How To Plan A Unit

Having an effective plan for your class is important to successful teaching. Sometimes you have to wing it, but classes go much more smoothly when you have a good plan. The essential aspects of a good plan are knowing what you want to cover and how you are going to assess the information.

It is best to work backwards when planning a unit. Have an idea what the class will cover for the entire unit and what the final assessment of that information is going to be. For instance, if the final assessment is going to be an essay exam, start by planning the questions for the exam. After the assessment is created work backwards to develop the unit to cover everything you want to assess in the exam.

It is almost impossible to cover everything in class, so decide what topics or information will be covered in class and what kind of things will be covered by outside reading or some other form of homework. Focus on fewer topics rather than a larger amount. It is better to go into more depth on a fewer number of things than it is to skim over a lot of different things.

Part of the decision making about topics for a unit should already be done by having planned out what is going to be covered over the entire semester or year. Flexibility is important. No unit or semester plan should be so structured that if it says there is a test on March 2 then there will be a test on March 2 even if no one is ready. Know where you want to go with a class but do not let the plan take total control.

The information that is covered in any unit is important but is not the only thing to consider when planning. The kind of skills that need to be worked on should be an important part of the planning. Throughout the school year your class will be working on reading skills, note taking skills, writing and more. Pick at least one of these per unit and work them into the planning. Especially at the lower secondary grades (7th, 8th, 9th) the skills are often as important, if not more so, than the information. If you want to work on writing a paper for the unit, work on the various steps needed through out the unit. Spend time writing a thesis, or writing outlines. Depending on the skill level of the class and the time of the school year, you may only finish part of the process or you may finish the entire thing.

One of the most important aspects of planning is to be flexible and reflective. Evaluate for yourself what worked and what did not. Do not be afraid to make adjustment, possibly mid unit. Do not let yourself become the teacher that does the same thing on the same day every year. Be creative and have fun with your class.