Purposeful Unit and Lesson Design and Implementation

Designing units and lessons with purpose is at the heart and soul of great teaching. Teachers must carefully pull apart curriculum standards and break down conceptual understandings to meet the needs of students. Then the teacher must think how they can purposefully design effective and engaging learning experiences.

Looking at the big picture and where you are headed with content is essential. Mapping out conceptual understanding so students see how ideas fit together is key to the process. Sharing unit content maps with students is the next step in having them visualize the way information is linked.

Below are links to with great resources for unit and lesson development.

Unit Planning Resources

Overview of GPS backward design process - see information on www.georgiastandards.org under the training section.
Unit components for Mercer students
PowerPoint presentation on UbD design process
Template for unit map
Assessment Presentation
General Categories of Instructional Strategies
UbD Stage 3 Presentation
Unit Scope and Sequence Calendar Template
Carroll County Schools - sample content maps - look under curriculum section
Wayne County Schools - sample content maps
EMAT621 ABC Review - Final Presentations Fall 2006

Unit Resources from Mercer Courses
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade

Presentation for Mercer Field Experience Students
Attached is file with PowerPoint presentation on unit and lesson planning

Lesson Plan Resources

Georgia teachers can see sample lesson plans correlated to the state standards at the Georgia Learning Connections web site:
http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/
Keep in mind that the
Quality Core Curriculum (QCC's) are changing to the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS).

Ato Z Teacher Stuff Web Site
A to Z Lesson Plans
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Lesson_Plans/

 

ABC Teach
Free Printables:  5000+ free printable pages and worksheets.
http://www.abcteach.com/

 

EdHelper
Thematic units, monthly ideas, content areas ideas
http://www.edhelper.com/

 

Education World
Lots of resources on a variety of education topics
http://www.educationworld.com/

LessonPlansPage.com
Has over 2,500 free lessons!
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/

PBS Teacher Source
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/
Over 4,500 free lesson plans and activities.

The Lesson Planet
Search from over 30,000 online lesson plans by keyword and grade!
There is a yearly membership charge of $9.95 to get full access to the resources on this web site.
http://www.lessonplanet.com/


Resource Files

Skeletal Unit Template EMAT605

Skeletal Unit Presentation EMAT 605

Sample First Grade Plant Unit EMAT605

Lesson Plan Template in Microsoft Word

Lesson Plan with Guiding Questions

Fishing for Syllables - Sample first grade language arts lesson

Curriculum and Instruction EMAT621

Template for unit EMAT621 in Microsoft Word

Unit Parts I & II - presentation information

Unit Part VIII -  instructional sequence chart template - sample one

Unit Part VIII -  instructional sequence chart - sample two

Contemporary Curriculum EDUC651, 652, 653

Template for unit EDUC651, 652, 653 in Microsoft Word

Unit Design Presentation - Stage One

Reading Comprehension Observation Form and Strategies

Unit Planning Chart

Sample Data Analysis Project

Copyright © 2008 Sherah B. Carr, Ph.D.
Revised 07/03/2008