Prioritizing and Mapping
the Curriculum with the
Learning-Focused Toolbox
A Process for Developing
Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
Created by LEARNING-FOCUSED SOLUTIONS
Essential Questions
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What process was used to create the
curriculum documents?
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What do the documents look like?
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Where are they now?
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Where do we go from here?
What is it?
Any document or plan that defines:
•the work of teachers
•the content to be learned by the
students
•the methods to be used in the process.
Curriculum
What isn’t it?
Curriculum is NOT
the textbook or program
you purchased from a
publisher.
What is it like?
A path or course to run
in small steps.
What is the Purpose?
To focus and connect
the work of classroom
teachers in school to the
standards, assessments
and classroom practices
in order to raise
student achievement.
Curriculum can no longer be what you’ve been doing for the past 15 years
unless it is demonstrated to be in line with the standards and assessments!
Why ‘Prioritize’ the Curriculum?
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Every state’s curriculum has far too
many standards to be learned in the time
available.
In the past, teachers have had to
independently prioritize their curriculum which has provided an uneven “taught”
curriculum that results in inconsistent
achievement.
Why Prioritize the Curriculum?
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The prioritizing curriculum process provides
the means to deal with this abundance of
standards and limited time.
Prioritizing the curriculum does not eliminate
curriculum, but rather ‘codes the curriculum’.
All teachers that teach a common grade or
course, now will emphasize the same learning
and understanding rather than emphasizing
“coverage”!
Guaranteed and Viable
Curriculum
“the single most important initiative
a school or district can engage in to
raise student achievement..”
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As referenced by Bob Marzano in his book:
What Works In Schools
Guaranteed Curriculum

EVERY STUDENT is provided the
opportunity to learn a core curriculum
which provides them with the probability
of success in school.
Viable Curriculum

Schools make sure that the necessary
time is available and protected so
students will be able to learn the
guaranteed curriculum.
Quality Curriculum:

Provides teachers with a guide for
what students need to learn in order to
be successful.

Prevents redundancies in instruction.
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Guards against gaps in student
learning.
Quality Curriculum
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Provides a sequence of what needs to be
learned across individual grade levels or
courses as well as a vertical sequence from
grade level to grade level or from course to
course.
Provides teachers with a correlation to the
standards and assessments in an attempt to
assure students are as well prepared as
possible.
Exemplary Practices in
High Achievement,
High Accountability
Districts and
Schools
Organization
-- Multiple Options for Acceleration
-- Vertical AND Grade Level Teams
-- Large Blocks of Time
-- Literacy & Math Blocks
Assessment
-- Focus = Assessment for Learning
-- Continuous Formative Assessment
-- Benchmark Assessments That Direct Instruction
-- Continuous Use of Rubrics
Instruction
-- K-
12 Reading Comprehension
-- K- 12 Writing in Content
-- Advance Organizers, Scaffolding, Preview
-- Differentiated Cognitive Strategies
-- Schools With Instructional Coaches
Curriculum
-- Prioritized
Curriculum
-- K-12 Benchmarks/Maps
-- Curriculum Maps With Vocabulary Focus
Planning
-- Priority, Time Allocated
-- Data & Results Driven
-- Team-Based & Individual Planning
-- Linked to Staff Development
Best Curriculum

The highest quality curriculum is developed by
utilizing a wide range of resources during the
development and subsequent monitoring of
the curriculum.

Standards
Benchmarks
Performance Objectives/Standard Statements
Assessments
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Teacher experience
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Prioritizing
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Not all content is equal!
Standards contain a range of
performance objectives and standard
statements.
Some performance objectives are
more important than others in helping
students succeed!
How do we do it? STEP 1

Teachers prioritized the PA Academic
Standards into Essential, Important and
Compact categories.
Essential = 50% of the Content
Requires 70% of the Instructional Time
Important = 30% of the Content
Requires 25% of the Instructional Time
Compact = 20% of the Content
Requires 5% of the Instructional Time
Differences

Essential refers to the “Big Ideas” or
concepts that you want your students to
understand at a greater depth.

Important refers to the key knowledge and
skills that lead to student understanding of
the essential knowledge.

Compact: refers to the less important stuff
that students can usually get by without or will
be acquired as a result of other instruction.
Prioritizing in Toolbox
Vertical Teaming
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After grade level teams and course
teams prioritized their Standards, they
met in vertical teams.
Here they reviewed and discussed their
rationale for how they prioritized each
Standard.
They looked for redundancies and
gaps before returning to their teams to
make revisions.
STEP 2:

They clustered those Standards in the
three categories into TOPICS that will be
used to guide instruction.
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Then they identified the CONCEPTS
that are contained in each topic.
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For every topic, they created a
Curriculum Map including all the
necessary elements.
Mapping in Toolbox
Creating Curriculum Map in Toolbox
Printed or published
version of the
Curriculum Map
Topic:
Course:
Key Learning (Enduring Understanding):
Assessment(s):
Unit Essential Question(s):
Concept:
Lesson Essential
Questions (LEQs):
Vocabulary:
Instructional Tools:
Concept:
Lesson Essential
Questions (LEQs):
Vocabulary:
Concept:
Lesson Essential
Questions (LEQs):
Vocabulary:
Curriculum Map Components
KEY LEARNING: A full statement of what is essential for students to know
and do, representing significant concepts key to understanding the content.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S): Written as a thought provoking and engaging
question about the content that provides a view of the ‘Big Picture’ and acts as
the ‘Mental Velcro’ for students to make connections.
Concepts: The ‘heart’
of the unit’s content.
Concepts: ‘Big Ideas’
that connect the skills or
knowledge to the
overarching topic.
Concepts: Nouns in
the ‘Performance
Objectives’ of each
state’s standards.
Lesson Essential
Questions: Concept
specific but link to and
support unit EQ(s).
Lesson Essential
Questions: Frame the
study of the topic and
guide the learning. HOTS
Lesson Essential
Questions: Used to
activate & summarize
key ideas.
Vocabulary: Words
that are critical and
essential to
understanding the
content being taught.
Vocabulary: Multiple
meaning words &
words that are easily
misunderstood.
Vocabulary: Words
related to “Big Idea”
concepts and skills
being taught.
Topic: First Grade Writing
Key Learning: Spoken
words, illustrations &
print convey meaning.
Unit Essential Question: How
can I be a good
writer?
Instructional Tools:
Story Maps
Writing Process
Writer’s Workshop
Animated Literacy
Word Splash
Organized Word Walls
D-Nelian Handwriting
Concepts:
Letters & Words
Directionality
Capitalization/Punctuation
LEQ(s):
(1) How do I form letters
correctly?
(2) How do I make words
that say what I mean?
LEQ(s):
(1) Where do I start
writing?
(2)
Where do I go when I
reach the end of the line?
LEQ:
Vocabulary:
left
right
top
Vocabulary: return sweep
left
top
Vocabulary:
question
period
space
capital letter
sentence
lower/upper case letters
exclamation mark question
mark
middle
around
bottom
down
right
bottom
(1)What does a sentence
look like? How would I
know one if I saw one?
Curriculum Map
Topic: Cells & Their Environment (Cell-ebrating life on a microscopic level.)
Instructional Tools
Egg Osmosis Kit
DNA magnetic board
Cookie Cell Model
Rubric
Key Learning: All living organisms are made up of cells with specialized
parts and functions. Each type of cell has a characteristic structure.
Unit Essential Question: If you were a cell, would you have more or
less mitochrondria to party?
Cell Anatomy Physiology
The Cell & It’s DNA
LEQ(s): (1) How are a cell’s
parts related to function?
(2) What causes varieties in
cells?
LEQ(s): (1) Why would
you call a nucleus “the
central center” of a
cell? (2) How is your
DNA similar to the DNA
of bacteria?
Key Vocabulary:
Key Vocabulary:
ribosomes
chromatin
centrioles
Golgi
Bodies endoplasmic
reticulum lysosome
DNA RNA
nucleotides
nitrogen bases
complementary
bases Double helix
The Cell’s Environment
LEQ(s): (1) How is a fence
and a cell membrane
similar? (2) What happens
when a cell changes
environment?
Key Vocabulary:
osmosis
solutions
diffusion
hypotonic
plasmolysis
hypertonic permeable
isotonic
Topic: Persuasive Writing (10th Grade
American Literature)
Key Learning: Persuasive writers use reason,
emotion & credibility to influence our thinking
& motivate readers to action.
Unit Essential Question: How do persuasive
writing techniques influence & motivate a
reaction from readers?
Instructional Tools:
Essay Rubric
Persuasive Writing Graphic
Organizer
Literature Suggestions:
Equiano, Paine, P. Henry,
Jefferson, popular media &
political documents
Concepts:
Logic & Reason
LEQ:
(1) What are the
differences between fact
and perception?
Emotional Appeal
LEQ(s):
(1) How do the words a
writer chooses influence
his audience? (2) How
does popular belief
persuade a majority?
LEQ:
Vocabulary: diction
tone
pathos
attitude
spin
rhetorical purpose
Vocabulary: structure
organization emphasis
pace
coherence
transitions
unity
rhetorical question
Vocabulary:
refute
opposition
deduction
qualify
induction
logos
Clarity
(1)
How do I connect the
individual parts of an
essay in order to unify
it?
Sample Curriculum Map
3rd Grade Math: Multiplication
Key Learning: Multiplication is a more
efficient way of adding.
Essential Question:
How do we use multiplication?
Instructional Tools:
Graph Paper
Multiplication Charts
Calculator
Real Life Problems
(finding area)
Sequence Chart of Steps
Real-Life
Application
Meaning
Process
LEQ(s):
1. How can arrays help you
understand multiplication?
2. How is multiplication
repeated addition?
3. How can you use skip
counting to find a product?
LEQ(s):
1. How do you multiply
factors to get a product?
2. What patterns can help
you remember the
multiplication facts?
3. How can we find errors
in multiplying?
LEQ(s):
1. Where is
multiplication
used in real-life?
Vocabulary:
arrays
repeated
product
digit
value
Vocabulary:
factors
product
reversing
lattice method
patterns
errors
Vocabulary:
large lots
budgeting
finding area
shopping
Industry
8th Grade Social Studies: The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Key Learning(s): Exploration is motivated by political,
economic, scientific, & social factors. Individuals and their
values impact history. Patterns in one historical event can
be found in other historical events.
Instructional Tools:
Students will be able to:
• Primary Sources
• Time Line
• Persuasive Writing Graphic
• Persuasive Writing Rubric
• Word Splash
Unit Essential Question(s):
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: What’s the big deal?
Motivation
Lesson Essential
Questions:
Why did you send
them, Thomas
Jefferson?
How can you
support Jefferson’s
decision?
Vocabulary:
• Expedition
• Louisiana Purchase
• Northwest Passage
• economic
• political
The Corps of
Discovery
Lesson Essential
Questions:
Who were they and
why were they
chosen?
Vocabulary:
• corps
• adventurous
• leadership
• teamwork
• perseverance
Significance
Lesson Essential
Questions:
What were the contributions
of the expedition?
How can we find patterns
in historical events?
How is the Lewis and Clark
Expedition like other events
in history?
Vocabulary:
• impact
• accomplishment
• significance
Curriculum Maps: Why are
they so important?
Use as communication device
Conceptualize a unit
Enable consistent curriculum
pacing and planning
Highlight important vocabulary
Enable students to "see" the knowledge
gained over time and their learning
Vocabulary term
Visual representation
Arms race
Definition
Personal association
A competition
between countries
for the most and
most powerful
weapons
Swans and peacocks
Step 3: Course Map
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Teachers estimated how much time
should be spent on each topic and
arranged them sequentially on a course
map.
The goal of the course map is to assure
that all the content is taught before it is
tested!!!!
Revisions are expected to be made to
the content maps and to the course
maps as ALL teachers experience them.
Pacing and Prioritizing Time
Clicking on the Topic
in the timeline opens
the Curriculum Map for
the unit.
Step 4: A Work In Progress

Revise the priorities and edit the Curriculum
Maps as needed – based on current
assessment data and experience.
Benefits for Teachers…
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The instructional “WHAT” has been shared,
making it quick and easy to develop plans
Many instructional factors have been decided
and developed for teachers, making their
planning time much more efficient
Lessons are directly connected to the
school/district prioritized curriculum
Planning and sharing with peers is easier and
more efficient
Benefits for Students…
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Mobility has much less impact on
achievement
Instruction is directly connected to what is
tested
Consistency of strategies and formats
raises their performance
How do you use your ‘Curriculum Maps’?

The ‘Curriculum Maps’ are not meant to create more
work for teachers but to act as guides as they plan
instruction!

In grade level/course teams, preview the maps and
discuss what content you are already addressing in your
instructional program.

At this point, you can assess what needs to be added
or deleted from your current program to assure student
success
What to do with it?
2. Using Toolbox, your Curriculum can be automatically
published to your district/school Curriculum website …
School/District Use
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Complete the rest of the unit decisions and develop
the lessons in Toolbox
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Saves teacher planning time
More school/district input into instruction
Allows for consistency of assessments and learning
strategies
Easily shared and distributed to teachers
Decision 1
Decision 2
Decision 4
Decision 5
Decision 6
Decision 3 – part of Decision 2 in Toolbox
Decision 7
Decision 8
Decision 9
Decision 10
Decision 11
Where do we go from here?
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July 11-12, 13-14, 18-19, 20-21, 2006
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September 12
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First draft –Prioritization and mapping
Document “published” but not “shared”
(http://publish.learningfocused.com/304886)
First review, revisions by volunteer members of
Review Committee
Document “shared” within Toolbox
Summer 2007
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Second review, revisions by Review Committee
Where do you go from here?
Questions to ask at district level:
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Who do you give access key code to?
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Who gets ‘Read Only’?
Who gets ‘Edit’ rights?
How does the sequencing of the units on the
Timeline correlate to the text book series used in
the district?
Who will introduce the maps to the staff? When?
How will exemplary lessons/units be attached to
the map?
Who will create lessons/units?
Who will approve and save lessons/units?
How will staff be informed of new lessons/units?