts of the unit plan
facilitates learning  The way you measure
 Provides teachers with student learning depends
information about
on what you want
students to learn
students’ learning (objectives) and the
progress learning activities
 Allows teachers to involved.
make decisions about  Teachers test what they
what to do next have taught.
Unit Plan: Evaluation

Example: “What are the three kinds of

reference systems?” OR “Go to the card
catalog and locate the author’s name and
call number for each title listed below.”

Teach this concept to your partner

Do Activity
 Write ONE evaluation question for one of
the unit topics you wrote earlier in the
period.

 Share your question with your partner.

 Unit Components
Components Function

Overview/General Summarizes the general Goal

purpose of the unit

Rationale Answers the question, “Why is this

topic important?”

Objectives Describe the specific outcomes

expected
from the unit
 Unit Components
ComponentsFunction

Content Identifies and organizes the topics that are

included in the unit

Learning Activities Describe the experiences that will be

used to help learners reach the unit objectives

Evaluation Identifies ways that learning will be

measured
 Andrews University
Department of Teaching and Learning
Unit Planning Guide
Subject: Grade:

Overview/General Goal:

Rationale:

Objectives Content Activities Learning Activities Days

Evaluation: