UBD Unit Format

UBD Unit Format

UBD Unit Format w/ Guided Explanation

Title:Be creative!

Subject: Grade:

Unit Summary

Write a summary of what you want to accomplish in this unit. This should only be about a paragraph long. Sum up your big ideas and general goals.

Example:

Students will study the genre of the short story, reading and discussing in depth six to

eight short stories. They will explore all elements of the short story with particular

attention paid to plot. They will also be encouraged to read with a critical eye and be able

to draw conclusions about characters and motives andunderstand and be able to articulate

the theme of each story.

Enduring Ideas

The term enduring refers to big ideas, the important understandings, we want the students to really get and to remember long after they have forgotten many of the details. What is really worth understanding? Some filters:

-has value beyond the classroom

-at the heart of the discipline

-requires uncoverage

-engaging

Some other indicators:

  • It is key to understanding other important ideas
  • It is unlikely to be fully understood by studying it once
  • There are different ways to study it, to teach it, to apply it
  • It involves the kind of problems, challenges and work that adults do

(re-read UBD pages 10, 11)

Examples:

From a short story unit:

  • A story is like a flashlight: It shows us what the writer wants us to see about the world.
  • Effective stories involve some element of surprise or tension, in which the characters reveal insights about themselves or the world.

From a science unit called, What’s the Matter?

  • Everything is made of matter.
  • Matter can change states.
  • Moving particles make up all matter.

Essential Questions

Essential questions get to the heart of the matter and state concepts as questions to force inquiry, thought and curiosity. They force students to begin a unit of study thinking about the big concepts rather than being told what they should know about a particular subject. They frame the unit and everything in the unit comes back to them. Discussions around essential questions should become more sophisticated as students go through the unit.

Indicators of essential questions:

  • They do not have a “pat” answer. Rather they serve as doorways into inquiry, research and discussion. They uncover rather than cover up a subject’s controversies, puzzles and perspectives.
  • The questions recur. They can be thoughtfully asked and explored again and again.
  • They lead to other important questions within, and beyond, the subject.

(Pgs 26-27)

Some examples:

  • Is prejudice more a matter of race or class?
  • Can a war be civil?
  • Can censorship exist in a democracy?
  • How are misconceptions born?
  • What is worth fighting for?
  • Is democracy just?
  • Can a person be controlled?
  • How is conflict essential to growth?

Key Concepts

The key concepts are the big ideas that you want the students to understand. They should, in a way, begin to break down your enduring understandings and get at the answers to your essential questions.

What are things that are important to teach about?

What do students need to know about this topic?

Example:

From a short story unit:

  • Storytelling is a basic human activity.
  • Short stories capture life in action.
  • The characters in a short story help us to better understand ourselves.
  • The desire to tell stories is universal.
  • We read stories not only with our intellect but with our emotions and intuitions.

From a reading workshop unit:

  • Everyone must develop his/her own taste in literature.

Student Learning Goals/Objectives

Student learning goals are you objectives. These become more task oriented, specific and concrete. They should be directly connected to bringing students to a deeper understanding of essential questions, enduring ideas and key concepts.

What will students be able to do as a result of this unit of study?

How will they demonstrate their knowledge of key concepts?

Example:

The students will:

  • Read, discuss and write about a variety of short stories.
  • Explore the traditional elements of the short story and how these are found in the selected stories.
  • Explore the plot structure of each short story discuss their similarities and differences.
  • Explore how the other elements, namely setting and character, affect the plot.
  • Explore the surface and deeper meanings to be found in the short stories: the perspective each writer is giving us on life.
  • Explain the literary strategies each writer uses in presenting this perspective.
  • Learn to summarize a story.
  • Write a multi-paragraph essay.
  • Evaluate quotes for context and significance.
  • Complete a short story project.
  • By the end of the unit, have formulated their own ideas and interpretations of the stories read and have the tools that they need to read other stories with a more critical eye.
  • Figure out what type of stories they like and what types they don’t.

How is a key concept different from alearning goal/objective?

Think about the difference between the following:

Key concept:

Comparative analysis leads to a clearer understanding of all the elements being compared.

Learning goal/objective:

Students will master the two models of the short comparative essay and apply these two models to a number of different literary writing assignments.

One is a concept and the other is as means to help the student internalize the concept. Also think about the difference between a GOAL and a CONCEPT.

Standards/GLEs Addressed

Simply list the standards/GLEs that you will cover.

Assessment/Evidence of Understanding

  • Performance Tasks/Projects:
  • Quizzes, tests, academic prompts:
  • Student Self-Assessment:
  • Other evidence:

Instructional Procedures

Sequence of Lessons

Academic Challenges

Graphic Organizers and Study Guides

Integration with other Core Subjects and the Arts

Important Unit Notes

Individual Lessons

*This is the heart of the unit. All lessons are written here in sequential order.

Lesson 1

  • Activities
  • Assessment
  • Academic Challenges

(all lessons follow same format)

Materials and Resources

Technology/Multimedia (tape recorder, VCR, overhead, etc):

Software/Internet sites:

Publications (includes books, textbooks):

Speakers, guests:

Miscellaneous supplies (including teacher-made handouts):

Differentiated Instruction/Accommodations and Modifications

Gifted resource students:

504 students:

1508 students:

Top View