Preparation and Planning
When Mr. Nelson walks into his classroom at the beginning of the year, there are dozens of things for him to do. He needs to set up his classroom, organize supplies, put posters on the wall, arrange desks, decide on an appropriate behavior system, and most importantly, plan his curriculum. Curricular planning and development, the process of looking at the standards in each subject area and developing a strategy to break down these standards so they can be taught to students, varies according to grade level, subjects taught and available supplies.
In many districts, schools supply a complete curriculum in core subject areas, filled with teacher resources and student workbooks. In other districts, teachers are given a list of state, local or Common Core standards and asked to develop their own curriculum. Regardless of subject area or grade level taught, there are a few important factors for teachers to consider as they plan their curriculum, including standards and the breakdown of course material.
Standards for Curriculum Development
When planning and developing curriculum in any subject area, the first place to start is state, local or Common Core standards. Standards vary from state to state, and teachers are expected to know which standards to teach and how to teach them. Every lesson and unit should be tied to standards, and every grade level standard should be addressed at some point during the course of the school year. Standards should be presented sequentially, so students can build on previously learned skills.
Each subject area has specifically defined standards, but many times multiple standards are addressed within one project. For example, if a sixth grade student writes a research report on Thomas Jefferson, that student could be addressing reading, writing, research and history standards, all within the same assignment. Such opportunities are beneficial for students because they demonstrate the overlap in various subject areas and give students the chance to synthesize their learning. The example below shows how a history research report could hit six or more standards at the same time.