Creating IB DP & CP Unit Plans

1. Create a unit

From the Quick Add menu

Select the Quick Add (+) icon at the top right of any page. From here you can create a unit or task, or upload resources to an existing unit, without opening a class first.

From your class

1. Open the classChoose the class from the Classes menu on the left, then select the Units tab.
2. Add the unitSelect Add Unit at the top of the Units tab. To bring in units from elsewhere, select Import Units. To change an existing unit, open it, then select Edit Section on the section you want to change.
3. Enter the basicsCheck the Unit Template and Levels, add a Title, then set the Timeline: Start Month, Start Week and Duration (weeks). Course Part, Description, Hours and the draft options are optional.
4. Create itSelect Add Unit, or Add and Set Up to carry on setting the unit up straight away. You can then fill in the sections below.

2. Find your way round the planner

After you enter the basic details, the full unit planner opens.

Planner tabs

• At-a-Glance: a read-only summary. This is what students and parents see. Upload a cover image to make the unit stand out. You can resize and move the image to fit.

• Planner: in-line edit mode, so you can browse the whole unit while editing. Most of the planning document lives here.

• Lessons & Resources: add lessons, tasks, online lessons and resources, then link resources to each lesson.

• Assessments: add tasks and assessment coverage for set assessment types. The IB subject criteria are listed here to select.

Plan with colleagues

• Online Presence: see which colleagues are online and which section they are editing. Your name shows in orange, colleagues in green.
• Real-time Editing: colleagues' edits appear without refreshing. Select Save Changes, or Discard Changes to undo unwanted edits.
• Collaboration: several teachers can plan at once. The section each person is editing shows under Authors and on the section itself. An Edit Lock stops accidental overwriting: teachers can edit different sections at the same time, and the edit button is disabled on a section someone else is editing.

Navigation tools

• Unit Outline: select Unit Outline at the top of the Planner tab to open a menu showing overall progress, with quick links to each part of the planner. The current section is highlighted blue when viewing and orange when editing.

• Ongoing Reflections: select the speech bubble icon to open reflections on the right. Use @mentions to bring in teachers and admins. This works on every unit component, such as Curriculum, Connections and ATL Skills.
• Share & Star: select the three dots icon in any section to share a direct link with colleagues, or star the section to highlight it.

• View other Units: select the unit name to jump to other units in the class and cross-reference your planning.

3. Plan the unit

Edit the unit in the Planner tab. Select the Details (i) icon on the right to open the Details panel. From here you can add resources, duplicate, export or delete the unit, import tasks, share the unit to the Global ResourceBank, and see its published status and when it was last updated.

DP units follow the three parts of the Unit Outline: PLAN, DESIGN & IMPLEMENT and REFLECT. You can work on them in any order. The Lessons & Resources and Assessment tabs hold extra content for the unit.

Summary

Edit the unit title, template (if there is more than one) and duration. You can also share the unit between grades, save it as a draft or archive it. Select Save Changes to keep your changes and move on.

Inquiry & Purpose

Not every template includes this section. Where it appears, it brings together several tabs from earlier DP planners. It starts with Transfer Goals and Essential Understandings, followed by Inquiry Questions and Missed concepts/misunderstandings. The planner is one continuous document, so you can edit any section without switching tabs.

Curriculum

Find and select DP subject-specific content in the Aims & Objectives and Syllabus Content tabs. Standards and benchmarks and Additional Information are in the same section. Admins can turn Unit Outline components on or off for each template in Settings, so the DP planner fits your school. See Customising Unit Planner Templates.

Standards

Track non-IB standards in the Standards and benchmarks tab of the Curriculum section. School administrators can add their own standards and benchmarks for teachers to select (see Adding Standards as an Administrator).

1. Open the sectionGo to Curriculum > Standards and benchmarks and select Edit Section.
2. Add standardsSelect Add Standards.
3. FilterUse the Standards Set, Subject and Grade drop-downs.
4. ChooseSelect the standards you want. Green standards are already in the unit.
5. ConfirmSelect Add Standards, or Add & Continue to add more.
6. SaveThe standards appear as checkboxes. Select Save Changes to show them in the unit. To remove a standard, untick it on the Standards Edit Section page.

Connections

Every DP unit has a section for TOK Connections and CAS Connections. Select the icon to show guidance from "From Principles into Practice" or "Standards & Practices" while you fill in the text boxes or tick potential CAS connections.

Approaches to Learning

Every DP unit lists the full set of ATL Skills in the Approaches to Learning section. Select a skill icon to open its list below the Descriptions box. Add your own descriptors or pick from the pre-populated ones.

4. Design & Implement, and Reflect

Assessment section

Anything you add to the Assessment Section of the planner also appears in the Assessment Tab at the top of the unit, and the other way round. You only enter assessment details once.

Reflect

Use the Reflections & Evaluation section under REFLECT to reflect together on the unit before, during and after teaching it. Reflections are organised by academic year, so you can revisit last year's at the start of the new year.

5. Lessons & Resources

Lessons and resources

• The tab lists your Lessons first, then Resources. Use Add Resource, Add Lesson, Add Task or Add Online Lesson at the top.
• Resources must be linked to a lesson to be visible to students and parents. Filter them by For Students & Parents or For Teachers only.

Resources

Create assessment Tasks, Website and Video links, upload or link Files, upload Photos or write a journal Note.

Import from the Resource Bank

Select Add Lesson > Import Lesson(s) to import units and lessons, with their resources, from your school (My School), the Pamoja Lesson Suite or the Global ResourceBank. Once imported, you can adapt them for your class.

1. Choose the sourceSelect the My School, Pamoja Lesson Suite or Global ResourceBank tab.
2. Choose the unitUnder Select a unit, pick the unit to import from. Use the keyword search to narrow the list.
3. Choose the contentSelect the lessons and the resources in them to import.
4. ImportConfirm the import. The lessons and resources are added to your unit.

Lessons

1. StartSelect Add Lesson > Add Lesson at the top of the Lessons & Resources tab.
2. Add detailsEnter a Title. Teacher Notes (teachers only), Description & Guidance (students and parents), and the start and end dates and times are optional.
3. CreateSelect Add Lesson. It appears in the Lessons list.

Link resources to a lesson to organise the unit by weeks, topics or individual learning support. Select Open Presentation Mode on a lesson to present it in class.

6. Assessments tab

To create tasks and add assessment coverage quickly, use the Assessments tab at the top of the unit. Subject-specific criteria are in this tab and in Design & Implement > Assessment in the Planner.

7. Export a PDF planner

In the Planner tab, open the Details panel, select Export to PDF, then choose Export or Export with all Reflections.

To export many units at once, go to Insights > Curriculum (Whole-School Curriculum) and select Bulk Generate PDF Planners.

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