Unit Design
Backward-designed units that make big ideas teachable and assessable.
Units cover content but do not build understanding — the big ideas are named on the front page and lost by lesson three.
Units are where curriculum meets classroom. A well-designed unit names what students should understand, evidences that understanding, and sequences experiences that make it inevitable.
We use backward design end-to-end: outcomes and evidence first, learning experiences last. Every unit closes with an aligned assessment and a teacher-facing narrative.
Everything that makes the engagement land.
- Unit outcomes, understandings, and essential questions
- Evidence and assessment design
- Learning experience sequence and lesson stubs
- Differentiation and support notes
- Teacher-facing unit narrative
How the engagement unfolds.
Phasing is calibrated to your context — this is the typical shape.
- 011 week per unit
Frame
- Outcomes, understandings, essential questions
- 021–2 weeks per unit
Design
- Assessment and evidence
- Learning experience sequence
- Teacher narrative
What you actually receive.
Every artifact is designed to be used by the people who need it — not to sit in a shared drive.
Unit plan document
A complete, backward-designed unit with outcomes, evidence, sequence, and rationale.
Aligned assessments
Formative checks and a summative task designed to evidence the unit's outcomes.
Teacher narrative
A short prose account of how the unit is meant to feel and unfold — the intent behind the structure.
A few of the artifacts partners have received.
Anonymized examples of the kind of work this engagement produces.
Sample unit plan
An anonymized 6–8 week unit plan across a mid-primary strand.
Essential-questions bank
Excerpt showing how essential questions are calibrated by grade and strand.
Full samples are shared under NDA during discovery — never on the public site.
About unit design.
Do you design units without a full curriculum in place?
Yes, though we recommend anchoring to at least a graduate profile and strand progression to avoid orphaned brilliance.
Often engaged alongside this one.
Lesson Frameworks
Consistent, teacher-friendly lesson structures that respect craft and cognitive load.
Assessment Design
Formative and summative assessments aligned to what actually matters in your curriculum.
Full Curriculum Design
End-to-end curriculum design from philosophy and graduate profile through unit-by-unit build, teacher guides, and pilot.
Book a discovery call about unit design.
Pick a 30-minute slot with a senior curriculum lead, or send a short note and we'll respond within two working days.
- 30-minute discovery conversation, no cost or obligation.
- Confidential — details are never shared beyond the advisory team.
- Prefer to write? Switch to the short note fallback on the right.