1. CURRICULUM COMPACTING
Portland Public Schools
February/March 2009

2. Differentiating in Mixed-Ability Classrooms
Grouping Options
Tiered Lessons
Curriculum Compacting
Questioning Strategies and the use of Depth & Complexity
So far this year we’ve examined differentiation strategies of Grouping Options and Tiered Lessons. Today we will focus on Compacting Curriculum.

3. The Challenge Students come at different readiness levels
Students learn at different rates
Students have different styles of learning
Students have varying interests
Students have a variety of needs
Once again, the challenge of meeting the needs of all learners is that: students come to us with different readiness levels; rates and styles of learning; and varying interests and needs.

4. Meeting Needs of All Learners
How do you know the rate and level of your students?
How are you adjusting your instruction based on the information you receive about student rate and level of learning?
Compacting is a differentiation strategy that specifically addresses the RATE of learning for students, whereas the other differentiation strategies focus primarily on level. Although this strategy can be used for all students, it primarily focuses on the rapid learner or high ability student, who may at times need alternate activities.

5. Word Association: Compact
Visualize and Illustrate
Think of associations for Compact
Anticipatory Set: Visualize the word compact. Then draw the picture that you visualized on a piece of paper. This is a strategy that might be particularly helpful for ELL and Spec. Ed. Students.
Share out at table groups minutes.
Presenter will share a few of the pictures with entire group.
Share the Word Associations Handout- pages This activity is an example of a Word Association activity, which can be used in classrooms for integrating vocabulary with multiple contexts and multiple meanings.
Read what is on page one citing Marzano’s work

6. Today’s Objectives What is Curriculum Compacting? How? When? Who?
Why use Curriculum Compacting?
Resources
Read this slide

7. What is Curriculum Compacting? (Reis and Renzulli)
Instructional strategy …
streamlines the grade-level curriculum
allows more time for challenging work
Designed to make appropriate adjustments in rate or level for students in any area or grade-level.
Not just for gifted learners.
eliminates redundancy or work that may be too easy for any student
Curriculum Compacting is: Read the first and last bullet.
Remember that compacting specifically pertains to a student’s RATE of learning.

8. CURRICULUM Curriculum Compacting 1) What’s important?
2) What do students already know or are able to do?
3) What will they grasp at a faster rate?
4) What skill or task can be accomplished quickly?
Refer to articles- What is Curriculum Compacting? By Carolyn Coil
More Strategies that Differentiate Instruction- Curriculum Compacting
Please find the article “What is Curriculum Compacting?” by Carolyn Coil on pages 5 and 6 of your hand-outs.
Read the section entitled “What does the Research Say?” on the second page of this article.
Then turn and talk to your neighbor about what the research says about compacting curriculum.
Share out: We would like you to share some of your discussions about the research.
FYI: These are the facts that are in the article to help with the discussions:
Research shows that gifted students should have the opportunity to show mastery and be given opportunities for more challenging work:
-Dr. Karen Rogers (2002) cites current studies that found 75-85% of average and above average elementary school students can pass subject pretests with 92-93% accuracy.
-The United States Department of Education's National Excellence Report (1993) found that gifted and talented elementary school students knew 35-50% of the entire curriculum in the five major subject areas at the very beginning of the school year.
-Renzulli and Reis directed a comprehensive national study that found elementary teachers could eliminate as much as 40-50% of the grade level curriculum for the top 10-15% of students, with no negative effects on their achievement.

9. Two Kinds of Curriculum Compacting
Basic Skills Compacting
Spelling, Math Facts,
Language Arts Basic Skills
Pre-testing or other quick pre-assessments are 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.
Basic Skills Compacting is more conductive to elimination of mastered skills. This can be used for spelling, grammar, math computation, or drill and practice activities.
Content Compacting is more conducive to alternative activities for those students who absorb the content at a faster pace. Remember it is important to value the student’s time.
Note: In both types of compacting, students can set their own pace for mastering new content;
students can choose alternative activities for mastered content; or
students can eliminate mastered content altogether.
Pre and Formative assessment
data may come from teacher
observation, journal entries, writing
assignments, Socratic Seminars…

10. Tiering Compacting
Teachers modify content/activities into 2-3 progressive levels of depth and complexity
Information, routine practice, and/or skills are eliminated from the curriculum that a student has already mastered
Alternative activities are provided
Read this slide.
An example of compacting: a student may have a very advanced understanding of the concept of electricity. Through pre-assessment, it was determined that she had mastered the grade level objectives and standards. The teacher then provided an opportunity to select an alternate activity. The student chose to use her knowledge of electricity to invent a board game using electric circuits.
Or if a students misses only one on his spelling pre-test and knows all of the definitions, should he have to do all the activities the rest of the class is doing with those words:
-Writing the word 10 times, using them in a sentence, looking up the definitions, etc.
In this case, a teacher could give him more difficult words and have him do the same activities; or that student could buy back time and do alternate activities with the regular spelling words.

11. WHO? -Already meets or exceeds standard
-Consistently finishes tasks quickly
-Mistakes are careless in nature
-Brings outside materials to class
-Tests well (despite average or below class work)
-Consistently performs high in an academic area
-Asks questions that suggest advanced familiarity with the material
-Expresses interest in pursuing alternate or advanced topics
-Starko
These are characteristics which may indicate that compacting would be appropriate for a particular student. Notice that non-teacher-pleasing behaviors may be indicative of the need for compacting.

12. WHEN should a teacher compact the curriculum?
When pre and ongoing formative assessments indicate that a student (or several students) demonstrates proficiency in the skill or content which is the instructional focus.
Read this slide.

13. But HOW? Steps to Compacting Identify objectives
Find or develop pre-assessments
Identify students for compacting
Pre-Assess to determine mastery
Eliminate practice, drill or instruction
Streamline instruction as needed
Provide alternatives
Keep Records (get the student involved)
Hand-out: 8 Steps in Compacting- p. 9 of hand-outs
First you would identify learning objectives and find a way to assess those objectives.
Then pre-assess students to determine mastery.
Eliminate Drill and Practice for those demonstrating mastery of skills.
Streamline instruction of Content for those showing mastery of content.
Provide enrichment or acceleration.
Maintain records and documentation of individual work.

14. Compacting Curriculum Options
Buying Back Time (Renzulli)
Most Difficult First (Winebrenner)
The Study Guide (Winebrenner)
Students need to find a way, as Dr. Joseph Renzulli explains, to “buy back” school time on concepts and skills they already know. For example, if you have a student who is outstanding in math and average in reading and writing, you would compact for him in math, but not in reading and writing. One should not use his earned time to improve skills in his weaker subjects.
When students buy time, they should be given opportunities to capitalize on those strengths through activities that enrich and extend those abilities. Sometimes, however, they may represent activities from different subject areas, and sometimes they may be ongoing projects related to a student’s passionate interest.

15. MOST DIFFICULT FIRST can be an example of basic skills or content compacting
Before giving an assignment, start by determining which items are the most difficult examples of the entire task.
Offer the whole class the explanation and opportunity to try the most difficult first.
Students who are successful in the completion of the most difficult and can demonstrate proficiency with this work are given time to explore the content in more depth.
In the Most Difficult First option (p. 10 of Take-Away packet), you have permission to ask students to try the most difficult problems first. If they can do those successfully, they wouldn’t have to complete the entire task.
Hand-outs: examples from resources: pages
-Alternate spelling activities
-Vocabulary Builders and Vocabulary Extension Menu
-Extension menu ideas
The examples provided on pages 11 to 15 show many different activities students might choose to do instead of what the rest of the class is doing during the basic skills practice or content learning. Examples are generic enough to fit to our core areas.
There are many more examples provided by Susan Winebrenner on CD-ROMS fir grades K-5 and They are available for purchase or limited check-out from our office.

16. THE STUDY GUIDE (Winebrenner)
Pre-assess all students on concepts
Qualified students gather information about a “related” topic of choice
They become “resident experts”
and present a report or project
Paraphrase or read the slide
Hand-outs: pages 16-19
-Product Choices Chart
-Acceptable Student Projects
-Ideas for Enrichment/Acceleration Options
-Resources Suggestions

17. Example for Students to Compact
Mastery
90% or higher on the pre-assessment
Compact out of the entire lesson or unit
Partial Mastery
80% or higher on the pre-assessment
Compact out of selected lessons or portions of the unit
These are examples of criteria. You may decide on your own criteria at your own school.

18. THE COMPACTOR (Renzulli)
Assess the area(s) of strength
Document mastery
Provide alternate activities for enrichment and/or acceleration
Set working conditions for alternate activities
Provide a personal study project agreement
Student keeps log of extension work-management
The compactor is a teacher planning tool developed by Joseph Renzulli.
Remember: It is not suggested to compact every concept for an individual student.

19. Student’s Name: ________________________________
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
This is one example of the compactor form. We will show you 3 examples of situations in which compacting might be used.

20. Skills Student’s Name: Annette _______________________________
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
Math-
Addition
Subtraction facts
Score of 90 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
This is an example of the use of the compactor for skills. If a child receives a score of % on the pretest, that child should be given different work to do while the rest of the class is mastering the desired skills.

21. Study Guide Student Names: Jose, Joanne, Sam, and Linda______________
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
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 on pg 57 and 4 & 8 on pg 61
Take unit test when ready
Students will select a topic of interest from a list of alternate activities related to an aspect of colonial living for an independent study
This is an example of the Study Guide for upper elementary students. A teacher might compact if a child works at a faster rate than the rest of the students in the classroom.
When a teacher has a student who is strong reader, and if they are using a textbook, they might let that student compact by working through the unit faster than the rest of the classroom, and then provide alternate activities for the student to do when he/she finishes the unit or chapter.

22. Skills Student’s Name: ____William____________________________
Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
Will gather
research for his own activity…
Achieved an agreed upon level of mastery
Map Skills
Another example of a skill that can be compacted, but the student might choose a project of interest.

23. Skills Student Names: Sara, Jessica, John, Tom Areas of Strength
Documenting Mastery
Alternate Activities
Spelling Skills K-5
Unit 5, Week 3
Using your Scott Foresman Teachers Guide, ask teachers to turn to Week 3, Unit 5 and practice developing a compactor for Spelling Instruction for that week.
Remember: you may only have a few students who might need this option at any point in the year.
Point out that the curriculum compactor is a separate hand-out, with a Venn diagram on the back to help explain the difference between compacting skills and content. Allow 10 minutes to fill in the compactor.
Discussion: Does anyone have something you would like to share about this experience?
Point out the separate hand-out on Questions and Answers about Curriculum Compacting. You may want to go over a few of them with your staff.

24. Tools for Compacting Curriculum
Assessments (Pre, Ongoing, Formative, Summative)
Menus of Challenging Activities
Product Choices Chart
“The Compactor”
Working Agreements or Learning Contracts
Daily Log
Student Planning Guide
I imagine you are thinking: “How do I manage this in my classroom?”
We are sharing these resources with you because they help your students to become more Autonomous Learners. Students need explicit instructions, guidelines, and criteria to complete their independent projects.
Please turn to the handouts on pages 20-23
Management Tools
-Student Planning Guide
-Daily Log of Extension work
-Working Conditions for Alternate Activities
-Personal interest independent study project agreement

25. WHY?
Dramatically reduces redundancy and challenges students to new heights of excellence
Makes work particularly relevant for underachieving students
Unless students are consistently challenged, they will loose motivation to learn
When some previously bright, but underachieving students realize that they can economize on regularly assigned material and earn an opportunity to demonstrate proficiency with some self-selected items or with items that are more engaging, their motivation to complete some of the regular assignments increases. As one student put it “ Everyone understands a good deal!” …..from Curriculum Compacting by Sally M. Reis & Joseph S. Renzulli

26. If you want to know more …
Kingore, Bertie (2007) Reaching All Learners: Making Differentiation Work. Professional Associate Publishing.
•Reis, S.M. & Renzulli, J.S. (2005). Curriculum Compacting: An Easy Start to Differentiating for High-Potential Students.
Prufrock Press.
•Starko, A. J. (1986). It’s About Time. Creative Learning Press.
•Winebrenner, S. (2001) Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom. Updated edition. Free Spirit Press.
The Susan Winebrenner book Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom dedicates 3 full chapters to curriculum compacting, with many more details on the subject. If you do not have a book available in your school, please contact the TAG Office to check it out.