31. Unit Planning

Abstract: Following the development of curriculum, the next logical step in teaching is unit planning. Unit plans are integral to the instructional process because their development requires a teacher to carefully consider not only course content in detail, but also to think about and synthesize all that he or she knows about teaching, students, and standards. A well-prepared unit plan will include learning targets, a time line, learning sequences, implementation ideas, referencing and resourcing, monitoring of student learning, and evaluation and review. This unit encourages teachers to begin planning for student learning with the end in mind.

The Unit Plan – Understanding by Design – A Word about Standards – Science Unit Plan Framework – Impulse and Momentum: A Sample Unit Plan – Teaching from the Unit Plan – Formal Versus Informal Unit Planning