A principal purpose
Main topic or topics (e.g., World War II, reptiles, double-digit multiplication)
Concepts (e.g., integrity, the Doppler effect) that unite lessons within the unit
Essential skills to be developed
Academic goals and desired outcomes
Academic standards that directly relate to the subject area or areas
Cross-curricular connections
Methods to make the learning relevant throughout the unit
Big ideas that link to additional big ideas to increase understanding
Past learning that links to present learning and leads to future learning
An understanding of students' current knowledge
Questions to guide thinking each day and from day to day
Questions based on recurring unit ideas or themes
Clear expectations for learning of all students
Jen Bartsch on 05 Sep 09PBS Teachers provides PreK-12 educational resources and activities for educators tied to PBS programming and correlated to local and national standards and professional development opportunities delivered online. As stated in the lesson plan overview: "Through the activities presented in this lesson, students will become familiar with the tenets of the Homestead Act, the shifting borders of the American frontier, and the life faced by homesteaders. After a class discussion and examination of a variety of Web sites, students will complete an written assessment in which they will determine whether or not the land available through the Homestead Act was, in fact, "free." This lesson can be used as an introduction to a unit on American settlement in the latter half of the nineteenth century, or as a pre-viewing activity to the PBS series FRONTIER HOUSE. A basic knowledge of 19th-century United States history is required."
