NOTES:
Building Aligned Curriculum
Implementing a New Curriculum Unit
Step 1:
Examine the Unit and Lessons Based on Students’ Needs
Video: Building Aligned Curriculum Toolkit
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUDbR50fEeM&feature=youtu.be]
Introduction:
This toolkit, featuring a video and six handouts, is designed to help a district
or a team of teachers customize and implement new curriculum units in ways
that address their learning goals for students. We believe this work can be
done by teachers and that teachers should be active participants in the
planning process.
We suggest that you watch the video in its entirety first. Then, as you focus
on each step, use the related handout and review the specific video segment.
This work is best accomplished as a group, so form a team of colleagues
interested in teaching the same curriculum unit.
Step 1 Video Segment: Begin at 1:30.
Important terms and their meanings as related in this process:
 Curriculum is a course of action for the best way to reach a desired
result.
 Massachusetts Model Curriculum Units are units of study, based on
Understanding by Design and aligned with the Curriculum
frameworks, that promote effective instruction to improve student
learning in grades PK–12.
 Curriculum mapping is a procedure for collecting and maintaining
an operational database of the curriculum in a school or district.
 Standards refers to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
The 2011 Curriculum Frameworks for Mathematics and for English
Language Arts/Literacy incorporate the Common Core State
Standards.
Rationale:
The first step in the process of implementing a new curriculum unit is to
analyze student data to look for patterns and trends that can help you identify
students’ areas of strength and areas for growth, which will become your
instructional goals. Once you have an understanding of students' needs, in
later steps, you will examine the unit to determine how well it meets those
instructional goals and make decisions about how you will customize the unit.
Effective curriculum is always customized. A unit of study is not a resource
you can just use. It is a plan for how you will move students through a
process that meets your end goal for student learning. And that plan doesn't
remain static—it needs to be continuously evaluated and customized to meet
your students' particular needs.
NOTES:
Time: 2–3 hours is ideal; 1–2 hours is adequate
Directions:
 Form a team of colleagues interested in implementing a new
curriculum unit. Ideally, every member will be teaching or co-teaching
the unit.
 Begin by watching the entire Building Aligned Curriculum video and
looking at the handouts to get an overview of the process. Then,
watch the video segment for Step 1.
 Review your student learning data. Decide which areas of instruction,
based on the data, your team would like to target.
 Review the curriculum unit you have selected for implementation.
Look closely at the information in the Understanding by Design
template at the beginning of the unit. Will it support the area of
instruction you’ve selected as a focus?
 Discuss personal and professional practice goals for Educator
Evaluation with your team. Decide if you want to use this six-step
implementation process as the basis for your Educator Evaluation
goals.
 Select the dates for your team meetings.
Suggested Questions for Discussion:
 What does the data show about students’ strengths and areas for
growth?
 What is the instructional focus of this unit?
 Will the unit’s instructional focus help you address your students’
needs as shown by the data?
 What are the team’s goals for this unit?
 How will teaching this unit impact your practice and student
outcomes?
 How knowledgeable is your team about Understanding by Design?
How will you reinforce or strengthen this knowledge?
Suggested Materials and Resources:
 Data sources you may have available:
o State-level data (e.g., MCAS or PARCC exams, SIF data)
o District-level data (e.g., formative or summative assessments
used district-wide)
o Classroom/grade-level data (e.g., formative assessments,
summative assessments, performance on past units or similar
tasks, any student growth measures)
Products at the End of This Session:
 A list of dates for future meetings
 If you are merging this work with your work in Educator Evaluation
Cycle, your professional practice and team goal(s)
Connections to the Massachusetts 5-Step Educator Evaluation Cycle:
 Discussion Questions:
o What areas of practice do you want to focus on for your
NOTES:
o
Professional Practice Goal? How can you connect those areas
to the Building Aligned Curriculum work? For example, you
might focus on curriculum planning under Standard I,
differentiation under Standard 2, or collaboration and
leadership under Standard IV. How might a team goal support
this work?
How much alignment is there between the data sources you
will review for your Self-Assessment and the data you will
need to review in Step 1 of the Building Aligned Curriculum
project?