Unit Development Checklists

*Words in bold will have drop down boxes with additional definition
The goals:

Align with the curriculum benchmarks/standards

Are appropriate for students
State what the student will understand and will do
Are overarching (comprehensive above all the others)
Are written in student-friendly language
Are specific enough so students will have a clear understanding
Are moderately difficult; attainable but not too easy
Must be long-term and transferrable
Should be ones students are able to explain
Should be understandable so students are able to explain how
the learning activities relate to the goal

The essential question(s): (The essence of what your students will

examine and learn in the course of their study.)

Are worth asking or are meaningful (centers around a student

relevant major issue, problem, concern, or interest)
Have no right or wrong answers
Are interesting to students and appeals to the emotions
Engage students in real life problem-solving
Spark our curiosity and sense of wonder
Require a high level of thinking (probe for deeper meaning)
Have answers cannot be found; they must be invented
Make students investigators
May inspire investigations that last a lifetime
Can be answered by all students
Are more about learning collaboratively than teaching
Help students see connections between disciplines
May be supplemented with smaller questions which help answer
the essential questions and:

Provide the facts used to answer the essential question

Are written as what, when, who questions

Drive a project

Allow for data collection

Supply new information for further questioning

The enduring understandings: (The big ideas that the students

need to understand that will have value beyond the classroom.)

Convert the standards to big ideas

Begin with "Students understand that" and is completed with
two or more concepts from the standards
Are written in "kid friendly" language so all students can
understand what they will be learning
Identify what the facts/standards mean
Offer potential for engaging students

The skills and knowledge:

Specify what students should know and be able to do as a result

of the unit

Consider the misunderstandings that may exist

Make notes of any prerequisite knowledge needed

The only skills and knowledge identified are the ones that are
going to be assessed
The assessments: (the long-term goal is transfer of skills and
knowledge and evidence must enable to conclude
with confidence that they get it):

Are either authentic, diagnostic, performance, summative,

or formative and there are a variety of them (but can include
multiple-choice, matching, short answer, etc. for goals that
cannot be assessed in other ways)
Require evidence of the students ability to insightfully explain or
interpret their learning - to show their work and to justify or
support their performance/product
Requires evidence of the students ability to apply their learning
in new, varied, and realistic situations
Allows for the differences in learning profiles, interests, and
readiness
Include a rubric where appropriate and all components are in
alignment with the goal
Include self-assessment or peer assessment so students can
reflect upon their learning or performance
Diagnose student strengths and needs
Provide feedback on student learning
Provide a basis for instructional placement

Informs and guides instruction

The learning experiences:

Align with the goals

Ensure that the student sees the big picture, has answers to the
Why? questions, knows the final performance expectations as
soon as possible
Hooks the student immediately in the ideas of the unit; engages
the student in thought-provoking
experiences/challenges/questions at the heart of the unit
Provide the student with the tools, resources, skill, and
information needed to achieve the desired understandings; and
successfully accomplish the performance tasks
Enhance understanding by shifting perspective, considering
different theories, challenging prior assumptions, introducing
new evidence and ideas, etc.
Provide the opportunity to revise prior work, to polish it
Ensures that students get diagnostic and formative feedback,
and opportunities to self-assess and self-adjust
Include opportunities for students to rethink and reflect their
prior and emerging understandings and to refine and revise their
work based on feedback and guidance
Help students explore the big ideas and essential questions;
experience events to make ideas and issues real; provide
opportunities to dig deeper into the core ideas
Have been personalized to accommodate the variety of students
interests, styles, and abilities by differentiating content, process,
and products (choice)
Are organized and designed to maximize student engagement
and productivity (i.e. simple to complex, developmental, parts to
whole)
Have resources identified (handouts, guest speakers, coteachers, technology)
Support 21st Century Skills (see checklist)
Meet the objectives for Universal Design for Learning (see
checklist)
Enriches student experience

Universal Design for Learning

Provide options for:

Perception
Language, mathematical expressions, and symbols
Comprehension
Physical action
Communication
Executive functions
Interest
Persistence
Self-regulation

21st Century Skills:

Physical environment is flexible to promote communication and

collaboration
Create effective oral, written, and multimedia communication in
a variety of forms and contexts
Opportunity to find and collect information, analyze data and
summarize findings
Review different points of view and make objective judgments
Investigate all the possible solutions to a problem, weighing the
pros and cons
Establish priorities and meet deadlines
Evaluate alternatives, propose solutions, and determine the
outcomes of the various options
Generate new ideas, invent new things, create new images or
designs
Draw specific conclusions from a set of observations or specific
facts
Synthesize information and ideas
Make formal presentations
Present ideas, positions and problems clearly and objectively
Promote inquisitiveness
Promote risk-taking