CEDAR, INC.

COAL STUDY UNIT PROGRAM

UNIT REPORTING FORMAT

2025-2026

Your report MUST BE TYPED, and in the following format:

• Double-spaced on 8 ½ X 11 paper.   Typed in a professional font.  (Arial, Calibri, Cambria, other) and body of text must be size 12;

• Minimum of two (2) pages and maximum of six (6).  (Not including the cover sheet or pages with photographs);

• The provided Unit Report Cover page should be used;

• The report must contain the following sections, with each section clearly identified.

1.  An introduction

The purpose of the written summary is to “tell the story” of the teacher’s Study Unit. The “story” should include an introduction, a description of the activities and goal(s), and a summary. 

The introduction should be a brief statement of “why“, and “how” the Unit started. This might include a description of how the specific unit topic was selected. For example, you could begin with a description of how the teacher and students did a KWL (know/want/learned) activity before deciding on the Unit’s topic. What they WANT to know about coal and its impact on the future of work in Appalachia, and what they will LEARN from the Unit. This could be the foundation from which to develop your Unit.

The introduction is extremely important as it provides the foundation for the remainder of the story.  Although not required, you could consider the following questions when developing the introduction:

• How and why was the topic for the Unit selected?

• Were educational objectives established for the Unit?  If so, what were they?

• Describe how students were involved in planning the Unit.

2.  A description of the activities and goals (Including one (1) picture of each activity).

This next section of the report should show students actively engaged in the Study Unit. Because of the variety of topics, the student activities can range from regular classroom events to real-life activities, such as outdoor experiences, field trips, etc. The most important thing about this section is to show what the students “actually did”, as a result of their participation in the Unit. 

Note:  One photograph of each activity performed in the unit is required to be included with the report. CEDAR is interested in seeing a variety of meaningful student activities but only needs to see a glimpse and not the entire picture of each.

• Describe what made each activity meaningful;

• Describe how each activity accomplished the Learning Goals of the Unit.

3.   A summary

Every story needs a conclusion or summary, and this is especially true of this unique education program. This section should provide information on the success of the Unit through an examination/evaluation to determine if the educational goals were met. This examination of the Unit’s success should be conducted by the teacher and students together. This component of the Unit Report can be easily over-looked but is necessary for the Report to be considered “complete”. The success of the Unit should be determined, partially or in whole, by the goals and activities established at the beginning.  A comprehensive evaluation can be achieved by answering the following questions:  

• Summarize how the Learning Goals of the Unit were accomplished;

• If there was anything planned that was listed in your approved Unit Proposal, that was not accomplished, please explain/describe why it/they were not;

• Describe how the Unit was evaluated and provide the evidence that shows whether it was successful in meeting the Learning Goals; 

• Describe how students evaluated the Unit and the result(s) of their evaluation, including any suggestions they had for improvement.