Explaining the Unit Overview by Brandon Taylor https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf Ring! You are on the phone with a parent. You must explain how their child’s teacher uses a unit overview sheet to communicate important outcomes and to give their child chances to track his or her progress toward mastery. What do you say? Write out your explanation. en-us 2018-08-16 03:53:33 UTC 2025-12-23 09:25:45 UTC hello@padlet.com Grant https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273517354 Hello ________ the unit overview sheet is a breakdown of what learning targets your student will meet by the end of the unit and it gives them a change to identify how familiar they are with each learning target. However, the student is also expected to provide proof of how familiar they are by providing examples from previous classes or experience that directly demonstrate what they understand or do not understand. 
 
The unit overview sheet will be revisited through out the unit as students will reevaluate how much they have learned. Ultimately they will be able to gage if they mastered the learning targets needed in each unit and as their teacher this is my opportunity as we learn to give them feedback.   ]]> 2018-08-16 15:49:49 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273517354 https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273517433 Great question! We use the unit overview sheet in class to preview material that will be covered in an upcoming topic. Some students come in to a unit with a good understanding of the topic, and some are very unfamiliar. The unit overviews allow students to track their progress throughout the upcoming weeks, with the goal of improving their understanding with each assessment. ]]> 2018-08-16 15:50:08 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273517433 Geoff https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273517874 The unit overview sheet lists the most important things the student is learning to do over the course of the next month or so. Those are called learning targets. Every week they will have assessments, and they will use the sheet to reflect on how close they are to mastering each learning target. So the idea is that the student should know at any given moment how close they are to mastering their learning targets, and what they have to do to make sure they master them before the end of the unit. That way they know what to study on their own, what to get help with in office hours, etc.]]> 2018-08-16 15:51:46 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273517874 Good afternoon,I am calling to update you on what a unit overview sheet is. You student will receive this from all their teachers at the start of a new unit topic to be learned. Most classes, ELA, Algebra, Living environment will have them. PE will be different because it is not structured like a regular classroom- they tend to be moving for the whole class to keep them active. For the unit sheet Each of the learning goals will be outlined on the sheet. You will be able to see where your student feels he or she is at during the start of the lesson and how they feel they have learned at the end of the lesson. If you have any further questions, i can answer or also be reviewed with their advisor in person https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273518273 2018-08-16 15:53:01 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273518273 The unit overview allows students to get a picture of what will be learned and mastered during a particular unit. The top will always provide a short overview of the entire unit in a few sentences. It will also include essential questions. These questions prompt students to think deeply about how what they are learning relates to the world around them. These questions may not have an exact answer but develops their ability to think critically about what they learn. Each overview will also include learning targets. These are clear and measurable goals for what students should be able to do at the end of the unit. IF a student is successful over the course of the unit they will be able to complete all the learning targets. They will have a chance through the unit to rate themselves on how well they feel they have mastered these targets at different points of instruction. Additionally, they will be provided a list of key vocabulary that they should be able to understand and use at the conclusion of the unit. They will regularly assess their understanding of this vocabulary throughout the unit as well. The goal is that students know what they are working toward and are regularly checking in on their progress. WE encourage you as a parent to utilize this sheet to check in with your child about what they are learning in each class and how they are doing on progress toward the learning targets. https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273518474 2018-08-16 15:53:40 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273518474 Tasia https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273518606 Me: Has Nas brought you his Unit Overview Tracker yet?

Julia: No, what’s that?

Me: What?! It’s an amazing tool that Nas has been using to monitor his progress towards learning all of the important ideas we’ve been discovering this unit.

Julia: Oh, really? I’ve never seen it.

Me: What?! He’s been working on it all unit. He’s already updated the tracker with 3 grades, and has shown such improvement. He marked himself as “not yet” at the beginning of the unit, which means he felt pretty unclear about the comments. He recently changed his rating to the middle.

Julia: that’s wonderful! I’ll Check it out today 

]]> 2018-08-16 15:54:05 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273518606 https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273518752 Hello______

I’d love to discuss the unit overview sheets.  A major part of Dream’s vision is to support students in becoming empowered and literate learners.  Rather than the teacher just handing out ‘final’ grades that cannot be changed, we push students to take ownership of how they know and can prove mastery of subjects.

The unit overview sheets do just this :)  They help students think about their thinking, and encourage them to prove their mastery of a topic or skill.  

When they get to college, or land their dream job, they will be much more successful if they can reflect on their progress and goals. We want your student to drive her own development in 10th grade at Dream and throughout the rest of her life.

]]> 2018-08-16 15:54:34 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273518752 Ben bfriedlander1 https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519012 Hello, Parent! It is so great to hear from you! The unit overview sheet is used primarily to help students self-assess themselves with the learning targets and use of vocabulary throughout a unit.  We use unit overview sheets so that we can also give constructive feedback to students as they learn throughout the unit and then the students can revisit the learning targets in the unit, which they would then self-assess.  This overview sheet keeps the student, teachers, and parents involved in the learning process as the students can see their progress, which makes our students become more accountable for their learning.

]]> 2018-08-16 15:55:17 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519012 Hi ___, ggearhart2 https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519182 The unit overviews used in each class might look different, but there are a few common aspects of each. First, the overviews are used to encourage students in their ongoing journey to take responsibility of their own learning and monitor and assess their own growth. Second, this means that the overviews should be documents that are continually revisited and updated, and should be tools that you can look at to get an overview of where you child’s learning is in the context of each unit. Third, the overviews provide the broad understandings that are necessary to achieve and demonstrate success in the unit. They are a roadmap of the unit as a whole  - if you want to dive deeper into one of the learning targets mapped onto the overviews, you should feel free to contact the teacher or ask your student about specific assignments, assessments, or learning opportunities in the classroom

]]> 2018-08-16 15:55:40 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519182 https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519314 The unit overview sheet is used to provide a list of goals or learning objectives that students will develop over the course of the unit. Additionally, the sheet is used as a self-monitoring and assessment tool to track their progress in reaching these goals. It encourages students to reflect on any prior knowledge before starting the unit and take charge of their own learning as we progress through the unit. Additionally, it serves as a reminder to me, as the teacher, to the intended purpose and helps me ensure that what I am doing in the classroom is getting the students closer and closer to mastering the learning objectives.

]]> 2018-08-16 15:56:05 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519314 Adrian https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519596 the unit overview sheet will serve as tool students will use to map their learning throughout the unit. The teacher will use the essential questions to communicate the “Big” questions students will be answering at the end of the unit as well as the learning targets. These learning targets will be the skills they will need to master along the way. Just as important as it is to know your position on a map, so too will it be extremely important for students to know where they are in terms of mastering the learning target. Students will be able to track their mastery of each learning target in order to gauge whether or not they have mastered all that they need to in a given unit. ]]> 2018-08-16 15:56:56 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519596 Dear Parent, The purpose of the unit overview sheet is to provide your child with information about the skills & learning targets that s/he/they are expected to know by the end of each unit. Ideally, the learning targets are goals that your child must achieve and the unit sheet prompts them to assess whether or not they are on track to achieving their goals. This tool helps them build a very important skill that is necessary for their academic career - self efficacy and advocacy. The expectation is that, in tracking their route to mastery, both the teacher and the student must create opportunities to ensure that they understand each learning target. https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519638 2018-08-16 15:57:04 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519638 Hello! the unit overview sheet is a guide for students. First, It helps them see what they should know and what they should be able to do by the end of a unit. A unit is usually a few weeks on a specific topic, where we learn something new and practice new skills. So the unit overview sheet shows what they need to know and do by the end of those few weeks. Second, the unit overview sheet helps students track how well they are doing by self-reflecting on their progress. Before the unit begins, we look at the unit goals and students think about how much they know about the one topic. At the end of the unit, we return the goals, and students use the same scale to rate themselves on how much they know (or how much they’ve learned) about that topic. In other words, students track their own progress from the beginning to the end of the unit. https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519882 2018-08-16 15:57:45 UTC https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273519882 Carlos https://padlet.com/btaylor48/j9og7klmiitf/wish/273521284 Hello!

This unit overview sheet is used as a form to understand the expectations of the unit. Within the trackers we will be providing essential questions that they must keep in mind throughout our time on this subject. In order to keep track of what has been learned, the overview sheet provides the youth with learning targets that are made of various statements that will be learned within the unit. 

Here they will be able to track their mastery of the subject through a knowledge line. On the left hand side we have “not yet.” First, let me say there is no shame in not yet mastering a subject because that is what the class if for and I will be there along the way to provide the proper resources and answer any questions needed in your child’s journey to mastering our unit. On the other end we have “you bet.” This is the goal we have for all students, as they will have the power to truly understand the information to the point where they can teach for me! 

With this i look forward to giving your child the autonomy to track his/her/their progress as they please. They have the option of a digital tracker, mental tracker or a physical copy. This allows them to be comfortable with their results and adjust in a manner in which they think is best.

Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to seeing your child become a MASTER!

Much love.











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