Designing a Unit Plan Alba, Tracy, Kaitlyn and Elaina PED 1159 – Science and Technology October 5, 2012

Presentation Outline 1. What is a unit plan? 2. Purpose of a unit plan 3.Types of unit plans 3.Group discussion 4. Conclusion

What is a unit plan? Overall expectations Specific expectations Teaching/Learning strategies Procedures and Rational Academic and Personal growth

What’s the purpose of a unit plan? To drive student teachers crazy!! Detailed view of your teaching plans. A sense of structure, direction, and organization

Before you start… Curriculum documents & student texts How much time How can concepts be linked together Students prior learning Essential learning Assessment and evaluation Explore other resources and materials Divide the topic into sub-topics Examine other subject areas Pedagogical strategies Students learning styles and needs

Checklist Why is the selected content important? What resources are available to support my teaching and students’ learning? Do I address each objective in multiple lessons/activities to give students adequate time and support to really understand?

Key Points… Essential Questions Big Ideas Learning tasks

Types of Unit Plans 1)Thematic units 2) Single Topic units 3) Goals based units 4) Project based units

Types of unit plans 1) Thematic units - A single topic used to relate to several subject areas

Types of unit plans 2) Single Topic units -Lessons are taught separately in assigned time periods

Types of unit plans 3) Goals based units -Specific goals are reached at each lesson level

Types of unit plans 4) Project based units -Focuses on an end product

Purpose of Unit Planning Consider these benefits: 1)Guidance in making decisions 2)Keeps you on track to achieve your goals. 3)Tailor your plan to students’ interests

Reflection What did I learn about my students, content, and myself as a teacher? What went well? What were the surprises? What would I do differently and why? What do I need to learn more about?

Group Discussion Guiding discussion questions: What did you find the most difficult about creating a unit plan? How did you over come your difficulty? What did you enjoy the most about unit planning? How did you decide how to organize the specific expectations?

Practical Resources Ontario Curriculum Unit planner software application units.htmlhttp://orgs.educ.queensu.ca/curr/curriculum-planner- units.html Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner –Planner Help kits and guides & s/ecu_project.pdf

References Busy Teacher’s Cafe. Retrieved from Teaching As Leadership: Plan purposefully. (2009) Retrieved from Teaching As Leadership: Unit planning. Retrieved from Readings/IPD_Ch4_2011.pdf Learning Reviews (2012). Retrieved from The teachers Corner. (2012) Retrieved from Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner. Retrieved from Training Presentation #3: The Planner and Instructional Design. Retrieved from n_All.pdf n_All.pdf