Curriculum and Lesson PlansCurriculum is at the heart of education. Investigate secondary school curriculum with this wealth of information, resources, and lesson plans for each subject area across the curriculum.Curriculum DevelopmentCurriculum is not standardized throughout the nation or even thoughout each state. Further, from district to district the actual plan of study is often different for students. This article looks at the reasons for this lack of cohesiveness in creating a national curriculum and overarching plan of study. It then creates a sample plan of study that leads to further curriculum resources for teachers.The educational landscape in America today is divided in its approach to a cohesive curriculum. Attempts have been made to bring order the curriculum universe through the advent of national standards. However, in many subject areas there are competing national standards because of the existence of different national organizations such as the National Science Teachers Association and the National Academies Press. With this said, just because a national group like the National Council of Teachers of English decides on a specific set of standards, this does not mean that those will be adopted or even referred to by an individual state. Each state comes up with its own set of standards and its own format for writing those standards. Some states may use the national standards but often they create their own based on needs and interests within their own state and current political and educational philosophies. This makes curriculum fragmented but it becomes even more complicated as you move closer to the classroom. Local Control of Schools and CurriculumIn the United States there is a strong belief in local control of schools. Though districts adhere to state standards, there is a great deal of latitude in what actually takes place in the classroom. Districts might create guiding documents that the schools then follow. From one district to another, you might find that a course is taught in a different year. For example, one district might have economics and government taught in ninth grade while another has it in twelfth grade. The reason for differences in classroom coverage goes even further than this. The amount of lesson plan oversight required by each district varies widely. Therefore, you might find that if you compare the syllabi of two teachers at two different schools within a district who are teaching the same course to be very different. This idea of local and even classroom control is championed by many but means that new teachers often have a difficulty in determining exactly what they should teach. Some end up using the textbook as a guide while others, the lucky ones, have great mentors who guide them in their course layout. Sample Plans of StudyTo help bring order to this difficult landscape and bring an understanding of effective and progressive plans of study through the grade levels, we will be presenting sample plans of study for each grade level in the coming weeks. From there, you will be able to access detailed information for individual courses and including the major topics which should be covered within those courses. Finally, you will find numerous quality resources for the listed topics to help you create engaging lessons for your students. Curriculum developmentBy Linda FitzharrisJournal of Staff Development, Summer 1999 (Vol. 20, No. 3)Teachers must be empowered to more effectively design their own curriculum, and to move from the position of curriculum conveyer to that of curriculum designer.DefinitionMuch of the curriculum found in today’s schools is based on teachers’ past experience in schools, input from textbook manufacturers, discipline frameworks, standards, and information from peers (Glasgow, 1997).Often a curriculum is only loosely joined together, with students far better acquainted with its scope and sequence than the educators who teach it.With teachers facing growing pressure to teach more, while also being held to higher standards, this approach to curriculum is no longer acceptable. Teachers must be empowered to more effectively design their own curriculum, and to move from the position of curriculum conveyer to that of curriculum designer. MethodGetting to know the curriculumThe first step in this process requires getting teachers to share their curriculum with other teachers in the school. During a schoolwide meeting, teachers from each grade level summarize their curriculum on chart paper for science, social studies, language arts, and mathematics. Special area teachers write their curriculum on chart paper as well, so their colleagues can understanding the development of skills and concepts across grade levels. To ensure the integrity of the curriculum, teachers are encouraged to return to their curriculum documents. Frequently, they discover parts of the curriculum they had forgotten or had given only cursory attention.

After all charts have been completed, grade level and special area teachers share their curriculum with the entire faculty, and describe some of the teaching lessons/units they use to teach that curriculum. Many veteran teachers comment that this step provides the first opportunity they’ve ever had to understand the entire curriculum in their school. This schoolwide sharing process invariably highlights repetitions in content and teaching activities.During the sharing process, teachers take notes and discuss apparent gaps and repetitions. They also discuss grade-level responsibilities. Curricular terms and content that appear on several grade levels are defined. Clear definitions help teachers articulate grade-level expectations, and move teachers closer to being able to "guarantee" learning standards for their students. Developing curriculum mapsCurriculum mapping is the next step in the process. Teachers use large pieces of chart paper with the school months on the top, and colored sticky notes – different colors for each core area. Teachers write the different goals, objectives, and topics of the curriculum on the notes and arrange them across the school year. During this step, teachers re-examine the sequence and emphases of the curriculum. One 4th-grade teacher, for example, realized she was devoting five months of the school year to the Civil War, while World War II and Vietnam received only a couple of days each. When asked why, she replied that "the kids really love the Civil War." Then she acknowledged that she really liked it as well, and that "I have lots of material on it." When she looked, for the first time, at her whole year’s curriculum, she recognized the imbalance and cut her Civil War coverage back to a few weeks. When all the curriculum areas have been mapped, the information can be placed on a preprinted file folder that lists all required subject areas on the side and the months across the top. The file folder provides a detailed look at all subject areas and provides clear articulation between special areas and classroom teachers. It’s also an excellent resource for new teachers or teachers who are changing grade levels.Webbing the curriculumAs the curriculum takes shape, teachers are encouraged to look at the different disciplines for common ideas, complementary skills/strategies, or other links that might be used to create a meaningful integrated study. Sticky notes are arranged and rearranged as teachers look for logical connections between and among the different disciplines. In this way, a "curriculum web," which spells out the connections, can be created. For example, a social studies teacher who wants to explore the relationships between humans and their environment could focus on human interactions between humans and oceans. A science teacher could complement this with curriculum that examines the physical properties of water, sand, and other parts of the ocean ecosystem. And a language arts teacher could use oceans as a basis for student writing and storytelling. This in turn leads to the development of a second web, which identfies activities for delivering the curriculum. It shows specific methods, techniques, and materials teachers will use. It’s imperative that the teachers keep this curriculum webbing process focused on student interests and needs. Ask yourselves the kind of questions students are likely to ask: Why should I bother learning this? What difference does it make? (Glasgow). Also, be careful not to "superglue" curriculum together for the sake of saying you have created a web. There is little to be gained, for students or teachers, by trying to force connections, such as having students count seashells to provide an ocean-related math activity!During the webbing process, many more objectives/standards will be identified than will be used. The brainstorming provides a valuable source of ideas and may be revisited again and again to refine the curricular links. The role of assessmentAs the school year unfolds and teachers deliver their curriculum to students, assessments should ensure that students participate in a range of activities, so they can demonstrate learning in a variety of formats. Teachers should continually discuss what students should know and be able to do, and must identify or create assessment instruments to evaluate student progress. These can include traditional tests, or alternatives such as student portfolios or performances. Taking maps to another level

o Many schools use the maps developed during the curriculum-writing process to prepare a parent handbook, which spells out the curriculum learned on each grade level.

o Some schools post the chart papers created by teachers in the hallways, to share the progress being made and to

invite all students in the school to see the "big" picture.

o Others have used the maps to generate newsletters to the parents. Curriculum topics may be shared by the week, month, grading period, or year.

o Clearly designed maps provide a roadmap for the teachers, students, administrators, and parents and provide opportunities for effective communication.

o They also help teachers and administrators analyze how they are spending their instructional time, a critical step in the era of accountability.

Curriculum Development Curriculum 1. Refers to programmatic goals or

targets for instruction. 2. Is “what to teach” (Bagnato &

Neisworth, 1981) 3. Planned arrangement of learning

experiences designed to elicit changes in children’s behaviors.

4. Is series of planned, systematic learning experiences organized around a particular rationale or philosophy of education that includes goals & objectives, particular content areas (e.g., cognitive, language, perceptual, etc.).

5. There appears to be agreement that educational intervention with children must be guided by a clear, systematic plan or blueprint.

Theoretical Bases for Curricula 1. EC curricula tended to adopt

rationales for their curricula based on clearly identifiable theoretical or philosophical bases. Frequently, theoretical & philosophical bases used interchangeably.

Curriculum Content 1. Identifying targets of intervention for

ea child with a disability is ongoing process. One needs to identify skills most important for individual child. Identification of targets is accomplished by examining characteristics of child, demands of environment, & necessary skills to be successful.

2. Content for young children with disabilities usually includes broad range of skills that are appropriate for most children who do not have disabilities (Wolery & Sainato, 1996)

3. Team members work together to adapt curriculum as needed to address children’s goals or outcomes stated on IFSPs & IEPs.

4. Objectives represent learning expectations & are based on child strengths, needs, & family’s preferences. Objectives differ from goals or outcomes in that they separate goal into smaller components.

Table 7-3, Constructing Appropriate Curriculum- reflects DAP

Types of Curricular Approaches

4 organizational sources for EC curricula:

1. Permissive enrichment programs- This approach focuses on whole-child development through natural process of individual inquiry.

Seedfeldt (1976) used term naturalistic theory to describe theoretical base of this approach. This loosely structured, child-centered model depends on notion that self-initiated exploratory interactions will result in learning.

2. Structured environment programs (e.g., High Scope)- Often employing Montessori method as well. The curricula attempt to emphasize intellectual development by allowing child-initiated interactions with carefully selected materials within teacher-structured environment.

3. Structured cognitive programs – Organized into series of systematic goals

within sequential stages. This approach is usually called Piagetian or cognitive developmental theory. The teacher supports or orchestrates development by promoting active learning (direct experience with objects & events). The goals are to produce near normal functioning in delayed preschoolers, & to enhance functioning in all areas to greatest extent.

4. Structured information program – Known as behavior theory. Such curricula are highly structured, with goals tightly organized into specific, task analyzed, sequential steps. Such curricular emphasize direct instruction, positive responding by all children, & reinforcement for improvement. Often this approach is remedial in nature, suggesting that child’s basic deficits are content for & targets of curriculum.

5. The other approaches to EC curricula: developmental tasks, educational content areas, & psychological constructs.

6. Developmental task approach – essentially replicates normal sequence of development usually based on normative info about way children develop. The content is usually organized into developmental domains including gross motor, fine motor, language, social, & self-help. Developmental milestones in these areas then organized into sequenced objectives to be taught to child. Developmental landmarks become instructional objectives. Usually emphases are speech & language, cognitive skills, compliance training, reduction of negative behavior, & parent training.

7. Educational content area approach – uses rationale that certain pre-academic & academic content essential to success in school. Such preschool curricula tend to be downward extensions of regular public school programs using traditional educational approach. This approach is not a DAP.

8. Curricula with psychological construct approach organized into content areas representing complex facet of personality development or psychological processes. Such curricula may be derived from Gestalt, psychoanalytic, or cognitive-developmental theory. Topics such as motivation, self-concept, identity, & sexuality may be included.

Factors Prior to Adoption

Review the chart on criteria for evaluation of criteria in another handout.

In addition to particular theoretical model, factors to consider prior to using a curriculum or curricular approach are:

1. Curriculum designed to accomplish stated purposes/goals.

EX: what terminal behaviors

Goals stated explicitly

Goals rep reasonable expectations or outcomes

2. Curriculum includes methods or tools for assessing learner’s starting position relative to each major goal. With child’s position on goals identified, it is implied that a sequence of related behaviors is defined.

Learner assessment tools supplied with curriculum can be evaluated to determine how effectively & thoroughly they address child’s position on each goal.

3. Children’s respective positions on ea goal strand suggest that they are predisposed or ready to learn whatever comes next. What a child is learning usually depends on his position on several goal strands considered together. Overall pattern of child’s current behavior determines what is right for child.

The child’s current behavioral repertoire of child determines what child will most readily learn. Some curricula proceed as if each goal strand operates in isolation to determine what is learnable. Ideally, the curriculum should allow one to establish a deliberate match between a small number of more global learner characteristics, e.g., cognitive level, interest, level of social involvement, etc. There should be a match between the number of learner activities that are to impact on particular goal strands, so match between child characteristics & activities.

4. Behavior change or development comes about through experience. One can arrange group of learning activities to impact on more than one goal strand.

5. Learning activities will take place under particular environmental condition. Curricular development should aspire to cause environmental conditions, e.g., media, materials, etc.

6. A curriculum consists of some intentional mixes of experiences that suited to overall developmental levels of learners who will participate. Even though terminal goals may all be considered equally important, not all given equal emphasis at all times across years of EC.

7. Those who work with young children with disabilities need to know what effects particular disabilities may have on match of curriculum to learner. Other than adjustments for general developmental delay, additional specific curricular adaptations for specific disabilities are needed by children with particular impairments.

Additional Standards to be Considered When Selecting Curricula

1. Developmental Balance & Expansion - Are deliberate pacing & selection of curricular objectives that programmatically sample all major areas of development. Parallel progress across developmental domains is sought rather than a strong tilt toward any 1 developmental area. Developmental balance fostered by a curriculum that provides array of objectives within all major areas of development. A rich array of sequenced objectives expedites central mission of early instruction.

Both vertical & horizontal expansion can be accomplished with the correct curricula. Vertical expansion refers to installation of new skills, proficiencies, that were previously unavailable in repertoire of child. Vertical growth, or building up of skills in major developmental areas, is first goal of early education program, especially for children whose profiles show many valleys. Horizontal expansion pertains to development of behavioral variability across materials, settings, & response modes (e.g., verbal, nonverbal) after skill is established. This term refers to generalization for transfer of basic skills to circumstances beyond those of training situation.

It is usually important to affect response variability so not precisely same behavior is used across all settings (Stokes & Baer, 1977). This requires programming for skill fluency & flexibility. In other words, one should “train loosely” using different materials, phrases, etc., throughout training. . Same (invariance of) training circumstances may produce learning that is situation specific behavior.

2. Normalization - Curricula should include range of objectives that successively approximate normal functioning for age (Wolfensberger, 1972). Children with delays can be entered into curriculum at appropriate level commensurate with their developmental age in given area of

development. Thus, a 4-year old might require instruction at 2-year old level in cognitive & language areas, at 3-year old level in socio-emotional functioning, & 4-year old level in motoric area. The job of educator is one of providing developmental facilitation in ea area (developmental balance principle) at least up to chronological age expectancy (normalization).

When normalization is taken seriously, it becomes crucial to use curricula that offers paths, or sequences of objectives, leading to typical skills, even if these skills are develop beyond usual chronological age.

3. Developmental Integration - For each education, one speaks of developmental integration to refer to grouping together of children with & without disabilities. Students can be integrated on both social & instructional bases, e.g., play together on same playground, eat lunch together. Often, it is possible to have children with & without disabilities working on same activity together at diff levels. It is helpful to have curriculum that offers several developmental levels or versions of task or that provides task analysis (TA) for given activity. These provisions of TA & different levels make it possible for children to work at same activity but at different levels of sophistication.

4. Spiral Organization - Spiral refers to organization that deliberately repeats objectives from one year to next but in increasing complex versions. A good spiral curriculum includes repetition of objectives with progression elaboration. These features assist in maintenance & generalization of skills. Relearning or practice of skill can promote retention, an important consideration since many skills not automatically retained after intervention.

5. Central Mission - Is repertoire or developmental expansion of programs for children with disabilities or at-risk for developmental delays so that delayed or distorted development can be normalized.

Curriculum Packages

1. Curriculum-Based Assessment- contains assessment scale & accompanying curriculum guide.

Hawaii Early Learning Profile Inside Help (Parks, 1992)

Help for Special Preschoolers (Santa Cruz County Office of Education, 1987)

Carolina Curriculum for Preschoolers with Special Needs (Johnson-Martin, Attermeier, & Hacker, 1990)

The Carolina Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers with Special Needs (Johnson-Martin, Attermeier, & Hacker, 1991)

The Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming Systems (AEPS) for Infants and Children (Bricker, 1993)

Curriculum Planning & Implementation

1. Curriculum planning in early childhood education is integrated thematic units. Thematic units usually planned around topical areas of interest to young children (e.g., animals, holidays, special events)

2. Characteristics of Integrated Curriculum include experiences to develop attitudes, skills, & knowledge & make connections across curriculum. Activities provide for range of abilities. Activities are both teacher-initiated & directed, & child-initiated & directed. Whole class, small group, & individual experiences present (flexible grouping). Opportunities for critical & creative thinking are included. Teacher, peer, & self-assessment are available. Opportunities to make connections & experience learning as meaningful whole is integrated into the curriculum.

Development of attitudes, skills, & knowledge of fine arts (music, visual art, drama, & dance), humanities (language arts, responsible living, social studies), practical arts (PE, career ed) , & science (math & science) are included.

3. When integrated thematic units are selected for classrooms in which children with disabilities are served, theme of topics should be: broad enough to address wide range of abilities of children; one in which children’s IEP or IFSP objectives can be addressed; generated based on interests & experiences of children; selected based on availability of resources & materials necessary; and designed based on interests of teacher & other team members.

4. In implementing curriculum, multiple child-directed, play-based activities, such as center activities are used.

5. 1 curricular approach, activity-based intervention, (Bricker & Cripe, 1992) is child-directed, transactional approach; embeds training on child’s individual IFSP or IEP goals & objectives into routine or planned activities and uses logically occurring antecedents & consequences to develop functional & generalizable skills (i.e., generalized to other settings).

Current Influences on Curriculum Development

1. Recommended Practices in General Early Childhood Education (ECE)

1. Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) (Bredekamp, 1987, Bredekamp & Copple, 1997) is a set of guidelines established by NAEYC to articulate appropriate practices for ECE of young children.

2. Embedded in concept of DAP is idea of age appropriate, individually appropriate, culturally appropriate activities & roles fulfilled by child & teacher in learning environment.

3. Age appropriateness is based on knowledge of typical development of children & plan appropriate experiences.

4. Individual appropriateness- Children have individual patterns & timing of growth as well as individual personalities, strengths, interests, backgrounds, and experiences.

5. Cultural appropriateness- understand each child’s social & cultural contexts. Curriculum is flexible, allowing for content that meets wide range of abilities, interests, & backgrounds of children.

6. It is widely accepted in general ECE that developmentally appropriate curriculum is based on:

a. Process of learning is just as important, if not more important, as end product. Children’s active engagement within their environment with peers, materials, & adults is valuable & necessary in order to be active participants in learning process.

7. Children learn through play & through concrete “hands-on” activities that are relevant to their lives.

8. Heterogeneous grouping is embraced with belief that appropriate educational experiences meet needs of young children with wide range of abilities. Educational experiences should be flexible as children allows to work on different levels and at their own pace. Curriculum should not only celebrate diversity, but should challenge predjudice, sterotyping, & bias (related to gender, ability, race).

What is Curriculum Development?

Curriculum Development (also known as Curriculum Alignment and Curriculum Revision) is an ongoing process. What is curriculum? Curriculum is what we teach, that is, the skills and content that we want our students to learn and the assessments we use to measure their learning. The TUHSD Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment is committed to helping teachers create documents that reflect this information in an ordered and useful manner, and our primary tool in doing so is curriculum mapping.

What are Curriculum Maps and how are they developed?

Curriculum Maps help teachers, administrators, and parents/guardians answer the questions that many ask regarding our students' learning: What do my students know? What did they study last year? What are they studying in the classrooms throughout the District? How do I help my students understand the connections between my subject and others? These questions are answered in their entirety through the use of the different maps as they stand alone, as well as through the articulated sequencing of maps in a content area.

Curriculum Maps are easy to read "word snapshots" of the educational activities taking place in classrooms across the District. The first level of the map is called a Consensus Map and reflects the concepts (including key vocabulary and key sub-concepts), aligned to Arizona State Standards. Representative teachers from all schools in the District meet and agree on the core and essential concepts for the course mapped. They also agree to an approximate number of days that instruction should be devoted to each unit. Three-quarters of the total school year is mapped, reserving one quarter of the days for differentiated instructional needs.

While this map reflects the key concepts that will be taught in each course, it does NOT imply that by using the map, every teacher teaching that course will be teaching the exact same thing on the exact same day throughout the school (and District). One of the District's mapping goals is to collect the best instructional options for teachers as they work through a part of the map and make these available to all District teachers. For a variety of reasons teachers may teach units or concepts in a different order from other teachers, or they may choose different lessons designed to teach the same performance objectives. These are not lock-step maps.

Every summer since 2004, teachers have met to prioritize course content and align it with state standards and District assessment instruments. Every school year, these same teachers have documented the detailed mapping of these courses in Instructional Maps. These maps feature instructional suggestions for teaching, engaging, and assessing students in each concept.

What is Curriculum Development?

There are some useful answers to this question available on the WWW.

WDED FAQ: Broadly speaking, "curriculum" refers to the interactions between learners and educators, learners and learners and learners and resources, both material and human, in order to lead to successful demonstrations of outcomes. Everything happening in and around the school having educational implications is a part of the curriculum. Curriculum is a multi-level, dynamic concept which develops as these interactions develop. Curriculum documents like curriculum frameworks, learning programmes and learning support materials are the written parts of the curriculum.

Kingdom Academy School: What is curriculum? To many, curriculum means a written document, programmed material, or a textbook We believe it is all the experiences a child encounters in the learning process. Curriculum provides a framework and continuity in learning, but is not a list of rigid content that has to be covered in a designated amount of time. Learning is a logical sequence of skills and experiences. Our goal is to teach children, not a program or textbook. We realize that the individual differences of children must always be kept in mind. A child will grasp skills, concepts and content at differing rates and should not feel inferior or superior

due to the pace at which he or she is acquiring these skills. We want every child to feel special and loved because of who he or she is, not because of how he or she performs.

What is curriculum? What does the term `curriculum' mean to you as a teacher? The literature shows that it means different things to different people, to different educational institutions and to different parts of educational institutions. A general definition of curriculum is offered by Print (1993: 9):...all the planned learning opportunities offered by the organisation to learners and the experiences learners encounter when the curriculum is implemented. This includes those activities that educators have devised for learners which are invariably represented in the form of a written document. Print also describes the difference between `curriculum' and `syllabus', which are often confused: a syllabus forms part of the overall curriculum and tends to be a list of content areas which will be assessed. At a broad level, curriculum is determined by the educational institution. Read the rest of the article at <http://www.acs.uwa.edu.au/csd//newsletter/issue0795.html>

Defining Curriculum Curriculum development is concerned with planning for education and training. There are many definitions of curriculum, depending on different writers' perspectives and experiences. None of these definitions is right or wrong. Rather, they give different perspectives on a very wide and complex field. Furthermore, they have changed in focus and philosophy over time.