There are many ways to put all of this together to create a plan for the learning process throughout a unit.  You can create a Roman numeral-styled outline, write a narrative sequence, or use a flow chart to describe the process.  Here are three examples in a flow chart format, followed by a set of examples with different styles.

Six Day Physics Unit on Inertia

After watching a demonstration of a tablecloth being yanked out from under a candle-lit dinner setting (without explanation), students begin rotating through a station lab of activities involving cars crashing into each other, videos of crash test dummies at work, and “magic” tricks where coins fall straight down into a cup.  Each activity has a set of open-ended questions about what students are observing which they discuss with each other, and then write about in their journals.

The next day, the teacher introduces the law of inertia.  After eight to ten minutes of lecture, students talk to their neighbors about what they just heard, then write class notes in their journals.  After several rounds of lecture/discussion, the class debriefs the activities they did yesterday.

Homework that night consists of reading the textbook chapter on inertia.  Students summarize in their own words the major ideas and supporting arguments of each section.  They then assess their level of understanding of each section on a 1 to 5 scale, and write down a note to remind them of anything they didn’t understand.

The next day, students get into study groups, review the reading and discuss any questions that anyone had.  They then use assigned questions at the end of the chapter as a springboard for discussion and write answers in their own journals.  At the end of the period, each student does a check-up of their understanding by answering several questions about the topic as a “ticket to leave”.

Over the next day and a half, there are a number of activities for students to choose from, based on the results of the check-up and any remaining questions they have about the homework.  All available activities are listed on a learning contract. Activities range from remediation (including a workshop led by the teacher) to enrichment activities to challenge students who have mastered the concepts.

At the end of the open work time, there is a brief, whole class review of the material led by the teacher.  

The next day, students take a test on the subject.

When the test is returned, students review it in their study groups, going over every question that any student got wrong.  Students summarize what they are learning from that conversation, then write a “test resubmittal” describing their mistakes, how they misunderstood the concepts, the correct answer to each question, and why it is correct.  Their test scores are improved accordingly. (Students who did well on the test, of course, don’t need to do any further work.)

Eight Day Algebra Unit

The teacher introduces the concept of graphing functions in a lecture format.  After explaining what is entailed, she does a number of problems. After no more than 10 minutes, students in their study groups work through similar problems together.

This process is repeated several times, with the teacher resuming each lecture segment to introduce the next level of challenge.

Near the end of the period, students are given a three question check-up.  When they are done, the answers are given. After self-assessing their success, students are given a choice of homework.  Students who did not show mastery on the checkup are given review problems with “helpful hints” to guide them when they get stuck.  Other students are given enrichment activities to work on.

The next day, students convene in their study groups and go over the homework with answer keys.  Students who struggled are given a one question check-up when the study group is done, and based on that check-up, they are given another practice problem set on the same skill to work on independently.

When the study groups are done, the teacher delivers a lecture on the next skill to be learned.  The process described above is repeated.

When all the new skills of the unit have been introduced and the level of mastery has diverged to a point where differentiated activities are needed, students take a larger scaled checkup on all the material.  This can be considered a “pre-test”, although it is not for a grade. The students are given answer keys and a mini-contract that steers them on what they should work on next. Over the next two days, students work on items listed in the contract.

Open work time gives students the opportunity to work alone, in groups of their choosing, and in workshops led by the teacher and/or “resident experts”.

At the end of the open work time, students are given answer keys for all mini-contract work and are given time in their study groups to review them.  The teacher then reviews the major concepts, giving the skills context in terms of what they have already learned and what they are about to learn in the next unit.

Students take the test.  When the test is returned, they review it in study groups.  Students who didn’t master aspects of the unit are given more practice problems in the areas they need to work on.  Having shown they have learned from their mistakes, they then take a retest.

Four Day AP Psych Section of a Unit

The teacher delivers a power point slide show and lecture on a new topic.  As always, she only talks for 8 to 10 minutes before allowing students to process what they have learned through writing or conversational learning.  She repeats this cycle of lecturing and processing throughout the whole period.

The students have reading homework.  They assess their level of understanding and create questions to ask the next day.

After a question-and-answer session, the teacher continues introducing the new material and the process described above is repeated, with new homework.

Students are given a mini-contract with a number of activities based on the material covered thus far.  They can do this work at home and/or during a single period of open work time.

The final day of the section, students review what they’ve learned in study group discussions, guided by prompts.  They are given an AP question on the topic to complete at home in a timed setting. They then assess how well they did on the question using the same rubrics that are used to assess AP tests.

The next day, students get in pairs, exchange their questions, and evaluate them for each other using the same rubric.  These are then handed in to the teacher, who adds or modifies the student-based assessment. Based on her evaluation, students are given a chance to rework the question and improve it.

The teacher concludes the period by starting the next section of the unit, in which the above process is repeated.

Introduction