1. CURRICULUM COMPACTING
A STRATEGY FOR “RESPONSIVE TEACHING”
Material drawn from It’s About Time by Alane J. Starko, copyright 1986 Reproduced with permission from Creative Learning Press, Inc., P.O. Box 320, Mansfield Center, CT 06250

2. Curriculum Compacting
Outcomes:
By the end of the training participants will have:
1) considered student behaviors that might suggest a need for compacting.
2) clarified curriculum compacting as a strategy for differentiation.
3) recognized the difference between basic skills compacting and content
compacting.
4) discussed the role of assessment as related to compacting.
5) shared some planning and management tools for compacting.

3. Differentiating in Mixed-Ability Classrooms
“Teaching should respond to what we know about the learner(s).”

4. Student Behaviors Which May Suggest That Compacting is Necessary
Consistently finishes tasks early
Work is usually well done and correct
Seems to have some advanced familiarity with the
material
Expresses interest in pursuing alternate or advanced
topics
Consistent high performance or motivation
Creates own puzzles, games, or other diversions in class

5. Rapid Robin
“THE DREADED EARLY FINISHER”

6. Never Finished Freddie
“It takes him an hour-and-a-half to watch Sixty Minutes.”

7. CURRICULUM Curriculum Compacting 1) What’s important?
2) What can be skipped or eliminated?
3) What do students already know or are able to do?
4) What will they grasp easily?
5) What can be accomplished quickly?

8. CURRICULUM COMPACTING
It’s About Time---
Finding time for
students to pursue
in-depth learning.

9. A teaching strategy that “buys time”
for acceleration and/or enrichment.
The goal is to modify or “streamline” curriculum to allow students to move at a quicker pace and then have time to pursue an alternate topic or go into greater depth in an area of study.

10. “This is Boring!”
These words do not bring happiness to the hearts of teachers.
One way to respond to this statement is to ask the students to be
more specific in describing their boredom.
Ask students to differentiate between “Boring A” situations and
“Boring B” situations.
Boring A Situations “I already know that; could you give me an opportunity to show you?”
Boring B Situations “At the present time I do not know enough about the topic to be interested in it.”

11. Two Kinds of Curriculum Compacting
Basic Skills Compacting
Spelling, Math Computation,
Language Arts Basic Skills
Pretesting is easily used to
document proficiency.
Content Compacting Social Studies, Science, Literature, Math Applications, and Problem-Solving
Students may already know some material or may be able to read advanced material or master objectives more quickly.

12. MOST DIFFICULT FIRST
1. The teacher previews the student task and selects the most difficult examples.
2. The examples are marked (*) and students are given the opportunity to do these items first as a means of demonstrating mastery or understanding.
3. If students are able to demonstrate mastery, then they are free to select alternate activities for that period of time.

13. GOALS OF COMPACTING Create a challenging learning environment
Guarantee proficiency in basic curriculum
Buy time for enrichment and acceleration

14. Student’s Name: ________________________________
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities

15. Student’s Name: Annette _______________________________
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
Math ---Decimal Fractions
Score of 85 percent or higher on the pretest
Will work with class on days they learn concepts she has not mastered
Will work on alternate math enrichment activities on other days

16. Student’s Name: Jose, Joanne, Sam, and Linda______________
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
Students will select a topic of interest from a list of alternate activities related to an aspect of colonial living for an independent study
Social Studies---
Colonial Living Unit
High Interest Strong Readers Will read and pick up concepts quickly
Students will read chapters 5 & 6 in text at own pace
Do chapter exercises 3, 7, & 9
Take unit test when ready

17. Student’s Name: ____William____________________________
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
Achieved an “A” on
the pretest
Will read to gather
research for his
book about castles
Will write book about
castles INSTEAD of
doing map activities
Map Skills

18. Phases of Curriculum Compacting
Phase I - Establishing the goals and outcomes of the unit or segment of instruction
Phase II - Identifying students who may be candidates for compacting
Phase III - Identifying areas to be considered for compacting
Phase IV - Establish procedures for compacting the basic material
Phase V - Provide options for enrichment or acceleration

19. Acceleration may include but is not limited to:
Progress through the education program at rates faster or at ages
younger than conventional; providing instruction at a level and
pace appropriate to a child’s achievement and readiness
regardless of grade level.
Acceleration may include but is not limited to:
(1) Advanced Placement in a Subject
(2) Curriculum Compacting
(3) Telescoping Curriculum

20. Enrichment may include but is not limited to:
Giving students the opportunity to learn in greater depth
and breadth.
Enrichment may include but is not limited to:
(1) Complexity of Content
(2) Creative and Original Products
(3) Self-selected Topics

21. Curriculum Areas to be Considered for Compacting
Procedures for Compacting Basic Material
Enrichment and/or Acceleration Activities