Unit Plan
ENGL 4790
McDowell
Unit Plan
Purpose: There is an old saying that goes "those who fail to plan, plan to fail." Like many old sayings, there is a fair amount of truth in the statement. Spontaneity is valuable in teaching but as the exception not as the rule. Without planning, education is less effective. It would depend completely on serendipitous events. Planning creates structure and helps provide that each new piece of knowledge will fit into the framework of existing knowledge.
An instructional unit is essentially a complete, coherent sequence of lessons designed to cover a single topic or theme. A well-designed unit includes:
- A set of learning goals or objectives,
- A cohesive plan for day-by-day instruction,
- An introduction and conclusion for the unit as a whole,
- And appropriate assessment methods for both analyzing student performance and teacher effectiveness.
Task: In groups, you will develop a unit plan appropriate for either middle school or high school students which centers around a theme of social justice. This is a time for students to learn about political activism and what they can do to make a difference through literary practices. Social justice themes inlcude, but are not limited to (poverty, GLBTQ rights, illiteracy, domestic abuse, genocide, religious freedom, inequality, etc). Determine what theme, grade level and course content your unit is geared towards in advance. You should incorporate concepts and craft lessons from your course readings in addition to original lesson plans. Please note that all lessons must be original. This is not the time to share your findings from the Internet or a Teacher’s Guide.
Unit Plan Format: Your written plan for instruction must include the following sections.
- Descriptive Title.
- Learning Goals and Objectives for the unit couched in
behavioral terms (i.e. use verbs to describe what the student will be able
to do). - CCSS covered throughout the
unit. - Contain a unit introduction and conclusion. and Sequence
Chart - Ten days worth of lesson plans that covers a minimum of
four craft lessons. (This is an artificial constraint for the purposes of
this training exercise. True unit plans are written to be appropriate to
the age and level of the student and to the concepts and skills to be
taught. They could be as short as three to four days or as long as six
weeks.) See below for details on lesson plan
requirements. - Technology usage by students.
- Formative and summative assessments plus a rationale for
each. - Modifications for students above and grade
level. - Modifications for students with special
needs. - Content area applications.
- A calendar of events for the unit that should also include
enough flexibility to allow for re-teaching or other common schedule
busters.
- Title and Context: (level, age, prerequisites etc.)
Statement of Purpose: What is the general topic or theme being addressed?
Objectives: What are the students expected to know and be able to do at the end of the lesson? These typically begin with “The student will be able to….”
Materials: What materials will you need to teach your lesson? Don’t overlook the obvious.
Alignment of Content and Skills: The content, objectives, and goals of this lesson must align with Common Core State Standards. In a concise chart, list
vertically each standard covered with concise statement about how each standard is appropriate to the lesson.
Anticipatory Set: You will want to link the current lesson with any previous lesson that is somehow related. This step is included to ensure that the students are ready for this lesson as well as the next lesson in a series of lessons. These introductory activities focus student attention, provide for very brief practice on previous objectives, and develop readiness for the current lesson.
Instructional Methodologies and Corresponding Activities: Instructional activities are planned such that they help students to accomplish the stated
objectives. Once you know what the students need to do, the follow up question is what is the best method to help that students achieve those objectives?
Instructional activities should be varied, appeal to all learners and have enough built-in flexibility to be adapted to meet the needs of all students.
Checking for Understanding and Closure: How will you end each lesson? How will students be accountable for the information they just worked with? How will you relay what is coming up next?Never end a lesson without checking whether or not your students have achieved the objectives. List here a series of questions or test items that you might use to check for student understanding of the content of the lesson. In a unit, the checking for understanding exercise from one day may become the anticipatory set for the next day. Include all rubrics if the assessment requires one.
Assessments: How will you formally evaluate what your students learned? Describe all forms of assessment you will use. Include copies of all handouts and rubrics
Hints on Unit Planning
Answer the following questions in the order they are listed to help guide you to "plan backwards."
1. Is this a single course or part of a series? Must this course satisfy all goals in this subject area or only some part? Which part?
2. If the course is only one part of a school's program, how do your envisioned course goals fit into the school goals?
3. How do these goals align with CCSS?
4. What type of students will be in the course? (middle school, high school, special needs, etc.)
5. What are your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher? How do you avoid your own biases?
6. Once you know what you want the students to be able to do (skill and content), how do you assess whether they can do these things?
7. What are the best instructional activities that allow for this assessment?
8. What skills do the students need to accomplish these activities?
Six Common Mistakes in Writing Lesson Plans
1. Lessons and activities do not match learning outcomes. Some lessons are fun, some are cute, and some are glorious time fillers. Make each moment count with purposeful lessons.
2. Lessons and activities are inappropriate for the students’ grade level. If the material is too easy or too difficult, student learning is impaired.
3. Back up plans are non-existent. Sometimes the best laid lesson plans flop. What will you do if this happens?
4. Assessments do not match the material covered in the lessons, nor match the learning outcomes. This is why backwards planning is advantageous. Decide what you need your students to be able to do, and then plan accordingly.
5. Lessons and activities are too rigid. Be prepared for deviations in the scheduling. There will be times when you need to re-teach a concept. You should also be prepared for the AHA moment, the teachable moment, when a student’s comment or question detours the lesson into something even more meaningful. You will have to adjust your schedule accordingly.
6. Too much or too little routine. Don’t let each lesson become a carbon copy of the one before it or students will quickly become bored. On the other hand, some routine is good, so don’t go overboard in the other direction.