Westminster Unit Design

Unit Frame

Unit Title:

Creator(s):

Unit placement in level progression (i.e., fractions will come after the number sense unit):

Performance Levels and Content addressed in this unit:

Length expected for the implementation in the unit:

Unit Summary (2-4 sentences describing the main ideas, content and skills of the unit):

Stage 1. Desired Results
Establish Learning Goals: Proficiency Scale/Standard(s)
The established learning goals must include:
  • Which standards/steps are emphasized in this unit?
  • Sequenced steps organized into progression within the unit-could be from multiple scales and levels.
  • The goals should be directly copied and pasted from the scales so it includes the DOK/taxonomy and CCSS. Every goal should identify the recorded learning target number and the MAS score. The MAS score needs to be inputted by the creator.
  • Subskills can be listed in your unit progression without a recorded learning target number.
  • Incorporate personal social and technology standards.
/ Success Criteria:
  • By what criteria will demonstration of proficiency be judged?
  • What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
  • What should they eventually be able to do as a result of such knowledge and skill?
  • The success criteria is not a repeat of the step on the proficiency scale.
  • The success criteria does not include the product or process and does not define an activity.

G1.
G2.
G3.
Big Ideas, Essential Questions, Hook, Connection to Schema/Prior Learning,and Unit Relevancy
Students will understand that…
  • What are the big picture understandings that are transferable across contexts, places, and times?
  • What misunderstandings are predictable?
  • What essential/provocative questions will foster inquiry, understanding, and transfer of learning? (PBL Driving Question)
  • Encourages students to access prior knowledge; sparks student interest and engagement, and answers the question, “Why do we need to learn this?” (hook, scenarios, situation)

Stage 2. Assessment Evidence
Evaluate Student Learning (Culminating Application/Summative Assessment, After Instruction)
  • Describe what students will do and produce to develop evidence that will be evaluated using the scoring criteria.
  • Through what authentic performance tasks or culminating activity will students demonstrate the desired understandings?
  • By what criteria will performance of understanding be judged (e.g., rubrics, success criteria, common assessments)?
  • Provide specific examples of assessment items.
  • Allow for opportunities for student voice and choice in demonstrating competency.

Monitor Student Learning (Formative Assessment Practices, During Instruction)
  • Determines student strengths, weaknesses, and prior knowledge of the concepts and skills addressed in the unit.
  • Through what other evidence (e.g., quizzes, tests, academic prompts, observations, homework, and journals) will students demonstrate achievement of the desired results?
  • Provide clear, descriptive, actionable feedback for students and provide feedback to teachers in order to adjust instruction.

Data Driven Planning(Before Instruction)
  • Analysis of Empower data, class data (ACCESS, DIBELS, Scantron) and pre-assessment data to differentiate for groupings, instruction, and special populations.
  • Have the students had the opportunity to set a goal based on data driven dialog?

Stage 3. Learning Plan
Interacting with New Content  Practice and Deepening  Generate and Test Hypotheses
  • Learning Activity - What learning experiences and instruction will enable students to achieve the desired results?
  • Utilize Hess’s Cognitive Rigor Matrix to select activities that meet the DOK/Blooms Cognitive Process that each step requires
  • Progress Monitoring and Formative Assessment–What evidence will you collect for each learning experience to check for understanding?
Interacting with New Content
Building Vocabulary and Background Information
  • Learning Activity-Skill-based (MAS 2)
  • Formative Assessments until score 2s mastered
  • Progress Monitoring
  • Intentional Re-teach (Gradual release)
  • Enrich
Practice and Deepening New Knowledge
Application of New Skills
  • Learning Activity-Performance Task (MAS 2, 3, 4)
  • Formative Assessments until score 2s, 3s mastered
  • Progress Monitoring
  • Data-driven Re-teach (Gradual release)
  • Enrich
Generate and Test Hypotheses for New Knowledge
Performance task in simulations or real life settings
  • Learning Activity-Performance Task (MAS 2, 3, 4)
  • Assessments until score 2s, 3s & 4s mastered
  • Progress Monitoring
  • Data-driven Re-teach (Gradual release)
  • Enrich

Reteach and Enrich
  • What activities may I use for remediation or extension?

Resources
  • Support varied student needs and learning styles and include a range of media and print materials.
  • What are the basic text/instructional resources that match the expected learning (be specific with page numbers and sections)?

Stage 4. Reflection
  • How will students reflect upon and self-assess their learning (e.g., Capacity matrix, journal,ticket to leave, goal setting)?
  • Provides an opportunity for teachers to reflect on instruction and student progress toward indicators; occurs throughout and at the end of the unit; is based on student learning and engagement data; can result in changes to the unit, to instructional practice, or both.
  • Provides an opportunity for students to reflect on learning and progress toward indicators;occurs throughout and at the end of a unit; incorporates goal setting

Rubric for a Unit

4-Advanced / 3-Proficient / 2-Partially Proficient / 1-Emerging
Desired Result / Pre-planning / •Measures more than one learning goal in multiple content areas.
•The big idea, essential question and hook engage students.
•Assessments measure all MAS Scores 2-4
•Differentiates instruction based on the individual needs of students from the pre-assessments.
•Success Criteria is clearly defined and includes steps, skills and subskills. The students can track the unit success criteria and know what they need to do to demonstrate mastery. / •Measures one or more learning goals in one content area
•Defines the Big Ideas and develops aligned open-ended Essential Questions to be defended
•Assessments measure the MAS score 2 and MAS score 3 steps.
•Pre-assesses student knowledge prior to the unit beginning. Plans objectives, instructional approaches, grouping, & resources, based on pre-assessment data
•Success Criteria is written for all MAS 2 and 3 steps. / •Measures only one of the learning goals in one content area
•Essential Questions are too convergent to one right answer.
•Assessments measure the only the score 3 and omits the score 2 steps.
•Pre-assesses some student knowledge and begins to differentiate based on this data.
•Success Criteria is written for all MAS 3 Steps. /
  • Begins to measure the learning but is not clearly aligned with a learning goal.
  • Essential Questions and Big Ideas are too narrow and fact-based.
•Assessments measure only score 2 steps but does not address the score 3s or score 4s.
  • Begins teaching from plan without pre-assessing students’ previous knowledge.
  • Success Criteria is not included in the unit plan.

Focused purpose / •Measure the application of the learning goal in real life. / •Measures the application of the learning goal.
•Student choice for demonstrations of learning. / •Measures only the skill or knowledge of the learning goal.
•Demonstrations of learning are teacher-directed. / •Is loosely aligned to desired learning.
•Little to no student choice.
Learner-centered / •Seeks learner’s interests and choice to differentiate unit.
•Promotes investigation from the learner.
•Learners contribute to the creation of tasks, rubrics, and success criteria.
•Learners monitor their goals and check and adjust their progress. / •Uses data to determine the needs of individual learners.
•Engages and challenges the learner.
•Provides for student interest and choice.
•Learners set goals from rubrics and/or success criteria. They revisit their goals to reflect. / •Uses data to determine the needs of the majority of learners.
•Provides limited options for student choice and interest.
•Students set goals for the unit but are not revisited for reflection. / •Data is not used to determine student needs.
• Is teacher-directed.
•Students do not set goals for the unit.
Assessment Evidence / Culminating Assessment / •Students take the lead to plan the celebration of learning with an authentic audience to demonstrate knowledge of the big ideas and essential questions.
•Students facilitate and reflect on the learning with self, one another and the class. / •Students and teachers plan a celebration of learning with an audience to demonstrate knowledge of the big ideas and essential questions.
•Teachers facilitate a reflection process on the learning with self, one another and the class.
•Teacher develops a project or performance that ties all of the learning goals from the unit.
•The culminating activity allows student to display the depth and breadth of learning. / •Teachers plan a celebration of learning with an audience to demonstrate knowledge of the big ideas and essential questions.
•Some reflection is facilitated by the teacher to improve the unit. / •A minimal culminating activity is planned.
•Little to no reflection is done by teachers or students to continuously improve learning.
Learning Plan / Instruction and Assessment aligns to learning / •Learners collaborate to support learning within the unit.
•Provisions for students to peer and self-assess and reflect are included. / •Instruction is planned to interact with new content, deepen knowledge and generate and test new knowledge.
•Instruction aligns to the formative and culminating assessments.
•The unit builds in complexity based on a taxonomy.
•Formative assessments are included in the unit. / •Instruction is planned to interact with new content, deepen knowledge but does not generate and test new knowledge.
•Instruction has some alignment to the performance task/culminating assessment.
•The cognitive complexity of learning is not totally aligned with the unit.
•Has few formative checks for understanding throughout the unit. / •Instruction is planned to interact with new content, but doesn’t deepen knowledge or generate and test new knowledge.
•Previous instruction has little to no alignment to the culminating assessment.
•Assessments are not aligned to the cognitive complexity of learning expected.
•Little to no formative checks for understanding are included.
Reflection / Valid and reliable / •Includes all proficient criteria plus exemplars and teacher and student reflections.
•Unit is exemplary for others to use. / •Free from bias and distortion.
•Effective use of time and resources.
•Clear directions and anticipates error patterns.
•Includes Pre-planning activities, Addressing Content, and Closure from the planning mental model. / •Includes some bias or distortion based on students’ background or experience.
•Unit has some aspects that are not an effective use of time and resources.
•Directions for teacher and students need to be clearer and/or has not anticipated all the students’ possible misconceptions.
•Includes some of the unit components. / •Unit is unclear or has many errors.
•Time and resources are not used efficiently for this unit.
•Unit needs to be re-written to provide clearer directions or prerequisite skills.
•Includes few to none of the unit components.