Unit Plan Template (Understanding by Design)

UbD unit plan: overview, standards alignment, three stages, performance task, lesson sequence, assessment calendar, resources

EducationStandardUnderstanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe)unit planUpdated Oct 20, 2026

Open in editorDownload .md

How to use: Use to plan a multi-week unit with backward design. Fill the standards alignment and the summative performance task before sequencing lessons. Main pitfall: standards that are taught but never assessed, or assessed but never taught.

Preview

Unit Plan: [Unit title]

Unit plan template for a sequence of lessons, organised by the three stages of backward design from Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe): desired results, assessment evidence and the learning plan, with standards alignment, a lesson sequence, an assessment calendar and resources. Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example.

Field	Value
Unit title	[Unit title]
Course / grade	[Year 10 History]
Teacher(s)	[@name], [@name]
Duration	[4 weeks, 12 lessons of 60 minutes]
Dates	YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD
Position in course	[Unit 3 of 6; follows "Industrialisation"]
Version / status	[0.1, Draft]
Last reviewed	YYYY-MM-DD

1. Unit overview

[Example: "Students investigate why the right to vote expanded between 1830 and 1930 by examining primary sources from reform movements. They consider how ordinary people won political change and apply that analysis to a present-day campaign of their choice. The unit opens with a mock election in which half the class is not allowed to vote."]

2. Standards alignment

Code	Standard (short form)	Taught in lessons	Assessed by
Example: [HIST-10.3]	Explain causes and consequences of political reform	L2-L6	Performance task; quiz 1
Example: [HIST-10.5]	Evaluate the reliability of primary sources	L3, L4, L7	Source analysis 1 and 2
Example: [LIT-10.2]	Write an argument supported by evidence	L9-L11	Performance task
[Code]	[Standard]	[Lessons]	[Assessment]

3. Stage 1. Desired results

3.1 Transfer goals

Students will be able to independently use their learning to:

[Example: Analyse how a campaign for change builds support, using evidence from sources.]
[Transfer goal]

3.2 Enduring understandings

Students will understand that:

[Example: Rights are rarely given; they are usually won through organised, sustained pressure.]
[Example: Sources reflect the purpose and position of their authors and must be read critically.]
[Understanding]

3.3 Essential questions

[Example: Who gets to decide, and how does that change?]
[Example: How do we know whose account to trust?]
[Question]

3.4 Knowledge and skills

Students will know	Students will be able to
Example: Key reform acts and dates; main reform organisations	Example: Source a document: author, date, purpose, audience
Example: Tactics of constitutional and militant campaigners	Example: Corroborate claims across at least two sources
[Knowledge]	[Skill]

4. Stage 2. Assessment evidence

4.1 Summative performance task

Element	Description
Goal	Example: Persuade a museum panel which tactic did most to win the vote
Role	Historian advising the museum
Audience	Museum curators (played by a visiting panel)
Situation	The museum is designing a new gallery and can feature one tactic
Product / performance	800-word argument plus a 3-minute oral pitch
Standards / criteria	Argument, use of evidence, source evaluation, communication (see rubric)

4.2 Other evidence

Evidence	Type	Stage 1 link	Lesson
Example: Source analysis 1	Formative	Sourcing skill	L4
Example: Knowledge quiz	Formative	Key events and terms	L6
Example: Argument outline with teacher feedback	Formative	Argument writing	L10
[Evidence]	[Type]	[Link]	[Lesson]

5. Stage 3. Learning plan

5.1 Lesson sequence

Lesson	Focus	Key activities	Formative check	Homework
L1	Example: Hook and questions	Mock election; generate questions about voting rights	Question wall	Read background text
L2	Example: Timeline of reform	Build a class timeline; identify turning points	Timeline exit ticket	None
L3	Example: Reading sources critically	Model sourcing with one pamphlet	Sourcing checklist	Analyse one source
L4	Example: Constitutional campaigners	Source stations in groups	Source analysis 1	Notes
L5	Example: Militant campaigners	Structured debate on tactics	Debate notes	Notes
L6	Example: Consolidation	Retrieval practice and quiz	Knowledge quiz	Revise weak areas
L7	Example: Corroboration	Compare accounts of one event	Source analysis 2	None
L8	Example: Introduce performance task	Analyse exemplar; co-construct criteria	Criteria check	Choose position
L9	Example: Building the argument	Claim and evidence planning	Outline draft	Draft outline
L10	Example: Feedback and revision	Peer and teacher feedback	Argument outline	Full draft
L11	Example: Pitch rehearsal	Rehearse in triads	Peer feedback	Final draft
L12	Example: Presentation	Pitch to panel; reflect on essential questions	Performance task	Reflection

5.2 Differentiation and support

[Planned scaffolds, extension tasks, language support and accommodations across the unit. Example: "Graphic organiser for the argument; source texts at two reading levels; an extension source set on campaigns outside Europe."]

6. Assessment calendar

Week	Date	Assessment	Weight in unit grade	Feedback returned by
1	YYYY-MM-DD	Source analysis 1	Formative, 0%	YYYY-MM-DD
2	YYYY-MM-DD	Knowledge quiz	15%	YYYY-MM-DD
3	YYYY-MM-DD	Source analysis 2	15%	YYYY-MM-DD
4	YYYY-MM-DD	Performance task (written and oral)	70%	YYYY-MM-DD
		Total	100%

7. Resources

Resource	Type	Lessons	Access / location
Example: Primary source pack (12 documents)	Printed / digital	L3-L7	[Shared drive link]
Example: Textbook chapter 6	Reading	L2	Class set
Example: Performance task rubric	Assessment	L8-L12	[Link]
[Resource]	[Type]	[Lessons]	[Access]

8. Unit review

Question	Notes
Share of students meeting the standard on the performance task	[Notes]
Standards where results were weakest	[Notes]
Lessons that need more or less time	[Notes]
Changes for next year	[Notes]

Standard and licence note

Based on the backward design framework of Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (ASCD), cited as a reference. The performance task elements follow their widely described goal, role, audience, situation, product and standards prompts, used descriptively. Original text written for this collection; no text or templates are reproduced. Template licence: MIT.

Related templates

Education