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Content Standards, Understanding(s), Goals and Essential Questions
The unit/lesson begins with your curriculum standards.Identify the overarching Common Core Standard in math and the measurable lesson objective(s).
Content Standards and measurable learning objectives:
Common Core Standards in math, and perhaps, CCSS English Language Arts, Science or Engineering for cross curricular units.
Example of a content standard:
6.NS.C.5 Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities...
Other content standards for the Ubd example
8.1b selects and use appropriate forms of rational numbers to solve real-life problems including those involving proportional relationships.
8.3b estimate and find solutions to application problems involving percents (and proportional relationships such as similarity rates)
8.14a identify and apply mathematics to everyday experiences, to activities in and outside of school, with other disciplines, and with other mathematical topics
(Note: these are not CCSS)
Enduring Understandings
To know the big picture ideas, to know the enduring understanding students are supposed to learn are indeed very important in planning and teaching a lesson. However, for teachers to be able to identify and articulate the enduring understanding for a particular content topic requires knowledge of the following:
knowledge of the nature of the discipline;
a deep content knowledge;
knowledge of the connections among the different content topics
some knowledge about the connection of your discipline with other discipline or subject area;
knowledge of the relevance of your discipline to real-life
All these should already be partly articulated and reflected in the standards or curriculum framework to serve as guide to teachers when they design their lesson plans. If the curriculum framework is just a list of topics, or some general statements then that’s bad news.
One can argue of course that teachers are expected to already know all these (the 5 items I listed above) and hence know the enduring understanding in their discipline. But the reality in this part of the world is that the majority of our teachers still need more help in these aspects. This is my reason why we have to have a curriculum framework or Standards that supports the demands of articulating the enduring understanding expected in each unit before asking teachers to plan their “ubdized” lesson.
Most importantly, teachers should have enough time to study the topic they are going to teach and how this content topic relates to previously learned concepts and future concept so they can find the right activity/ task and use appropriate assessment process. These are what can make or unmake a lesson, not whether or not the teachers use the backward or forward design in lesson planning.
Mathematics for Teaching, (2012, July 18). 6 Thoughts on "Enduring Understanding" . [Blog Post] CC BY 4.0
Enduring Understandings (Big Ideas) The students will understand that...
.Rational numbers can be represented as decimals, fractions, and percents
Strategies can be used to simplify expressions and to compare and order rational numbers
There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of representation (fractions, decimals, and percents)
Sometimes the “correct” unit rate (i.e., fractions, decimals, and percents) is not the best solution to real world problems
Essential Questions
What questions will foster inquiry, understanding and transfer of learning?
The students will know:
What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
The Students will be able to:
What should they eventually be able to do as a result of such knowledge and skill?
1. Overarching Essential Question
2. Lesson Specific Essential Questions
Go to Essential Questions Page and review the Presentation on EQs- see tab on the navigation bar.
What are Rational Numbers UbD example- Stage 1
Essential Question(s)
Overarching Question (Unit EQ)
Why do we need numbers? (Year Overview)
What couldn't we do if we didn't have numbers?
What is a number?
Sub Topic Questions (Lesson EQs)
What is a rational number?
When is it best to use a fraction?
When is it best to use a decimal?
When is it best to use a percent?
Note: these need to be written in learner friendly, age/grade appropriate language.
Students will know:
Vocabulary: unit rate, ratio, percent, decimal, fraction, rational number
The properties of rational numbers expressed in a variety of forms.
Students will be able to:
Compute with rational numbers being expressed in a variety of forms
Determine if a solution is appropriate and moving beyond a particular problem by thinking of other situations
(Risinger, 2005)
Note: these need to be measurable. Avoid "understand", "learn" terms. These may translate into individual lesson objectives.
Below are UbD plans at the kindergarten, 3rd and 6th grade levels. Visit Trinity Commons for a wide range of math units.
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