Curriculum Writing Workshop

1. Curriculum Writing Workshop Last Modified 04.29.10

2. The CAI Model Curriculum, Assessment, Instruction High Quality Professional Development Curriculum The “What” Standards Essential Questions Learning Targets Assessment The “Progress” Deciding what Is best to measure Student learning in Relation to the standards Instruction The methods used to facilitate student learning Student Learning High Quality Professional Development High Quality Professional Development High Quality Professional Development

3. Plan Backward from What’s Essential… Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Enduring understandings

5. Standards • Use standards from state and nationally recognized organizations (Wisconsin ELA Standards draft , ACT Readiness Standards, Common Core Standards, Partnership for 21st Century Skills Standards, Programs of Study Knowledge and Skills, etc.) • Please identify the relevant standards by listing the organization, their web link, and/or page reference

6. Organize the Units and Timeframe for Your Course • Broad Units Example: Create a classic literature unit, instead of a Romeo and Juliet unit • Based on Concepts Example: If the focus of a science unit is change, use that as the title of the unit instead of butterflies or birds • Timeframe As you design your units, you will need to designate a certain amount of time that will be spent on each unit.

7. What “Big Ideas” do I want students to remember from this course…Essential Questions 1. Identify essential “big ideas” in your content area standards 2. Write essential questions around these big ideas • Representative of the most important concepts in the course • Few enough that you will have time to have deep discussions with students on each 3. Questions may be written for each unit or for the whole course

8. Examples of Essential Questions • What does it mean to be free in a democratic society? • Why do people commit crimes? • What would happen if bacteria was eliminated from the earth? • What if there was no national debt? • Do governments have the right to execute citizens?

9. Writing Student Learning Targets: Understandings LA A.8.2: Read, interpret, and critically analyze literature Potential Learning Targets (Understandings): • Understand features of a literary text: conflict, point-of-view, and representation of character • Know the appropriate use of literary devices in pieces of work, such as tone, style, and purpose • Using well developed criteria, evaluate the literary merit of a piece of literature Problematic Learning Targets: • Understand literary texts have many features including conflict, point-of-view, and representation of character • Write a five paragraph essay on the overall tone of Romeo and Juliet • Appreciate the literary merit of various pieces of literature

10. What do I expect students to understand…Student Learning Targets • What students should ‘know and understnad’ at the end of a unit: the nouns are important! • Specific to your course, but not dictating instructional strategies • Incorporates content and knowledge, and how that integrates into deep understanding

11. What do I expect students to know and be able to do…Student Learning Targets • What students should ‘know and be able to do’ at the end of a unit: the verbs are important! • Specific to your course, but not dictating instructional strategies • Use“for example” and “such as” statements in learning targets, as needed • Must be able to assess a learning target • Learning targets become especially important in the development of common assessments

12. Writing Learning Targets LA A.8.2: Read, interpret, and critically analyze literature Potential Learning Targets: • Identify and explain the following features of a literary text: conflict, point-of-view, and representation of character • Compare and contrast the tone, style, and purpose of two literary works • Using well developed criteria, evaluate the literary merit of a piece of literature Problematic Learning Targets: • Understand literary texts have many features including conflict, point-of-view, and representation of character • Write a five paragraph essay on the overall tone of Romeo and Juliet • Appreciate the literary merit of various pieces of literature

13. How will I assess what my students have learned…Assessment Types Assessment Types: What are they? • CR=Constructed Response • SR=Selected Response • PA=Performance Assessment • O=Observation (formal)

14. How will I assess what my students have learned…Assessment Types

15. A Philosophy Statement? • There is certain background information you will need to communicate to your colleagues about the course. A “philosophy statement” needs to be included with the curriculum. • See your packet of materials for examples of philosophy statements

16. Primary Instructional Resources • Curriculum must be written before instructional materials are selected • We will work as a team to identify and evaluate resources to best support the curriculum

17. Please complete the following before you leave: • E-mail your curriculum to Jim Schmitt and Ann Franke at jschmitt@ecasd.k12.wi.us and afranke@ecasd.k12.wi.us • Please also turn in a paper copy • Put a plan together of how you will share your curriculum document with others who teach this course • Staff development plan: Think about what kind of staff development you will need to help implement your new curriculum