These units were written during the Summer Curriculum Writing Institute* (SCWI) at Trinity University beginning in 2005 and are added to at the close of the Institute each year. They use the Understanding by Design framework developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. Note that earlier units use the UbD original template, while many newer units utilize the 2.0 version. We hope units are useful to teachers developing curriculum globally. If you have any questions about this site, contact Dr. Laura Allen, SCWI Coordinator, at lallen@trinity.edu.
For more information, please see Connecting the Continuum: A University-based Induction Program to Improve Teacher Quality.*SCWI is an induction support program that invites graduates of Trinity University’s MAT program back to campus for one week each summer to write curriculum for their own classrooms. Participants are paid a stipend for attending and travel and receive 30 CPE hours.
These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Submissions from 2019
Understanding Poetry: 5th Grade Introduction to Writing Poetry, Samantha Bos and Jackie Jaramillo
5th Grade Adaptation, Michael Carroll
Innovative Empires, Marisa C. Cavin
High School Physics Electricity Unit, Beverly Chatfield
AP Studio Art - Beginning the Sustained Investigation, Hannah Cone
AP Physics: Modeling with Computer Simulations, Maxwell Vincent Fazio
Follow Me to Pre-K: Students Learning to Interact in Their New Environment, Emily Hall
La frontera y la comunicación: How Language Influences Our Identity, Josie Hammons and Claudia Fernanda Ramirez
Sharing Stories: An Introduction to Literary Writing and Analysis (9th grade), Talia Howard
Untold Stories of American History, Sarah Hudson and Zachary Wilson
Weaving the Threads of the Global Tapestry, Melendy Jacobie and Gretchen Wickes
Culture and Identity in Novels Centered Around Women of Color, Blake R. Keeling
Organ-izing the Human Body System [7th Grade], Aly Kirchhof
What Causes Revolt? [7th grade Texas History], Grace Marengo Sanchez
Introduction to IB Language and Literature: Storytellers and the Single Story, Savannah McDonough and Megan Day
The Story of Periodicity: An Exploration of Sam Kean’s The Disappearing Spoon for Chemistry and English, Elizabeth Muire and Kay Newsome
Investigating Atoms and the Periodic Table, Yvette Muniz
Flour and Fractions (Making Fractions Fun in 4th Grade), Elle V. Norman
Greek Mythology: Understanding the Allusions, Heather M. Patillo
Creating Change: The Civil Rights Movement, Melissa Robertson
Thinking Geographically Mapping Portfolio, Dalynn Robinson and Blake R. Keeling
Survey Says: Graphing and Data Analysis (3rd grade), Shayna Rosenthal and Courtney Gold
Community Helpers (Pre-Kindergarten), Michele Saenz and Leslie Davenport
Highly...Logical: Remedial Pre-Algebra (Grade 9), Andrew Sanchez and Amy R. Thomson
U.S. History Westward Expansion - Gilded Age: Developments of Power, Anthony Sanchez
Fiction/ Nonfiction Writing, Grades 1-2, Lisa Schmidt and Samara Sance
Our Roots, Our Branches: Listening and Writing to Tell a School's Story, Michael Shay
First Week Intro: Growth and Vulnerability (10th grade AP World History and English II), Ileana Sherry
AP United States History: Period 4 (1800-1848), Kelsey Toms
Exploration and Colonization (and Organization!), Samantha Vogel and Monica N.C. Mendiola
Ancient Civilizations: Create Your Own, Waynne Warren
Early Civilizations: Create Your Own, Waynne Warren
Looking Up! What is our place in the universe? - An Astronomy UbD for 8th Grade, Miguel Angel Webber
Evaluating Functions and their Domain and Range - 8th/9th grade Algebra, Melanie R. Webb
The Untold Stories Project, Zachary Wilson and Sarah Hudson
Submissions from 2018
Addition and Subtraction Review with a Purpose, Samantha Bos and Jackie Jaramillo
Writing- Our First Grade Community, Jeanine Capitani and Harliv Kaur
Epic Natural and Anthropogenic Disasters (grade 9), Marisa C. Cavin
Poiesis: Bringing Our Stories Into Being Through Poetry, Emily B. Delgado and Regina M. Valdez
Tu día en la escuela (Your day at school), Merida Elizondo and Kara Hargrove
The Ethics and Rhetoric of the #MeToo Movement, Krissy Ford and Rachel Bellande
The March for Social Justice: Historical Demand for Progress Effected Through Powerful Rhetoric, Kate Foster and Catherine Polk
Sharing Stories: Writing a Personal Narrative, 1st grade, Emily Hall
Nuestro Pobre Planeta - 12th grade Spanish, Josie Hammons
La ropa y Los colores, Haley Hansen
Exploring Identity and the Communities We Live In, Lauren Hickey-Garcia and Alyssa Cerroni
The "Middle" Ages [7th grade World History], KATELYN JENSEN
Life as a 3rd Grade Poet, Anastasia Lorestani Kiesling and Karen Lynn Sanchez
Truss Bridge Construction Project, High School Geometry, Dayton King
Migration, Communities, and Culture [3rd Grade], Megan King
Shapin' Up in 1st Grade [1st Grade Geometry - Shapes 2D & 3D Unit], Aly Kirchhof
Middle School Theatre Arts: Collaborative Play Production, Kasey Korth-Piles and Chandra Tarro
Hall of Fame Scientists: Exploring identity through the examples of famous scientists using biology and English, Si Ying Li and Ileana Sherry
Analyzing Financial Markets, Raphael Macapinlac
“A Pleasure to Burn”: Introduction to IB Language and Literature through Fahrenheit 451, Savannah McDonough
Market PBL: A Cross-Curricular Exploration of Technological Innovation in Pre-Modern Civilizations, Elizabeth Muire, M. Melendy Jacobie, Kay Newsome, Lisa Stuckey, and Blake Keeling
Tell Me Why: A Persuasive Writing Unit for 4th-6th grade, Elle V. Norman
Biographies: Telling Others' Stories, Shayna Rosenthal and Courtney Gold
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Amy R. Thomson and Heather M. Patillo
Constitution - Rights & Responsibilities, Samantha Vogel and Monica NC Mendiola
Transformations - 8th Grade Math, Melanie R. Webb
Who Is Texas? Exploring Dominant and Overlooked Stories about The Lone Star State, Zachary Wilson
Submissions from 2017
The Kite Runner (11th grade), Alice Bilbrey
The Chemistry of Making Soap: Chemical and Physical Changes in 6th Grade Science, Samantha Bos
Forces and Motion (Rube Goldberg PBL), Joy Lindig Brush
Becoming Critical Analyzers of Data, 6th Grade Math, Claudia Cardenas
World Religions, Marisa C. Cavin
Theories Of Politics and Democratic Underpinnings Of The American Constitution, Alex Decker
Una celebración con la familia (A family celebration) (7th-9th grade), Merida Elizondo and Kara Hargrove
Language and the Manipulation of Truth, Krissy Ford and Rachel Bellande
Freak the Mighty: A Quest Through Friendship, Renee E. Gerald
La tecnología ha evolucionado (12th grade), Josie Hammons
Confianza en mis habilidades (9th-11th grade), Haley Hansen
Are the Oceans in Trouble? (8th Grade), Elizabeth Hernandez
Intro to Geography Concepts and Skills, Angela Juarez
The English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution (10th-12th grade), Blake R. Keeling
Awe-Inspiring Advertisements: Becoming More Informed Consumers [3rd Grade], Megan King
Solving the Mystery of Matter: Physical Properties [5th Grade], Aly Kirchhof
Characteristics of the Universe (8th grade), Veronica Mansfield and Meggan Partain
IB Language and Literature Introduction: The Foundations of Western Culture (11th grade), Savannah McDonough
Energy Forms (5th grade), Javier Melendez
¿Cómo Eres y Qué Te Gusta Hacer? (Who are you and What do you like to do?) 1A-7th grade, Jaclyn K. Metcalf
Exploring Expository through Culture, Kathleen Fenske Montoya and Laurette Kirby
We'll Be There For You: A 3rd-5th Grade Unit on Understanding and Respecting Each Other, Elle V. Norman
Exploring Statistics Concepts with Student Driven Data and Polls, Matthew Patty
Communities Change: How Outside Factors Impact Communities [3rd Grade], Shayna Rosenthal
Poetry Unit (2-4th grade), Samara Sance and Lisa Schmidt
Macbeth by Shakespeare, Amy R. Thomson and Heather M. Patillo
A New America: The Gilded Age and Westward Expansion (11th grade), Kelsey Toms
Rules Rule! (1st grade), Lauren Turley
How Can I Be a Good Reader? Lessons in Understanding Books (1st-2nd grade), Tara Vaughan
Meaning behind the Structure: 4th Grade Nonfiction Text Structure and Summary Unit, Anne Waidelich
Shark Tank Economics, Waynne Warren
Submissions from 2016
Picking Apart Plot (6th grade), Amanda Aird
Problem Solvers, INC., Caroline Arroyo and Lianet H. Olvera
Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells (6th grade), Samantha Bos
Dante's Inferno: Allegory, Hero's Journey, or Epic Poem? Yes! (12th grade), Sherry Brown
6th Grade Math: Toro Dream House, Claudia Cardenas
Why We Had To Leave; A Study of Human Rights & Refugees (9th-12th grade), Marisa C. Cavin
Maps and Distance in Geometry (9th-10th grade), Catherine A. Davison