UNIT PLANNING TOOL
Teacher:
Subject/Period:
Dates:
Unit Name:
Step 1: Use your standards and identify the standards that fit together
CCSS and State Standards for the Unit:
List out the CCSS/State Standards that fit together into this single unit of instruction.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Step 2: Construct your learning goal or goals for the unit
Each unit of instruction is centered around teaching students thecritical information that they have to know or the processes in which they need
to be fluent to reach, or go beyond, the standards. The standards for the unit are examined and should be written as learning goals. There are
different ways to write goals for a unit.


One way is to examine all standards for the unit and cohesively write a single goal that encompasses the learning for all of the standards. This requires
the teacher to think through all of the standards and articulate how they all fit together. To make this more clear, a unit with 4 standards could have a
single goal that explained what a student will know and be able to do as a result of engaging in that unit of instruction.
A second option is to write a goal for each identified standard for the unit. If the unit was centered around 4 standards, then the teacher would have 4
learning goals for that unit.
Unit Learning Goal/Goals:
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
Step 3: Create a scale for each learning goal
Formal scales provide a roadmap for students and teachers as they are navigating a unit of instruction. These scales help teachers and students
track student progress toward reaching and exceeding learning goals. Formal scales should be written for all learning goals within a unit of
instruction, with the learning goal being set at a “3” on the scale.
Scale for Learning Goal #1:
The student is able to apply unit concepts to
4
by
The student understands
3
2
The student is able to
The student understands the critical content of
1
With help from the teacher, the student has partial success with the unit content.
0
Even with help, the student has no success with the unit content.
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
Scale for Learning Goal #2:
The student is able to apply unit concepts to
4
by
The student understands
3
2
The student is able to
The student understands the critical content of
1
With help from the teacher, the student has partial success with the unit content.
0
Even with help, the student has no success with the unit content.
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
Scale for Learning Goal #3:
The student is able to apply unit concepts to
4
by
The student understands
3
2
The student is able to
The student understands the critical content of
1
With help from the teacher, the student has partial success with the unit content.
0
Even with help, the student has no success with the unit content.
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
Scale for Learning Goal #4:
The student is able to apply unit concepts to
4
by
The student understands
3
2
The student is able to
The student understands the critical content of
1
With help from the teacher, the student has partial success with the unit content.
0
Even with help, the student has no success with the unit content.
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
Step 4: Identify the critical information for the unit
Critical information is the information contained within the unit of instruction that is fundamental to a student being able to reach the learning
goal for the unit. It is the knowledge or processes that, if a student does not gain mastery, the student will not be able to reach the learning goal.
Critical information drives daily instruction and daily lesson planning. Daily lessons should center around the teacher helping students learn the
critical information or processes within the unit.
Critical information for the unit contains either declarative (having to do with knowledge that students will need to understand) or procedural
(having to do with processes with which students must become fluent) knowledge. And it is important for the teacher to determine whether the
daily learning or critical information centers around declarative, procedural, or both types of knowledge because the practice and deepening
activities are different for each type of knowledge.
Critical Information of the Unit:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
Step 5: Lay out the critical information in a logical progression that builds in complexity across the unit
There should be a logical learning progression within a unit of instruction. Teachers should identify the pieces of critical information that build on
other pieces to ensure that students have been taught all of the foundational information they need to be successful with each new piece of
information. Once critical information for the unit is identified, the teacher must identify the order in which those pieces should be taught to
successfully scaffold information for students.
Critical Information of the Unit in Sequential Order
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Step 6: Map the critical information into daily lessons
For each piece of critical information, students should be led through activities and assignments that help them best learn and retain the
information. The Lesson Segment Addressing Content outlines a natural progression of elements that should be used to help this process. For
each piece of critical information, teachers should have students process, elaborate, record, and reflect on their learning. Then, students should
review the critical information and practice with the process or engage in an activity that helps them deepen their understanding of the
knowledge.
A visual progression is shown on the following page and can be used to record the “big picture” of how daily lessons within a unit of instruction
scaffold across the unit. This progression and mental map is not intended to replace, but to be used in conjunction with, the daily lesson plan.
For a single piece of critical information, a teacher should take students through the DQ2 and DQ3 elements. This is usually completed in two or
more days. Once a single piece of critical information is taught to this depth, the teacher will move on to the next piece of critical information in
the sequential progression until all pieces are taught and learned deeply by the students.
Assessments for each piece of critical information should be thoughtfully worked into daily lessons and can also be recorded onto this mental
map.
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
DQ2 Activities/Assignments
Critical Information #1
DQ3 Activities/Assignments
Previewing:
Reviewing:
Processing:
Homework:
Elaborating:
Practicing/Deepening:
Recording/Representing:
Revising:
Reflecting:
Assessment of this information
will be:
Critical Information #2
Previewing:
Reviewing:
Processing:
Homework:
Elaborating:
Practicing/Deepening:
Recording/Representing:
Revising:
Reflecting:
Assessment of this information
will be:
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
DQ2 Activities/Assignments
Critical Information #3
DQ3 Activities/Assignments
Previewing:
Reviewing:
Processing:
Homework:
Elaborating:
Practicing/Deepening:
Recording/Representing:
Revising:
Reflecting:
Assessment of this information
will be:
Critical Information #4
Previewing:
Reviewing:
Processing:
Homework:
Elaborating:
Practicing/Deepening:
Recording/Representing:
Revising:
Reflecting:
Assessment of this information
will be:
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
DQ2 Activities/Assignments
Critical Information #5
DQ3 Activities/Assignments
Previewing:
Reviewing:
Processing:
Homework:
Elaborating:
Practicing/Deepening:
Recording/Representing:
Revising:
Reflecting:
Assessment of this information
will be:
Critical Information #6
Previewing:
Reviewing:
Processing:
Homework:
Elaborating:
Practicing/Deepening:
Recording/Representing:
Revising:
Reflecting:
Assessment of this information
will be:
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
DQ2 Activities/Assignments
Critical Information #7
DQ3 Activities/Assignments
Previewing:
Reviewing:
Processing:
Homework:
Elaborating:
Practicing/Deepening:
Recording/Representing:
Revising:
Reflecting:
Assessment of this information
will be:
Critical Information #8
Previewing:
Reviewing:
Processing:
Homework:
Elaborating:
Practicing/Deepening:
Recording/Representing:
Revising:
Reflecting:
Assessment of this information
will be:
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
Step 7: Plan an opportunity for students to engage in generating and testing hypotheses with the unit content
Once ALL of the critical information for the unit has been taught and students have had a chance to practice, deepen, and revise their
understanding, it is time to allow them an opportunity to engage in generating and testing hypotheses about the knowledge.
DQ4 – Helping Students Generate and Test Hypotheses
There are 4 types of tasks that help students generate and test hypotheses. Teachers should create at least 1 task used as a culminating activity
for each unit.
Type of Task
Questions Students Should Answer as They Engage in the Task:
 What is my prediction?
 How will I test my prediction?
 What do I expect to see if my prediction is correct?
 What actually happened?
 Did my prediction come true?
Experimental How has my thinking changed?
Inquiry Tasks
Description of my task for this unit:
Ways I will provide resources and guidance for this task:
ProblemSolving Tasks
Questions Students Should Answer as They Engage in the Task:
 What is the goal?
 What obstacle or constraint makes it difficult to accomplish the goal?
 Which solution do I predict will work best and why?
 What actually happened?
 Do the results fit with my original prediction?
 If not, how should my thinking change regarding the problem?
Description of my task for this unit:
Ways I will provide resources and guidance for this task:
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
DecisionMaking Tasks
Investigation
Tasks
Questions Students Should Answer as They Engage in the Task:
 What alternatives am I considering?
 What criteria am I using to select among alternatives?
 What do I predict will be the best alternative?
 Which alternatives came out on top?
 Do the results fit with my original prediction?
 If not, how should my thinking change?
Description of my task for this unit:
Ways I will provide resources and guidance for this task:
Questions Students Should Answer as They Engage in the Task:
 Am I focusing on something that has to be better defined, something that has happened in the past or something that
might happen in the future?
 What do I think I will find out?
 What is known about my subject?
 What confusions or contradictions exist about my subject?
 What do I think is the resolution to these confusions and contradictions?
 Did my findings fit with my original prediction?
 If not, how should my thinking change?
Description of my task for this unit:
Ways I will provide resources and guidance for this task:
Explanation of how I will assess this task:
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com
Taken from:
Creating Units of Instruction &
Domains 2-4
Continuous Improvement at the Unit Level
LearningSciencesInternational
www.MarzanoEvaluation.com