Unit Plan

I understand the purpose of the Unit Plan; to learn how to collaborate well with other teachers in designing lesson plans and to think outside the box- incorporate material from other subjects into my content area. I have to say those two responsibilities cannot be completed by researching facts and data. The unit plan needs direction, coordination and a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of drafting, revising, and reviewing! Let me start from the beginning.
     After launching a topic idea that dipped into Spanish, earth science, and social studies we were getting lost in space. We outlined topics for our three lessons and we felt like we were making progress. Nonetheless, the lessons, because three teachers were adding to it, got out of hand. They were too general, and encompassed tons of activities that would never have fit within a days class. We regrouped and narrowed our focus.We switched lesson plans and designed technology-based activities. (Not easy to say the least). We regained our course and saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
However, creating this unit plan would have been a lot easier to do it by myself. Every time I wanted to change a aspect of the lesson I had to find out from my other partners if it was okay to do. Sometimes I would change a piece of a lesson and it would confuse them. Sometimes someone else would change a piece of the lesson and it would confuse me. We always had to have committees about what task each person was going to do. In the beginning we did not write down and assign tasks. It made it very difficult to make progress. We were counter-productive. We learned our lesson and directly stated each teachers role in the unit plan. Things from then on have been a smooth ride. I have learned various things from this lesson; be direct, write down everything, and be patient!