Criteria of a good unit

It should consider the needs,

capabilities and interest of the
students.
It should permit a variety of learning
activities eg. Discussion,
demonstration, field trip etc
Should account for the students
previous knowledge
Afford the students new experience

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

of the Unit
Starting point for unit
planning process
Conceptual organizer
for the rest of the
planning process
Communicates
instructional intent to
students, teachers,
and administrators.

Example: This unit is

intended to develop fourthgraders ability to use
reference files, both in
paper form and on
computer. This unit will
focus on titles, authors,
and subject files.

Do Activity
Write an overview/goal for the unit
topic that you have selected. 5
MINUTES
Share your overview/goal with the
class.

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
theyre 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.

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:

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

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 a rationale for the unit topic
you selected. 10 minutes
Share your rationale with your peers.

Unit Plan:

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

Objectives
Example: Given a
ruler and compass,
geometry students
will construct the
bisector of an angle
within 1 degree of
error.

Do Activity
Write two or three objectives for one
of the unit topic you selected. 10
minutes
Share your objectives with your
peers.

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:
Describes what
students will actually be
studying
The information
students will know or
understand, or the skills
they will develop
The way information is
organized

Content
Examples: Schematic
Diagrams, Hierarchies,
and Outlines are all
effective ways of
organizing and
communicating the way
the content is
organized.

Teach this concept to

your partner!

Unit Plan:

Learning Activities

Most important part of

the Unit
Elementary or
Secondary Methods
What you teach
should influence how
you teach and how
your students should
learn

Example: Cooperative
Lessons and Todays
Lesson called Say-SeeDo.

Teach this concept to

your partner

Unit Plan:

Evaluation

Example: What are the three kinds of

reference systems? OR Go to the
card catalog and locate the authors
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
from the unit

outcomes expected

Unit Components
Components Function
Content Identifies and organizes the
included in the unit

topics that are

Learning Activities Describe the experiences that will be

used to help learners reach the unit objectives
Evaluation Identifies ways that learning will be
measured