ABSTRACT
Unit plans are the stepping stones of a year’s curriculum. Th ey help connect and organize lessons so that the content is manageable and fl ows in a logical course. Without this organizational tool lessons can be disjointed, lack cohesion, and be rendered powerless to eff ect deep understanding in students. Learning how to construct a thematic unit enables my preservice teachers to focus on the thinking that they want students to do and not to get bogged down in the content. Preservice elementary teachers in particular need instruction in the organizing power of social studies content as a means of integrating multiple subject areas and using class time eff ectively. Th e focus of my students’ units puts social studies at the center, with explicit ties to other content areas such as English, language arts, science, or math.
