Important steps In Designing Units

Step 1: Determine & Unpack Standards
Step 2: Group Standards into Units
Step 3: Identify Enduring Understandings tied
                 to standards
Step 4: Decide Themes & Big Ideas to frame the 
​                  unit
Step 5: Design Essential Questions within the
                Unit Theme
​Step 6: Create Unit Performance Assessment to
                Assess Priority Standards
Step 7:  Write Lessons that Build Skills to the
​                 Assessment

Step 5: Design Essential Questions

Essential Questions
Engaging, open-ended questions that educators use to spark interest in learning the content of the unit. A question that lies at the heart of a subject and promote inquiry and uncoverage of a subject.  Essential questions thus do not yield a single straightforward answer but produce different plausible responses, about which thoughtful and knowledgeable people may disagree.
    An essential question can be either overarching or topical (unit-specific) in scope.  
Wiggins & McTighe, 2008, pg. 342
     Overarching Essential Questions are, again, included in the framework of the National Core Art Standards and help lend understanding to the intent and direction of the individual grade process standards. However, as a curriculum designer, you will need to give considerable thought to topical, or theme-based Essential Questions. These questions can be explored through looking at and discussing professional works of art and should be designed to promote thinking in your students that they respond to through the creation of a work of art or design. ​