Unit Planning
InTASC 7: The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Introduction
I use the plan for the year to provide guidance for my units. Having already identified the cross-curricular skills and major mathematical concepts for each unit, I identify the essential and enduring understandings students need to master by the end of the unit. My students are working toward improving scores on the ACT, so the rigor of my units always builds toward the rigor of that test. Most formal summative assessment is aligned to the ACT, but there are still several other opportunities in each unit for students to demonstrate their abilities to perform the math expected of them. Students are assessed frequently and spend an equal amount of time reflecting on their learning to get an accurate picture of their progress. Assessments are used to guide instruction as much as they guide learning this way, and this strategy is only effective is assessments are planned out in advance.
Table of Contents
Unit Plans
Example Unit Plan
The unit plan below is for Unit 2: Linear Functions. The plan document includes the standards, enduring understandings, and cross-curricular goals for the unit. I use an elementary unit plan template because it helps me focus on the big-picture ideas of how students will engage with the material. The unit plan lays out rigorous learning targets and the time in which they need to be addressed.
The specific literacy focus of the unit is decided in the long term planning process, but how literacy standards are incorporated into content is elucidated in the performance task. The performance task is the summation of the application projects students will complete in the unit. More specifics about the challenge-based learning applications in my linear functions unit can be found here.
The a most significant piece of the unit plan is the enduring understandings students should take away from the unit. These are expanded on below.
Enduring Understandings and Applications
Enduring Understandings give a purpose to the standards covered in the unit. They answer the question “What should students take away from this unit?” For this unit on linear functions, the goal was for students to be able to use various tools and the internet to interact with meaningful and relevant data. The academic content was largely review, but that made space for more exploration of how linear functions are seen in the real world. Learning content has no purpose if students are not applying it to contexts outside the classroom. These understandings are intentionally broad, as they do not end with linear functions. They will be a continuing theme throughout the year as students become stronger mathematicians.
Pacing
Daily learning targets provide an outline of what each lesson should accomplish. Setting these goals in advance allows standards-aligned assessments to be created to ensure that students are on track to be successful on the end of unit assessment. These plans can be made more accurately with assemblies, testing, drills, and other scheduled interruptions in mind. The daily agenda simplifies the planning process that I can focus more on how I should teach each lesson rather than what I should teach.
The pacing guide also lays out the language goals for the unit, including the vocabulary students should engage with in each lesson. The individual lessons are planned around ensuring students reach both the learning target and language goals for each concept.
Remediation
Regardless of the level students are at when they come to my class, every student benefits from practicing the most important skills of algebra. Topics for homework modules are selected to give students practice with the prerequisite skills necessary to learn Algebra II at a rigorous pace. In my unit on linear functions, students practiced Algebra I skills that made it easier for them to access grade level content. For example, they need to be able to identify intercepts and slope from various forms of linear equations before I can expect them to translate functions in the classroom.
The decision on which topics to remediate is a combination of the diagnostic students took at the beginning of the year, ACT readiness, and prerequisite skills necessary for the Algebra II content in the classroom. This remediation supplements my classroom instruction, rather than replace it.
Each week, I post an overview of the assignments that are due on Google Classroom. More information about the self-assessment process can be found here.
Unit plans are not rigid and require adaptation in order for students to meet rigorous learning goals. Trends in the diagnostic data inform differentiation within the unit. Sometimes, weekly goals have to be adjusted to accommodate the extra time students need to reach the goals laid out in the unit plan. In my classes this year, the Linear Functions Unit plan had to be adapted to provide students more time to master slope before moving onto forms of linear equations. Diagnostic data revealed that students did not remember or otherwise know the requisite information for graphing linear functions, so the unit timeline was adjusted to provide more class time to practice the skill.
Cross-curricular skills
Literacy - Discussion Posts
My school has a district-wide emphasis on literacy, and every teacher has the responsibility to incorporate literacy-building in their curriculum. This aligns with the goals of my math instruction already - students should be able to communicate mathematical concepts effectively. Writing in plain english requires that students understand the math more deeply. Analyzing and grading others’ work in addition to reading feedback to one’s own responses is an effective way to correct misunderstandings.
Below are the specific standards focused on through discussion board assignments.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1 - Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
This was my students' first discussion post of the year. We discussed operations earlier in the week, and their task here was to reiterate what we went over. This is included in the unit plan as a form of assessment to determine students' readiness with mathematical content. Discussion posts are frequently used in "reflection" lessons to push students to build connections within the content.
Literacy - Vocabulary
Vocabulary is a critical part of building understanding in math. Many students can do the relatively simple math needed to answer ACT problems, but they struggle to recognize what the question is asking for. Formalizing the language students use to discuss math in class has a big impact on their ability to decipher terminology on exams.
The template students learned to take notes on highlights key vocabulary words that students need to know in order to do well on the ACT. At the end of the quarter, students will use the key terms we have covered throughout the semester to create posters to hang in my classroom on an ACT Word Wall.
Conclusion
Unit plans provide a high level overview of the goals I hope to get my students to reach. There is an inherent flexibility to this approach that allows me to adapt to the needs of my students. Standards-aligned assessments provide insight into what the academic content will look like for the unit, and the unit plan lays out the strategy to get there. The enduring understandings and goals within a unit are put in place and aligned with the long term plan in order to ensure students will achieve proficiency on the ACT. More specifics are identified in daily lesson plans.