02.F. How to Create Multiple Unit and Lesson Templates

Many districts use a standard format for Unit/Lesson Plans that are created using eDoctrina within their district. If a standard format exists, it is a good practice to create/configure a customized template before creating any Units or Lessons in eDoctrina. This will enforce consistency and allow for proper alignment when viewing a Curriculum Map or Scope & Sequence Report. This task can only be completed by a District Admin profile type.

To create or manage Unit or Lesson plan templates, follow the steps below, use the navigation bar to find the District Homepage (Settings==>Student Information Data==>Districts).

Navigate to Districts

Locate the district in the displayed list and click the Edit Pencil button to enter the District Editor.

Scroll down the District Editor until the Unit Descriptions and Lesson Descriptions are displayed on the screen. All existing Unit and Lesson Plan Templates will be listed in the respective box. A template named -Default description- will be the first option for all districts and will be the first option that users see when creating a Unit or Lesson in eDoctrina's Units Module. This template cannot be deleted and the title of this template cannot be modified; but the fields within can be updated if needed. All other templates that have been created will be listed here and can be modified by District Admins.

List of Templates
NOTE: Unit and Lesson Templates can be modified by clicking the Edit Pencil button at any time, but it is recommended to keep these the same throughout the year to maintain consistency.

Click the Add Template button to create a new template.

Create new template

One the "Create unit description" pop-up window, there are many configuration options that will vary by district and/or template:

  1. Choose which school(s) within the district that will have access to the the Unit/Lesson Plan template. Leave this field blank if all schools in the district should have access to the template.
  2. Choose which grade(s) will have access to the the Unit/Lesson Plan template. Leave this field blank if all grade levels will be using the template.
  3. Choose which subject(s) areas will have access to the the Unit/Lesson Plan template. Leave this field blank if all subjects will be using the template.
  4. Choose which course(s) will be using to the the Unit/Lesson Plan template. Leave this field blank if all courses will be using the template.
  5. Provide a Name for the Unit/Lesson Plan template. This is how the template will appear in the pull-down menu within the Unit Editor.
  6. Control visibility of linked content: Select this checkbox to allow District Admins to control which linked assessments, lesson plans, and attachments will be visible to teachers within the Unit Plan. This feature is mostly used for creating master Unit Plans that allow multiple users to link content to a Unit Plan without it being visible to all users that have access to edit.
  7. The Description defines what the Title of the field within the Content section of the Unit Editor. Some example descriptions would be Anticipatory Set, Learning Activities, Essential Questions, etc...
  8. Lock for teacher edit restricts Teacher profile types from editing the fields within Unit Plans that utilize this template. This is a great option if Unit Plans are standardized because teachers will not be able to edit the Content fields with this option enabled.
  9. Content fields can be pre-populated by entering the information into the Pre-fill box. This is often used if there is a specific template to follow for one or many of the Content fields.


Once new unit or lesson plan template has been saved, it will appear in a drop down menu when a new unit or lesson is created.

Select Unit Template