Managing Units in ManageBac

Units let you structure your curriculum, share content across classes, and track student learning. Use this guide to understand unit sharing, status, and management actions.

Unit Sharing

Academic Programme & Grades

• Units are shared automatically across all classes of the same subject & grade level.
• Units can optionally be shared across multiple grade levels within the same academic programme (for example MYP 3 and MYP 4).
• Editing a unit in one class updates it across all classes sharing that unit.

Class-Specific Elements

• Unit Streams are class-specific, allowing lesson plans, tasks, and resources to differ between classes.
• Drafting a unit in one class does not impact its visibility in other classes.

Historical Management

• Units carry over automatically each academic year.
• Historical planning notes and updates are recorded in the Reflections section.
• Schools can download PDF copies of units and curriculum planners for record keeping.

Curriculum Visibility & Permissions

• Observers can be added to provide read-only access to the school's curriculum. See more here →

Unit Status

• Active: Visible to students & parents, shared across all classes.
• Draft (Class-specific): Hidden from students in selected classes while remaining active in others.
• Archived (School-wide): Hidden from all classes, can be restored from Whole-School Curriculum.

Unit Management Actions

• Duplicate: Copy a unit to create a new one. See more here →
• Import: Add lessons & resources from other units & classes. See more here →
• Share across Districts: Share across schools in your school group or district. See more here →
• Delete: Permanently remove a unit. If a unit is activbe in a class and not needed, it is recommended to either Draft or Archive. See Hiding units below.
Deleting a Unit - Warning
Deleting a unit permanently removes it from ManageBac. This action cannot be undone. Make sure you have exported or backed up any content before proceeding.

Adding & Managing Unit Authors

You can add teachers as co-authors to collaborate on unit planning. Teachers of classes with the same subject & grade can also add themselves as authors.

1. Navigate to the unit → click Add Author in the sidebar.
2. Select a teacher → click Add Author.
3. If the teacher does not appear, ensure they are assigned to a class of the same subject & grade level of the unit. (ie you can only be added as an author to an MYP Grade 10 Physical Education Unit if you are a teacher in an MYP Grade 10 Physical Education Class.)
4. Click the red X to remove an author. Removing an author will not remove any content from the unit plan, but they will no longer be able to edit the unit unless they are added as an author
5. Admins & Teachers can browse units without being added as an author to them.

Hiding & Finding Units

Via your Class > Tasks & Units

Select your class from the Classes tab. Click on the Tasks & Units tab to view all units currently shared in your class. To find units marked as Draft or Archived, tick the Show draft and archived units box and click Filter. This will bring up all drafted and archived units. You can un-draft a unit by clicking the Active button.

Via Unit > Planner > Summary Section

Teachers can mark units as Draft or Archived in the Summary section of any unit. Select the unit from the list, open the Planner tab, click Edit Section for Summary, then tick Draft or Archived and click Save Changes.

Drafting a Unit / Hide from your Class:
Navigate to Tasks & Units > select your unit > Planner > Summary > Edit Section > Draft > Save Changes. Drafting removes the unit from your class calendar only. It does not affect other classes and hides the unit from students & parents.

Locating Draft Units

If a unit is not appearing in your unit schedule, check that it is not drafted:

1. Navigate to your class > Tasks & Units
2. Tick Show draft and archived units > Click Filter
3. Draft units appear with a grey draft symbol in the list. Select Active to undraft it.

Archiving a Unit / Hide from all Classes

Mark a unit as Archived via Tasks & Units > Planner > Summary > Edit Section > Archived > Save Changes. Archiving removes the unit from all class calendars, storing it in the archived units repository under Curriculum. Archived units are hidden from all students, parents, and teachers.

Locating Archived Units

1. Navigate to your class > Tasks & Units > tick Show draft and archived units > Click Filter
2. Archived units appear with an archive envelope symbol
3. Select the unit to un-draft or un-archive to restore it to the class calendar

Archiving & Unarchiving via Curriculum View

Access archived units via the Whole-School Curriculum:

1. Navigate to Insights > Curriculum > Whole School Curriculum > select your grade
2. To swiftly archive units, hover over a unit in the curriculum view and select Archive



3. Find units under Archived Units on the right-hand panel
4. Click the icon next to a units name to unarchive it

Student & Parent View

Students and parents see a unit only when its status is Active. Draft and Archived units are hidden from both students and parents.

• Active units appear in the student & parent Unit Calendar and Stream views.
• Students & Parents can see anything under the "At-a-Glance" view, essentially the Stage 1 of your unit planner. Admins can configure what parts of a unit template publish to "At-a-Glance" in each academic programmes curriculum settings.
• Students & Parents can also see content published in the Stream. Via Study Mode, students can view unit content and lesson plans alongside it.

Student Guide – Accessing & Managing Classes, Units & Resources →

Parent Guide – What Students & Parents See →