# data[].attributes.headline
How does unit planning empower teachers?

# data[].attributes.subject
How does unit planning empower teachers?

# data[].attributes.body
Designing a unit plan can empower the educator by allowing them control and confidence in the lessons they will soon teach. By choosing each component, the educator will have no misunderstandings with the content. There is also some confidence with the fact that the unit plan they have made marks them having input into official curriculum.

# data[].attributes.headline
Here is another resource for benefits of creating your own unit plan!

# data[].attributes.subject
Here is another resource for benefits of creating your own unit plan!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Any experienced teacher will tell you that lesson planning is a big part of the job. Teachers around the world routinely spend as much as half of their working time on non-teaching activities, and lesson planning accounts for much of that time. 1, 2

Lesson planning is how teachers synthesize the curriculum goals with pedagogy and knowledge of their specific teaching context. 3 Ask ten teachers about the benefits of lesson planning, and you might very well get ten unique answers. There are also different opinions about how far ahead a teacher should plan lessons. Some recommend working a week out, while others advocate planning a month ahead. 4, 5

In the end, though, creating successful learning outcomes for students is the goal. Although well-designed lesson plans take time and thought, it's an investment that can provide returns in many ways. In this post, we explore the elements to consider when creating lesson plans and what factors teachers can include in planning to assure success for themselves, their classrooms and, most importantly, their students.

The Many Reasons Why Lesson Planning Is Important

Effective lesson planning contributes to successful learning outcomes for students in several ways. A well-designed lesson plan:

Helps students and teachers understand the goals of an instructional module

Allows the teacher to translate the curriculum into learning activities

Aligns the instructional materials with the assessment

Aligns the assessment with the learning goal

Helps assure that the needed instructional materials are available

Enables the teacher to thoughtfully address individual learning needs among students

Effective lesson planning can also contribute to the teacher's own success and well-being. Teachers teach because they want to support students, and effective lesson planning can contribute to job satisfaction when a lesson is successful or a student does well on an assessment. Having a skillfully-planned lesson can also make the act of teaching more pleasurable by increasing the teacher's confidence in themselves and letting them focus more on interaction with the students than on what is supposed to happen next. Importantly, good planning can save time by avoiding last-minute efforts to buy supplies or create materials needed for a day in the classroom. Teachers can use that reclaimed time for themselves or other parts of their lives, increasing work-life balance.

The Importance of Lesson Planning to Effective Curriculum Delivery

"Curriculum" is a word with many meanings, depending on the context. At the most abstract level, curriculum theory addresses such different aspects of teaching as what elements are included in the course of study, along with considerations of how it is taught and tested. See "What Are the 8 Types of Curriculum?" for more on curriculum theory.

Some curricula are more detailed and structured than others. ⁶ Regardless of the level of detail, the importance of lesson planning is that it bridges the curriculum's intent with the daily teaching and learning in a classroom. At a minimum, lesson planning adds the element of time, breaking the curriculum into units delivered each session. Usually, though, teachers incorporate their training and knowledge of their students into the task, translating a previously developed curriculum into an action plan for their classroom.

The Importance of Lesson Planning to Student Assessment

The lesson plan translates the curriculum into clear daily goals for student learning that include a description of the objective and a way to measure the student's attainment of it. 7 A few standard measurement methods are tests, homework assignments and group work. One benefit of the lesson plan is fitting the assessment to the particular goal while accounting for your specific situation. Some educational writers argue that teachers should design the evaluation before designing the learning activities.4 Working outward from the central idea of the learning objective allows teachers flexibility in choosing the type of assessment that will best suit their students and the classroom environment.

Why Lesson Planning Is Important for Classroom Management

Building the lesson plan outward from your learning goals also offers much-needed flexibility in adapting instructional delivery and classroom management during uncertain times. Classes that move from onsite to online or hybrid require different delivery methods, requiring adjustments to existing plans. Such situations highlight the importance of lesson planning in keeping the class moving smoothly from task to task regardless of the learning environment. Advance lesson planning also minimizes the need for discipline and allows you to make the most of your time with students.

Better Lesson Planning Creates More Student Success

Student success and good behavior are more likely when your pupils are actively engaged in classwork. A thoroughly planned lesson facilitates that desirable state by considering unique student educational needs. "All successful teachers need to be pupil-focused; in other words, you have to think about how the learning activity you have set up will be experienced by each pupil, and how this experience will generate your intended learning outcomes." ⁸

​​Better Lesson Planning Is Important for Teacher Success

Teacher success is predicated on student success. Beyond that, the documents you create as part of the planning process are usually part of your evaluation by school administrators. Therefore, having well-prepared and documented plans is an integral part of your success as a teacher. Your lesson plans also become a repository of your growing knowledge as you continue to teach. The importance of lesson planning in furthering your professional growth is undeniable. Cultivating good habits for preparing and reviewing your lesson plans prepares the ground for your success.

Keep Teaching While You Keep Learning at William and Mary

The William and Mary School of Education offers advanced instruction for education professionals in a well-designed, 100% online learning environment that allows you to study wherever you are when it's convenient for you. The coursework, rooted in social justice, equity and inclusion, will help you become an expert, culturally responsive advocate for every student.

The School of Education offers both an online Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) in Curriculum and Instruction and a Post-Professional Certificate with three specializations:

Special Education (K-6)

Special Education (6-12)

ESL/Bilingual Education Specialization

Continuing your professional education at the William and Mary School of Education will prepare you with a strong foundation in education research and core principles to lead transformative change, advocating for a more equitable tomorrow and building more inclusive classrooms and schools. Speak with an admissions advisor to learn more or start your application today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Importance of Lesson Planning for Student Success

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Any experienced teacher will tell you that lesson planning is a big part of the job. Teachers around the world routinely spend as much as half of their working time on non-teaching activities, and lesson planning accounts for much of that time.

# data[].attributes.headline
What are the main components for a math unit web?

# data[].attributes.subject
What are the main components for a math unit web?

# data[].attributes.body
As according to Wathall chapter 4, the main components of a math unit web should include the meso concept centered, knowledge strands, and strand dedicated to concepts within the mathematical process. This last strand represents the process generalizations, and the others represent the knowledge generalizations.

# data[].attributes.body
This is an example of a mathematical unit web that follows the structure Wathall encourages.

# data[].attributes.headline
How do the three types of essential questions- factual, conceptual, and debatable- support student learning?

# data[].attributes.subject
How do the three types of essential questions- factual, conceptual, and debatable- support student learning?

# data[].attributes.body
Each of the three essential question types are meant to draw out each respective understanding within the student. These guiding questions enforce factual support connection with conceptual understandings.

# data[].attributes.headline
How will I encourage collaboration when unit planning?

# data[].attributes.subject
How will I encourage collaboration when unit planning?

# data[].attributes.body
One of the keys to success I have learned here at Mary Lou Fulton is to communicate with my peers, colleagues, principles, etc. I have so many ways to get ideas, feedback, reassurance, with any aspect of my future career. With unit planning, I hope to bounce ideas of my colleagues in the math department, refer to prior unit plans, and find resources online from other teachers to help strengthen my future unit plans.

# data[].attributes.body
For example, the attached site provides a realistic Algebra 1 Unit 1 unit plan for teachers to utilize. Many more websites offer similar resources all ensuring that every teacher feels the best they can with their planning!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Students are introduced to the main features of functions that they will learn throughout the year, providing students with a conceptual understanding of how functions are used to model various situations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Algebra 1 | Functions, Graphs and Features

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Download free, ready-to-teach Algebra 1 lesson plans that introduce students to domain and range, rates of change, and intercepts as tools to describe functions.