02.B.1. How to Create a Unit Plan

Navigate to the Unit Plans page by clicking on the "Unit Plans" button on the eDoctrina Home Screen or by using the navigation bar at the top of the screen under Planning => Units. Please note that many district have created a custom homepage so your homepage may look a bit different!

A new unit can be created by clicking the Create button or an existing unit can be edited by clicking the Edit Pencil button for the corresponding unit.

Important: If you are creating a new unit plan and the unit plan screen is not opening a new window, it is highly likely there is a pop-up blocker preventing it from opening. Check in the URL bar to see if there is a red X. Simply allow eDoctrina to access pop-ups and filter to find the unit plan you just created. You will not need to create a new unit plan again.


If a new Unit is being created, clicking the Create button will result in a pop-up window where you will be prompted to enter some general information about the Unit Plan you are creating. Within this pop-up, it is required to:

  • Select the Type: It is recommended to choose "Teacher unit" for general Unit Plans
  • Provide a Name: This field is searchable so choose your Unit Plan name wisely.
  • Select the Year, Grade, and Subject that is most applicable to the Unit Plan.
  • The most common Workflow state is "Visbile" but workflow states are custom, so it is possible that your district may have a different naming convention.
  • Selecting a Course is not required, but linking one provides the option to share the Unit Plan with other users that instruct the same course.

Once the required fields are entered, select the Continue button to be directed to the Unit Plan editor.

Once the Unit Editor the option to "jump to" the various sections of the unit plan is available using the Navigation Buttons along the top:

Navigation bar
  1. Navigation Buttons:
    • Expand/Collapse All: This will expand or collapse the view of all the sections within the unit plan.
    • General/Content/Standards/Assessments/Lessons/Attachments/Discussion Board/Notes: Will navigate to the corresponding section of the unit plan.
  2. Save/Save & Close/Close Buttons:
    • Saves: Will save all current changes and stay on the same webpage.
    • Saves & Closes: Will save all current changes and exit out of the unit editor browsing tab.
    • Cancel & Close: Will NOT save the most recent changes and will exit out of the unit editor browsing tab.
  3. Select Template
    • Select the unit plan template that is most relevant to the unit of instruction.

Please remember to save whenever a change is made to ensure that no work is lost.

The General Section

Click the Create or Edit Pencil button to open the Unit Editor. To be able to save the Unit Plan to the database, the mandatory fields marked with a red asterisk (*), must be filled in or selected.

  1. Type:
    • Teacher Unit: Selecting this type will allow users to include Content, Assessments, Lessons, and Attachments to the Unit Plan.
    • Student Online Unit: Selecting this type will enable the ability to add a Student Online Learning Experience (SOLe) to the Unit Plan.
    • Teacher and Student Unit: Selecting this type is like selecting both the Teacher Unit and the Student Online Unit and provides access to all features.
  2. Descriptive Information: The Name, School, Year, Grade, and Subject are important to select to define a Unit Plan and make it easier to locate when searching for the unit plan at a later date.
  3. Sharing/Privacy If selected, all teachers who teacher the same course can edit this Unit Plan. Otherwise, only the creator and administrator can edit.
    • Team Can Edit: If checked - other teachers teaching the same course can edit this unit. For this to work a course will need to be linked to the unit plan.
    • Do Not Share - Exclude From List: If checked - only district admins and the owner will be able to see this unit in the unit listing.
    • Do Not Allow Copy: If checked - teachers and school admins cannot copy the unit.
    • Shared With: It is possible to only share a unit plan (enable editing access) with one or many users by adding their name to this field.
  4. Visibility & Workflow: These selections are available for administrative profiles ONLY. The usage of these fields will vary by district.
  5. Active/Inactive: If available, unit plans can be made active or inactive.
  6. Time Stamps: The Start/End Date and the Duration (days) are descriptive as well, but can assist with district-wide collaboration efforts as they are tied to some Planning Reports.For units to display in their appropriate sequence on the Scope & Sequence Report and the Curriculum Map, Start/End Dates must be entered. Any district can be configured to make this a required field.
  7. Courses: Filter for and select ALL courses that will be using this Unit Plan. This is a searchable field and also defines what a "Team" is for this Unit.

The Standards Section

The Standards Section is where any standards that will be covered in this specific unit will be added:

To add a standard to the unit you will need to:

  1. Use the filters to find the standard(s) to link to the unit plan.
  2. After finding the standard, drag and drop it into the Standards field on the left.

Take notice a the blank text field that appears below the added standard(s). This is where it is possible to unwrap standards using the WYSIWYG Editor tools.

Why Unwrap Standards? In many cases, state standards are either vague or compound (they include multiple skills embedded within a single standard). The ability to Unwrap Standards allows users to re-write standards into clearer or student-friendly language and breakdown a single standard into multiple components.

The benefits of this process are: (1) Re-written standards can build student engagement and demystify the learning process for learners and (2) Broken-down standards allow for more accurate and applicable assessment data reports.

The standards re-written/scaffolded on this screen will be accessible throughout eDoctrina. They will be able to be used with unit/lesson plans, assessments and data reports.

While powerful, the process of unwrapping standards is optional.

The Content Section

This section contains multiple headings that can be customized according to district preferences. Each box contains a WYSIWYG text editor that allows entry of pertinent information for each content component of the Unit Plan. Add content directly within each component or copy/paste information from another source. If copy/paste is the preference, it is best practice to highlight the pasted text and remove unwanted formatting by clicking the Remove Format button.

Content

The Assessments, Lessons, and Attachments Sections

In these sections, it is possible to create new assessments and lessons that will automatically link to the unit. It also provides the opportunity to edit existing linked assessments or lessons. The Attachments section allows for easy upload/download of relevant attachments:

Attached Content
NOTE: District Admins have the ability to control what content is visible within these sections, but this must be configured within the active unit template. For more information on how to do this please visit our help guide on How to Create Unit and Lesson Plan Templates.

The Discussion Board & Notes Sections

These sections provide ample opportunity for teachers and administrators to collaborate with eachother to continually develop the Unit Plan. The discussion board is configured to send email notifications to all users involved in the discussion. The Notes section allows users to enter any relevant information about the Unit Plan to save for later. It should be noted that when copying a Unit Plan, the comments made in the discussion board will not be copied, but the notes will.

Discussion and Notes