Steppingstones

Chapter 7
Planning Classroom Units
Outline
Introduction
Nine Steps in Planning Classroom Units
1. Consider the Significance and Relevance of a Topic
2. Brainstorm Ideas
3. Formulate Your Unit Focus
4. Design and Choose Learning Activities
5. Incorporate Government Standards
6. Plan a Schedule
7. Select Resources
8. Plan Student Assessment
9. Review Effectiveness of Your Unit
Notes
Introduction

Unit is a portion of the curriculum that focuses on a particular theme. The

theme could center on a topic and its concepts, or on an issue or problem
that requires investigation to find a desirable solution. Students can
experience the advantages of both integrated and subject-focused
curriculums if teachers plan their units to be integral units.
An integral unit is a portion of a course or program that has a clear
thematic focus and that:
1. Has internal unity
2. Has external consistency
3. Includes pertinent and meaningful aspects of reality that are related
to, and may even go beyond, the main discipline focus of the unit
Nine steps in designing a unit:
1. Consider the suitability of a proposed topic.
2. Brainstorm ideas, possibly using a planning chart or web diagram.
3. Formulate your unit focus (e.g., a thematic statement, guiding
questions, and intended learning outcomes; or Egan's narrative
structure with binary opposites or transcendent values).
4. Design, balance, and sequence learning activities. Include a
motivational introductory activity and a culminating summative
one.
5. Review linkages with state or provincial standards and/or curriculum
guides, adding or revising learning activities accordingly.
6. Plan a schedule.
7. Select your resources.

1
 8. Plan student assessment. Throughout the unit, consider what
evidence will show that you have met your intents.
9. Review the effectiveness of your unit.
Nine Steps in Planning Classroom Units
1. Consider the Significance and Relevance of a Topic
Determining the significance and relevance of a topic:
1. How can the topic advance understandings needed for responsible
and responsive discipleship?
How can the topic introduce students to a Christian
worldview, biblically based values, and our Christian and
cultural heritage?
2. How is the topic relevant for your students?
How can the topic expand previous knowledge and deal with
significant issues?
Is the topic too general, without a clear focus? or too narrow,
restricting substantive learning?
3. Can the topic meet students' learning needs?
Is it suitable for diverse backgrounds, learning styles,
aptitudes, and developmental phases?
Can it engender interest and encourage personal, meaningful
response?
Can it include skill development in different modes of
knowing?
Are sufficient resources available?
Examples with important concepts, problems, or issues:
o A unit on light may highlight wave theory as an important concept.
o A unit on government may emphasize justice as its key concept.
o A unit on World War II may focus on the problem of how to prevent
war and its related atrocities.
o A unit on Africa may highlight issues such as poverty and
malnutrition, the devastation caused by AIDS, or the persecution of
Christians in a country like Sudan.
o A unit on contemporary music may involve concepts such as
rhythm, tempo, and dynamics while also underscoring how music
both reflects and shapes culture and its values.
o A unit on geometry may stress the concepts of axioms, postulates,
and proof, and, at the same time, have students investigate
problems that require non-Euclidean geometry.
2. Brainstorm Ideas
Web diagram

2
 Worldview-based approach
o Work out your worldview for the topic
o Consider which aspects of reality are part of the topic and issues
Think about your unit focus
Use the charts suggested key values as a starting point for
considering which values to emphasize in your unit
Look a the types of skills you want your student to learn, and
indicate thme in the appropriate categories
Insert some sample activities in the appropriate cells
o Completed chart will provide basis for
Recognizing the significance of the topic for your students,
and what enduring understandings you want them to grasp
Identifying the values that you can weave into the unit
Determining which aspects of reality are relevant and can be
an integral part of the unit
Getting some ideas on how to help students learn through
different modes of knowing (multiple intelligences)
Choosing the skills that students can learn in a meaningful
setting as part of the unit
Seeing what types of activities are possible that would fit
your topic and theme

3
3. Formulate Your Unit Focus
Thematic statement describes the overall approach that will frame your
units teaching and learning including:
o The basic values, dispositions, and commitments that you want to
foster
o The enduring understandings, major concepts, and key skills that
you want students to acquire
Guiding questions open-ended questions
o Help students to look for patterns and meaning
o Think about what they learn at higher level (blooms taxonomy)
o Call for personal response

4
 Intended learning outcomes (objectives)
o Try to include ILOs from each category
Content outcomes
Ability outcomes
Value and disposition outcomes
Expressive-creative outcomes

5
6
4. Design and Choose Learning Activities

7
 Learning activities what evidence will show you that you have attained
those results
Questions to guide your thinking about learning activities
o I . Does each learning activity contribute to your unit's thematic
statement and ILOs? Does the set of activities do justice to your
overall theme?
o 2. Will the activities help meaningful learning to take place? (e.g.,
students have the prerequisite knowledge and aptitudes; the level
of difficulty is suitable; activities are adaptable for special needs)
o 3. Do the activities include a range of pedagogical strategies? Is
there a suitable balance of the four phases of learning? learning
styles? the modes of knowing or multiple intelligences? Do the
activities include varied student products so that students can
demonstrate their understanding in different ways? Is there
adequate involvement and response?
o 4. Do the activities encourage the learning of enduring
understandings, worthwhile skills, important values, and higher
level thinking skills at a high but attainable level of achievement?
o 5. Are there motivational introductory activities based on students'
experiences that set the stage for the unit? Are there culminating
activities that review and pull together the main themes?
o 6. Will the necessary resources be available?
The unit plan should include one or two concluding activities
o Consider a final overview of the unit's main themes.
o Give a thoughtful personal response to the unit's themes and
guiding questions.
o Complete a task that enables you to make a final assessment of
how well they understand the major ideas of the unit and what they
are able to do with their new insights and abilities.

8
5. Incorporate Government Standards
6. Plan a Schedule

9
7. Select Resources
8. Plan Student Assessment
Make assessment of student learning an integral part of your unit design
Emphasize formative assessment feedback
As much as possible, align learning outcomes, elarning activities, student
products, and assessment strategies
Use varied assessment strategies
Use state standardized test as only one of a broad array of assessment
strategies
Remember that not all intended learning outcomes can be assessed
immediately and learning activities may have unintended outcomes
9. Review Effectiveness of Your Unit
Did I realize the unit's intended learning outcomes?
Were the concepts, skills, and values appropriate? Did the students grasp
the key themes and enduring understandings?
Which learning strategies were successful? Which did not work well? Was
there enough variety? Were the students interested in their learning?
Were the resources relevant and suitable?

10
 Was the student assessment balanced, fair, and helpful for improving
learning?
What things were particularly successful? Which would I change next
time?

11