Understanding by Design

I've done some planning this summer for my courses for next year. One thing that I did was to make a list of the topics within each course that I will teach. I made a table for each one with 3 columns: pre-assessment, project idea, extension (for DI). I hope that this will give me ideas through the unit ahead of time. I would also like to add another column of essential questions or enduring understandings. I need the time in the summer to do this and I think once I make that time before the year, it will help me (and ultimately the students) throughout the year.