Unit Status Designations
*D Place this at the end of your unit title (i.e., Linear Functions *D). This indicates that the unit is in the
development phase, and not ready for review.
*TR Use this to replace the *D once your unit is ready to be reviewed by the review team.
*R The review team will use this to replace the *TR, once your unit has been successfully reviewed.
Common Vocabulary, Alphabetisms, and Acronyms Used in NSBSD Unit Mapping
CAIM: Curriculum Alignment, Integration, and Mapping
CCAT: Core Content Area Team
CCR: College & Career Readiness
CCSS: Common Core State Standards
CDT: Curriculum Development Team
Common Assessment: A collaboratively selected and/or designed product or performance administered
on a common testing date or within a common testing window and evaluated by all teachers responsible
for the instruction of the content tested in the assessments. Teachers score students’ work and compile
the results to discuss needs and provide collective support to encourage and ensure student progress.
Concept: A concept is a mental construct or category represented by a word or phrase. OUs are derived
from concepts.1 In our curriculum mapping, some unit maps contain lists of concepts. These concepts
are suggestions for areas of study; the list is not exhaustive, nor is it fixed. The list may be modified,
changed, or added to in the manner that best fits with the unit you are developing. More than one unit
may be written to a set of standards so there may be multiple concepts listed for the same set of
standards as our curriculum maps grow.
Content (specific to 2012 ELA standards): Refers to the focus area in the 2012 ELA standards. Content
standards are subsequently broken into strands and numbers (RL.CS.6 at the high level )
Content Area: The subject matter area such as mathematics, language arts, science, career technical
education, etc.
Course: The course encompasses all standards and units that are to be taught during the year within
that grade level. Examples of course names include: Science 3* (science third grade); Language Arts 1*
(language arts first grade), Algebra I* (Algebra).
1
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. (2nd ed.). Alexandria: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. p. 340
Course Name:
Denotes the content area and the grade level (e.g., Science 3* is science third grade; Language Arts 1* is
language arts first grade).
CTE: Career & Technical Education
Curriculum Mapping—Curriculum maps are intended to clearly articulate what standards are to be
taught (tightly aligning those skills to the content that is presented) and what skills students are
expected to demonstrate at each grade level. Analyzing K3–12 courses enables teachers at each grade
level to see how skills scaffold throughout the years.
Discipline Area (specific to science content area): a particular branch of scientific knowledge.
District Macro Map: This is the overarching map developed for each quarter that designates which
standards will be taught during each quarter.
DOK – Depth of Knowledge- Focuses on how the student shows s/he can successfully complete an
assessment task and/or a task designed to demonstrate mastery of concepts.
ELA: English Language Arts
EQs (Essential Questions): A question that lies at the heart of a subject…and promotes inquiry and
uncoverage [sic] of a subject. EQs do not yield a single straightforward answer but produce different
plausible responses, about which thoughtful and knowledgeable people may disagree. EQs can be
overarching (content specific) or topical (unit-specific) in scope2.
GRASPS (Goal, Role, Audience, Situation, Performance, Standards): The design tool used to assist in the
creation of performance tasks.3
Horizontal Alignment: Consistent standards, knowledge acquisition, skills, concepts, and assessments
identified for delivery across a single grade level (e.g., grade 2 mathematics), or course (e.g., biology).
ILF: Iñupiaq Learning Framework
ILF/PEs: Iñupiaq Learning Framework Performance Expectations
ILT: Iñupiaq Language Teachers
Iñupiaq and Iñupiat: The name "Inupiaq," meaning "real or genuine person" (inuk 'person' plus piaq 'real, genuine'), is often spelled "Iñupiaq," particularly in the northern dialects. It can refer to a
person of this group ("He is an Inupiaq") and can also be used as an adjective ("She is an Inupiaq
woman"). The plural form of the noun is "Inupiat," referring to the people collectively ("the Inupiat of
the North Slope"). 4
2
Ibid. p.342
Ibid. p. 157
4 www.uaf.edu/anlc/languages/i/
3
Literacy Standards: Included in CCSS, these specify the literacy skills and understandings required for
college and career readiness in multiple disciplines. Literacy standards for grade 6 and above are
predicated on teachers of ELA, history/social studies, science, and technical subjects using their content
area expertise to help students meet the particular challenges of reading, writing, speaking, listening,
and language in their respective fields.
OUs: (Overarching Understandings): The specific inferences, based on big ideas, which have lasting value
beyond the classroom. In thinking about the overarching understandings for a unit or course, teachers
are encouraged to ask, “What do we want students to understand and be able to use several years from
now, after they have forgotten the details?”5
Rubicon Atlas (Rubicon International and the Atlas Education Centre): NSBSD curriculum mapping URL:
nsbsd.rubiconatlas.org. Atlas is the highly customizable curriculum management tool supported by their
partners at Rubicon. The Atlas Education Centre provides professional development in curriculum
mapping.
Topic: An area of knowledge being studied, discussed, described. In our curriculum mapping, some unit
maps contain lists of topics. These topics are suggestions for areas of study; the list is not exhaustive, nor
is it fixed. The list may be modified, changed, or added to in the manner that best fits with the unit you
are developing. More than one unit may be written to a set of standards so there may be multiple topics
listed for the same set of standards as our curriculum maps grow.
Theme: see topic. The two words are meant to be synonymous for purposes of curriculum mapping.
TU (Topical Understanding): see OUs as it pertains to units.
UbD (Understanding by Design): An approach to designing a unit that begins with the end in mind and
designs toward that end. 6 Understanding by Design is a conceptual framework, a design process, and a
set of design standards, that is used in the development of NSBSD Units. It is an approach to designing a
unit that begins with the end in mind and designs toward that end.
Unit: Short for “unit of study.” Units represent a coherent chunk of work in courses or strands, across
days or weeks. 7
Unit Description: Includes the names of the unit authors and provides a description of the unit in
enough detail to allow a teacher new to the district to understand the essence and intent of instruction
for that unit.
Unit Map: Contains a list of topics, or themes, or concepts (depending on content area and grade) and a
timeline during which those should be taught.
Vertical Alignment: Vertical alignment of curriculum is planning curriculum across the grade levels, from
5
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. (2nd ed.). Alexandria: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. p. 342
Ibid. p. 338
7 Ibid. p. 353
6
Kindergarten through high school, building upon instruction based upon standards. Courses that are
correctly aligned permit teachers to quickly assess what students mastered in the preceding grades and
to focus on building skills and knowledge.