Tip:
How do your teachers know where there are gaps in their curriculum? How about areas where they repeat standards or skills over and over again? Even if your teachers follow the textbook, they may find that not all of their state standards are being met. Find some time with your teachers to have them map their existing curriculum. Ask your teachers to:
- Collect and review the existing curriculum and standards.
- Choose the units and lessons over a 3 to 6 month period.
- Input the units in a table similar to the one below.
- Write in whatever topics are covered in each unit or lesson.
- Include an essential or big question that students will answer by going through this unit.
- Find the appropriate standards and skills met by completing this unit.
- Consider any real-world connections that extend this unit beyond the classroom.
- Select any resources that you will use with this unit.
- Determine which assessments or artifacts will provide evidence of student learning.
- Share what’s working and what’s not been working for you when you have taught this unit before.
After you map several units, start looking at areas where there may be gaps or repetitions. When I did this with several teachers, we found that they were meeting some of the same standards and missing others. Mapping the curriculum takes time but is well worth it.
Next Tip: PDAs in the Classroom
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