Teachers plan units according to the educational objectives established by school boards, in-house teams of teachers and state departments of education. Typically, an educational unit title summarizes content across several lessons that establishes and reinforces certain skills and essential knowledge for grade levels and content areas. For example, if the state department of education establishes that all ninth-graders must demonstrate an understanding of satire and allegory, an English teacher must then create a unit title that reflects its connection to the state standard, such as, "Satire and Allegory: From Plato to Orwell."
The unit title appears at the top of each lesson to remind the teacher of the overall teaching goal: to teach children about satire and allegory. The essential learning is knowledge about satire and allegory, which students will learn through understanding Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" and Orwell's, "Animal Farm." In placing unit titles on lesson plans, teachers remind themselves that each lesson is a means to an end.
Lesson plans within a unit on satire and allegory might include an initial introduction to the unit terms with very basic examples. As students accomplish tasks within the lesson plans, they move from initial knowledge to more complex synthesis and evaluation. Teachers place the unit title at the top of each individual lesson plan to aid in organization and keep the focus on achieving the essential learning. A lesson within the unit, "Satire and Allegory: From Plato to Orwell," might be titled, "Synthesis: Creating Satire," to remind the teacher and students that they are learning about satire through creating one of their own.
Teachers must always be able to tie their learning objectives in a lesson plan back to the bigger unit objectives. A unit title on a lesson plan helps teachers remain organized by ensuring that a connection between the unit and lesson is consistent and clear. For example, all lessons within a unit on allegory and satire in Plato and Orwell should contain examples from their works that illustrate the terms from the unit title, "satire," and "allegory." As students accomplish tasks within lessons, it is the teacher's duty to ensure that students establish a clear connection between student tasks, essential learning and the unit title.