Unit Analysis Map Overview

ECU
UNIT ANALYSIS MAP
TCHR 6011
9-12, MIDG, K-12 program areas
Dr. Allen Guidry – Associate professor, History Education

The Unit Analysis Map
 Designed to be completed in 5 phases or steps to assure
thoughtful and meaningful planning of instruction aligned with all
elements of education reform
 Step 1 – General direction and understanding of student
population (Rose)
 Step 2 – North Carolina Essential Standards, Previous
knowledge and skills, summative assessment (Light Blue)
 Step 3 – Planning content and determining academic language
demands (Light Purple)
 Step 4 – Planning lesson topics, lesson essential questions,
related standards, and formative assessment (Light Green)
 Step 5 – Lesson instructional activities, lesson academic
language, and differentiation using Gardner’s MI
* The colors in parentheses correspond with the colors on the unit analysis map template. Each color section should be completed step-by-step in turn before
moving to another section of the unit analysis map.

The Unit Analysis Map – Step 1
 At this phase of unit development it is
necessary for teacher candidates to determine
what standards and related objectives will be
the focus of the unit
 Selection of the standards and clarifying
objectives must take root in general CCSS in
reading, writing, or math

Unit topic: British colonization of the New World
NC Common Core/Essential Standards:
CCSS for Reading
Key ideas and details:
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the
author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.
Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information
presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.
Craft and structure:
Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a
specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11–12 texts and topics.
Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text,
identifying important issues that remain unresolved.
Integration of knowledge and ideas:
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data,
video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g., texts, experiments, simulations) into a coherent understanding of
a process, phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting information when possible.

 Note that in the previous slide, the unit topic
was derived from the NC Essential Standards
for US History I
 Also note that the CCSS were used to drive
the direction of the lesson
 Finally, note the citation of specific NC
Essential Standards (USH.H.2.1) there as well
to show direction of content for the given
instructional unit

 At this point it is also important for teacher candidates
to determine the particular needs of students
(individually and collectively)
 These needs might be derived from:
 IEPs
 504 plans
 Students’ cumulative records
 Special plans designed by teacher teams advocating for
students
 Personal observations and observed student behaviors or
needs for groups or classes of students
 Personal observations and observed student behaviors or
needs for individual students

Brainstorm Learner Needs
Possible Barriers Possible Solutions
2 students – LD in reading Use of leveled texts or read aloud
strategies. Use of visuals in addition
to textual readings
1 students – 504 ADHD Structured and segmented activities.
“Chunking” content presentations.
Division of assignments into mini-
assignments.
3 students – not reading on grade
level
Use of leveled texts. Small group
reading opportunities. Buddy system
and think-pair-share approaches to
reading.

 Note here that not only identified
exceptionalities are addressed, but also those
that are observed or fall into the category of
“unidentified” learner needs
 This is done in an effort to design instruction
that meets the needs of all students in the
classroom

 Setting expectations early is a vital part of
designing effective instruction
 In order to establish the
expectations, however, it is necessary to know
the previous knowledge and skill sets of
students
 To establish this baseline from which to begin
instruction, it is necessary to identify/think
about what the students already know

NC Essential Standards in this learning segment
NCES for USH I
USH.H.2.1 Analyze key political, economic, and social turning points from colonization
through Reconstruction in terms of causes and effects
Previous knowledge needed:
1. Basic understanding of the period of
exploration from world history
Previous skills:
1. Sentence writing
2. Paragraph structure
3. Difference between primary and secondary
sources

 Note how the previous skills and knowledge
segment
 Addresses prior knowledge (even going back to
another course) and prior skills (that will become
more specific as we know more about the
students)
 Addresses both content and process of the
discipline (ability to differentiate between sources
as well as understanding of exploration)

 It is now time to think about what we want the students to
know and do/be able to do at the end of the unit
 As CCSS focus on reading and writing in a “technical subject”
like social studies, it might be necessary to utilize assessment
that integrates and measures reading and writing skills as
well as content
 A good unit summative assessment allows the teacher to not
only assess understanding of content (which is crucial), but
also the proficiency of the students in delivering that
knowledge in a relevant and literate way. The example
shown below, presents how a culminating performance task
might be used as a summative assessment.

Summative assessment: Culminating performance task
Create a recruitment poster for the Virginia Company, to be posted throughout
the streets of London in 1606, asking for volunteers to become a part of a
settlement to the New World. The recruitment poster must have both images
and words, taken from a mix of primary and secondary sources, and must
explain how the proposed colony has learned from and will correct the mistakes
of the Roanoke Colonies of the late 1500s.

 Note in the example summative assessment
that both sets of standards, CCSS and NCES
in social studies, are used to design the
assessment task
 NCES for USH I were used to guide the content
of the performance assessment
 CCSS in writing were used to guide the method of
assessment

The Unit Analysis Map
 Following completion of Steps 1 and 2, the
context for instruction and the expectations for the
unit have been established
 To this point, the following questions have been
asked and answered by the teacher :
 What, according to the standards, should I teach in
this unit?
 To whom am I teaching it and what are there needs
and abilities?
 What do I want them to know and be able to do upon
completion of this unit?

The Unit Analysis Map – Steps 3
and 4
 Now we are ready to tackle another couple of
questions:
 What do they need to know (content and
academic language) to be able to do what I want
them to do?
 What language might I need to coach them on to
help them better understand the content and
processes associated with this learning segment?

• What do they need to know (content and
academic language) to be able to do what I
want them to do?
 This question will guide work in the next phase
of unit development through two documents
found as appendices in the unit analysis map:
 Content outline
 Academic language (vocabulary and language
functions)

 An effective and usable content outline is a crucial
guiding document for the secondary content teacher
 A good content outline:
 Provides an appropriate breadth of content to assure that
all major topics related to clarifying objectives are covered
 Provides sufficient depth to assure that each content
point, sub point, and detail is exhaustively and sufficiently
addressed
 Provides a logical flow of content from one content point to
the next – this flow is important across both major topics
and between subtopics and details to assure that content
is understandable, relevant, and connected
 Links content overtly and clearly to standards and
objectives

Appendix A : Content Outline (A sample segment)
British Colonization of the New World
I. Roanoke Colonies – A turning point in English colonization (USH.H.2.1)
A. 1585 colony – charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I
1. Funded by Sir Walter Raleigh, an English aristocrat and explorer
2. Venture intended to provide riches to Great Britain and establish a hub for
privateering
3. Expedition led by Richard Greenville and Ralph Lane
4. Problems with ships and a lack of food prompted Greenville to leave Lane and 107
men and return to Britain
5. Sir Francis Drake arrives in 1586 and carries Lane and his men back
6. First English attempt at colonization in North America
B. 1587 colony – a second attempt for a more permanent colony
1. Expedition led by John White, an artist and friend of Raleigh
2. 150 colonists, including men and women, arrived in July
3. First English born child in the New World is born – Virginia dare
4. Problems and issues cause White to return for more supplies and support
5. Delays due to coming of the Spanish Armada prevent White from returning until
1590
6. No settlement remains, only obscure clues, and colony becomes known as “The
Lost Colony

 Although only a small subset of what would be
taught in a full unit, the content outline in the
previous slide illustrates a couple of points:
 The content is clearly linked to state standards via
a reference to the NCES in USH I
 The content is “spelled out” in detail
 The content flows between major topics and
between subtopics and details within those major
topics

 Students must be able to understand content, not only on
their own terms, but also on the terms of the discipline
 To facilitate this transition to proper usage of “academic
language,” it is necessary to identify, teach, and reinforce the
usage of proper academic language
 This academic language takes three forms:
 Vocabulary: the words we use in common, everyday contexts
(e.g. rural, urban, contemporary, foreign, domestic)
 Language function: The content and language focus of the
learning task represented by the active verbs (e.g. Bloom’s
verbs) within the learning outcomes. Examples might include:
Analyze, compare/contrast, construct, describe, evaluate,
examine, identify, interpret, justify, locate, etc.

Appendix B: Academic language (vocabulary, technical language, and instructional academic
language)
Vocabulary:
Armada
Cash crop
Charter
Colonization
Expedition
Privateer
Subsistence crop
Language functions:
Analyze
Integrate
Evaluate
Synthesize
*This sample only addresses vocabulary from the content presented in the abbreviated content outline
presented earlier

 Once the “what” has been determined, it is
now time to begin look at the “how” – time to
focus on instructional methodology
 This fourth phase of unit planning is where
content and process come together, where the
NCES and CCSS are married
 This phase is also where teachers marry
content and context to provide learning events
that engage all learners

The Unit Analysis Map – Steps 4
 How do I know if they learned it and if they can do
it?
 How can I break this apart into chunks so that I
can teach it sequentially and have that sequence
be thoughtful, meaningful, and purposeful?
 How do I need to teach it so that all learners can
have an opportunity to learn?

 Let’s take a look at how this unit analysis map
helps us design instruction down to the lesson
level so that we can then focus individually on
the procedures of those lessons
 The following slides show (a) a sample lesson
mapped out and (b) an explanation of each
element of the lesson portion of the map
 Please note that each lesson in the unit would
need to be included in the map in the same
way this one sample lesson was designed

Lesson (a) Lesson topic
(b) Lesson essential
question
(c) Specific common
core/essential
standard
Lesson instructional activities Formative assessments
Lesson 1 (a) Roanoke Colonies
(b) In what ways might the
lessons of Roanoke
have been used by
England to create plans
for future colonization?
(c) CCSS – Social studies
Reading (11-12) #1 and
NCES USH.H.2.1
1. Presentation of timeline of Roanoke Colonies
2. Whole class analysis of following primary and
secondary accounts of Roanoke:
a. Review of Ralph Lane’s account of 1585-86 colony
found at
http://www.nationalcenter.org/ColonyofRoanoke.ht
ml
b. Reading passage on John White’s New World
artwork from Tarheel Junior Historian found at
http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/collateral/articl
es/art.of.john.white.pdf
Etc.
Students will grade Sir
Walter Raleigh on his
success or failure to
establish a permanent
settlement at Roanoke.
They must cite three
reasons why he received
the grade he received and
provide one reason each
for the why the grade was
not higher and why it was
not lower.
Lesson one vocabulary
Armada; Cash crop; Charter; Colonization; Expedition; Privateer;
Subsistence crop
Lesson one language function
Analyze; Compare/contrast; evaluate
Planned differentiation using Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences:
Visual spatial – timeline of colonies
Linguistic – lecture on Roanoke colonies
Interpersonal – think-pair-share activity during lecture
Intrapersonal - formative assessment – reflection on why they believed he should have received the grade he received

question
(c) Specific common
core/essential
standard
(b) In what ways might
the lessons of
Roanoke have been
used by England to
create plans for future
colonization?
(c) CCSS – Social
studies Reading (11-
12) #1 and NCES
USH.H.2.1
a. Review of Ralph Lane’s account of 1585-86
colony found at
http://www.nationalcenter.org/ColonyofRoanoke
.html
http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/collateral/arti
cles/art.of.john.white.pdf
Etc.
reasons why he
received the grade he
received and provide
one reason each for the
why the grade was not
higher and why it was
not lower.
Armada; Cash crop; Charter; Colonization; Expedition;
Privateer; Subsistence crop
From our content outline, we must
now divide the content topics or
skill sets into individual lessons.
After determining the topic for
each lesson, an essential
question (usually a conceptual or
“big picture” question that sets the
focus for the entire lesson) should
be drafted to guide the direction of
the lesson. This topic, the
corresponding essential question,
and the remainder of the lesson
(activities, academic language,
assessments) should be directly
and overtly linked to an identified
standard or clarifying objective
from the CCSS and NCES.

question
(c) Specific common
core/essential
standard
the lessons of
Roanoke have been
used by England to
colonization?
(c) CCSS – Social
12) #1 and NCES
USH.H.2.1
colony found at
.html
Etc.
reasons why he
not lower.
Once we have organized material to be
taught, it is important to think about how to
assess whether or not observable,
demonstrable, or measurable learning has
taken place. In order to build from one lesson
to the next in a way that will assist students in
meeting expectations aligned with the
culminating performance task, it is helpful to
use a variety of formative assessments for
each lesson. Such formative assessments
should not only align with teaching practice
relative to CCSS, but should also allow us to
assess understanding of content and
process.

question
(c) Specific common
core/essential
standard
the lessons of
Roanoke have been
used by England to
colonization?
(c) CCSS – Social
12) #1 and NCES
USH.H.2.1
colony found at
.html
Etc.
reasons why he
not lower.
Once we know our
content and know what
students should know
and be able to do
through our formative
assessments, more
than ever, our method
is of vital concern.
CCSS and NCES
provide a framework for
more process-focused
instruction centered
around literacy and
universal practices.
Instructional activities
should, therefore, refle
ct that focus. In
presenting instructional
activities, be sure to
include both content
and method. Including
resources here is also
helpful.

question
(c) Specific common
core/essential
standard
the lessons of
Roanoke have been
used by England to
colonization?
(c) CCSS – Social
12) #1 and NCES
USH.H.2.1
colony found at
.html
Etc.
reasons why he
not lower.
Here we connect the vocabulary and
language functions that we identified at the
outset of unit development to the individual
lesson. This academic language should
not only be introduced in the lesson, but
should be supported throughout the lesson
through contextualization, reinforcement,
and opportunities for students usage.

question
(c) Specific common
core/essential
standard
the lessons of
Roanoke have been
used by England to
colonization?
(c) CCSS – Social
12) #1 and NCES
USH.H.2.1
colony found at
.html
Etc.
reasons why he
not lower.
Our charge as classroom teachers is to teach ALL
students. This means that we often must meet
them where they are by using various strategies
that address a variety of learners. Furthermore,
we must challenge them to think in new and
different ways, causing them to use learning
styles that they are not quite as accomplished in
using. By identifying and planning to use multiple
methods of instruction as informed by Gardner’s
MI theory, we can accomplish both of these goals.

Unit Analysis Map Overview

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