Currituck County’s
Curriculum Mapping Project
PROJECT
OVERVIEW
Where are you in your knowledge?
4 Corners Activity
4 Corners
 Elementary Level: I know about curriculum
mapping , but have not had direct involvement in its
planning or process development.
 Middle Level: I have some knowledge of curriculum
mapping and have had some involvement in its plan
and execution.
 High Level: I have applied knowledge of curriculum
mapping and have experience in developing the
process.
 Graduation Level: I have knowledge, application
experience, and can teach or share with others a way
to plan and execute curriculum mapping.
Moving to the Next Level
 In your group, discuss what is needed
to enable you and others to move from
your present level of understanding to
the next level.
 Chart a bulleted list
 Share with the group
Why are we doing this?
State Influence
 Initiative—Essential Standards/Common Core
Standards Adoption
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2010-11: Current SCOS taught and assessed
2011-12: Current SCOS taught and assessed
2012-13: Common Core/Essential Standards taught and
assessed
Why are we doing this?
Local Influences:
 Focus on Developing Professional Learning
Communities
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Research by Rick DuFour and Robert Eaker
Practice embedded in School Reform Models
Practice embedded in NC Teacher and Principal Standards and
Evaluation
 Research on Best Practices
http://www.allthingsplc.info/articles/articles.php
Professional Learning Communities
Essential/Guiding Questions for our PLCs
 What do students NEED TO LEARN?
 What evidence will we gather to monitor student
learning—how will we know WHEN THEY HAVE
LEARNED IT?
 What will we do if/when students EXPERIENCE
DIFFICULTY IN THEIR LEARNING?
 What will we do to ENRICH THE LEARNING OF
THOSE WHO DEMONSTRATE PROFICIENCY?
 How can we use our SMART goals and evidence of
student learning to INFORM and IMPROVE OUR
PRACTICE?
PLC ESSENTIALS
 COMMON Curriculum Goals (Aligned with SCOS)
 COMMON Assessments
 COMMON Planning and Collaboration
Common Goals + Common Assessments =
Team Approach to teaching and learning
WHY DISTRICT MAPS and ASSESSMENTS?
How can we use our SMART goals and evidence of
student learning to inform and improve our
practice?
This critical question has implications for grade level
improvement, school level improvement, and
DISTRICT LEVEL IMPROVEMENT….
DESIRED OUTCOMES
 Create DRAFT District Curriculum Pacing
Guides for Core Subjects K-12
 Create DRAFT Unit Plan Frameworks
 Create DRAFT Common Assessments for
Benchmarking Student Attainment of Goals
 Begin the process for Continuous
Improvement of Teaching and Learning
How Will We Get There?
Know the
Target
Plan and
Deliver
Assess Along
the Way
Provide
Descriptive
Feedback and
Assistance
WHO will or should HELP?
 Selection and Invitation of Key Staff Members
 Strong teachers in the content area being mapped
 Evidence based on principal recommendation
 Evidenced in data—student learning/growth results
 Challenges
 Summer vacations/availability
 Continuity from one subject area to the next
 Funding for stipends
WHEN?
 3-4 days
 Subject specific weeks designated
 Order of subject development was important
 Science
 Social
Studies
 Language Arts
 Math
What Process and Research
Will Guide our Work?
 Heidi Hayes Jacobs’ Work
 Rubicon Atlas (online mapping tool)
 “Understanding by Design” by Grant
Wiggins and Jay McTighe
K-W-L: Understanding by Design
KNOW
WANT TO KNOW
LEARNED
Understanding by Design
IN A NUTSHELL
HTTP://PREZI.COM/KFOHEANF8QO5/INTROUBD-IN-A-NUTSHELL/
K-W-L: Understanding by Design
KNOW
WANT TO KNOW
LEARNED
Understanding by Design
Beginning with
the END in
mind…
Stages of Designing Effective Units
Stage 1
Stage 2
U Understandings
T
Task(s)
Q Questions
R
Rubric(s)
OE
Other
Evidence
CS Content
Standards
K Knowledge
& Skill
Stage 3
L Learning
Plan
The “big ideas” of each stage:
Unpack the content
standards and
‘content’, focus on
big ideas
Analyze multiple
sources of evidence,
aligned with Stage 1
Derive the implied
learning from
Stages 1 & 2
Standard(s):
Understandings
s
t
a
g
e
1
Essential Questions
What are the big ideas?
Assessment Evidence
s
t
a
g
e
2
Performance Task(s):
Other Evidence:
What’s the evidence?
LearningActivities
s
t
a
g
e
3
How will we get there?
Subject:
Grade Level:
Unit Title:
Big Idea/Theme:
Understandings:
Curriculum Goals/Objectives:
Timeframe Needed for Completion:
Grading Period:
Essential Skills/Vocabulary:
Assessment Tasks:
Integration Opportunities:
Essential Questions:
Stage 1
IDENTIFYING:
THE BIG IDEAS/THEMES
Big Ideas
 Broad and abstract
 Conceptual lens
 Represented by one or two words
 Universal in application
 Timeless—carries through the ages
 Represented by different examples that
share common attributes
Finding the Big Ideas in CC/ES
 Organization of Common Core/Essential
Standards lends itself to these “Big Ideas”
 Strands or Clusters HELP to determine focus
 Within Strands or Clusters there are “Big Ideas”
and “Themes” that can be unified for the unit
framework
Big Ideas in Science: Examples
Natural Phenomena
 Causal Explanations
 Systems, Order, Organization
 Change, Constancy, Measurement
 Form and Function
 Equilibrium/Balance
 Systems and Interactions
 Models
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Some questions for identifying truly “big ideas”
Does it have many layers and nuances, not obvious to
the naïve or inexperienced person?
 Can it yield great depth and breadth of insight
into the subject? Can it be used throughout K12?
 Do you have to dig deep to really understand its
subtle meanings and implications even if anyone can
have a surface grasp of it?
 Is it (therefore) prone to misunderstanding as well as
disagreement?
 Are you likely to change your mind about its
meaning and importance over a lifetime?

Ways to find Big Ideas
Review the standards’ text and
 Circle recurring nouns to identify ideas
(underline verbs for tasks)
 Compare with list of transferable concepts
 Ask questions about a topic/standard (Why study..?
What’s transferrable about…? How would…be
applied in the real world?)
 Generate ideas related to suggestive pairs (light &
shadow; matter & energy; sum & difference)
Affinity Activity
 Read Essential Standards for the grade/course at
your table
 Use sticky notes to record “concepts” or “skills”
reflected in the standards.
 Use one sticky note per concept/idea
 Work as a team to organize the concepts into
similar groupings (sticking on chart paper)
 Name the groupings with a Title
Stage I
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
ESSENTIAL
UNDERSTANDINGS
(LEARNING TARGETS)
Essential Questions
In the words of Grant Wiggins…
http://www.authenticeducation.org/bigideas/nj_vide
os/eq.html
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
 GREAT THOUGHT PROVOKING OPENERS
 GUIDES the UNIT DELIVERY
 OPEN ENDED ASSESSMENT TOOL
Essential Questions used in teaching
Role of Essential Questions:
 Asked to be argued
 Designed to “uncover” new ideas, views, lines of
argument
 Set up inquiry, heading to new understandings
 Deepens understanding
 Leads to more questions
 Helps to organize material
Sample Essential Questions:
 What makes wounds heal in different ways?
 Why is asthma so prevalent in poor urban
communities?
 What keeps things from rusting, and why?
 How do chemicals benefit society?
 Are animals essential for man’s survival?
 How do scientists find out about objects, living things,
events and phenomena?
 What does it mean to be living?
 How do living things adapt to the environment?
Sample Essential Questions:
 What
makes a great story?
 Why is communication/reading important?
 How do authors use words to create images?
 Does a good read differ from a ‘great book’?
Why are some books fads, and others classics?
 What does an independent reader look like?
 What do good readers do?
 How can the way a story is structured help me
to read with understanding?
Sample Essential Questions
Science
 How do chemicals benefit society?
 Are animals essential for man’s survival? Explain.
 What must a scientist do in order to research something?
 How do scientists find out about objects, living things,
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events and phenomena?
What does it mean to be living?
How do the parts of living things help them survive?
How does studying cycles help us to understand natural
processes?
How do living things adapt to the environment?
How can we safeguard our environment?
Central to Teaching and Understanding
 Our goal in designing district units and pacing
guides is to provide a guide and minimum standard
for curriculum delivery.
 ALL students should be taught at the higher level of
Bloom’s.
 Bloom’s Taxonomy is a key tool to assist in
understanding Essential Questions, Essential Skills,
and Assessment Tasks.
BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMY
Creating
Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things
Designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing.
Evaluating
Justifying a decision or course of action
Checking, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting, judging
Analyzing
Breaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationships
Comparing, organizing, deconstructing, interrogating, finding
Applying
Using information in another familiar situation
Implementing, carrying out, using, executing
Understanding
Explaining ideas or concepts
Interpreting, summarizing, paraphrasing, classifying, explaining
Remembering
Recalling information
Recognizing, listing, describing, retrieving, naming, finding
Enduring Understandings
In the words of Grant Wiggins…
http://www.authenticeducation.org/bigideas/nj_vide
os/eq.html
Understandings, defined:
They are...
 specific generalizations about the “big ideas.” They
summarize the key meanings, inferences, and
importance of the ‘content’
 can be framed as a full sentence “moral of the story” –
“Students will understand THAT…”

Require “uncoverage” because they are not “facts” to
the novice, but unobvious inferences drawn from
facts; easily misunderstood
6 Facets of Understanding
 Explanation (justification)
 Interpretation (tell meaningful stories/translations)
 Application (use and adapt to new)
 Perspective (see from a different point of view)
 Empathy (walk in another’s shoes)
 Self-Knowledge (reflection)
From Big Ideas to Understandings
An understanding is a
“moral of the story” about the big ideas
 What
specific insights will students take
away about the the meaning of ‘content’
via big ideas?
 Understandings
summarize the desired
insights we want students to realize
Examples of Enduring/Essential
Understandings
 Systems change over time as they adapt to different
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inputs.
Change is one part of a system that can cause a
different outcome.
Each part of a system has a defined role and
function.
The scientific method and technology allow us to
gather data, analyze results, draw conclusions to
solve problems.
The universe is made of matter and energy, which is
continually being changed and transferred
throughout the Earth and Universe.
Activity (part I)
Look at the clarifying objectives related to
one cluster from your Affinity Diagram
Record
the Title for the “cluster”
Develop a question or two that illustrates
the “Big Idea” and could get to the heart
of what we want students to discover or
uncover during their learning.
Record on chart paper
Part II Exercise: Understandings
From the “Big Idea” and Essential Question in one
cluster from your diagram:
 Determine the UNDERSTANDINGS students
should uncover throughout and by the end of the
unit. (Learning Targets)
Gallery Walk
•VIEW THE ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
POSED (ARE THEY BROAD AND THOUGHT
PROVOKING?)
•VIEW THE ENDURING
UNDERSTANDINGS (ARE THEY ENDURING
AND TRANSFERRABLE?)
•COMMENT OR POST QUESTIONS
Subject:
Grade Level:
Unit Title:
Big Idea/Theme:
Timeframe Needed for Completion:
Grading Period:
Understandings (Learning Targets):
Essential Questions:
Curriculum Goals/Objectives:
Essential Skills/Vocabulary:
Integration Opportunities:
Assessment Tasks:
Working on the Work….
 For each Theme/Big Idea created in the first activity:
 Create
Essential Questions
 Determine the Essential Understandings
 List the Curriculum Standards/Clarifying Goals
associated with the Theme/Big Idea
 Identify Essential Skills and Vocabulary
Subject:
Grade Level:
Unit Title:
Big Idea/Theme:
Understandings:
Curriculum Goals/Objectives:
Timeframe Needed for Completion:
Grading Period:
Essential Skills/Vocabulary:
Assessment Tasks:
Integration Opportunities:
Essential Questions:
Day 2
THANKS FOR COMING BACK!
What
Day 1 Reflections/3-2-1 Reveals
Review of Content
 Big Ideas
 Understandings
 Essential Questions
Review Feedback/Revise and
Complete Stage 1 on Units from Day 1
How
Who
Time
Present
Group Sharing
Sandy
Team
Members
15 minutes
Present
Sandy
Pam
15 minutes
Review
Grade Level Group Work
Sandy
Pam
30.
minutes
10 Minute BREAK
Stage 2:
 Assessment Tasks
Working on the Units
Present
Generate
Sandy
Team Members
30 minutes
Review
Grade Level Group Work
Team Members
90 minutes
Grade Level Group Work
Team Members
2 hours
Present
Grade Level
Group Work
Sandy
Team Members
30 minutes
Discuss
Team Members
10 minutes
+/∆
Team
5 minutes
11:30ish LUNCH (45 minutes)
Working on the Units (continued)
Sequencing the Units/
At a glance Pacing Chart
Debrief Day 2
Evaluation
Day 1 Reflections
Positives
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Time to Collaborate/Teamwork
It was a good pace!
Teacher helping out having
participated last week
Easy integration and collaboration
Working with someone I know
High time on task
Ease of understanding expectations
Something to use this year/product
work
Being part of the big picture
BREAKFAST!/Healthy food choices
Temperature was good
Smooth day
Have an understanding of what needs
to be done
Professionally treated
Working on the computer
Things to Reconsider
∆
 Need more time
 Could have used last year’s
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materials
Chilly room!
More frequent breaks
Sat for a while this morning
Accountability for all?
Technology—when not working
Getting started
Less introductions—let’s get busy!
Confused at first as to how it would
all come together
Lacked some resources
Break down middle group better
3-2-1 Reveals
Pleasant Surprises
Points to Clarify
 Great people to work with!
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 Accomplished a lot!
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 Cooperation (across the board)
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 Lunch
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 Positive climate (mood and
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temp)
Seeing/hearing others ideas
Fun/Relaxed environment
Questions answered/assistance
Template provided/Word
Good instruction
Review of Blooms’
Getting a head start
Time flew
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Assessment changes?
Will this be mandated for all?
What if our timeline for Science and SS
doesn’t match the reading guide?
Making common assessments?
Are they expected to be complete for all
by the end of the week?
How detailed do “Understandings”
need to be?
How is this being posted/shared?
Will we do the same for Social Studies?
Why weren’t last year’s materials used?
Will someone go over our work and
make changes?
Am I doing this right?
How will results of district assessments
affect instruction?
Is Early College using same maps?
Stages of Designing Effective Units
Stage 1
Stage 2
U Understandings
T
Task(s)
Q Questions
R
Rubric(s)
OE
Other
Evidence
CS Content
Standards
K Knowledge
& Skill
Stage 3
L Learning
Plan
The big idea for Stage 2
The evidence should be credible & helpful.
The assessments should –
 Be
grounded in real-world applications,
supplemented as needed by more traditional
school evidence
 Provide useful feedback to the learner, be
transparent, and minimize secrecy
 Be valid, reliable - aligned with the desired
results of Stage 1 (and fair)
6 Facets of Understanding
 Explanation (justification)
 Interpretation (tell meaningful stories/translations)
 Application (use and adapt to new)
 Perspective (see from a different point of view)
 Empathy (walk in another’s shoes)
 Self-Knowledge (reflection)
Assessment of
Understanding via the 6 facets
You really understand when you can:
explain, connect, systematize, predict
 show its meaning, importance
 apply or adapt it to novel situations
 see it as one plausible perspective among others, question
its assumptions
 see it as its author/speaker saw it
 avoid and point out common misconceptions, biases, or
simplistic views

For Reliability & Sufficiency:
Use a Variety of Assessments
Varied types, over time:
 authentic
tasks and projects
 academic
exam questions, prompts, and
problems
 quizzes
and test items
 informal
 student
checks for understanding
self-assessments
Reliability: Snapshot vs. Photo Album
We need patterns that overcome
inherent measurement error
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Sound assessment (particularly of State Standards)
requires multiple evidence over time - a photo album
vs. a single snapshot
Formative Assessment
A process used by teachers and students during
instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing
teaching and learning, which helps student improve
their achievement of intended outcomes.
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Questioning
Discussing
Learning Activities/Projects
Conferences
Interviews
Student Reflections
Formative Assessments
Are assessments found at the classroom level and
happens in short intervals/cycles.
Formative Assessments:
 Not graded or used in accountability systems
 Feedback is DISCRIPTIVE in nature so the student
knows what exactly is needed for improvement.
Scenarios for Authentic Tasks
Build assessments anchored in authentic tasks
using GRASPS:
G
R
A
S
P
S
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Goal in the scenario?
What is the Role?
Who is the Audience?

What is your
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What is the
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What is the
S
Situation (context)?
Performance challenge?
By what tandards will work be judged in the
scenario?
Summative Assessments
Summative assessments are found at the classroom,
district, and state level and can be graded and used
in accountability systems.
Summative assessments are:
 Used to evaluate
 Used to categorize students in comparison to others
Summative Assessments
Summative Assessments provide evidence of student
competence or program effectiveness.
 Selected Response Items (T/F, MC, Matching)
 Short Answers (Fill in/ 1-2 sentence response)
 Extended written response
 Performance Assessments
Formative vs. Summative
ONE is NOT BETTER THAN THE OTHER
Both are essential to student learning when the
information gathered is used to inform students,
teachers, and parents of progress.
It is ALL about the TIMING and the USE of the
assessment.
Check-up vs. Autopsy
So….
WHERE DO BENCHMARK
ASSESSMENTS FALL?
ARE THEY FORMATIVE?
ARE THEY SUMMATIVE?
Benchmark Assessments
OUR DEFINITION:
“QUARTERLY” WRITING OR
MULTIPLE CHOICE ASSESSMENTS
BASED ON PREVIOUSLY TAUGHT
SKILLS OR OBJECTIVES USED
FOR INFORMING INSTRUCTION
AND FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION
Sample Assessments
 Write to explain how your body moves (bones and
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muscles working together).
Using voice thread, explain why your skin protects
your body
Create a fictitious animal using your knowledge of
the classifications. Provide appropriate habitat and
at least 3 adaptations that enable your animal to
survive in that environment; include a food chain
Research a threatened/endangered animal from
North Carolina
Create a zoo habitat appropriate for a new animal of
your choice
More Samples…
 “25 Quick Formative Assessments for a
Differentiated classroom”
 Write Abouts
 Quick Writes
 3-2-1 Summarizer
 Fact Storming
 Noting What I’ve Learned
 Unit Collage
 Foldable
 Interactive Notebook
 Vocabulary Quizzes
Subject:
Grade Level:
Unit Title:
Big Idea/Theme:
Understandings:
Curriculum Goals/Objectives:
Timeframe Needed for Completion:
Grading Period:
Essential Skills/Vocabulary:
Assessment Tasks:
Opportunities for Integration:
Essential Questions:
Day 3
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
INTEGRATION OPPORTUNITIES
RESOURCES
AT A GLANCE PACING GUIDES
Day 2 Reflections
Positives
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Accomplished established goals for the
day
Learning a lot!
Very productive
Feedback from peers and written
feedback was helpful
Lots of time to tweak what needed
fixing (PtP—good)
Great session
Change of agenda to allow more time to
work
Time to work
Finished! New websites from others
Glad to be moving onto assessments
Feeling really good about this process!
Thanks for time to complete
frameworks
Things would be better if…
 Not sure about assessments
 Soft music would be nice
 Afternoon snack
 Challenging process—noticed
things in SCOS that I’ve seen
and noted that I’ve added
things that are not there
 None—you made the change to
work in the afternoon instead
of moving on to assessments
 How can we get new passwords
for ClassScape?
Agenda Day 3
 Start ups– Ground Rules; Agenda
 Reflect on Day 2
 Review Assessments: Formative vs. Summative
 Pass the Paper—Peer Feedback
 WOW—complete frameworks for each “Big Idea”
 Lunch
 WOW
 Debrief Day 3 +/
Pass the Paper Feedback
Working as partners/teams, examine some of the
units designed during yesterday and today’s sessions.
Provide feedback through questioning—
 Does this understanding match the goal?
 Is/Are the essential question(s) broad/deep enough
to spark inquiry?
 Will the timeframe be sufficient?
Pass the paper to the next team.
Work on the Work
COMPLETE AND/OR REVISE:
BIG IDEAS/THEME
CURRICULUM GOAL/OBJECTIVE
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
ESSENTIAL SKILLS/VOCABULARY
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT SUGGESTIONS
INTEGRATION OPPORTUNITIES
Pacing Guide “At a Glance”
 Once unit frameworks have been devised, organizing
them in a progressive sequence and assigning a time
frame is easy
 If sequence or time allotted to the unit frame needs
to be adjusted, it can be through the feedback
process
Work on the Work
COMPLETE AND/OR REVISE:
FRAMEWORK COMPONENTS FOR EACH UNIT
CREATE “AT A GLANCE” PACING GUIDE
DEVELOP COMMON BENCHMARKS
Debrief Day 3
 Where are you in the process?
 What do we need to adjust to tomorrow’s agenda?
 What worked for you today?
 What needs to be considered for improvement?
Day 4
FINAL DAY!
AGENDA
 Review Feedback from Day 3
 WHEN should assessments be given?
 Work on the Work (Assessment Generation/Refining
Units)
LUNCH
 Work on the Work (Assessment Generation)
 Evaluation and Next Steps (2:30)
When should they be given?
Looking at the school calendar for next year, when
would you propose that the assessments be given in
order to provide feedback to teachers and students?
Should there be one designated day? Or should there
be a window?
What other options should be considered?
Benchmark Assessment Tools
 Benchmarks for all Core Areas
 ClassScape
for “EOG/EOC tested” subjects
 EdTech “Build My Test” solution for all
others
Work on the Work
COMPLETE
BENCHMARK ASSESSMENTS
Using the Frameworks
Stage 1
Stage 2
U Understandings
T
Task(s)
Q Questions
R
Rubric(s)
OE
Other
Evidence
CS Content
Standards
K Knowledge
& Skill
Stage 3
L Learning
Plan
How Will We Get There?
Know the
Target
Plan and
Deliver
Assess Along
the Way
Provide
Descriptive
Feedback and
Assistance
Stage 3 big idea:
E
F
F
E
C
T
I
V
E
and
E
N
G
A
G
I
N
G
Stage 3 – Plan Learning Experiences &
Instruction
A focus on engaging and effective
learning, “designed in”
 What
learning experiences and
instruction will promote the desired
understanding, knowledge and skill of
Stage 1?
 How will the design ensure that all
students are maximally engaged and
effective at meeting the goals?
L
Think of your obligations via
W. H. E. R. E. T. O.
W
H
E
R
E
T
O
L
“Where are we headed?” (the student’s Q!)
How will the student be ‘hooked’?
What opportunities will there be to be equipped,
and to experience and explore key ideas?
What will provide opportunities to rethink,
rehearse, refine and revise?
How will students evaluate their work?
How will the work be tailored to individual needs,
interests, styles?
How will the work be organized for maximal
engagement and effectiveness?
Next Steps– Planning Daily Lessons
 BOY Workdays…
 Meeting with GL/Department PLCs
 Develop Lesson Plans
 Provide Feedback on pacing/unit guides
 Meet again as group (Summer Revisions)
Continuous Improvement
 Process presented to administrative team
 Agreed upon expectations and roles
 Shared information through Convocation Conference
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and Grade Level/Department meetings
Postings to our website
Updates through monthly C & I meetings
PLC work to collect feedback throughout the year
Collection of feedback and used following summer to
revise pacing and frameworks
Turn and Talk
 What will you take away from today’s
session that will help you in your district?
 What questions do you still have?
Feedback:
 What worked for you today?
 What would have made it better?