Curriculum Map Foundations

Curriculum Map Foundations

Teachers need a detailed road map to guide them on what to teach during the school year. Curriculum writers start with the end in mind and build backwards based on standards and district requirements.

Educator Tools

Pacing Guide

Lesson Plan

Curriculum Map

Teaching and Learning

Anticipated Timeline

Used to look at what is being taught & how it is being assessed

Two Types of Maps

Lesson Planning Process

Components of a Lesson Plan

Student Learning

Pacing guides assume that all students learn at the same pace because it is structured by the division of topics into set periods of time. It does not take into account the needs of the students who do not fall in the middle. They are the ones who may either take less or more time to master a topic. Teachers might have to accept partial mastery from students due to the nature of the pacing guide and needing to follow the timeline given to them. (Broome, 2020)

Overview

• Keep teachers on track
• Maintain continuity across schools and within grade levels in the district
• Break down the curriculum into manageable chunks

Lesson Plan Writing

The second action teachers are engaged in during the lesson planning process is lesson plan writing. After the teacher makes the important decisions during the lesson planning, the teacher will then record these decisions. (Zaragoza et al., 2023)

Lesson plans are the product of the lesson planning process. There are two actions involved when teachers plan lessons, which are lesson planning and lesson plan writing. They serve as reminders of the important decisions made during this process so that teachers are able to implement them when teaching their lessons. (Zaragoza et al., 2023)

The Beginnings

In the 1970s and 1980s, Fenwick English developed a curriculum management process which included mapping (what content taught, in what order, and for how long). Auditors collect and analyze the data to see if it aligns with the curriculum. In the 1990s, Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs added on to English's work by developing a process where the individual teacher is the one who collects the data (what he or she is doing in the classroom during a given period of time). (Langa & Yost, 2006)

Time, Sequence, and Scope

Pacing guides are course overviews telling teachers when to teach specific topics and are organized into curricular units. They can be created by the school district, a for-profit company, or the teacher. They define a curriculum or course over a period of time in which topics are set forth in terms of the time needed for a student to master them. They also lay out the sequence in which topics are presented which may vary in how they are organized. Pacing guides outline the scope, or range, of a topic. Topics that are included and excluded may differ from one pacing guide to another. Lastly, they cover the content standards. It aligns standards with lessons to make sure all of them are taught. The sequencing and scope of a course are both handled by the content standards. (Broome, 2020)

Lesson Planning

One of the two actions involved in the lesson planning [ process is lesson planning. Lesson planning is when teachers are involved in decision-making. They have to make important decisions where they have to take into consideration many factors. Teachers focus on tasks that will be carried out during the lesson: content, goals, activities, timing, sequencing and placing, social cultural context, and the materials being used. Lesson planning affects student learning because the curriculum is changed to fit the unique needs of the students in the classroom when a teacher plans lessons. Teachers can make additions, deletions, changes to the sequence or empahsis to the curriculum. They also decide on which kind of learning activities students will engage in when lesson planning. (Zaragoza et al., 2023)

Projective Map

A projective map may show what the teacher will be teaching for the year with editing done regularly throughout the year if there were any changes made. (Langa & Yost, 2006)

Lesson Context

Students' abilities, needs, and interests influence teachers' decisions when lesson planning. Their decisions are also influenced by educational mandates, standards, school policies, among other things. Information regarding the lesson context is an important aspect to the teachers when making instructional decisions. (Zaragoza et al., 2023)

Improving Student Learning

Curriculum mapping is based on the best interests and needs of the students, not on teacher choices and preferences. Teachers must continually question whether or not what they are teaching is in the best interest of the students, and how it affects what happens to students beyond the classroom. Student learning and achievement will happen as teachers analyzes the data collected and uses it to effectively change their students' learning environment.(Udelhofen, 2005)

Teacher Practices

Pacing guides tell a teacher what and when to teach specific concepts. Pacing guides assume that teaching is the organization of a series of lessons. It standardizes the teaching and learning outcomes happening across classrooms, teaching the same concept at the same time across all classrooms in the school or district. Individual knowledge, talent, and preferences of the teachers are not acknowledged in pacing guides. Instead it allows for standardized outcomes as measured by benchmark assessments and state tests. Teachers can allow for some flexibility when following pacing guides by either moving faster or slowing down, and by adding or taking certain topics taught. (Broome, 2020)

Diary Map

A diary map records the content, skills, and assessments given in their class on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. (Langa & Yost, 2006)

Student-Centered Climate

• create an environment of respect
• build a culture for learning (metacognitive strategies)
• manage classroom procedures
• student behavior management
• organize physical space safely and effectively
• share rubrics with students to communicate what represents an excellent, good, fair, or poor grade
• figure out students' learning styles and needs
• differentiate instruction according to content, process, and/or product

(Langa & Yost, 2006)

Teachers will be able to:

• Have communication and collaborate within and between grade levels and content areas
• Reinforce content, skills, and assessments
• Align content to standards
• Connect assessments to learning styles and strategies
• Reflect on their teaching practices as they are creating and revising their maps and collaborate with others to make data-informed decisions
• Be sensitive to the needs of students
• Look at other grade levels' maps to see the continuum of the students' experiences so that you can adjust your curriculum accordingly

(Langa & Yost, 2006; Udelhofen, 2005)

Improving Teaching Practice

A curriculum map is the data on what the students actually experienced in the classrooms, not what they are supposed to be learning. The teacher records the content (what is being taught) and the skills or specific processes to be mastered. Curriculum maps are living documents that are updated whenever changes and revisions are made. For example, teachers can see and get rid of any gaps and redundancies in content. All maps should show real-time content, skills, and assessments experienced in the class and should follow the school calendar. (Langa & Yost, 2006)

Basic Components of a Lesson Plan

• Objectives (what you will be teaching and what the students will be able to do)
• Content Standards (educational standards the lesson aligns with)
• Materials (list of items needed)
• Timeline of activities (the sequence of teaching and learning activities)
• Assessments (how the learning will be measured)