Unit Plan vs Lesson Plan: What to Write and What to Skip

A unit plan is a map. It shows the arc of learning across 2–4 weeks: the big idea, the sequence of skills, the summative assessment, and how daily lessons build toward mastery. It answers 'Where are we going and why?'

A lesson plan is a set of driving directions for one day. It shows the objective, the sequence of activities, timing, and how you'll check understanding. It answers 'What are we doing today and how will I know it worked?'

Unit plan essentials: essential question, standards addressed, daily objective sequence, summative assessment description, key vocabulary, and major materials. Keep it to one page.

Lesson plan essentials: daily objective, timed activity sequence, differentiation notes, formative assessment, and materials list. You don't need to repeat unit-level information in every daily plan.

Teachers who write 10-page unit plans with minute-by-minute detail for every day are doing double work. The unit plan should be strategic, not tactical. Save the tactical detail for the daily lesson plan, which you can adjust based on how the previous day went.

LessonCraft handles the daily detail so you can focus your planning energy on the unit arc — the strategic decisions that shape learning over weeks, not minutes.