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Creating engaging, worthwhile, and compelling units for your classroom takes a great deal of thought and energy – and it’s worth it when you see your students learning (let alone when they are INTERESTED while they are learning!)

The first step of creating a unit is to develop your Content Outline. Consider the following questions and suggestions as you get started doing so.

1. What topics are likely to be covered in the unit?
2. What important concepts should be covered in the unit?
3. Provide a basic outline and/or overview of the topics/concepts/content to be taught during this unit.
4. Be reasonably specific. It is not necessary to give a day-by-day breakdown at this point, unless that is helpful to you.
5. Does your content outline seem like a reasonable amount to be covered in approximately 1 to 3 weeks? In other words, does the number of concepts to be covered seem appropriate for a 1-3 week unit?
6. Is it clear to you (and to someone else who might read this) what concepts will be covered in this unit?
7. Can you provide a justification for the overall content outline?
8. If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” then go back through the process.

 You should plan to do and redo the content outline until you have it right. If you don’t get on the right track from the beginning, it is difficult to get on the right track later on. Don’t redo the content outline because I said so; redo it so that it provides the guidance and structure you will need for the rest of your unit planning.

And if you’d like to access multiple free resources to support your teaching, you’ll find them at both of the following websites, which you are welcome to access:
** http://www.PumpernickelPublishing.com
** http://www.OwningWordsforLiteracy.com

Tags: academic, content, planning, professional, students, study, teachers

Posted on: July 10, 2009

Filed under: Educators, Teaching Recommendations

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