Unit Title: Develop an idea for a special topic of study and translate it into a brief, clear statement of your theme or problem focus. 

Curriculum Web : This is a brainstorming activity to assist you in generating ideas and conceptualizing the overall focus and direction of your unit. The web is a mapping of the key ideas, concepts, and brief activities that comprise a unit and some of the major sub-themes related to it.
 

Procedure for Creating A Curriculum Web
 

Take approximately 40-50 small slips of paper of about ½ by 2 inches. Write down an idea for a learning experience related to the unit title, each on a new slip of paper. Move the slips of paper around so that like ideas are grouped together. Similar groups can be placed next to one another. Take a few slips of paper of a different color. Write a label that gives a heading to each group. If one group is very large, usually the ideas can be separated into two or three smaller subgroups under the main heading and each subgroup given a heading. 
 

At this point, the ideas should be transferred to one sheet of paper for a more permanent, initial record. The most flexible way to do so is to take a large sheet of paper and begin with the title of the topic in the center. Then draw short lines radiating from the title and write the labels given to each group of activities. Lines can then be drawn to other subheadings and eventually to lists of items in each group and subgroup.
 

List of Topics: Break the big idea or theme for the unit into a set of more specific ideas and smaller subtopics or list of key questions you wish to address. 

Target Student Population: Indicate for which group of students or grade levels the unit is intended. 

Time Required: Make an approximate determination of how much time can be spent on the unit. 

Rationale: Construct a brief overview of what the unit is to be about and why it is important and useful for the intended class to learn it. Cite related standards if necessary. 

Goals: Identify a goal or a set of basic goals that the unit will be designed to accomplish. 

Evaluation Procedures: Develop a plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the unit. 

Lesson Plans : Construct three, original interrelated lessons. The three lessons should include the following: multicultural perspectives, incorporation of primary sources, incorporation of technology, incorporation of literature, questioning strategies, and the promotion of gender equity. 

Title of the Lesson 

Target Student Population: Indicate for which group of students or grade levels the lesson is intended. 

Objectives: Outline the specific objectives to be accomplished with the lesson and arrange them in sequential order. Limit the number of objectives to two or three objectives per day. Objectives should be written in behavioral terms and stress student behavior and anticipated outcomes. Emphasize higher order thinking skills. Objectives may be derived from cognitive, affective, or psychomotor domains. 

Concept/Main Idea of the Lesson: Briefly describe the content of the lesson. This section should respond to the question "What am I trying to teach the students?" 

Teaching Strategies and Activities: When developing learning activities throughout the unit use a variety of learning strategies such as role plays, discussion, inquiry, concept development, simulations, lecture, political cartoons, map use, cooperative learning, guest speakers, field-based learning, primary sources, questioning techniques, brainstorming, games, dramatization, artistic representations, and thinking skills. 

Lesson Introduction: This initiatory activity should arouse curiosity and focus attention on what is to be learned. 

Learning Activities : Clearly describe the strategies and procedures that will be employed to achieve the instructional objectives.

Strategies: incorporate questions, statements, directions, actions, and the sequence in which they occur. Strategies also deal with how the teacher plans to structure and present new subject matter and relate it to the students' prior knowledge. They also indicate teacher and student roles in the lesson. 

Lesson Closure/Transition: Each lesson should have a summary of the day's activities, with some indication of what is to follow and how the two lessons are interrelated. 

Resources: Identify, locate, and organize all of the individuals and instructional resources (i.e., texts, web sites, CD Roms, software, movies, music, student materials, etc.) that are available and will be needed. The order in which the material will be used should be indicated clearly. 

Assessment: Specify how you will know that each lesson objective was achieved. Think creatively about evaluation and make sure that the assessment process parallels the emphasis of the lesson (i.e., if your lesson focused on higher order activities, the evaluation also should emphasize critical thinking). This shift between lessons also might

provide opportunities for students to apply, extend, or experiment with what they have learned. Provide specific examples of your assessment process. 

References: list all references that were used in the development of your unit plan. 

Peer Reviewers List all individuals who have reviewed your unit plan during its development.
 

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History Teacher

International Journal of Social Education

Journal of Geography

Journal of Social Studies Research

Magazine of History

Middle School Journal

Multicultural Education Magazine

Phi Delta Kappan

Social Education

The Social Science Record

The Social Studies

Social Studies and the Young Learner

Teaching History: A Journal of Methods

Teaching Tolerance

Theory and Research in Social Education

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