Colorado’s District Sample Curriculum Project History Colorado & TPS August 8, 2013

Presentation Agenda Overview: Colorado’s District Sample Curriculum Project Elements of the Curriculum Template Year at a Glance Unit Overview How to Use the Samples Next Steps…

 This project originated as a response to increasing requests from Colorado educators for voluntary curriculum samples based on the new Colorado Academic Standards  Sample Curriculum Project Goals:  Facilitating successful implementation of the new Colorado Academic Standards  Helping build the capacity of Colorado educators to create curriculum materials based on the standards  Bringing together Colorado’s educators to create a variety of samples that reflect the diversity of our school districts History of the Project

Colorado’s Sample Curriculum Project  Curriculum design workshops resulted in the creation of 670 curriculum samples based on the CAS  Over 500 Colorado educators, representing 61 school districts  The samples provide organizing structures for addressing all elements of the CAS  Created by and for Colorado educators to support school districts in their successful implementation of the CAS ( )

Standards Curriculum An organized plan of instruction that engages students in mastering the standards ResourcesTextbooks Instructional Materials

 Design reflects emphasis on the concepts and skills in CAS  Centers around ideas  Supports teaching to greater intellectual depth  Emphasizes knowledge TRANSFER and APPLICATION  Design reflects feedback from educators across the state  Customizable and flexible  Technical assistance from Dr. Lynn Erickson Colorado’s Unique Standards Based Template

The Elements of the Template Year at a Glance

SS09-GR.8-S.2-GLE.2

The Elements of the Template Unit Overview

Unit Strands Concepts Unit Strands provide the breadth of understanding within a discipline (in the CAS, these are typically the standards in a discipline) such as history, geography, civics, economics Concepts provide a depth of understanding – i.e. more specificity within the unit strand such as: 1. citizenship 2. representation 3. oppression

Focusing Lens Focusing Lens is a broad, integrating concept that acts as a lens for students to process factual information  System, cycles, perspectives, power, change, patterns  Brings together concepts and content for deeper thinking

Inquiry Questions Inquiry Questions – (Engaging/debatable- no right or wrong) “What circumstances encourage people to challenge power and authority?” “What would the United States be like if England had won the American Revolution?”

Focusing Lens Unit Strands Concepts

Guiding Questions- (Questions tied directly to the generalizations) Factual - “How did taxation without representation lead to the colonial struggle for independence?”

Guiding Questions- (Questions tied directly to the generalizations) Conceptual – (not locked in time or context) “How do laws reflect beliefs about authority?”

Critical Content is the factual information (the topics) that students must know NOTE: Critical content should be determined by what is expected within the evidence outcomes for each GLE.

Key Skills are the skills students will use and develop; what they will do and be able to transfer to new learning experiences as a result of the unit NOTE: Key content skills should be determined by what is expected within the evidence outcomes for each GLE

Critical Language includes the Academic and Technical vocabulary, semantics, and discourse which are particular to and necessary for accessing a given discipline. Example: “The causes and effects of taxation without representation led to a shift of power that established a different interpretation of citizenship.”

Academic vocabulary: (High frequency words used across several content areas) such as - cause and effect, inquiry Technical vocabulary: (Low-frequency words, often limited to specific content areas) such as - oppressive, colonized, self-determination, governance

 In combination with your district’s existing curriculum  As a reference  As a guide  In their entirety  Not at all How the Samples Can Be Used

Phase Three:  Develop an instructional-unit template for all subjects and grades (currently in draft form) Next Steps…

Unit Plan Template 10,000 feet

Phase Three:  Develop an instructional-unit template for all subjects and grades (currently in draft form)  Work with Colorado educators to create unit plan samples for all subjects and grades based on select unit overviews  Three-3 day workshops with districts across the state Next Steps…

 Check the Standards and Instructional Support website for details and for all the curriculum samples:  District Sample Curriculum Project Overview: rriculumProject.asp rriculumProject.asp  Curriculum Samples: rriculum-samples.asp rriculum-samples.asp  Social Studies Resources on the CDE website: Resources

Contact: Stephanie Hartman Questions?